(100-word flash fiction)
It is Holi. The neighbourhood youth are gathering logs and twigs for the bonfire.
She takes her wedding sari out and weeps into it. Endless pain after years of abuse comes pouring out, soaking the red silk into a dull-blood burgundy.
The lit bonfire is steadily growing.
She takes the mangal-sutra off her neck and tucks it into the soggy sari.
The fire is a roaring beast, flicking tongues of pure flame.
She walks to the bonfire and tosses the sari into it.
–
Elsewhere, her husband, quite by accident, trips on a naked, high-voltage wire and fries to death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The festival of Holi begins on the night before when a bonfire is lit and people perform rituals in front of it. The name comes from the mythological story in which the demoness Holika is burnt to death by Lord Vishnu and symbolises the triumph of good over evil. It takes place at the end of winter and a deeper meaning suggests getting rid of all internal, unwanted garbage (the diseased, decaying and dead) in us, so that we can welcome the oncoming spring purged and fresh. Holi – or the festival of colours begins the next morning with the smearing of colour on each other in a friendly, playful, and relaxed atmosphere. The many hues of colour signify the new, emerging colours of spring. It is also harvest season and the time to meet and rejoice, end past conflicts and mend broken relationships.
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The mangal-sutra (literally meaning blessed thread) is tied around the bride’s neck by the groom during the wedding. A Hindu married woman wears it until she dies or becomes a widow.
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It’s Wednesday night and time for the weekly Friday Fictioneers fix. Thanks Rochelle for being such a champ and hosting it every week and for faithfully reading ALL our stories 🙂
Photo prompt –
PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Just Joyfulness 
Very well-crafted storyline. Beautifully woven tale.
Thanks Esha. Glad you liked it.
Evocative and powerful! Loved it , Joyful.
Thanks Moon. Very happy that you loved it 🙂
A lot of history and knowledge wrapped within this story. Very well done. You make me want to more into this, for curiosity reasons.
Thanks Miles. … and she lived happily ever after 🙂
Dear Joyful,
Divine justice served it seems. So much emotion and layered story bound with a mangal-sutra. I love it.
I do have a question for you. How did you get from the prompt to this story? Mind you, I love it when a writer isn’t literally bound to a photo. I’m geniunely curious. (As far as I’m concerned, the rules are followed as long as the prompt is posted 😉 )
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks for the praise Rochelle. To be honest I had the same thought about your story but then I was reminded oh Thoreau’s quote. For me the light glowing in the surrounding darkness reminded me of the Holi bonfire 😊
Sounds like she should have done this a lot sooner and he got what he deserved. Powerful writing.
Thanks Iain. For a lot of women leaving is hard.
A very powerful image you have created. A bonfire of dreams and hopes. Extremely well written.
Thanks so much Neel.
Very well crafted tale there, JJ. Well done.
Thanks Varad for your kind comments.
Love the symbolism of removing her mangal-sutra – a telling part of the tale. I wonder if she already knows she’s a widow or has just decided enough is enough? Lovely contrast of personal drama amid the celebrations and a nice take on the prompt
I wonder the same, Lynn! Actually, that’s a fib. I’m sure she knew!
Thanks Penny. She probably did on some deep unconscious level. 🙂
Thanks Lynn. According to meta physics, we are all connected on some deep level.
Lovely idea 🙂
Thanks for an informative, well-written tale. I’m glad she’s free and I’m glad she got rid of the trappings that tied her to such an evil man.
Thanks Alicia. Very true!
That’s a good story, with so much implied rather than spoken. Thank you so much for the notes, which gave westerners like me enough cultural background to understand some of the implications.
Thanks Penny. I felt some explanation was needed to understand the symbolism.
Fitting end to a despicable abuser! Great story!
Thanks so much!
Sari and abusive husband both burn. Fitting.
True! 🙂
Loved that ending. Hate domestic violence.
Me too. Thanks very much!
I like to think she finds out that she is truly free after her ceremonial freedom…
Yes, for some women, the mangal-sutra can feel like a noose 😦
This was incredible, both in terms of the story and how you’ve written it, but also becaus eof all the culture and history you’ve fused into it. It was an experience.
I ran a bit late with mine this week and am right down the bottom so here’s a wlink: https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2017/08/17/minding-the-dog-friday-fictioneers/
xx Rowena
Thanks for the praise, Rowena. This week has been hectic and I plan to catch up on all the stories, leisurely, on the weekend. I promise 🙂
This week has been weird for me. I do family history at a fairly deep and social level and was contacted by a distant family member and found out I have an extended family of Indiginous Australians, in addition to my Irish roots. It’s been fascinating.
Wow! Very fascinating! Are you planning to go meet them?
I would like to. At the moment, I’ve been in contact with a third party and he has made any suggestion about meeting up. However, I’m going to send out some feelers. I’d also like to put some feelers out in Ireland. Much of my family came from Cork and I have a feeling they’re interconnected going back.
Meeting members of both branches of your family sounds exciting. I hope you do get to meet them at some point. I’m sure it will be life-altering.
Thanks.
Such an evocative and powerful story. Emotions cleansed by water (tears) and fire (hatred). The divine retribution at the end was a good (bad) twist. Thanks for posting, joyfulness, I found your story uplifting!
Thanks Kelvin. Very insightful of you to pick up on the subtle symbolism. Glad you found it uplifting 🙂
You put this story together so well, plus I enjoyed learning about differing cultures and history.
Thanks Michael 🙂
I really enjoyed this… had only heard about the color in Holi before…
Thanks Bjorn. The bonfire night is the actual Holi. The color festival is called Rang Panchami but they go together.
Is the tossing of the sari the cause or effect?? This was excellent.
Thanks Sarah. Could be either or both 🙂
I like how this was crafted using two POV. Nicely done.
Thanks 🙂
A bonfire of her hopes of happy marital life gone awry and beginning of life afresh. very well crafted against the background the the Indian festival and ritual.
http://ideasolsi65.blogspot.in/2017/08/phobia.html
Thanks Kalpana.
Nice take on the prompt, Joy. I like the emotions connected plus the metaphor. Excellent.
An interesting piece. I always love a history lesson.
Whao, what an ending, I didn’t see that coming. Great story. The added information makes it even better. I find it interesting how the purpose of Holi resembles our Carnival or Fasching we have here. It’s the same principle, drive out old and evil spirits, celebrate spring by dressing up, being merry, sometimes a bit too merry…
Where is Fasching celebrated?
That’s what it’s called in Bavaria. In other parts of Germany it’s called Fasnacht, Karneval, Fasnet… I don’t even know all the names.