Each week we have to submit an eTivity (a piece of flash writing of no more than 250 words) and a final piece of 750-1000 words. So I plan to post each week's piece here to have a record of what I've done and to keep me on task with regular posting.
1944
The warm hall was welcoming after the chill wind outside. The dance floor gleamed after its last application of sawdust. Trestle tables around the edges of the hall groaned with an abundance of food while large teapots were already being filled.
Shirley sat out three dances while pondering whether coming here was a good idea. This was her first night out since Colin had disappeared over Germany and she still felt guilty about leaving her elderly parents.
A group of RAAF boys approached; one of them shyly asked Shirley to dance. He seemed so ill at ease that she took pity on him and agreed. Fortunately the dance floor was crowded so she heard only a few of his two left feet excuses.
When the bracket finished Shirley thankfully sat and enjoyed just talking. Alick confided his continual homesickness, how he missed farm life but also how he longed to travel overseas with the RAAF.
She responded by telling him about her only brother who went to England as an RAF navigator; about the devastating telegram last August which changed her life forever; about how her family now lived in a house weighed down with grief.
Over supper the young couple continued to chat. Shirley wanted to get to know him better while Alick was quietly surprised that this sophisticated city girl was interested in him.
The evening ended quickly. They parted with promises to meet again next week. Along with the other girls Shirley piled on to the 10.30 bus as the young airmen set off on their frosty walk back to Fairbairn RAAF Base.
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ReplyDeleteOmg! Did she see him again? What happened next?
ReplyDeleteStayed tuned for the next exciting episode Louise :-).
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