At 3:17am August 12, firefighters responded to a fire at Barney’s Pub and Grill. The crew gained entry to the apartment above and rescued one adult male, one adult female and a child. They were transported to Iowa Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.
The fire was extinguished after thirty minutes. Sixteen fire department personnel were on scene. The cause remains under investigation.
She kept the clipping in her purse amongst the bills and receipts for years, like some keep photographs of their loved ones. Eventually she lost the wallet and the piece of paper with it. Then, she mourned.
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This is a 100-word piece of flash fiction inspired by the photo above (this week supplied by J. Hardy Carroll). Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Click here to join in, or here to read more stories by other writers.
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Dear Claire,
That last paragraph sent chills up my spine and makes me wonder how many other clippings were with that one. Well done as always.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle.
that is so clever. Claire. I love it
Thanks Neil.
how said, who was she?
That’s up to you to decide…
perhaps, this is not important. I think the memories are important. The picture wich was important to mourn.
That was my question as well since there were no survivors.
But someone who wasn’t in the house at the time could be mourning them ?
Yes, of course they could – another family member who escaped the fire. But I deliberately left it open to interpretation.
Yes, but who? Makes me curious.
In my head when I wrote it, it was a teenage child of the parents who died. But I like that everyone sees it differently.
In the absence of information, the reader’s imagination will fill in the gaps. Thanks for the update.
Yes, I hadn’t thought of that – she could be one of the dead. That’s what I love about putting stories out there: the different interpretations, which starts a whole different chain of events in my head. Thank you!
A clever story. It takes some people a long time before they can genuinely mourn
Thanks!
Amazing, just from one pictures, you can write a story
Thanks!
Left me with a chill. The dry news report made a stark contrast with the narrator’s emotion.
Thanks. I’m glad you liked it.
Maybe that clipping felt like they were still with her.
Quite possibly.
to loose beloved ones takes time…always. No matter if you have pictures or other memories. You need time and your own handling to understand that this togetherness is memory and will not return…and then you can go on.
Hi Claire, really liked this, particularly the shift in style. I found the ending quite positive given what has happened. Take care x
Thanks Rachel. I guess it took her a long time to start mourning. Or perhaps she set the fire and she was only mourning the loss of the clipping. Or as someone else suggested, she was one of the people who died. Are you going to have a go?? x
Maybe she kept the clip to save the memory because she had to suffer before she grieves?
My initial reaction was she was the person who had started the fire, and then regretted the consequences, hence carrying the memories around with her and unable to mourn. Excellent as always.
I tried to keep that open as a possibility. (And thanks for the email!)
this was my first thought aswell!
…maybe not regretting but feeling guilty? So time to share the pain…mourning in feeling the pain she caused?
Their last link gone. So sad.
Click to read my FriFic!
That’s a very clever way of telling the story. You really push us towards using our imagination. Kudos!
Oy. How many other clippings were in that wallet? Truly chilling.
ohh, this seams to be a thought in an other directionas I thought! A serial offender?…Then the lost of the wallet may be really a blessing and stops the crimes now?
That last line is genius! Well done.
That was a powerful last line and one I didn’t expect.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
That last sentence told it all… the arsonists treasure lost… chilling.
Nicely ambiguous and subtle. 😀
This has a very authentic feel, especially the bit about mourning after she lost the clippings. Great story and well written 😀
Very clever story. I like the why you leave the reader to fill in the blank at the end. My first thought was the arson, then a possible family member not there that night. Then read the other comments and said to myself . . . “Claire is a very good and consistent writer”.
Very well done !!
I loved your matter of fact telling of the story and all the interpretations of your readers. So much could have happened. Nice you leave it up to us. Dammit. 😉
What a dangerous lady!
Great writing.
This is so touching. I know you’ve said to others you’ve left it open to interpretation. I had the feeling it’s her family she lost and can only allow herself to mourn once the clipping reminding her has gone too.
I know this feeling; of keeping something, a scrap, a memento, and losing it.
The feeling of loss is strong in this one.
Very touching.
How sad. I’m sure many of us keep clippings we’d miss a great deal if lost. Good writing as always, Claire. —- Suzanne