The Record Remains
A Quiet Reckoning of Numbers and Names
This day in 1919 marks the Great Boston Molasses Flood, when a molasses storage tank burst in Boston's East End and consumed 21 lives.
21 lives lost, and undocumented.
While history records the events, it doesn't record the names.
Some histories cannot be left on paper — they wait to be remembered.
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Criminalist Eleanor's job was her haven - she adored the precision and the intimate attention to detail it needed. Years in the Commercial Affairs department of the police force had ingrained foolproof method and reliability - traits that made her renowned.
January 15 took her to an abandoned industrial site - one where tension and chaos were still very much married. Molasses had erupted in waves of brown from industrial containers, drowning 21 workers in viscous sea of dessert thick enough to build another Berlin wall . The atmosphere overwhelmed in a sickening instant.
Molasses lines still trailed along the sides of tanks, creeping from something - unseen. Brown and sticky. Gripping. Unyielding.
Accusing.
But Eleanor was but a monitor of records, not memory. She was tasked with verifying the truth - not on reflection of responsibility.
The sickly-sweet dessert was a trained assassin assailing Eleanor's nose - the cloying scent wrapped her nostrils with a vengeance. The air bore sweetness where none should be. Time had softened, but not erased it - it didn't move. But remained almost deathly unsettled.
She had recorded the event before, without missing a beat.
Safely. Accurately.
But the events and dates did not sync. The numbers bore no weight - meaningless. The dates had no breath.
Accuracy had trumped reverence.
The names of the 21 lost souls, dissolved with the viscosity that had enfolded them.
Then, the viscous remains reshaped.
Hardened.
Becoming a tangled mass of brown limbs, melded together in linked chains that could not be broken.
Then they rose, in a circle, surrounding Eleanor.
Approaching her, but not reanching.
21 links, glistening with dessert gleam.
Reminding.
Eleanor stared at the forms, too dumbstruck for words. Mesmerised - but aware enough to find them odd.
None of them spilt forward. None screamed.
She remembered the file that she had put on the table beside her, open to a blank page.
The figures stared, nodding.
And she understood.
The record she had to complete. That she would complete.
And the day she would finally mark with remembrance.
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Original story by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.
For Mikeydred's January Challenge:
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
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The Art of Caregiving
Step 1: Patience is a Virtue Your loved one may be in a bad mood, driven by frustration, pain, or depression at being in their current state. This is normal, and expected. As their caregiver, it is up to you to boost their morale, which can be done with positive affirmations and/or physical gestures of love; e.g. hand holding, back rubbing, showering with praise. Note: keep in mind that too much praise can be detrimental. The path to healing has no participation awards, and there are times when a firm yet gentle hand is needed. These occasions may coincide with doling out medication, feeding, and attempts to foster independence. If you have the luxury of being in a hospital/institutional setting, extending patience to the facility's staff is a must. They cannot be everywhere at once, and there are other patients on their rotation besides your loved one. In rare cases where staff members seem especially inattentive, it is considered polite to refrain from wringing necks and spouting verbal abuse. The general rule of thumb is the kinder you treat the staff, the friendlier and more helpful they will be to your loved one in return. This is harder to achieve for many people in a caregiver role, but over time the self-inflicted wounds from chewing one's own tongue to hamburger will heal given sufficient time. Your patience and nerve will be tested at all times. It is of vital import that you remain calm, supportive, and flexible, so that you can cater to whatever needs your loved one may have. Additional restraint may be required if your patience is repeatedly taxed, and not met with the appreciation you feel is deserved. Overall, however, the bulk of your patience will usually be rewarded.
By Natalie Graya day ago in Fiction
Comments (2)
Well-wrought! Nice way to incorporate some history into an engaging work of fiction! (Or is it?!)
I really liked the fabric of imagination that surrounds the story and evokes chills and reflection. Many experiences come to mind that resonate with the event you describe. How strange, dangerous, and often harsh the world we live in can be. I feel a cynicism and a deliberate sense of disgust because of human indifference toward human life. So much can be said, and I like stories that unsettle me and pull me out of my comfort zone.