Losses

Mike’s jump into the unknowns of medical school in some ways was not unlike parachuting from airplanes into different countries while in the Army.  He had no illusions this new experience would in any way resemble the camaraderie he’d experienced with the international NATO medical unit in Europe with Yves, and Joachim.  He kept in…

Summers End

Golden light slips through the leaves, piercing the trees’ cool shade. A warm breeze caresses his skin. Below the hill, the countryside falls away into a heat haze of green and yellow, with a horizon of azure sky. This is a restful peace Ronnie has not known for years, the sounds of insects replacing the…

Gran Knows Best

Gran Knows Best

Gary stares at the mass of wet bedclothes rocking slowly back and forth in the washing machine drum.  How on earth is he going to dry them?  Gary and Sandra had met six months ago at a Christmas party.  All his family, except perhaps gran, had liked Sandra from the off.  Especially his sister Carol. …

Knight of the Rocks

Knight of the Rocks

Image by Jörg Peter from Pixabay The wind howled and blew sand in our faces as pebbles crunched beneath our feet.  It was the second day of my family’s summer holiday and I had joined the local kids as they scoured the coast for treasure. “Listen to me!”  shouted eight-year-old Lucy, brandishing a huge bag of pick ‘n’…

Only Half in Shade

Only Half in Shade

Image by Jörg Peter from Pixabay July, a heatwave.  In the valley below, wind undulates across a ripening crop of barley.  A rivulet of sweat trickles down the well of my backbone.  You sit on a bench next to me in the shade of a Beech tree in Arley Arboretum.  The air sighs a potent whisper, like the…

A Shift in Time Zones

At breakfast, she lays Harold’s place: toast the way he likes it, just turning brown; a jar of thick-cut marmalade. She doesn’t like how the rind gets stuck in her dentures, but it’s his favourite. Her son, Ben, knocks on the window and waggles his hand. He’s in and out at all hours, keeping an…

Checkout Girl

Checkout Girl

I retreat down the nearest aisle, heartbeat thick with adrenaline. Pink and blue baby grows blur into one. I stalk you, the girl who should be managing the tills. You have your father’s nose, but the rest belongs to me. Customers gape at the waif with the patchy complexion, methadone-finished eyes. You are oblivious, examining…

Fragile

Fragile

When the removal men came, she told them to take her heart. She handed it to the burly one, not because he was in charge, or because he reminded her of Jack – he didn’t. But because it was heavy and he seemed as if he might be able to bear the weight with those…

To See A Star

To See A Star

The commuter ferry that sailed to and from Amsterdam Central Station reversed into the northern harbour. Elsa pedalled so hard that a rivulet of sweat ran down the valley of her back. A day without seeing him would be a day not worth living. Elsa’s bike skidded to a halt and a German soldier patrolling…