Each month the Writers group I attend set a piece of work . This month we had to describe what we saw in this painting, beautifully painted by a local Argyll artist.
The Girl in the Red Dress
It had taken weeks to reach the coast. All we had travelled with was what we managed to pick up before the soldiers arrived.
It had been Carol's 11th Birthday Party. She had worn her favourite red dress , matching red shoes and she had a favourite red handbag that she loved to carry with her, that also matched. It all looked beautiful with her glorious auburn hair.
They had been laughing, having fun, as all innocent 11 year old's should have - not a care in the world - and then the sirens erupted, warning of impending doom and we fled. For our lives, leaving our old lives behind us.
Now, standing in the blazing evening sun, millions of sparkles reflecting across the sea, like a curtain of stars lying on the ground. The sunset , the same colour as Carols outfit, merging her into the horizon, dreaming of a better life in the land far across the sea. The land that we had to reach for safety and how we were ever going to do that, I didn't know but for the sake of my family, I would find a way .
Lyndsey Greer Phillips