This week Pegman takes us to Armenia. You are welcome to use the photo provided in the prompt, or chose from among many photo spheres from across the country.
Will you dig into Armenia’s rich history? Delve into its present? Imagine its future? Or will you conjure your own alternate reality? The only rule is to keep your story, poem, or essay under 150 words.
Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the Linkup below. Reading and commenting on others work is part of the fun!
Thanks to Karen and Josh for facilitating this weekly globetrotting experience.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 150
AUCTION OF SOULS
I had just curled up on the sofa when the doorbell rang. Sore from giving birth and sleep deprived from a full-night’s worth of colic, I padded to the door. There stood my Armenian grandmother, Teddy bear in tow.
“Tatik, I just put Joseph down for his nap.”
Her brown eyes twinkled. “I come to see my great-grandson. The first boy in two generations.”
Dropping the toy on the couch, she bent over the bassinet and swept my son into her arms. Suddenly, she collapsed into the rocker clutching him to her chest and burst into tears. “He looks just like my baby brother—Joseph. The Turks ripped him from my mother’s arms, buried him up to his shoulders in the dirt and crushed his little skull under their trucks. Sixty years later I still hear the screams.
“Because we were Christians they called us infidels. I call them bastards.”
December 1915 NY Times
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
Chilling… down to the very depths of the soul. Turns my stomach to even think about it.
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That’s just what I was about to say.
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Dear Jelli,
This is where the research trail took me. A lot is written and publicized about the Holocaust (and rightfully so). However, there’ve been so many other Holocausts all in the name of righteousness and racial purity. Turns my stomach, too. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow! That was amazing. I wish I could create such depth in a story. I think there’s a something special about a mother’s love that we men can’t even begin to fathom.
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Dear James,
I’ve heard it called a mother’s heart. “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” God-given, I believe. Thank you for such a marvelous comment/compliment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Many of the stories we Pegman people remind me of a book I read probably three years ago about the Armenian genocide. I must read it again. So many cruel acts! How could anyone bury a child and run over their head? You’ve made me angry ~ in a very good way.
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Dear Lish,
This was a new one on me. I’d not heard of the Armenian Genocide until yesterday. When I Googled Armenia it was the first thing that came up. I wish I could say I made that little scenario up. 😦 It made me pretty angry, too. And even angrier that it’s a history rarely spoken of and almost forgotten…except by the survivors’ decedents. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Excellent recounting of the tragedy, Rochelle. Odd that such a gorgeous country would have such a dark history.
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Dear Josh,
It’s hard to fathom. Thank you for your generous comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A chilling tale of a period of time and place I wasn’t aware of. Good writing………as usual.
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Dear Jan,
History has a way for burying the past sometimes, doesn’t it? Thank you, m’love.
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
You so went *there* where I didn’t dare… And, as per usual, you did it superbly….
Lotsa love,
Dale
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Dear Dale,
I started to not go “there” when I peeked at some of the other stories. However, I’d already started Googling and no other story came to mind. I had to tell this one. It’s interesting that there’s a main path that most of us took but I still think our stories are diverse enough for us not to be called a herd. 😉 That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Thank you, my friend.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I have to agree. They are all unique in their own way. So there!
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Truly heartbreaking and beautifully written
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Many thanks, Anna.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such a tender opening and a chilling ending. Great story telling as always, Rochelle!
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Dear Karen,
I don’t take compliments from you lightly. Thank you…and thank you for hosting. (More of a commitment than most realize…and a labor of love).
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I confess, I had never heard of the Armenian Genocide either. What a terrible stain on history – to have killed so many and for so few of us to know about it. Your scene is horrifying, Rochelle and I confess I’m flinching away from thinking on it too much, repellent as it is. Well told tragedy
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Dear Lynn,
This was my first acquaintance with the Armenian Genocide. I, too, am horrified. Thank you for your kind words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You capture the grief at this horror so well, Rochelle. What a terrible memory to be plagued with, I can only imagine what it would do to someone’s psyche.
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Dear Joy,
I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for countless young girls for whom my fiction was a reality. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very heartbreaking and very well-written.
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Thank you, LIsa.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle
You are a strong advocate for humanity with your writing showing the horrors of state-sponsored genocide. It is a good thing that you do, reminding us of the personal suffering of those caught up in violence instigated by wicked men, and perpetrated by those who are misled.
This time you have given us a powerfully written story about a scarcely imaginable horror. An extremely difficult thing to do that must have cost you grief. Thank you.
Shalom
Penny
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Dear Penny,
Your words are affirming. According to another friend of mine it’s my way of shining light in the dark corners. At times these stories do take an emotional toll but, as you know, someone needs to say something. Thank you for such a magnificent comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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As others have said, you are brave to confront these atrocities in your story Rochelle. I believe it’s important to bear witness. And so painful.
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Dear Francine,
I don’t know how brave I am a hundred years after the fact. 😉 But history shouldn’t be forgotten. Yet it’s being repeated all over the world. Thank you so much for your affirming words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It’s amazing the things we pull out from history. Barbarism has been man’s way for so long.
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I did know about the dreadful Armenian genocide, but your writing brought it to my mind much more powerfully. Well done
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Dear Mike,
I didn’t know about this genocide until I started the research trail. 1 million people murdered and no seems to remember it. How sad. 😦 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I clicked ‘Like’ Dear Rochelle, but of course I don’t, A very powerful evocation of another horrendous example of man’s inhumanity to man. I discovered the horrors of this genocide many years ago, and have been fascinated by Armenians ever since.. so many of them are so beautiful unique and their culture seems so mysterious and beautiful… the pockets of Armenian people who remain, and their culture are so very intriguing…..Love Valerie
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Dearest Valerie,
I’m always so pleased when you come by for a read and take the time to comment.
I’m sad and almost embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing for this tragic history. Over one million slaughtered and it’s been swept under history’s carpet. It really isn’t a story to ‘like.’ Thank you, my friend.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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