A World in Flames
May 6th 1944: Minnie distractedly sipped her milk; she wasn’t left with much of an appetite after the latest air raid. Her mind swirled with images of her two little brothers lying still on the floor. She knew her imagination was just filling her mind with unfounded worry. This in fact was the last day of the term. “Just perfect, Minnie had thought to herself, a raid on the very last day”. The girls and boys of her year were laughing as they worked dedicatedly on a group project. The boys were forming a picture frame out of metal as the girls worked to make a quilt out of their old school kilts. They were going to wrap the frame in the cloth and place a photo of their year in the frame. The alarm screeched, and the children shuffled disorderly into the hall of the 1st year’s wing. It was dark and gloomy in the sad chamber without windows. Then they heard it. It demolished the Earth and the farm a couple of roads down. The screams of terrified sheep roared but soon blended with the yells of children. Another one. Landed on the trees, which burst into flame with ease, becoming a wildfire infecting every plant or crop in sight. Minnie prayed to the Lord, “Oh Heavenly Father, please, oh please, protect my little brothers. They have so much life still to live, and I can’t bear to live without them! Please protect my mum and daddy; I pray that the bombs never reach town. I plead with you, Lord Almighty! I’ll sacrifice anything! Anything! Please!”. The flames had reached the school. Minnie pulled the gas mask on and immediately ran to the nursery teacher to snatch Bobby, and together they attempted to navigate the flames and the chaos. People flooded the doors in despair. The air was hot and overwhelmingly loud. Screams drowned out any room for thought as the pair reached the 1st year’s teacher, who was shepherding the students out the doors. Minnie held a death grip on Malcolm and Bobby as she sprinted for safety. The mob of drooping faces was a maze as everyone relied on their gas masks desperately to ensure their safety. She knew the route so well, even the blinding smoke couldn’t slow her down. Instead of running into her home, she led her brothers to the stream just past her house. They waded into the water and watched as the billows of smoke engulfed the sky into a thick gray blanket. The fire crew rolled in to douse the barbaric flames. After the fire had been tamed, the children shivered back up the hill and into their house. A few pieces of shrapnel had hit the siding, but the majority of it remained alright. Minnie thanked God for the protection and for having a house a good distance away. Minnie drew a hot bath for her brothers and began chopping vegetables for a hot stew. After she took a small bit of the meat ration and tossed it into the pot, Minnie took a bath herself. The three children sat and waited for their parents to arrive home from town after daddy’s sermon. They would have to witness the disastrous state the fields were in, but thanks to Minnie, the siblings were safe for now.