Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and first piece of flash fiction in this series. This week’s piece is a 181-worder by Joy V Smith. This story will be podcasted in episode 32 (with three other stories) on Sunday 6th October.
Triumph
Almost home. He could see it in the distance; it gave him hope as he staggered on. The rest of his troop lay miles behind him. Only he’d escaped. They’d let him go for some reason. He whimpered and kept his gaze fixed straight ahead – home, where he’d be safe.
The war – he could hardly remember why he’d led his men out to the glory of battle. He barely remembered the scene when he’d left the castle – his mother fastening her scarf to his left sleeve and Helene tying her scarf to his right gauntlet. The scarves had been colorful; he could see that in his mind, but those colors paled in comparison to the bright scales of the dragons they fought. He whimpered again.
Home now – the courtyard. He fell full length and his head rested on the cobblestones. The length of his neck made it easy for the old castle guard to limp forward and hack off his head. His body shimmered then and resumed its human form. The women staring out from the safety of the battlements screamed…
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I asked Joy what prompted this piece and she said…
I was thinking about war and what triumph could mean from different perspectives, and I threw in some irony.
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It was, as true flash fiction is, so powerful is such a short amount of words. Thank you, Joy.
Joy was born on a farm in Wisconsin and still love barns and the smell of silage (“an acquired taste,” she says). She lived in Boston after graduating from college, and is now back in Florida (not retired) where she spent some of her childhood.
After selling wildlife habitat in the country, she bought a foreclosure earlier this year and had to replace the kitchen, among other things. They’d even taken the kitchen sink! Thanks to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which takes place each November, Joy’s now written three novels. She has three blogs:
- Her writing blog: http://pagadan.wordpress.com
- Her media blog: http://pagadan.livejournal.com
- Her house blog: http://pagadan.blogspot.com
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If you’d like to submit your 6-word or 500-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here, or up to 2,000 words for critique on my Online Short Story Writing Group (links below).
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We look forward to reading your comments.
Morgen 'with an E' Bailey 
Good piece Joy.
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Thanks, Laurie.
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Always welcome Joy.
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Third time tried to leave a comment for some reason error message keeps coming up. enjoyed this and thanks for sharing Joy, loved the ending. Good luck with your renovations, rather you than me! 🙂 Thanks Morgen.
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Jane, thanks for persevering! (Hmm. I could swear I’d already replied. Something eats comments here and there…)
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Joy, It’s difficult to recall a time when the United States wasn’t involved in some war somewhere. War seems to turn those fighting it into something no longer resembling human beings. Your piece reflects a weariness with this seemingly endless cycle of violence and bloodshed.
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Great to see you all here. Thank you, everyone.
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Lawrence: Yes–and the thought proccesses behind promoting war. (Weary and annoyed with war in general, but not a pacifist.)
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