Sirens shattered the night.
Nessie leapt from the bed and threw on trousers and a shirt over her nightgown. She rushed into the next room to find George sitting up and little Moira sleeping peacefully.
“Mama? Is it time to go?”
Nessie kept her voice calm and ruffled his hair. “It is. You know what to do. I’ll get your sister.”
George threw back the bedclothes and scrambled out. Her little man quickly pulled pants and a shirt over his pyjamas and then grabbed the small bag from the closet.
Moira kept sleeping while Nessie wrapped her in a blanket and hugged her to her chest. Then she picked up her own bag and slung it over her shoulder.
The blackout curtains were already closed, so less than a minute from the first siren wail, they were out of their tenement and hurrying down the stairs. They quickly crossed their tenement's back yard to the shelter.
An explosion sounded not far off and had George moving closer to her side. He let out a relieved sigh when they crossed into the protected room. They moved quickly to their usual spots and started tracking their neighbours. No one was going to forget a sleeping baby ever again. Even as she thought it, Nessie watched Ivy walk in. George quietly counted the children as they followed their mum. When he got to seven, he smiled at Nessie. “She’s got them all this time,” he whispered with a smile.
When everyone was inside, lanterns were lit and the door was closed. For a while they chatted quietly with each other while everyone settled in. Over the past year, they’d become used to the unknowns.
Were their husbands and sons and brothers safe? How many hours would the bombs rain down tonight? Would their windows be blown out again? Would their tenement buildings be standing when the all-clear siren rang out?
George patted his bag. “Can you read everyone a story, Mama?”
“You choose one tonight.”
His six-year old face serious, he looked through the tiny collection and pulled out the worn copy of Heidi that her mother had read to Nessie as a child.
The group fell into a routine of sorts. Nessie read a chapter. Old Bill played his violin. Sadie sang a song. Nessie read another chapter. More songs. More stories.
Moira woke when Kathleen played her harmonica. It was always the little girl’s favourite part.
When the all-clear siren rang out, the adults exchanged relieved looks. No bombs had sounded like they were close enough to harm their homes.
As they trudged out of the shelter, the sun was rising over the tenements, bathing the grey buildings in warm light. George laughed. “It’s so pretty Mama.”
Moira spread her arms wide. “Boo-ti-ful. It’s boo-ti-ful Mama.”
Old Bill patted George on the head as they walked backed to their building with its windows and bricks intact. “You and your sister are right, my boy. It’s beautiful. Life is beautiful. Remember that.”
***
Tagline - Even when sirens shatter the night
***
The above is part of the WEP Challenge for April - Life is Beautiful. This is another movie I haven't seen. (Yes, this is a theme. I don't watch a lot of movies I'm afraid.)
The above piece is based on stories that my mom (Lizzie from Dancing With Dementia) shared. She grew up in Aberdeen Scotland in WWII. She and her family spent a lot of time in bomb shelters during her formative years. The neighbours did indeed forget a baby one time and were unable to check on the child until the all-clear sirens rang. The windows had all exploded that time and the baby had been sleeping near the window in a buggy. The blanket was covered with glass shards, but the baby was unscathed. Life can indeed be beautiful!
I hope you'll check out the other stories through the link and I encourage you to join in the fun. We're always looking for new voices in the challenge!
***
PS - if you missed it, the latest Bloo Moose Romance released yesterday!
22 comments:
I really enjoyed this flash fiction story. And it's so timely with the war in Ukraine.
Congrats on your book.
Horrible that the story could take place anytime in the last century or so. Good for the story, but horrible for our world that it could sooo easily be a scene from anywhere bombs were dropped from any time it happened.
Hi Jemi - I too haven't watched this movie and probably not the others ... but like you've done I've created a tale - the horrors of bombs raining down are just too appalling to consider - yet so many have to live through these things. Well done on the telling though - cheers Hilary
I love this - and it reminded me of stories my mother used to tell. Like you and Hilary I haven't seen the movie (but do believe in the beauty of the world).
Beautiful story. Scary but beautiful.
Lovely, Jemi. Even more so since it came from your mother and then through you to us. Stories like that are precious.
Jemi, you captured the terrifying tension in war time. Just finished an historical fiction set in London during the Blitz. Reminded me of that and how sometimes the shelters weren't safe. A great response to the prompt. I love how a child can see beauty even in the midst of being uprooted. Wonderful
Natalie - thank you. I wish our species could evolve past the need for war!!
Jamie - thank you! I agree. We need to be so much better as a species!
Hilary - thank you - and I agree. No one should have to grow up in a war zone.
Sue - thank you. I believe that there is so much more good than evil in this world. I just wish there was even more!
Olga - thanks
Lee - thank you! I love Lizzie's stories :)
Denise - thank you. The stories Lizzie has told us over the years are pretty powerful!
Children can help adults see beauty in the gravest of circumstances. That's the magic of innocence. Beautiful story, Jemi!
Sonia
I loved this flash fiction. Life is indeed beautiful. Congratulations on the new book, Jemi!
Amazing and beautiful. So well told and to think it's an actual memory from your mother. Goosebumps as I read it.
Well done!
And yes, congratulations on your latest!
Really great story. I love how you made me feel like I was there (not going to lie, also kind of hated that feeling, but I appreciate you making me feel it with your skilled pen/ keyboard). Bravo for bringing such darkness to light with your flashfiction.
Proof of Existence, book two in my dark urban fantasy series, is out this month. I hope you'll check it out.
And please don't miss the amazing giveaway on my blog. Act fast and enter now!
J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Reference& Speculative Fiction Author, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, and Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge
Sonia - kids are so often the smartest among us!
Nas - thank you!!!
Yolanda - Thank you so much :)
J Lenni - it's hard to imagine living that fear for all those years.
Those people must have been so brave to know they could be bombed at any point.
Congrats on your book, Jemi.
What a terrifying yet beautiful story. Congratulations on your book, Jemi. Review coming up!
That was a miracle with the baby in the buggy! I thought at first your story was set in Ukraine before it became clear that it was a different great war. Enjoyed reading as usual.
Kelly - I agree! And they probably didn't think of themselves as brave at all - just doing what came next
Damyanti - Thanks so much!!!
Nila - it really was a miracle for that family. Sadly, the story could take place in so many times and places in the last hundred years
Your story brought me right back to those days we spent in bomb shelters during the 1950s here in the states. You captured perfectly the contrast between the child's perceptions and the adults' worries. Not an easy read, but a moving and well-written response to this challenging prompt!
Thanks so much, Beth! Sadly, too many people have experienced this kind of moment.
I loved reading this real story of war that you have written about and the warm, companionable way in which people took care of each other and prepared for the boredom that is as much a part of bomb shelters as the fear.
Great story, depicting the real life of war and the innocent people it affects.
Kalpana - thank you. Lizzie spoke often of her time in the shelters.
Sally - thank you. War is horrific
Post a Comment