Amaranth set the damp, curling poster upright, next to the over-flowing garbage cans. Too full, for memories.
She wiped her brow. In the mid-morning heat, the stench of mildew rose from every crack and crevice.
Hard to believe, but the river had been this high, this time yesterday.
Now, content within its banks, it ran merrily along, downstream. A naughty child, who has gotten away with murder.
The black-and-white poster dated from Amaranth’s Abbey days, when her faith gushed forth. An uncontainable flood.
But who could justify such caprice?
God’s will was anybody’s guess.
Hope drained from her, like water.
I’ve never experienced a serious flood. Your story has given me a vivid picture of the aftermath, and I hope I never do have to experience it.
Thanks granonine. Sorry to have put you through that!😊
“A naughty child, who has gotten away with murder.” What a perfect image of the aftermath and her resentment. I am surprised that more people didn’t pick up on the flood idea. It seems obvious, now that I’ve read your story 🙂
Thank you, Eugenia. It’s amazing what high crimes go unpunished, these days, for want of a human culprit.
Dear Andrea,
Losing faith is a sad place to be. Well written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle.
Now, content within its banks, it ran merrily along, downstream. A naughty child, who has gotten away with murder.
WAY back when, the Platte river overflowed its banks in Denver and flooded our church. This line reminds me of that time, cleaning the stinking mud out of the basement. Well done.
Thanks Alice. Flood damage can be so heartbreaking and ruinous. Sorry you had to go through that. Children can be cruel.
Water saturates this story of a person with a drowning spirit. Well-done.
Thanks msj!
You’re welcome, Andrea!
She needs to go with the flow, knowing the Earth will do what it will!
Loved this.
Thanks Dale. Love all the terms to describe liquidity!
🙂
We had bad floods in the UK in January, seems so long ago now as other events have taken over! 2020 really has been a bad year so far!
That must have been awful Iain! Hope things are on the upswing from now on!
The world has certainly taken a toll on Amaranth.
It sure has, draliman!
An excellent piece of micro-fiction, very effective, particularly the stench of mildew.
Deeply thought provoking, Andrea!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Thank you, Susan. Id love to hear which thoughts I’ve provoked with this one!
Fires in Australia, locusts in Africa, and plague throughout the land. Maybe we should start building an ark? 🤔
Haha Brad. Good to insert a little levity these days. 😊
I’m with you on the apocalyptic feel to the past year.
If you’re so-minded, you can see any disaster as God’s will. The tectonic shifts that create earthquakes and volcanos are part of how the planet regulates itself as a system and part of how soil quality is regenerated. Hope doesn’t have to die, but it needs a long view
You are so right that the Earth’s processes have their own internal logic, though it can be hard to appreciate from a human-eye-view.
Just trying to capture the internal monologue of a person, who oce possessed great faith, at a moment, when hope seems very far away.