The day was hot and sticky as I sat in the stuffy car waiting for Mum. I wanted her to leave the keys so I could crank the air conditioning but instead she popped the window down and told me to sit tight. “You’ll be in the shade,” she’d said, “I won’t be long.” TheContinue reading “Restricted Access”
Category Archives: Single stories
Spilt milk
Daddy hoists me up. Lifting under my arms, he puts me into the trolley. He grabs the little black strap, pulls it across my tummy and clicks me in – nice and safe. I like sitting in the trolley, I can see out far in front of me. I feel like a big person, justContinue reading “Spilt milk”
The Bystander
The night air is unusually warm for March as the young woman emerges from the subway. It’s a little after midnight and a full moon lights the sky in a pale glow. She sways a little as she crosses the road and the clips of her heels echo down the empty street. She’s whistling aContinue reading “The Bystander”
Captured
I hear the shutter click from behind me and flinch. It’s a reflex, I can’t help it. Every time I hear that tell tale sound my muscles contract and my jaw clenches. It’s like a survival response, telling me I’m under threat. Fifty, sixty, seventy times a day it happens. Click. Flinch. Click. Flinch. MyContinue reading “Captured”
Raspberry delight
A pelting rain slated Mickey as he waited for the bus and watched the worm. Big droplets splashed and plopped against his raincoat, seeping into it, dampening his shirt underneath. Mickey shivered, folded his arms and bowed into the wind. He angrily wished there was a proper bus shelter to wait in. The worm, totallyContinue reading “Raspberry delight”
The in-between
The cancer ward was on the ground floor and that was a problem. I was about to be checked-in for six weeks of treatment, placing my life in suspension, while I attempted to fight the tumour growing inside me. It was a brief adjournment between this life and the next, but the jury was stillContinue reading “The in-between”
The moult
Knowing every single one of us had to go through it didn’t make it any more pleasant when it actually happened. I’d seen it a handful of times already, usually to a senior student, and you could always tell when it was happening, despite any effort on their part to hide it. There was noContinue reading “The moult”
Operation two-step
It was Friday at five when the familiar knock on the front door made Sarah smile to herself. Four short raps followed by two strong taps: Her father had arrived. Quickly wiping her hands on a tea towel, she made her way down the hall and opened the door with a wide sweep. ‘Dad! You’reContinue reading “Operation two-step”
The locked door
Gemma arrived home just as the red sky marked the end of another winter’s day. Juggling her purse, gym gear and phone in one hand, she stood at her doorstep and plunged her free hand in the gaping stomach of her backpack. After a moment of rummaging, her fingers grazed against the cold, pointed metalContinue reading “The locked door”
Baggage claim
I stared at the pre-flight health check questionnaire and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. It was my first time flying since the airline had introduced their emotional baggage policy and I hadn’t prepared for it. Holding a standard-issue red pencil between my fingers, I slowly filled out my name and date ofContinue reading “Baggage claim”
Backyard tales 