Today is my birthday, or that’s what they tell me. I don’t know the exact date I was born. No one here does. We’ve always just existed behind the cold, damp gate of Greystone Orphanage. The guards tell us stories of birthday celebrations—sweet foods that melt in your mouth, wax sticks lit to count the years, large rubber balls filled with air that rise above the ceiling.
Sam tried to escape on his birthday. He wanted to eat until his stomach burst, listen to loving parents sing and rehash the triumphant day they brought him home. He wanted an Iron Man toy. He didn’t know what it was, only hoped it would break through these iron bars, setting him free.
His frail body slithered through the rusted bars of the window— he was the only one tall enough to reach it. We heard a splash, then silence. Seven moons later, Becca came back from the infirmary, said she saw Sam on a board missing his right shoulder.
The guards don’t speak of birthday parties anymore.
word count: 175
—Nortina
Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers is a weekly challenge where you write a story in 100-150 words (give or take 25 words) using the provided photo prompt as inspiration.
Click on the froggy icon to read other stories and add your own!
Lovely Curses 
Great story! What an awful place for an orphanage. Those poor kids.
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It is a sad place for innocent children to be. Escape should not equal death. Thanks for reading!
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Very sad, but great story! I think the guards were very cruel in adding to their misery of not having anything they wanted, especially food, and the fact that someone cares enough for them to celebrate their birth.
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Yes, one has to question the guards’ motivations. Are they there to torment the children, giving them a glimpse of a life they’ll never have beyond those walls, or were their intentions humane and sincere? Thanks for reading!
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Phew! ~ An excellent twist at the end of an excellent response 🙂 Great work Nortina!
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A truly saddening tale. It is as if Alcatraz was in fact an Orphanage.
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You got me. I never expected that ending! Great flash!!!
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It’s so heartbreaking but story of bravery. Great piece
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hi, thy – too tired to write an Essay …. but thy! annamaria curi56blog
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Oh my gosh Nortina, how sad! Wonderful story told, but so dang sad! Glad it’s fiction! Thank you for writing for FFfAW! I appreciate you participating each week. And I ALWAYS enjoy reading your wonderful stories!
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Thanks so much! It’s always fun participating and putting my own little twist on each photo prompt. 😉
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That’s what it is about – having fun. 😀
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