This isn't much of a story, it's just my way of solving a problem I noticed in my writing.
I noticed after writing "The Fire That Made Him" that I left quite a few flashbacks scattered throughout the story. I wrote them into chapters where I thought they were relevant, so they were not placed in chronological order. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but I realized it would be messy to go back and forth between chapters if you wanted to read the flashbacks chronologically.
So, here's my solution to that! Most of these chapters will only show one flashback, but on a few pages I combined two because they were close together in the timeline and I had extra space. The chapter titles are the names of the characters whose memories are featured.
There will be nothing new in this compilation if you've already read "The Fire That Made Him". If you haven't read that one, there will obviously be major spoilers here. So, read at your own discretion!
Thanks!
Flashback 1: Claude
Claude cried quietly in bed, aching from the bruises all over his body. He'd been beaten for the third time this week. The first time had been when he was caught staring at a girl passing through the neighborhood. The second time had been for slacking on his studies. The third time had been for sneaking food when he wasn't welcome for supper (part of his punishment for slacking).
The most recent beating had been barely an hour ago. Claude was upset. He knew he deserved these punishments, but they were so hard for him to bear. He wanted to be a good son for his parents, he really did. But it wasn't easy. He couldn't help disappointing them sometimes. Nor could he help crying over his pain and hunger, even if he had no right to.
Claude felt unsafe in his house. It felt dangerous to cry with his parents asleep nearby. He decided to go outside where he would be farther from them.
He went out to the street and sat down under the moonlight, hugging his knees to his chest. Claude let himself cry more freely now. He tried to think of a way to please his parents, to get them to forgive him for being such a disappointing child. But his thoughts were interrupted.
"Are you okay?"
Claude looked up. He saw a girl walking up to him, the same girl he'd been punished for staring at.
"I'm just hungry..." Claude replied.
The girl came and sat next to him. She handed him something. It was a piece of cheese.
"Here." She offered. "Eat this."
Claude took the cheese and ate it gratefully.
"Thank you." He said with a smile.
"Aren't you the professor's son?" The girl asked. "Your family doesn't seem like the type to go hungry."
"I wasn't allowed to eat tonight." Claude explained.
"Why not?"
"I slacked on my studies."
"So they didn't let you eat? That was mean."
"My parents aren't mean. They just want me to be good. But I'm... not very good at being good."
The girl touched Claude's hand.
"That doesn't sound right." She disagreed. "You seem good to me."
Claude looked into the girl's eyes. A warm feeling came over him. He wasn't used to being comforted like this, but he liked it.
His chance to enjoy it was brief. Two weeks later, Claude and his love were discovered.