“No, no, no, no…” Rebecca mumbled under her breath as the headlights of her car grew even dimmer. It had been over an hour ago that Rebecca had noticed the red check engine light at the same time she had smelled something burning. She wasn’t sure how long the light had been on before then, but since she’d first noticed the dashboard light, she had also noticed her headlights getting progressively dimmer. Rebecca was down...
First, I had to get Charity, the blind woman, to where Jennifer, the wheelchair user woman, lived. I went to Charity's house and guided her into my car. It was raining lightly and we hurried out of her house and into the car, her cane poking everything in front of her, including me a couple of times but she didn't notice and I didn't say. Much the same thing happened outside Jennifer's house except in reverse, the rain dr...
My kitchen, the one I'd thought was plenty big enough, began to look a little bit on the pokey side. Everyone squashed in as best they could. Himari, Lindsey, Jennifer, Charity and the new girl Mandy. “Everyone, this is Mandy, my friend and next-door neighbour, more or less. She ...” “Wait, wait,” Mandy broke in. “Is that more-or-less next-door neighbour, or more-or-less friend?” For an instant, nobody knew whether to lau...
Between invoices, I told Himari what Jennifer and I had got up to last evening. Fortunately, the office CCTV had no audio capability. I could see her eyes sparkling, although she was curious about me having to use the other wheelchair. “How would you feel about using it when you go there?” I asked. “Well, I would, obviously, if she asked me to in her own house. I'd feel awkward, though, knowing I could walk.” “Yes, I felt...
Next evening, Himari and Lindsey couldn't come. It was Lindsey's Thursday Pilates group, and Himari had something inscrutable to do but she didn't say what it was. Jennifer didn't seem to mind just being the two of us when we'd talked about it last evening, so she wanted to meet anyway, at her house. She gave me the address and when I arrived, bang on time, she took me inside and showed me a spare wheelchair, which sat ju...
They all arrived on time. I'd heard a car draw up alongside the house as opposed to outside the front door, and I watched Lindsey get the wheelchair out of the boot and assemble it for her friend who heaved herself into it directly from the front seat. Jennifer was wearing a fleecy coat and a woolly hat, so I guessed that she didn't like the cold wet weather we were having. I opened the kitchen door just as she got to it...
The next day, Tuesday, was normal right up until the moment when Lindsey came in looking for a report the MD had asked for. The office door swung shut and Himari and I looked at Lindsey, back in her more familiar work clothes, to see what the reaction would be. She sauntered across to her normal perch, sat on it, and looked at us for a few seconds. “Hey, I enjoyed last night,” she began. “When's the next meeting?” We all...
Monday morning came around soon enough. I knew Himari went to a relative's house on Saturdays, and I went to my middle brother's house for Sunday lunch so we'd had all weekend to think about Friday night, and to prepare suitable excuses and apologies if the need arose when we met again on Monday morning. When Himari got into the office at about one minute to nine our eyes met, clearly searching for the other person's feel...
My name is Stella and I work at an old-established but slightly falling-apart food factory in deepest Devon. We make pastry products, cakes, cake mixes, and powdered drink mixes. I am twenty-seven years old and single again after finally catching him red-handed with Suzanna, a floozy from the firm of lawyers next to his sports shop. A few months later (alright, weeks then) I was beginning to feel the lack of someone to pl...
Sunday, 6pm No way am I going to sleep. The train is a slow, relaxed one and it’s almost deserted. There’s sun pouring in, making my knees pleasantly warm as it bakes the denim of my jeans. I should be getting drowsy by now, but I can’t keep my thoughts from racing ahead of me. Instead, I sit with my hands clasped together, hunched forward and probably frowning. I look at the soft black travel bag I’ve brought, which sits...
Four years had passed since St. Albans, and the small battle there between the House of York and House Lancaster on 22nd May 1455, where the Yorkists triumphed over the Lancaster army based there and captured King Henry VI in the battle. Bartand and Lady Lott "Pixie" had evaded Yorkist forces and safely made it back to Lancaster controlled lands.There they made their goodbyes, hoping and intending to meet once more when M...
The man was bleeding heavily from his thigh. The arrow had seared and torn through the chainmail that was wrapped around his leg. Blood had begun to seep through the inter-linked chainmails and into the grass as the man fought with all his strength, dragging the injured limb along as he made his way into the nearby forestry. "Just a bit further, before I get caught by these Yorkist dogs!" The man shouted in a final effort...
Jennifer was a very shy girl, yet an intelligent student in class. Somewhere in the nooks of Liverpool was a house, where Jennifer lived with her parents and brother. Her father was an executive, he was very gentle in nature, very charming person, her mother Barbara was a typical housewives, engaged in chores, some or the other... often wished life could take some turns, no she wasn't an envious lady, she had friends bot...
The pub you have chosen to meet in is unfamiliar to you. It's old-fashioned, divided into booths of dark wood, the seating is benches covered in cracked leather and wingback-chairs. Despite the smoking ban the smell of leather and wood has only just overtaken the tobacco smell that has permeated the walls from decades of haze. You have chosen a bench facing the entrance so you can watch who comes in and out. You're w...
