“for whom the bell tolls”

~ Angie Lin

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In the front pew of the chapel, Ally-Ann O’Keefe and her husband Rudolf hugged their two remaining children, little Sally and little Sam. The couple sobbed at the sight of the chapel stage, which was adorned with multicolored bouquets, smiling portraits of six-year-old Susan, and the painful absence of a coffin.

Sally and Sam fidgeted beneath their parents’ protective grasps, sensing some atmosphere of grief but not fully comprehending it. And why was Suzy’s picture out in front? Where was she anyway? Some sixth sense in their guts told them the third triplet certainly wasn’t nearby.

And they were right. 5,000 miles away, in the small town of Praline, Ohio, a fruit merchant unlocked his truck to find a young girl, covered in grapes and reeking of excrement, sitting on the floor of his truckbed.

Words: 134. For this week’s prompt. Whoopdy doo. Didn’t know what to name the story so ha! Take some Ernest Hemingway, who I haven’t even read. Yes, I am a literary piece of trash.

The corresponding piece/sequel: “the ghosts of miners hill“.

✪ Angie

23 thoughts on ““for whom the bell tolls””

  3. Great story! You capture the grief of the parents and bewilderment of the children really well, with a great sense of relief at the end. I hope little Suzy is reunited with her family soon. 🙂

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  4. A very well written story, Angie. I particularly like the way you focus on the incomprehession of the two children at the atmosphere of grief in the chapel. The ending brings the sense of relief that Suzy is still alive…but there’s always that possibility that the fruit merchant knew all too well what he’d find when he unlocked his trunk. 🙂

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    1. Not particularly. I have bits and pieces of a story, but they aren’t cause-and-effect by any means. There’s a related flash fiction story called “the ghosts of miners hill” that is set 10 years after this one. I suppose I could write this up as an entire mini novel, though… now that the idea’s in my head… ✪

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