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31.8.16

SOUL CLUSTER - flash fiction in 100 words

SOUL CLUSTER

“Fifty people lived there,” the man said, “Including my family.”
The camera crew began filming as the reporter asked, “In that small house?”
“We couldn’t use the house – we lived in the cellar. “
“All those months?”
“More than a year.”
“What did you eat?”
“Dogs, rats, even grass. And there are always cockroaches.”
“No-one can live on that.”
“Many didn’t. My mother died first, and then the babies, but a bomb got them all in the end.”
“All except you.”
“I was fetching water. It is a small comfort to know that their souls reached heaven together.”
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Thanks to Rochelle for posting Vijaya Sundaram's photo on her blog  https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/  To read other interpretations of this photo, follow the blue frog link from there.

33 comments:

  1. People who write these things as often as you do can't possibly produce a winner every time. But having read many of your flashes, this one has to be one of the best. A clever and moving interpretation of the image - which took rather longer than a flash to twig.
    Neil
    Liverpool UK
    (Fellow TB'er)

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    1. Thanks Neil - and for reading enough of my flash fiction to make comparisons!

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  2. Oh, so sad, really knocks the reader sideways. Very well written, once more.

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    1. I saw souls the moment I saw the photo prompt - I have a strange mind.

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  3. Excellent, Liz - echo Neil's post. :)

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    1. thanks Susan - this was one of those instant stories - ten minutes from start to finish. Then an hour to polish, but we won't talk about that!

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  4. Great imagery.

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  5. The grim realities of war. Well told, Liz.

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  6. Dear Liz,

    Grim reality for some. Well written.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. For some, yes, though others are saved, but it's a lottery with high stakes.

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  7. Just the right tone for the interviewee. Kind of dignified and phlegmatic. Well done.

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    1. All the poor man has left is his dignity. Thanks Sandra.

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  8. At least I hope they got the cockroaches too!

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    1. I doubt it - cockroaches can survive a nuclear blast!

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  9. To live that way sends shivers up my spine. In a way, most people would think he is grateful for living, but on the other hand I would want to go with them. This is beautifully written and definitely soul crushing.

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    1. To be the only survivor? One would never recover.

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  10. Holy... My second tragic story in five minutes.
    Well done though! Keep up the good words.

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    1. Something about those lights in the sky ignited quite a few tragic stories.

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  11. Oh this is a story that I think is being repeated everywhere... again and agian.

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  12. Nicely written, Liz. Great title. What a horrible scene come to life with your words.

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    1. Hi Amy! Thankyou for reading my story. Glad you like the title even though the contents are tragic.

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  13. Gracias Anna - voy a leerlo mas tarde.

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  14. Small comfort, indeed.

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    1. His alternative would be total despair.

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  15. A beautiful, crushingly sad tale, told in a laconic vein.
    Well-done!

    Vijaya

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    1. Sometimes understatement gets the message across most effectively.

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  16. Really sad and realistic in this day and age, Liz. That's surviving not living. That's what's happening to many. Good writing and a hard-hitting story. ---- Suzanne

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    1. Thanks Suzanne - sometimes it's up to writers to mark what others think but can't express.

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