Below is a piece inspired by the prompt at Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The key elements were the photo below and a word range of 100-15o (+-25).
**As a side note, I wasn’t going to participate this week because my work week got the best of me. However, I stumbled across an article written by British historian Philip Beck about the burning of Saint Malo, France, the city in the photo (looks like it anyway–if not, I’m just going to pretend it is!). I couldn’t get it out of my head, so this little piece is my homage to the burning of that city in 1944. Please forgive the fact that my French narrator is speaking in English; my French is pretty miserable!

Photo courtesy of TJ Paris
A Childhood in Flames – 126 words
I was ten in 1944, the year ash rained down over the walled city of Saint Malo.
It was the first summer I didn’t spend down at the beach, poking at urchins in the tide pools and chasing my friends with ropes of seaweed tangled in my hair. I thought myself too grown up to race down the cobblestone path, trying to prevent my shoes from getting soaked as the tide returned, cutting our little island off from the French mainland.
Instead, I spent my days in Father’s library, blushing my way through Baudelaire’s poetry and flirting through the tall windows with the German soldiers marching through the streets below.
When the Americans shelled the city that August, I understood what a child I really was.
This is wonderful! And, the ending is so heart touching! How sad for a child to have to experience such as that. Beautiful story, Amy! I’m glad you decided to participate.
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So sad to experience these things as a child.
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Very poignant. Wonderful take on the prompt – who cares if this is St. Malo in the photo, you made it St. Malo!
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I don’t usually think much about the place itself in the photo, but the setting grabbed me in this one. It’s funny what jumps out of a picture.
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The medieval wall in the background is striking. It reminds me how much war has changed from then.
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I love the part about “ropes of seaweed tangled in my hair.” It is such a great image. I can see her as a child and it makes me long for those days.
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This is beautifully crafted. I love the historical notes. Well done!
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Thanks–after stumbling across that Beck article, I couldn’t get the idea of the libraries burning. It’s funny how those images just stick sometimes.
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Very true!
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