Waaaiiiit. What? I'm hoping I'm misinterpreting the storyline. Oh please please, tell me they didn't throw their child in the fire. Okay, now I need the "story behind the story." Ack!
Waaaiiiit. What? I'm hoping I'm misinterpreting the storyline. Oh please please, tell me they didn't throw their child in the fire. Okay, now I need the "story behind the story." Ack!
Oh, no! They didn't just throw their child into the fire... now I'm hastily re-reading. Eeeeek!
I had it as, "her hand was on her stomach" - signifying that we're talking about a baby.
"she should have sought help sooner, lives were ruined, the baby's was lost" - as in, she had problems with her pregnancy, didn't tell anyone, and without help she needed, the baby's life was lost.
"she turned away from the pyre." - a funeral pyre.
"goodbye, may you become one with the stars." - a farewell, hoping that his soul has gone to a better place.
Oh, man, second-guessing now, hoping that it didn't come across horribly! 😱
Oh! Thank you for the line-by-line explanation. That really helps.
Perhaps I'm the only person who read it that way. Who knows! But my understanding is that a funeral pyre is a fire on which a body is burned. Its basically a DIY crematorium. That's why I went there.
And of course, by the way, it is your story so if that was where you were going I would have accepted it. But boy are words powerful. My hair stood on end when I read this story!
Oh, yes, the child's body was burned via the pyre. Sorry, the way you wrote it I thought you meant something along the lines of, "fling body, alright, we're done here!" ... and I was just, "Eeek! No! It's not that horrible and heartless is it?"
Whew!! 😅
In my head, I was imagining either a time centuries years ago or perhaps one of those random fantasy-medieval worlds, the body was laid down peacefully, the fire comes to life, a few emotional minutes of silence as the mother laments what she considers her mistake, but no one else blames her, it's just her self berating herself.
It's probably one of those things that may need a few more than 50 words. 😬
Yes, in fact I think most 50-word “stories” are the tip of the iceberg. They are so often that pivotal moment in what we can only imagine is a much larger and far more complex saga. Who knows, maybe you will one day write the story around this vignette. In the context of a longer story, it would be incredibly powerful. Need to check out your novel in progress. I have not had a chance as yet.