The girl looked at the photograph. It was taken a long time ago, and if you looked at it really closely, after a long time, you could see that it was of her. She was wearing a bridesmaid’s dress and a tiara, and although someone had put makeup on her, it was clear that was … Read More
I was brought up by my sister, Kathy. Our parents died in an accident not long after I was born, and I became her ward. Kathy was still a teenager then. To this day, I don’t fully understand why she was landed with me, and I probably never will. The whole thing is shrouded in … Read More
I get the feeling sometimes that everyone has gone slightly mad. Maybe it’s the lockdowns, maybe it was brewing before all that; perhaps it’s social media algorithms, or the weird, extreme political climate of the past few years. Or maybe it’s just the circles I move in. Just before the second lockdown, I had some … Read More
A lot of things happen to me by accident. Working at The Railway Club was never part of the plan. It was Stevie’s idea, and as soon as he said it, I knew it made sense. “The Railway Pub’s opening a strip club in its basement” he said. “They’re advertising for girls. You should go … Read More
I can’t talk to my best friend any more. He took too many drugs, and they made him stupid. I never thought it would happen, but somewhere along the line it has, and now he’s somebody else, someone I don’t know. If I knew exactly when it happened, I’d like to think that I would … Read More
As a child, I remember garden parties; rich children in expensive clothes, their mothers choked in perfume talking about lunches and tans – all the pretty faces – and I, being poor, felt alone somehow, conscious that I was not like them. But I remember, as well, the children from my block on my road, … Read More
My Uncle Ed died last week. I was sad to hear about that. I’d not seen him for years, but I remember him from being small and he was a nice man. When I was tiny, he used to pick me up and swing me high above his head and onto his shoulders and I’d … Read More
I had a sudden moment of clarity as I eyed the pieces of junk. What was I supposed to say? What could I say? In the end I said nothing. I just sat there and stared at it all; the bits of broken glass and debris that he’d carefully placed on the floor. He’d arranged … Read More
The creator belched loudly, and reached towards the packet of crisps by his side. Realising it was empty, he scowled and took another swig of lager. It was time for bed. He saved the game and switched the console off. Time stopped. In our world it stopped for thousands of years. But because everything had … Read More