Alyssa Devine is the Readers’ Choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. The winning entry is decided by the popular vote and rewarded with a special feature here today. (In the case of a tie, the writer who submitted an entry first is the winner per our rules.)
Without further ado, here’s the winning story:
Window
by Alyssa Devine
Time meant little to Elizabeth. After all, she’d been coming to the window every afternoon for more than ten years. Waiting. Watching. Praying to catch sight of William Conner, the love of her life. They had met while attending high school in Bridgeport, and, were it not for the War to End All Wars, would have married August 13, 1917, a week after the United States entered WWI. It was not to be.
Driven by patriotism, William had enlisted in the Army. Following basic training, he returned home to say goodbye to Elizabeth. In the bandstand near the lake, dressed in his khaki uniform, he spoke of his undying love while Elizabeth barely uttered a word through her tears. The thought of losing him was more than she could bear. If they were to have a life together in Bridgeport, they both knew it would have to wait until the war was over.
Then, he was gone. As part of the American Expeditionary Forces, William and his fellow soldiers bolstered the French and British forces who had suffered four years of a bloody stalemate across the entire Western Front. In the end, the Battle of the Argonne Forest was so catastrophic that William’s division suffered devastating casualties, with thousands of America’s bravest left to be buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Military Cemetery. Alas, Master Sergeant William Conner, 53rd Infantry Brigade, 27th Division, US Army, MIA, is not among them.
But still, Elizabeth watched and waited for his return.
Hooray for Alyssa! Great job-another terrific story for her. 🙂