Romantic

  • Lady Elfleda

    I watched as the horseman rode into the Abbey complex.  A fine looking young man, riding proudly, his rank displayed on the polished trimmings of his large black steed.  Several of the Abbey community came out despite the steady drizzle, to view the stranger. “I’m looking for the Lady Elfleda,” he called out.  He was…

  • Helicopter

    Bernard smiled as the helicopter swooped low over the chimney pots. He could see the whole town in his monitor; he paused to enjoy the view of the sun setting behind the gasworks for a few moments then remembered his mission. He checked the map in the top corner of the screen and guided the…

  • To the Point

    That’s it. I’m doing it. Come on. Rob sat alone at his table. Others sat at tables around him but none bothered to acknowledge his presence. He felt like a ghost. The ultimate loner. You can show them who you really are. Show them all. His mind fantasized; playing over and over the events which…

  • The Glimpse

    Hurtling to the surface from the depth of the Northern Line I think I’ve lost him. For a minute, everything contracts but my face, which contorts into a panicked, liquid misery. But then I see him. He’s crossing the road, heading away from his old flat. I skeeter through the traffic, maybe risking death, I…

  • Last Breakfast

    Hail rattled the wood like buckshot. ‘Thank God!’ He snapped on the latch and slumped back against the door, wiping the mist from his glasses with a sleeve. The blood roared in his ears, the lobes beginning to tingle. The walls of the cottage were three-feet thick, it was like stepping into a vacuum. She…

  • Three Portraits & Three Tales

    While visiting the BP Portrait Award 2012 exhibition Dawn Reeves and I were particularily drawn to three portraits.  They have inspired these three short tales –  to view the three portraits from exhibition click the links at the end of each tale. Dear Barbara by Joanna Sterling 5a Atlantic View Windy Villas The Lizard Cornwall  Dear Barbara What a…

  • Unreliable

    Once I had an affair with a Princess. At the time I was homeless, sleeping rough in a cardboard hut in the Bull Ring at the end of Waterloo Bridge, where the IMAX cinema stands today. It was very late, early morning probably, the soup runs had long departed and most of my fellow residents…

  • Friday

    In Samoa they skipped Friday 30th December 2011. If I skipped Friday, I would miss the day I go to work on the bus. My husband has the car on Fridays. He meets his mates after work, they go bowling. He does the driving, he doesn’t drink these days. Taking the bus means I am…

  • The Thief

    The door opened.  He could see someone asleep in the bed, the covers moving rhythmically up and down as they breathed. He crept quietly across the room to the opposite wall, lifting down the oil painting depicting a pair of lovers. As he punched each number into the safe keypad a little whirring sound was…