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The Casket of Fictional Delights

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Time Lies

by Ellen Davies

Flash Fiction Philosophical, Restless

I wake at eleven, only it isn’t. The numbers which assure me of the time have lied. I’ve gained, or lost an hour, in the uncertain darkness of night. My lazy lie-in quickly turns into an early morning. I curse the clock for its deceit. The rhythmic passing of seconds can no longer be trusted. Each tick a potential treachery. I search everywhere for the truth – the other clocks, the TV. All insist it’s ten a.m. It must be a trick.  A switch of time whilst I dozed, lost in indefinite dreams. What did we do before clocks, before their authoritative counting and cataloguing? I look to the sky but the day’s too dark. I have neither the sun nor a dial to track its crawling shadow. So I set the hands to half ten and smile at the chance to be half right, half wrong.

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About Ellen Davies

Ellen lives in the Rhondda, South Wales. She has a BA in English Literature from Cardiff University and is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing. Primarily a poet, her debut pamphlet Accent was published by Cinnamon Press in May 2015.

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Starting in June and through to the end of September  The Casket of Fictional Delights presents more Susan Tate adventures.  Enjoy following a year in the life of Susan Tate the quirky librarian who lives in Canterbury with her cat Charles Dickens written by Joanna Sterling, read by Menna Bonsels and illustrated by Michael N Green.

There are many other short stories and flash fictions available to read and listen to in our Stories and Podcast sections.

Joanna & The Casket of Fictional Delights Team

 

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Please consider making a donation to The Casket of Fictional Delights.  All content on the website is free and widely available to audiences worldwide.  We do not receive any grants and all our content is Ad free.  The Casket of Fictional Delights specialises in producing high-quality podcasts which are recorded by professional actors/voiceover artists from around the world. We hope you enjoy reading and listening to the stories and finding out about Joanna’s varied brooch collection.

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  • Its July in the life #SusanTate the quirky #librarian who lives in #Canterbury with her #cat ‍⬛#CharlesDickens - Derek has a surprise for Susan's #birthday You can #read or #listen to the story read by @MennaBonsels #free https://t.co/YudZOQtdto https://t.co/oyMBRICsQ4, 10 hours ago
  • New Story from The Casket of Fictional Delights - https://t.co/VXl4GzrC2e, 10 hours ago
  • More adventures from the quirky #librarian #SusanTate who lives in #Canterbury with her #cat ‍⬛#CharlesDickens - the sun is shining and its June Susan goes to a #party and a #WineTasting . You can #read or #listen to the story #free https://t.co/U66svWkFOe https://t.co/DzDpqmE9EX, Aug 2
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Text & stories © Joanna Sterling 2022
Stories © various authors
Editing by Joanna Sterling & Alyson Faye
Audio by Menna Bonsels
Brooch photography by Mark Colliton
Other photography by Rosie Marks
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