PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

Ari’s gaze was transfixed by the ner tamid just in front of the Aron Kodesh. Sweaty hands gripped his rifle as sirens continued to wail outside. He’d hoped to marry Esther here, but now it was too late. There would be no stopping them this time.

At least his fiancée was safe in the shelter along with both their parents. He’d been separated from his unit during the last bombardment and was drawn to the synagogue. His family had made Aliyah when he was four. Now he was a soldier about to die when France’s nuclear missiles obliterated Tel Aviv.

It’s Wednesday and time again to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 10 October 2025 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image above as the prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.

Cover art for the anthology “Fantastic Schools Familiars”

Given all the anti-Israel propaganda on news and social media currently, the world turning against Israel, even to the point of nuclear war came to mind. I initially had Iran fire the nukes, but thought it more shocking if I had France do it.

Oh, the “ner tamid” or eternal light is the lantern hanging in front of the “Aron Kodesh” or Holy Ark where the Torah scroll is kept. Aliyah is the process where a Jew immigrates to Israel and is granted citizenship in the Jewish nation.

A nuclear holocaust raining down on the Land of Israel may sound grim, but there are numerous verses in the Bible that describe the nations warring against the Jewish homeland and how God will defend Israel.

Consider Isaiah 42:13, Zechariah 14:3-4, and Revelation 19:11 for starters.

Cover art for iSoldiers anthology by Shacklebound Books.

To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.

“Fantastic Schools Familiars” will feature my short story “Dead Cat Fever.” What happens when a fifteen-year-old girl must retrieve a stolen magic book from a murderer? What happens when her only ally is a dead cat possessed by a demon? It’s supposed to publish this month, but I haven’t heard back from the publisher yet.

“iSoldiers Anthology of Military Science Fiction” will contain four of my military SciFi drabbles. The skill to create those “100 word” stories was honed right here on “Friday Fictioneers. Preorder at Amazon for delivery to your Kindle device this coming Friday, October 10.

There are more announcement coming up but I can’t talk about them until the contracts are signed and I get the publisher’s permission. Stay tuned.