Flash Fiction: The Sisters
Fourth of July celebration, unit block of North Curley Street — a 23 year tradition, gelatin silver print, 1978 © Joan Clark Netherwood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts
Image by Joan Clark Netherwood
Written by Emma Elizabeth Mathes
My family took every opportunity to gather, and the highlight of each gathering was always The Sisters.
There were five of them, once—each totally disparate, and yet strikingly similar. Their laughs melded into one fantastic sound and blessed anyone in earshot. Speaking of them now feels like a tragedy, but their lives were not.
I remember the last time they were together, like it was yesterday; it was July and as hot as an oven, but the sisters’ laugh made it feel balmy. They made up songs and played entertainers. The Sisters brought joy to whomever they loved.
If only I knew then, that things don’t last forever.
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