I fell asleep in IKEA. I couldn’t help myself. The store was warm, cozy, and the chair like a feather bed. IKEA named the chair Stocksund. They should have named it for me. I’d closed my eyes and allowed the mellow elevator music to wrap me like a blanket. I[…]
The fire looked quite harmless. In fact, it was simply a thing of beauty. Delicate orange, dominated by the expanding blue flames that rolled around the edges of the yellow cardboard. Drifting grey smoke added to the depth and definition. Upstairs, little Tom dreamed on in peaceful bliss. Mum gave[…]
We met in the tram shelter, at the bottom of the hill in Roker. Huddled in the driest corner, we talked, listened and laughed; managing to ignore the January storm that raged around us. He pointed to his house and, fighting the elements, dashed out into the rain. “Knock at[…]
Peeping through the rear window, he sees the bank door swing open. She strides out, clutching the black bag close to her chest. Easing himself low down behind the driver’s seat, he becomes invisible to those outside. The sawed-off shot gun, disguised as a cuddly giraffe, is braced between his[…]
I was crying over a seagull. The stiff breeze, streaming from the sea, encouraged the flow of tears. The seagull was standing on its one good leg, unaware of my distress. The more it wobbled in the wind, the more I cried. My emotional compassion towards this bird was totally[…]
The spherical bomb rolls slowly from my hand and explodes, as it hits the water. I gently push the robe off my shoulders and step into the fizzing bath. Me time. I turn off the taps, lower myself into the scented, steamy bubbles and relax. Calm, for the first time[…]
I know it’s not a real gangplank. It’s my backyard wall. I know the sword isn’t real. It’s the plastic one from the fair. But does Nick know? He’s blindfolded, hands behind his back, bound by my school tie. ‘Move, you lazy pirate,’ I shout. I prod him forward. He[…]
I light the match and immediately blow it out. Today there are 146 of them lying in formation, waiting their turn for the pyre. Later, I cram the burnt offerings into three matchbox coffins and record their numbers. 2936. 2937. 2938. I carefully place them on the crowded wooden table,[…]
The water rolls over the handprints, turning the bath into a ribbed battleground of fighting colours. I lie back and watch the patterns battle with each other, realising that oil paints, birthday invitation cards and a nearly one year old boy, are not the wisest of blends. However, this is[…]
He had promised her that he’d live until his 90th. The doctor sighed, lowered his head and closed the front door behind him. Slowly, she climbed back upstairs and entered their bedroom of seventy years. Her lips felt the cold of his forehead. ‘You promised not to die. You promised.’[…]