PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll

Black dust stained her fingers where they trailed along the charred remains of a school desk. Upturned chairs and tables, half a chalkboard dangling from one corner. She could almost hear the screams and the deafening silence that followed. Some dead, others injured, too weak to make a sound. Weak sunlight glinted off a shard of glass in the window, and seeped into her heart. Hope.

Outside, men shouted instructions to one another. Women wheelbarrowed in bricks. Rebuild. Moving on. Together.

82 words

I do not know if war will ever end. But I do know that love will never die, cannot be killed, cannot be maimed; Love survives.

My story this week is about the good that survives through the bad, that in fact realises its power through the evil that tries to smother it.

Written for Friday Fictioneers hosted by the lovely Rochelle, where we’re challenged to write flash fiction in 100 words or less. They say that the creating the best art, and writing included, is more about leaving out the unnecessary than about what you allow to appear on the page. Less is more.

Click the frog, or click here,  to read more incredible flash fiction or 30 second reads.