Another drabble for Friday flash! It was inspired by this photo from wiki commons.
Home didn’t look like home anymore.
The soldiers had destroyed the walls. The roofs. Only the odd stone beam still stood. Her father’s work, that. Only they stood.
She paused in front of one, rubbed a finger on the stone. Red dust coated her fingertip. She sucked it clean.
Grit ground on her teeth. The taste of cham also came with it, like clay and mint. It drew war like flowers drew bees.
Cham was her people’s wealth and the seed of their destruction.
One day she would destroy it so thoroughly everyone would believe cham a myth. Like dragons.
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Story Treasury 
Had to look up Cham – glad I did, lovely drabble.
Cham Albanians, or Chams (Albanian: Çamë, Greek: Τσάμηδες Tsámidhes), are a sub-group of Albanians who originally resided in the coastal region of Epirus in northwestern Greece, an area known among Albanians as Chameria. The Chams have their own peculiar cultural identity, which is a mixture of Albanian and Greek influences as well as many specifically Cham elements. Chams played an important role in starting the renaissance of the Albanian culture in the 19th century. The Chams speak their own dialect of the Albanian language, which is considered one of the two most conservative dialects, the other being Arvanitika.
Following the Italian occupation of Albania in 1939, the Chams became a prominent propaganda tool for the Italians and irredentist elements among them became more vocal. As a result, on the eve of the Greco-Italian War, the adult male Cham population was deported by the Greek authorities to internment camps. After the occupation of Greece, large parts of the Muslim Cham population collaborated with Italian and German forces. This fueled resentment among the local Greek population and in the aftermath of World War II the entire Muslim Cham population had to flee to Albania. Most Chams settled in Albania, while others formed émigré communities in Turkey and the United States, and today their descendants continue to live in these countries. Since the fall of Communism in Albania, Chams have campaigned for right of return to Greece and restoration of confiscated properties.
I had no they were a real people! I just made up the word.
Nice drabble Sonia.
Thanks Helen!
The “It drew war” line is very neat. Glad I didn’t go into this knowing the backstory – preferred my reading not relying on external information. Or did you want it to function the other way?
Thanks John! I didn’t. That’s the way it occurred to me. But even if it didn’t, I usually slip in backstory later anyway.
A very evocative image and the story complements it well.
Adam B @revhappiness
Thanks Adam!
Nice drabble. Love the image.
Thanks Tim
This has been the reason so many indiginous races have been slaughtered over the centuries. Their ownership of something precious, versus the greed and might of a race that wants it.
Truer words Steve!
Beautifully distilled story and excellent use of the image as a springboard.
Well done.
Thanks KjM!
Amazing how you managed to develop a story in 100 words. Great job!
Thanks Far!
Oh, I love a good drabble. And this one is more than good, it’s GREAT. Well done.
ohh thanks Maria!
I love the idea that she’d be prepared to destroy their source of wealth to bring peace.
Thanks Icy! If I turn this into a longer story, I think I see her as the POV and maybe the villein, too.
Like Icy I love that she”s willing to bring peace by any means.
Love the last line, shows her determination
Thanks Emilia!
Nice drabble, Sonia. You really have a knack for setting a scene and telling a story with just a few words.
Thanks Chuck! Hope I am getting good at dabbles!