Lilly's Stories

Stories written by Clara Lilly

Short Stories

  • Somehow

    December, 2018 Kutupalong, Bangladesh Allah, help us. I have never seen so many people in my life. I pull Kyi Win in his swaddle tight to my chest as I step into the crowds.  Guide us on the straight path, I quote the Opening Surah of the Quran.   At least four hundred people wait in…

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  • Relevé

    This story is about a young girl with Crouzon syndrome – a genetic, craniofacial disorder where some bones in a baby’s skull fuse prematurely, causing a disfigurement in the face, along with a few other symptoms. My hope with this story is to inspire others to an unconditional kindness, that we might be able to…

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  • The Lyrist’s December

    “A martyrdom is always the design of God, for His love of men, to warn them and to lead them, to bring them back to His ways. It is never the design of man; for the true martyr is he who has become the instrument of God, who has lost his will in the will…

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  • A Prayer from the Rubble

    September 7, 1940 I was not ready.  The day my city was bombed, I was anything but ready. I had left my dress from yesterday hanging over a chair and the rest of my things were splayed across my desk and any other surface. I told myself that I would clean it up tomorrow. But…

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  • Atlantic Notes

    November 4, 1944 Dear Jonah,  My paper supply at the moment is limited, so I must be brief.  I miss you more than this tiny piece of paper will allow me to express. I hope that you are not the only one who believes me. I find it hard to believe that the two quietest…

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