This piece was written for the Six Sentence Challenge, with the prompt word of ‘shelter’.
Note: No jokes this week.
As the rising wail of the air raid sirens echoed through the night, Maisie was well-prepared with blankets, a torch, and other essential supplies and thanked God once again that her children had been billeted in the countryside while her essential work in the War Office continued.
She walked as swiftly as is possible to the air raid shelter that was her nearest Tube station, which would protect her and hundreds of others from everything but a direct hit.
After the usual initial shuffling for a place, supervised by the air raid wardens, Maisie made up her bed, alternately dozing fitfully and chatting with those nearest her about their children, their men on the front line and ration books.
When the all-clear sounded, she ascended into the smoke-filled hazy morning light and picked her way home through the rubble and the firemen, desperately trying to save houses and rescue trapped people who hadn’t got out in time.
As she walked, she mentally totted up what ration coupons she had left, wondered if her husband, Tommy, was safe and started drafting in her head a letter to the children.
When she arrived at her home, it had no roof and one wall had started to crumble but so did her life when she realised looters, with no-one around to stop them, had already taken everything of value and, for the first time that night, she allowed herself to weep.
Six Crooked Highways 
A very sad time 🙁
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Indeed.
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Not quite the ‘spirit of the blitz’. Well told, Doug. 🙂
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Thanks, Chris. It certainly wasn’t and it was rife.
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Good description of trying to survive while damage is being done by both foreign and domestic enemies.
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Indeed. Thanks, Frank.
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beautifully donen yet tragic
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Thanks, UP
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A powerful Six! Bravo!
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Many thanks, Susan.
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The history of war should not be repeated.
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Indeed, Romi.
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Oh my…heartbreaking…and told with a powerful eloquence! Bravo!
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Many thanks, Zelda. Can’t hear that name without thinking of Zelda from ‘Dobie Gillis’. Sheila Kuehl, the actor who player her, went on to have a distinguished career as an openly gay politician. https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Zelda_Gilroy
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I don’t recall Dobie Gillis…but of course I know of Zelda Fitzgerald…in my case, there was a guy who sat beside me in English class who always called me Zelda. It’s not my born name…I don’t why he called me that…he never made conversation, just greeted me everyday: “hi Zelda”. Crazy youth 🙂
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Maybe he imagined himself as the next F. Scott but was too shy to make a pass. 🙂
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Hahahaha! 🙂
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Tragic on so many levels. Excellent piece Doug, with that tenderness and bravery from the POV of the woman. The piece was all the more powerful to me after my own Six this week on a similar theme… I never stopped to consider the aspect of looters during the raids. How low humanity can go in the face of opportunistic thievery, when humanity was already at its lowest point then anyway.
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Many thanks, TAM. The highs and lows of humans are unfathomable. We occasionally get this sort of behaviour after bushfires from idiots who forget that country people tend to own guns. 😉
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Eloquent telling of a story that should not be forgotten. One day man will learn from past mistakes, past horrors and not repeat them. Maybe. One day.
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Of course, Denise. Just keep taking the tablets. 😉
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And we think we live in difficult times.
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We do, Keith, but the difficulties just keep changing.
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Incredibly sad…and it never ends, does it?
Poignant telling, Doug.
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It is, Liz. Thanks for the compliment.
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Hard-hitting six, Doug. The truth behind the myth often is. And when war is concerned, the myths are often part of the its glorification. Good to tell the truth.
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Thanks, Jenne. And you make an excellent point.
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Such a sad story for a man of humor. I FINALLY got my review written for Amazon. I added it to my post today. https://alwayswrite.blog/2022/01/23/late-night-sunday-stills-wild-eyed-coffee-share-of-one-of-my-memorable-vacations-for-lapc/ I hope you like it. I really enjoyed your book. 🙂
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Another powerful and convincing piece, beautifully told
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Many thanks, Aba.
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I thought you were going to make a bomb fall on her. Too bad about selfish people too, of course.
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How could you think such a thing of a gentle soul like me. Chel? 🙂
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🤷♀️ Must just be me…
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