The MFL Department has been recently promoting the Flash Fiction Competition organised by Oxford University with a selection of FHS girls taking the plunge and entering their short stories.
Entrants are asked to submit a short story of a maximum of 100 words in French or Spanish. There are two categories: one for Years 7-11 and one for Years 12-13. A first prize of £100 will be awarded to the winning entry in each category, with runner-up prizes of £25 also on offer. The winning entries will be published on the Oxford University Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages blog.
FHS entrants have submitted stories to both competitions, French and Spanish, and we look forward to finding out the results next month.
Here are two of the entries…
Ada Ambrose – Year 11
Me siento gris. Ni negro, ni blanco, solo gris. Una sola lágrima se desliza por mi mejilla y el fuego en mis pulmones se exacerba mientras lucho por levantar la cabeza por encima de la superficie. No conozco ningún otro color. Ni rojo, ni verde, ni amarillo. Ninguno tiene significado para mí. No hay nada dentro. Escucho su voz rogándome que vuelva pero está amortiguada. Ladrillo a ladrillo, la pared se vuelve más alta y pronto ni siquiera podré ver la superficie. Solo veo la destrucción, la calamidad de dentro. Dejo que la oscuridad me tragara.
I feel grey. Not black, not white, just grey. A single tear slides down my cheek and the fire in my lungs exacerbates as I struggle to raise my head above the surface. I don’t know any other colour. Not red, not green, not yellow. None of them have meaning to me. I hear her voice begging me to come back but it’s muffled. Brick by brick, the wall gets higher and soon I won’t even be able to see the surface. I only see the destruction, the calamity from within. I let the darkness swallow me.
Chloe Flames – Year 9
¿Vale la pena?
No os parece raro, que la única cosa que nosotros los humanos tenemos en común es la paz, y de alguna manera, seguimos en guerra; en conflicto; en enfrentamientos.
¿Qué pasa? ¿Qué los lloros de la gente no son suficiente? ¿Que quieres mas y mas poder?
¿Para qué?, ¿para qué sirve todo este poder?
¿Vale la pena separar a hijos de sus padres?
¿Vale la pena destrozar vidas? ¿Destrozar la humanidad?
¿Vale la pena?
Is it worth it?
Isn’t it strange that the only thing us humans have in common is wanting peace, but somehow, we are still in wars; in conflict; in confrontations.
What’s wrong? Are the peoples’ crying not enough? You want more and more power?
For what? Why do you need this much power?
Is it worth separating children from their parents?
Is it worth destroying lives, destroying humanity?
Is it worth it?
Catarina Leandro – Lower Sixth
El Sahara
Un viento implacable, fuerte, frío soplaba desde el este, volviéndose cada vez más seco a medida que pasaba el tiempo, debilitando mi piel.
Habían pasado 35 días, sin agua o comida. Casi me estaba muriendo, pero estaba tan cerca… tenia que continuar, al menos por él.
El peso doloroso de la conciencia inundó mis músculos y gemí. Estaba acurrucado con fuerza, con la esperanza de conservar lo que quedaba de mi.
Miré hacia arriba, y una estrella, cálida y brillante me guiñó un ojo, destellando y parpadeando, dándome un atisbo de esperanza.
‘ESTOY HACIENDO ESTO POR TI’
The Sahara
An unrelenting, strong, cold wind blew from the east, getting drier as time went on, weakening my skin.
35 days had passed, without water or food. I was almost dying, but I was so close… I had to keep going, at least for him.
The painful weight of awareness flooded my muscles and I groaned. I huddled tightly, hoping to conserve what was left of me.
I looked up, and a star, warm and bright, winked at me, flashing and twinkling, giving me a glimmer of hope.
‘I’M DOING THIS FOR YOU’
