The Conversation 1936
Dad the winter is arriving and I don’t know what I should do. Mum’s turned to the Gin. Now the business is going bust. Mum just does not have the determination that you had. Lots of people owe us money. And now the world’s economy’s got into a mess. Mum is so kind and accepts people’s tale of woe. She’s been paying the suppliers bills but no cash is coming in. All your savings have gone. Nancy is always crying. Dad we miss you so much. Mary aged eight. Nancy aged five. Xxxxxxxx
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Devastating … I hope there will be something left for them to grow up on.
Times got worse but they all built new life’s in the end, but their dad, my grandfather, is not forgotten
Understand the desperation in the children’s voices all too well.
Times got worse, but they all built new life’s in the end. Their dad was never forgotten.
Oh, so sad, and yet happy for the outcome. One never forgets a loving parent. My ‘daddy’ may not have been my father, but he was my hero.
Pleased to hear that, loved your so brief story called Forever.
The thirties must have been terrible times to live through.
Sadly for so many people thats true. Things it never change. I met a gent today who lost everything he owned in a different crisis.
The world isn’t as huge as we like to think. And everything is linked. Even in the thirties, banks failing in one part of the world caused chaos everywhere. Dictators didn’t stay on their own patch, and no one would count on anyone else. Hasn’t changed much.
Sadly that is true, but there are lots of good people out there too.
Thank goodness!
Heartrending
Dear Michael,
Such a bittersweet story in the letter. Mum’s kind…we miss you. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you Rochelle appreciated.
The ages of the children makes this even more heartbreaking.
I agree young children are so powerless in these situations.
A nice read. Throws light on the years gone by.
I nearly always find it difficult to know which information to leave out in flash fiction, with this story there was so much more that might have been said, but that’s the challenge of FF
Hahaha, yes very true. It betters us as writers.
So true.
🙂
Very convincing voice – well done.
Thank you for the feedback, I was pleased to hear your thoughts about the voice,
I’ll have to leave the typos alone, then 😉
This was heartbreaking and too bloody close to home for me.
Dale I am sorry about typos, that is one of my major downfalls; messed up early education! The story was based in truth, excluding the names. Sorry about being close to home.
Nah… blame it on making it look like children wrote it!
Sad it is based on truth and yeah… I am living some of that right now… Ugh.
In truth I did not want to change the first draft. The wording did remind me of young children talking. I do hope that things improve for you.
Well done. You’ve captured the children’s voice realistically.
Thank you, It is the adult voices that often fox me
in mum’s case, sometimes selfishness can be a virtue.
Hi Plaridel, that is true.
Oh, what a tale! Sweet ad they come! Always the world takes advantage of the good!
Thanking you for your great comments, they are most welcome
I can see this playing out. People taking advantage of the grieving widow, and her turning to gin to drown her sorrows while the business goes to hell in a handbag. Very real.
Thank you Russell, bereavement is hard to manage at any time, the 1930s recession just made it much worse.
Heart-wrenching for children to feel so helpless. But glad to hear it turned out okay in the end. We grow with life’s challenges. Thanks for sharing a piece of your history.
Thank you Fatima, facing difficulties is part of life.
Oh dear! I do hope things turn around for these children. And the view looks great!
Thank you yuhu, in time life did improve a lot. The church is cared for and is surrounded by blossom at present, lovely
That’s lovely.
My heart broke for these children. Well done.
For a while their hearts were also broken, in time they built new life’s.
There is so much unsaid in this great story, and the voice is so believable. Reading in the comments that this is about your grandfather makes it even more poignant.
Thank you for your kind comments. I wish that I could recall and so record more of what I once knew about family history.
Poor little girls – they know far too mush of life’s woes already.
That is true, but they both used the experience to developed strong inner self character.
Sad, in that this was from your life.
It was sad, but in the end it made the family stronger.
This tugged at my heartstrings. Great writing.
Thank you for letting me understand how this story came across.
You are most welcome.