Flash Friday Fiction: Fire In The Belly

train_wreck_at_montparnasse_1895
Train wreck at Montparnasse, 1895. Public domain photo.

Fire In The Belly – 208 words

It wasn’t the first time she’d survived a train wreck.

At seven, she’d watched her father drown in the bottle. At twenty-one, she’d done the same.

Clean two years later, she’d found The One. They’d set a date. July 21st. Then he’d set his sights on someone else.

He hadn’t known she was pregnant. Seven months after he’d left, their son arrived. 7:21 a.m. Stillborn.

She never told him. Never told anyone. She’d returned to the bottle, returned to the battle.

The eviction notice fell from her fingers. How had she let it happen? No job. Now no home.

She couldn’t help but feel she’d been here before. The same mistakes. The same helplessness. The same anger. She always returned here.

She studied the bottle in her hand. The invitation still tacked to her wall. The sonogram pictures stashed carefully behind it.

She smashed the bottle. Tore the invitation in half. Tears streaming down her face, she packed away the pictures. The memories. The pain.

She was tired of bringing up the rear, tired of life constantly derailing her.

She lit the suitcase on fire.

It was time for a new course.

She’d build her own tracks. She’d become her own engineer.

She walked out.

Smiling.


This week we had to combine the photo prompt with the theme of deja vu in crafting a tale of 200 (+/-10) words. What do you think of my effort? I admit, I’m not quite satisfied with it, but hey, sometimes that happens when you only have a short time to craft a story – even if the story itself is short (very short).

Hop aboard on over to Flash Friday Fiction, where you can check out the other offerings, and hopefully leave a comment or two. Or, you know, write your own story!