Casualty
“Allah the merciful,” Malem
wailed. “Bombs destroyed the children’s schoolhouse. Nothing remains but
rubble. Inshallah. Why did you take the innocents?” Paul Scerri
Emptiness brought unendurable anguish. His soul wept. Unanswered prayers were like an empty well
with no water. Wrinkled fingers touched his tearful eyes. He kicked a shattered
brick.
Faith failed and bitterness
lingered like an unwanted shadow. How did religion lose its meaning? Crippling
doubt destroyed his beliefs.
He fell to his knees, raised
two fists full of sand, and watched the tiny grains fall like the children he
failed to save. “I shall pray no more.”
Victor Paul Scerri
Victor Paul Scerri lives in Thailand. New to
writing, Victor's "Wall" was recently published by Flash Fiction
Friday.