Heading home

At the terminal, Ally pauses out the front of the gift shop. The candles and potions beckon her inside. A friendly shop assistant smiles. 'Good morning,' she says. 'How may I help you today?' 'Just browsing thanks,' Ally responds, more tersely than she intends. 'Of course. I'm around if you have any questions.' Ally wanders…

Joy in the Park

Joy has been named incorrectly. For her, happiness has always been skimpy. There's been fleeting moments, of course. That time when she experienced her first kiss, buying her apartment, the warmth of Sadie when she curls on her lap. But implosion always threatened, like troops on the border making a stealthy advance. Even those times…

Rescue

The details Bessie had been given were sketchy, at best. She's in the car, on the way to the designated meeting spot and recalls the conversation. 'Meet at the docks,' the voice said, after revealing the plan. It was a deep, husky tone; a male, Bessie surmised. 'You know the place? Under the bridge?' She…

Tea and Cake

Harriet lowers herself into her arm chair. Everything hurts: over the past few years, Harriet's been feeling every day of her age. She's noticed back ache, her legs are shaky and sore, her shoulders hunched. She is old; born in the previous century. And while that seems like an eye-blink ago, it's really not. The…

Time to move on

'There's something wrong,' I said, looking up with a frown. 'I think the spring is broken.' 'Why do you say that?' Mathew asked, wiping his hands on his jeans. Arsehole. He erred on the side of me being stupid, unknowing. Not what you'd call a supportive bloke. Many of my friends, and especially my parents,…