Tessa challenged me to a drabble based on this picture:

But I couldn’t tell the story in 100 words. So she agreed to let me write a 200-word flash fiction instead.

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Going through the dusty boxes in the attic, Tommy found an old strip from a photo booth. Clutching it, he ran downstairs.

“Nanna!” He waved the pictures as he screeched to a halt in front of the tiny woman cooking pinto beans. “Lookie what I found!”

Trying not to cry, Nanna smiled at the pictures. She slowly stroked the fading faces.

Tommy hated to see his great-grandmother sad. “Who are they?”

“That’s my brother Thomas,” she said, pointing to the first man. “And that’s Donny. They were sailors during the Second World War.”

Tommy was impressed. “Really?”

Nanna put down her stirring spoon and stood proudly. “Yes, sir. They gave their lives defending the Philippines.”

Chewing his lip, Tommy thought long and hard about his next question. “Why are they kissing?”

“Because they loved each other very much.” Thomas had only told one person, his twelve year-old sister who was afraid for her big brother to cross the ocean by himself.

“Like I love Davy?”

Cradling her grandson’s face between her withered hands, she looked into his eyes and realized what he was doing. Another brave boy telling her his secret.

“Yes, my sweet boy, just like that.”

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