R J Hembree - Writers' Village University

On the outskirts of the farming village, stone mounds rose from a barren hill
like rows of melon. Some of the bodies were whole, identifiable. Others were not.
Pir hugged the parcel to his chest as he approached the small mud brick
house where he and Jamala had lived. Someone had fed and watered the goat and
donkey. He had not thought of them once in all these months.
Even before entering the house, he went to the side and dug a hole in the
garden next to purple and yellow spidery flowers that Jamala had tended. Someone
must have also taken care of them while he stayed away. He was glad they had
survived, glad his neighbors, all of whom had suffered loss, had cared, glad of
these small living things.
He buried his wife’s shoes and the tiny shirt. Only then could he enter his
home.
Carolann Malley is a former prize-winning news reporter for the Republican in
Springfield, MA. She has covered government; politics including national political
conventions; police and courts; and has written features, a political column,
restaurant reviews, travel pieces, investigative pieces, human interest stories and
editorials. She now writes freelance travel and feature stories. She is former poetry
editor for Peregrine literary journal, has won awards for her fiction, poetry and non-
fiction, and has been published in literary journals and anthologies. Her awards and
recognitions include: an Editor’s Choice Award from Shaye Arehart, finalist in the
prestigious Faulkner Wisdom competition for a novel-in-progress, winner of the Carrie
McCray Literary Award for fiction, winner William Penn Warren poetry contest,
second place in the Pen and Brush Inc. prose contest, and winner in several writing
conference competitions. . She was a lecturer in journalism at the University of
Massachusetts and has led creative writing and poetry workshops for inner city
youths, women and elementary school children.
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