I'm pretty happy with this week's Flash! Friday. We were given this:
Since the photo shows the base of the Statue of Liberty -- and Gustave Eiffel helped with its construction -- I considered tying it to my Eiffel book. But then I went in another direction, and wrote "The Great Flood."
When the Great Flood comes, you alone will be spared the pain.
If he was not meant to preserve the
human race, why did his parents name him Noah, like the architect of
the ark? It had to be his destiny. But this flood would be
different from the first one, the voice had said. A boat would not
withstand the roiling seas. He would need to find a way to rise above
it.
The neighbors' derision rolled off his
back like the sweat of his noble labors. When the tower grew so tall
as to threaten to scrape heaven, Noah stopped building.
And he waited.
After forty days and forty nights –
or maybe it was two – his wife joined him.
"Honey, it's time to come down,"
she said gently.
"But the voice said the oceans
would rise."
"What voice?"
"The voice in the magic box."
"You mean the piece about global
warming we heard on NPR? Noah, you need help," she said, her
cheeks stained by tears which had flowed for forty days and forty
nights. Or maybe it was two.
Or perhaps years.
Noah looked at her. He said nothing. He
felt nothing.
When the Great Flood comes, you
alone will be spared the pain.
As an aside, if you go to the Flash! Friday site, right after mine is a story by Margaret Locke. (They're presented in time order, natch; hers was posted at 5:53 p.m.) I had contemplated nearly the same idea. Funny how that works out.
Please share your thoughts on "The Great Flood." And check back tomorrow for "The Soft Landing," my latest entry for the Janet Reid contest.
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