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RE: When Embers Become Stars
Oh! Thank you for the line-by-line explanation. That really helps.
Perhaps I'm the only person who read it that way. Who knows! But my understanding is that a funeral pyre is a fire on which a body is burned. Its basically a DIY crematorium. That's why I went there.
And of course, by the way, it is your story so if that was where you were going I would have accepted it. But boy are words powerful. My hair stood on end when I read this story!
Oh, yes, the child's body was burned via the pyre. Sorry, the way you wrote it I thought you meant something along the lines of, "fling body, alright, we're done here!" ... and I was just, "Eeek! No! It's not that horrible and heartless is it?"
Whew!! 😅
In my head, I was imagining either a time centuries years ago or perhaps one of those random fantasy-medieval worlds, the body was laid down peacefully, the fire comes to life, a few emotional minutes of silence as the mother laments what she considers her mistake, but no one else blames her, it's just her self berating herself.
It's probably one of those things that may need a few more than 50 words. 😬
Yes, in fact I think most 50-word “stories” are the tip of the iceberg. They are so often that pivotal moment in what we can only imagine is a much larger and far more complex saga. Who knows, maybe you will one day write the story around this vignette. In the context of a longer story, it would be incredibly powerful. Need to check out your novel in progress. I have not had a chance as yet.