{photo source} The photo on the wall was almost taunting in it’s smug happiness. The picture perfect couple. The adorable new baby the perfect blend of both perfectly polished parents. The roundness of her face reflecting her perfect contentedness. His perfectly spiky hair as provoking as his perfect pride. Baby’s perfect round face and perfect little fuzz on top. Perfect. […]
{image source} He hadn’t realised quite how long he’d been sitting there, twirling the bar mat, until a voice at his elbow pulled him from his thoughts. “You could nearly sail a boat in that.” Paul looked up, to see Rob holding two beers and nodding at the puddle that had formed on the table in front of him, condensation […]
{image source} “It’s too hard. I can’t. I’m scared,” I looked at her pleadingly, desperate for her to protect me from rapidly impending adulthood. “You CAN do it. Everyone feels like this, but I know you can do this.” Her eyes twinkled as she reached into the basket slung over her arm. Something behind her fluttered, but my attention was […]
{photo source} The swirling snow guaranteed only most foolhardy and desperate would venture forth today. I would be safe, I reassured myself as I carefully made my way to the waiting carriage. There was no risk of seeing her, giving me more time to process the events of the previous evening’s ball. The way her eyes flashed as she spoke, […]
{photo source} She winked at herself in the mirror, pleased with her attempts at styling her hair for tonight’s party. Her smile faltered just a little as her reflected self winked back, a split second later than expected. There is was again, the feeling something wasn’t right, that the self in the mirror wasn’t an exact reflection. Uneasy, she […]
{image source} Birds chirping, leaves stirring in the breeze, the gentle perfume of newly bloomed flowers, warm sun on skin. The signs of spring surrounded Alice, as she rested on the park bench. Children played behind her, in front of her, mothers with babies in prams helped their toddlers feed bread to the ducks. The chaotic rhythm of a midweek […]
{image source} The lights dimmed, the curtains parted. From somewhere in the back of the hall, a spotlight carved a beam through the murky semi dark, and lit up the costumed performers on the stage. Paul’s breath caught. With her back to him, and everyone else, stood Lauren, stunning in a flowing white gown, surrounded by black suited men. The […]
{image source} The train slows as it nears the platform, then rocks to a stop, as the grind of wheels against the track gives way to the scuffle of feet finding the floor and bags being collected. Gripping the pole tightly, staring at the floor, she is oblivious to the crowds surging past her in waves, as the carriage empties, […]
Photo source His fingers drifted over the tables, the warm oak surfaces coated in dust, the ghosts of a thousand moments felt and a hundred lives lived heavy in the air. The silence was the most disconcerting thing. Not the furniture, once polished with reverence to a deep shine. Not the specks of dust swirling through the shards of sunlight […]
photo source “Another day, another city. I find myself staring into the crowd, wondering where today finds you”, she writes, and stops. Suddenly, for someone who never had trouble with words, there is nothing to say. Nothing that flows from heart to mind to fingertips to scrawl across the card to reach out to him, wherever he is. Lauren lets […]
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