The light filtering in from the skylight kept her alive.
It was 1971, the year of war and the year of blackouts. At night, the window was covered with a black paper to avoid light filtering out. She longed to see the moon, but heard the drones of aircraft flying low. What if they dropped a bomb? She would see a last brilliant flash of light, before moving into eternal darkness.
Her soul was happy today, though she could not carry out physical acts like a hearty laugh. How silly was her vision then? How peaceful and bright is death….
Creative Experiments and More 
I felt caught up in the experience of your character, who seems so sanguine about the prospect of death, in the midst of a fire fight. But I could not help but wonder, what war did you have in mind?
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There was an Indo-Pak war in 1971, when Bangladesh was created. I vaguely remember the blackouts – skylights being covered with dark paper and no street lights.
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Thank you for sharing your experience, and for the clarification. 😊
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A bomb did not fall, and I’m still alive 🙂
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Your modified and fictionalized experience, I mean!😊
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Yes 🙂
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Fascinating take on the prompt, I did not find it chilling but sad.
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Agree. Thanks, Michael!
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I liked that, a glimpse beyond death perhaps, I always thought when I was little I’d take a video camera with me so I could record it and show folk what its like. We all know this will never happen.
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There are people who have out-of-body experience (OBE), but they can’t carry cameras 😀
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I know that’s what I thought when I was young, thought I could outwit death!
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Chilling story! Must have endured some tough times during war.
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War is not easy on anyone, other than arms dealers and political heads.
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A compelling and thought-provoking story. Well written!
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Thank you so much!
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I didn’t find it chilling. It had a certain tranquility to it. Maybe because she shows us that death is simply a transition into that eternal peace and joy. Although getting there can be quite scary, as depicted in your story, with the bombs.
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Agree. I look forward to death as a tranquil, liberating experience.
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Someone did drop a bomb that took her life! Too bad we can experience what she is feeling.
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Thank you, Abhijit!
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I can’t imagine what that must have been like. A thought-provoking piece indeed.
Here’s my story.
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Thank you, Keith!
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This was terrifying and chilling. Well told.
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Thank you, Nobbin!
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Powerful! I have friends who lived through blackouts in London’s Blitz and they speak of the sense of isolation and eerie entombment that comes with it. Having lived briefly, too, as a child, through blackout, not in London but in war, I can understand it and can only imagine how it would be if it was a long term thing.
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Thank you, Na’ama!
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Chilling and a really good story. What it must have been like… so scary.
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Thank you so much!
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Chilling ending!
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Thank you! It is liberation at the end.
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I could feel the sadness in the piece.
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Thank you, Colline!
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That’s a very powerful and very satisfying story, Reena
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Thank you so much, Neil!
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