Image by Liz Young at http://lizy-writes.blogspot.com.au
Eloise whispered, ‘I’ve never seen a raccoon before. Do they bite?’
Jay peered into the dumpster. Looking up at him was not a raccoon’s face but a doll’s. It brought back a flood of long lost memories.
A bag hidden deep behind his father’s coats. Inside, a knife, a compass, a crumpled photo of a woman on a station, a doll in traditional Latvian dress and five army badges with strange symbols on them.
He gasped as his adult mind remembered the symbols.
There was a crash of cans and Eloise shrieked. ‘It tried to bite me!’
Swastikas.
*********
Friday Fictioneers is a challenge set by Rochelle each week where writers from around the world post 100 word stories based on a common photo prompt. For more information, and to read other stories, visit Rochelle’s page here.
Jessie Ansons 
The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves are such a fragile and yet eduring things. A buried story re-emergig beautifully captured here, Jessie
Thank you Neil! What a beautiful reflection 🙂
What a dark memory to be dragged back up. Chilling stuff. Nice one, Jessie.
Thank you Iain. Glad it had that effect 🙂
This sent shivers through me Jessie.
Thanks for reading!
Wow, Jessie – another snippet for your novel. And with mysteries such as this I can tell it’s going to be a page-turner. Fabulous!
Glad you liked it Di 🙂
Is this from a longer piece, then, Jessie? What a terrible secret to discover – sickening and heartbreaking. What is the mystery of the Latvian and the photograph? Intriguing stuff
I’m discovering these two characters through Friday Fictioneers with a plan to write a novel about them later this year. Glad you found it intriguing!
Good luck with it. Great to get to know the characters first – you’ll be one step ahead when the novel weriting starts!
Great stuff Jessie! Took me there to relive it.
Thanks for your lovely comment!
Wow. Great connections.
Glad you liked it 🙂
Raccoons and Nazis are such nasty creatures.
This made me laugh out loud! Glad you made the connections 🙂
Oh my, what a thing to remember…gripping tale, indeed.
Thank you!
It might have been better to have left it unremembered. Good one.
Those that are best left unremembered are always the ones that come back…
I got the impression he just learned something about his father, something dark but perhaps more tragic than evil. Is there a hero lurking? Nicely done.
Yes! Thanks for the lovely comment, Kecia. More tragic than evil is certainly where the longer version of this will go.
The question hovers – was his father a secret Nazi or one who repented and fled?
Yes, that’s so true. Really glad you picked up on it!
Dear Jessie,
It’s amazing what the mind can bury, only to have it surface at the strangest times. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
I always find my deepest memories emerge on a raccoon hunt. Thanks Rochelle! Spooky photo this week but I’m loving the stories from it!
Hmm, intriguing.
And nicely built.
Thank you!
lovely background building Jess – hooking us with a mystery
Glad you liked it, Marg 🙂
That was great! I loved the parallel story line.
– Lisa
Thanks Lisa!
Whoa, there! Threw me with that one! Bravo, Jessie! 🙂
Glad it caught you by surprise 🙂
Oh, how scary! Great writing there. I nearly jumped out of my skin, too.
Thanks for reading! And glad that feeling came across 🙂
This is a dark, scary piece that grabbed me from the beginning. Well done.
Thanks for the lovely comment!
The flashbacks are excellent… and the parallel between the raccoon and the swastikas very chilling
Perfect! So glad all that came across. Thanks Björn!
Jess, this story really resonated with me and was so beautifully crafted and put together. I could feel it.
xx Rowena
Glad to hear that Rowena! Thanks for reading!
Nicely done. What a horrible thing to discover
The mind can do some bizarre things to you…
This one clearly begs to be a longer story, Jess! There’s so much more I want to know; you have me hooked!
Thanks Dawn, that’s so good to hear. I’m hoping to make this a much longer piece later this year.
fantastic
Thanks Tamal!
This certainly makes you think!