Spiral by Kathryn Aldridge-Morris
We’re staring down a tin of Quality Street at the centre of our circle of seats when the church door bangs open. It’s a new bloke, crucifix dripping from his neck like a lanyard.
Self-Portrait of Someone Else by Dilys Wyndham Thomas
When Jill’s eyes adjust to the light, she comes face-to-face with a life-sized painting of a naked, spread-eagled woman. It takes her a full minute to recognise herself.
Ernst Is Coming Home by Jack Morris
The rumours arrive on the dawn wind and by mid-afternoon the village ladies have landed in Leonora’s kitchen to disembowel the news.
I Was Seventeen and a Half by Sophie Hoss
and in those days I played chicken with life and roulette with oblivion. I ducked under the lowered crossing signals to race the oncoming train across the tracks, and when I reached the other side, I turned and saw a girl I knew from school jumping after me.
Observations in a Layby and a Missing Dick by Cheryl Markosky
When the alien lands in the layby [PLACE TO STOP TEMPORARILY AND DRINK AMBER LIQUID FROM THERMOS FLASK] on the A303 at Barton Stacey near the Travelodge, it climbs down the steps from its spaceship into gloomy light.