Finding a Spark in Riga, Latvia (Micro Fiction)

Posted on by Prior...

Happy Saturday Readers, 

Joining in with What Pegman Saw, which brings us to Riga, Latvia for this week’s FLASH FICTION writing challenge.

Here is the photo prompt for today’s fiction:

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Finding a Spark in Riga

(fiction word count: 150)

When work becomes familiar, it can lose its spark.

I was getting paid to write about Riga’s Art Nouveau buildings, but burnout had me.

After the fourth trip to the market, conversations with Michal took off.  His family helped make the first rigid airships, dirigibles, and his grandfather helped build the end of the hangar that housed the Central Market.

 When he discovered I was from New Jersey, he went on a tangent about the Hindenburg airship disaster of 1937.  “Hoehling’s book was wrong,” Michal insisted. “No conspiracy. Static spark caused crash. The airship passed humidity and high electrical charges – caused fire.”

I smiled while listening. Grateful his passion spread my way because his energy helped me write about architecture with zest.

I gave Mischal a small salt lamp as a goodbye gift.

On the card, I thanked him for the static spark he gifted me during my month in Riga. 

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Author Notes 

 

The photo prompt I chose for today had the Central Market in Riga, Latvia, which is in an old airship hangar.  This had me thinking about what it would be like to work a booth in this old structure. Perhaps there was someone there with connections to the history of the old hangar? The character Michal came in at that point because I imagined his family had connections to the early 1900’s when rigid airships were in vogue. Rigid airships are the ones that needed to be housed in hangars to protect them from harsh weather; they had an internal framework that didn’t deflate (like a blimp would) when the air pressure was off. This led to the mention of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. The Hindenburg was a German airship that caught fire while trying to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. 13 people died and it was the beginning of the end for the popularity of rigid airships. Hoehling’s (1962) book provided arguments as to why the airship was sabotaged, but others around the world argue with the Static Spark hypothesis, which Michal supported. 

Also, while looking up Riga, Lativia – I learned that Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it has architectural treasures – with over 500 buildings depicting various styles like  gothic, baroque, modern, and art nouveau. So my main character was doing work he loved, writing about artsy structures, but was also experiencing a bit of humdrum while doing work he loved. And sometimes the energy of someone we meet can refresh us. #bettertogether 

 

Thanks to Karen and Josh for hosting this challenge. 

(c) priorhouse blog 2019

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35 thoughts on “Finding a Spark in Riga, Latvia (Micro Fiction)”

    1. Hi janet – thanks for the nice summary of what I was going after with my short fiction
      and wishing you a nice rest of the weekend

      Like

  2. Back in 1937 the US was one of the only manufactures of Helium. As the Nazis took over Germany, we stopped selling them Helium, so they used Hydrogen for their airships (several of them burned). If you want to stretch it, you could say that the Hindenburg disaster was thus caused by Nazis 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. well thanks for that interesting piece of information. – And some say that Hitler ordered the Hindenburg to be destroyed (part of the list of arguments for sabotage) –

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I read that – someone, I forget who, but I think the captain, was very anti-Nazi, so some of the conspiracies is that Hitler did it to take him out.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Love the story. My mothers side of the family come from Latvia. Riga is a brilliant place to visit, the market is enormous and the choice of good quality food is fantastic.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi – I have been following your blog for years now and had no idea of the connection to Latvia – and right on about the quality of food being high – that is a very good thing – and I enjoyed learning a little bit about Riga for this writing prompt

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Charming story. You do a great job of portraying that feeling of being stagnant, not engaged, and how that can be rejuvenated by a new person’s perspective and energy. Nice take on the ways to interpret “spark”!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Wonderful story, and I am sure that there are many, many stories behind the booths of families that have withstood the ravages of time and war. Great take on the prompt!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. thanks for the comment and I like how you worded this:
      many, many stories behind the booths of families that have withstood the ravages of time and war

      I agree
      and wishing you a good week

      Liked by 1 person

  13. I enjoyed the history in this piece. Perhaps this chance meeting was destiny!
    Cie from Team Netherworld

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  14. Your thorough research really paid off here – wonderful stuff. I actually wondered if this was autobiographical, but it seems just well realised. Great stuff!

    Liked by 1 person

  16. The interior of this market looks a bit like the skeleton of an airship. May her new spark set the world on fire!Now, time to go and hunt up all the art nouveau buildings in Riga!

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