Flash Fiction: The Explosion

It was the evening time and I was sitting in school in my mum’s classroom while she was at a parent’s teacher evening in the assembly hall.  She dragged me along as she did not want to leave me in the house with my sister in case we fought.  It was weird being at school in the evening with none of my classmates around, and it was dark and eerie without the usual sound of loads of school children around.  I was feeling a bit scared.

But that scared feeling was about to get ten times worse.  There I was playing on the computer minding my own business when the school shook and there was a noise so loud it felt like the earth had cracked in two.  I had heard explosions before but none this big or loud. It felt like the explosion was close by and I was expecting the school to fall down around me at any time. I was alone and petrified.

I ran from the classroom and down the stairs to find my mum.  She was on her way to me. I ran into her arms crying, she hugged me and told me everything would be all right.

“What was that explosion Mum?”

“I don’t know but it was very loud and massive”

“Where was it, it sounded so close? Did you feel the school shake?”

“Yes, and it shook for a good while and the sound rumbled for ages.  The windows trembled and I thought they were going to come in around us”

“Was it a bomb or an earthquake?”

“It was probably a bomb as earthquakes don’t usually happen in Northern Ireland.  It sounded like a very large bomb, unlike anything I have ever experienced before”

“It sounded so close.  What about Dad and Chrissie?”

“Chrissie is on her own, we need to go home now and make sure she is ok. Dad’s away at a church meeting. I am sure they are both ok”

We grabbed out things and ran to the car.  I had never seen my Mum arrive as fast a she did that right.  We got home to find my sister standing on the door step in tears, scared.

“Mum, what happened, where was that? I thought you and Joey would be dead, it was so close and loud.  Was it a bomb? The whole house shook and I thought the windows would come in around me”

“Yes it must have been a bomb, but I have no idea where it was”

“What about Dad, is he ok?”

“I am not sure sweetheart, am sure he will be ok.  Let’s go inside and wait for him, it is cold outside”

So we went inside the house, and first thing we did was put on the kettle for a much needed cup of tea, after all tea solves all the world’s problems! After about five minutes of worrying about where our Dad was and if he was ok, the front door banged and in he ran. Never was I so happy to see my father, we were all safe. They hadn’t got us this time.