Designed to be kind

Today, I walked into town to buy gifts. The sky was grey but I didn't mind, as the gloom was eclipsed by prim-lipped tulips and scrawls of magnolia. It was such a treat to be out, after burrowing at home with Covid. Feeling jubilant, I smiled broadly at a woman with child. Her returning stare … Continue reading Designed to be kind

What flavour are you?

Recently, when the doctor suggested Vitamin D tablets for bone density, he asked me what flavour I'd like. "Sorry?" I was still coming to terms with having not-dense bones and wasn't ready to move on. But, you know, they only have ten minutes... "Well, they come in two flavours." He paused a bit embarrassed, "Lemon … Continue reading What flavour are you?

Millennium Bug

So it came after all, she thinks, staring out of the window at the rain. It falls in heavy handfuls, flicking fingers at the glass. She's not thinking about the rain but about the millennium bug that they prepared for twenty years ago (can it really be twenty?) It hadn't come. Patient, it had waited … Continue reading Millennium Bug

Other Mothers and the Kindness of Spring – Short Fiction for Mothers Day

The narrow blades knifing through earth showed no hint of bloom. Carly watched them, remembering the promise on the pack, Plant now, blooms for  Mothers Day. She watered the pot before school,  all anxious-eyed and pajama-ed, curtain of hair swinging onto cheeks sharp with cold . What if they weren't ready in time? On the way to … Continue reading Other Mothers and the Kindness of Spring – Short Fiction for Mothers Day