The Merlot dribbles in a clockwise flow from a small slit in the wooden barrel. The dim light, escaping from the flickering fluorescent tube, enhances the dark crimson colour of the wine. Dave, lying on the cold, stone cellar slabs, mouth open, catching every drop of the vintage red, isn’t[…]
They walk towards each other, her smile filling the shortening gap. They have nothing in common. Old enough to be her grandad, young enough for bedtime stories. They don’t share the same skin colour or culture. They don’t share the same religion or history. But, when they’re side by side,[…]
There was so much screaming last night. Far more than usual. It was really difficult to get to sleep. I wished I had the same cloth ears as Little Ted, who was snoozing next to me. It all started after Dad came through the front door, slamming it. Mum’s words[…]
Deep in the Bavarian forest, Tamdorf lays perfectly still. His pained, heavy body is forcing the early spring growth back into the ground.New life is still developing around him as his old life wilts away. The numbness in his trapped legs is successfully fighting off some of the most intense[…]
Tinnitus.What a beautiful word.As it drifts from your lips, it conjures up the image of wind charms, catching a gentle, spring breeze.Eight letters, arranged in perfect harmony, as if created on Mount Cithaeron itself.Yet, behind these letters lay a Victorian factory of loud screeching machines, grinding wheels, vibrating metal tubes[…]
Their voices are sharp. They are fuelled by either hatred or jealousy. Maybe both. In the kitchen, she is repeatedly shouting out, ‘quieter’. The aggressive response, booming from the front room, is to turn the music up even louder, drowning out her rival’s demands. Then the one upstairs suddenly joins[…]
Nothing happened on Wednesday. Nothing happened on Thursday either. Ah, but Tuesday was so different. Ignoring you at the hotel breakfast buffet, the tense client meetings, the silent coffee breaks, the contract signatures, the countless handshakes and over-familiar hugs, the pop of corks, the exciting chatter of future plans, the[…]
I always take this bend in the road carefully.The dirty grey, plastic wrappers flap from the new lamppost like flags at a Grand Prix.I slow down even more, as if instructed to by the marshals.Eyes, on the fading photograph, follow me as I drive past.Every time I see this roadside[…]
Background: This is real-live theatre. A one scene passion play Stage Layout: Two empty wine glasses on a dining table, creating a false comfortableness. One gyuto knife under a blue, cotton napkin. Leading Lady: Actions researched. Words practised. Hint of inebriation. Preparation: Suitcases packed. Documentation collated. Bank accounts emptied. Car[…]
Never able to cope with change, he’s now desperate for it.Six different schools, three fathers, and eight homes dismantled him; leaving him to pick up his own pieces. Loose relationships and unsecured employment weakened him further.He shakes his cracked cup at a passer-by.‘Spare me change,’ he begs. Published: Vine Leaves[…]