Short Stories

Gun Fired Hope

A dull breeze lingered around the small village in which a young girl and her family lived. A black canvas with little white specks hovered above the village. A mother was saying their goodnight to their young children and sang them to sleep. The father was baking bread to prepare for the upcoming day of their bakery. Eventually, the parents left for slumber. 

It was around midnight when what sounded like gunfire echoed throughout the lone streets of the village, startling everyone awake. The parents were quite worried and afraid of what was going on and quickly looked out from the window of their bedroom. There were soldiers on horseback trotting through the village stopping at every home. When they entered one, the family could hear the terrifying screams and the sobbing of children before a few shots were heard. Then silence.

The parents quickly realized what was happening and ran to their children's room and awoke their daughter, who happened to be the oldest. They told her to take her brother and go to the hidden room down below. She was confused but did as she was told. The father quickly ran to the kitchen and got the bread he baked earlier and gave them to their daughter. 

"You'll be safe in here. Promise me you'll take care of yourself and your brother for me please," their mother begged.

"Of course I will. What's going on? Why aren't you coming in with us?" The daughter rambled in panic.

"Remember that we'll love you always." and with that, the door was shut and locked. They covered it with a chair.

The door to the bakery slammed open and two heavy sets of footsteps could be heard stomping in. The sound of arguing rang through the bakery. The soldiers grabbed their arms and shoved them outside and onto the streets. The mother begged for their lives as one does but made sure not to mention their children in case of them going back in to look for them. The soldiers ignored the begs of their poor mother and aimed their weapons. With one final plea from the mother and father, two shots were heard and then silence. 

Terror still rang throughout the village, but not for long. After ten minutes the last cry was heard, then silence. Complete silence. Not even the horses and soldiers were heard. The soldiers were sent by their ruler to eliminate the entire village. But little did they know, two still very young children stay hidden amongst the mass, still very much alive. 

The young girl started shoving the door, trying to get it open. She failed, looking around the tiny room, she found an axe. Using the axe to chop a small hole through the door. She carefully picked her younger sibling up and crawled through the tiny hole through the door she made. She was confused about why the house was empty and everything was cluttered. She walked over to a chair and placed the younger on and smiled to herself as he was still asleep.

But where were her parents? Outside tending to the garden? She went over and peeked out of one of the windows. Bodies of their neighbors, friends,...parents littered the streets. All had a tiny stream of blood running down their bodies. A terrible shrill left her lungs, waking the sleeping boy. Tears running down her face as she hugged her crying brother as he was all she had left in the world.

(w/c- 579)