Collection of Short Stories and Poetry

The letters in his hand were crisp, clean, and pure white and had the age of youth while Sebastian's hands were wrinkled, old and worn out. He smelt the perfume of the letters which were like flowers in the room showing down onto him. He rocked slowly as he held them and whispered 'Lillian' while Beatrice didn't budge and had gone to sleep purring away in his lap.  As the light glistened in the fireplace the colours were reflecting onto the walls of the living room like colours of the rainbow as he thought of Lillian and the past. It was at university where he had met her first, he was himself lost in the corridors, with his shirt half tucked into his trousers, tie askew and hair rough and looking at the board trying to find his class. He heard her voice, 'excuse me' and turned towards her. It was her golden hair that struck him. It shone in the corridor like a gem and it was long. She looked as though she were a mermaid emerging from the sea. He could feel...

Why it is so important for a woman to get married? The bridesmaid dresses were standing there before her like an ancient relic. A reminder of the past of where she had worn them before. The one at Katherine’s wedding her cousin who was two years younger than her who got married, was the last one. Now Jane was the only one left unmarried and all she had were the dresses swashed together like passengers on the tube in the cupboard staring at her.      ‘Don’t you want to get married?’ said Katherine to her. ‘I wonder why you haven’t met anyone yet’? Jane wanted to punch her, but refrained and held her fist tightly. She was always made to feel this way, that there was something wrong with her, and she didn’t have the answers as to why she wasn’t married. She was cornered at her wedding reception in the midst of the dancing, lights and music and she had been smug all night with her ‘perfect’ husband Kevin. Jane hated to go to the weddings, but recently she was being...

        Henrietta heard her mobile bleep and picked it up. It read ' I am watching you'. She  nearly dropped it as she had expected it to be from Mary as she was always late.  She checked her mobile again the number on the mobile wasn't traceable who was  it? Henrietta’s eyes began to dart around at the tables, the phone felt was sticky in  her hand and her throat dry as she looked around the coffee tables to see whether  there was someone watching her.       The phone started to ring, she dropped the phone onto the newly polished table as  it buzzed and her heart started to beat faster. She saw that it was Jack her boyfriend  and she began to feel more agitated. ‘Hello’ she stuttered.  ‘It’s me I just wanted to check if you are OK, what time you coming home?’ he said. ‘I told you I was meeting Mary and would be back late’ said Henrietta. Her throat felt  more dry as she spoke to him and the room f...

Jaspreet felt like she was dressed as a Christmas tree, with tinsel, baubles and flashing lights. She remembered the tree they had in the living room in her childhood every December that her parents put up. She didn’t know why she had to dress up with a salwar kameez , as she never wore one unless it was a wedding or she was harassed about it. Today was the day she was badgered about it ‘The green one, the one you wore at Preti’s engagement party, put that on’. Her mum said. The green one? She thought which green one? She really didn’t take notice of clothes, she preferred her jeans and she was missing them so much. Her mum grumbled at her and had to fetch it herself and ironed it as though Jaspreet had never ironed her own clothes. The heels that she was wearing were killing her, she could never get her head round wearing them or how other women wore them so comfortably. Her makeup was commented on ‘so pretty you look Jaspreet why don’t you wear it more ...