One of my absolute favourite bloggers, the wonderfully witty and tremendously talented Sarah Brentyn, has very generously decided to raise awareness, and at the same time some money, for the victims of the deadly hurricanes which blew their way through the Caribbean recently.

Her idea is to offer $1 (up to $50) for every piece of flash fiction, of no more than fifty words, on the theme of HELP, that we post and then share on her site.

You can read her post here, and contribute your own piece if you like.

I don’t usually do this. In fact I have never written anything in less than a hundred words, except perhaps rare Christmas cards sent to far-flung relatives.

But there’s a first for everything.

So here is my contribution, based on a moment I really spent with a young, pony-mad girl many years ago.

Her face in my lap was the colour of ash. Pain-darkened eyes pleaded with mine.

“Will they be able to fix it quickly?”

“Of course they will”, I lied. “They’re on their way.”

My eyes smiled down at hers, carefully avoiding looking at the tiny arm, broken in two.

Strangely, I enjoyed writing this more than I had imagined. Thanks Sarah for the opportunity to try something a little different. And for your generosity.

Photo courtesy of the NASA, from Sarah’s site.