Escape through the forest

My breath comes in short, raspy gasps. I jump over a tree stump, my feet land on the twiggy undergrowth and, for a second, I fear I will tumble. But my body remains upright, my legs keep running. I can hear Nath behind me, to the left. I glance that way, but I can't see…

Coming home

'Circle round the back,' I say to Ben. We've been driving for six hours. Stopped at a roadside motel and spent a night in a flea-ridden bed. We both rose at 5AM, itchy and groggy. I briefly contemplated a hot shower to wake up and maybe burn off the fleas, but one glance at the…

Losing Mia

Barry and I were in a small room, just off from triage. It was styled with a sofa, two arm chairs, a small occasional table with a lamp, and cheap art work. Also on the table were brochures: organ donation, funeral homes, cancer foundations, and SIDS. And a vase of plastic flowers. We knew instinctively…

A morning in the life of

'Harriet, don't tease your sister!' I yell for the umpteenth time. I wipe my forehead with my gloved hand. I am washing the breakfast dishes. The dishwasher's kaput. Died mid-cycle three weeks ago, so I had to empty it of half-clean crockery and then bucket out the excess water. Since then, my lower back is…

Mothers’ Day

I've just risen out of bed. Had a lie-in, joined by Our Girl for cuddly snuggles. Hubster then made brekkie for me and brought it on a tray to the bed. On the tray was a hand-picked rose from our garden by T2, an espresso coffee made by T1. Brekkie was avocado, fetta and bacon…