Author: Lauren Thomas

“I’ve written a poem about Cheerio!” She looked over at their cat, sat on the windowsill staring vacantly at birds it would never catch. “Let’s hear it.” She had stripes on her back and a heart-shaped nose,And in the darkness eyes that glowed,But her clumsiness often caused a ding-dong,Because her tail was impossibly long. She…

“Inky shroud.” “Bat wings.” “Blackberry mist.” “Uncompromising veil.” “Ooh, that’s a good one!” “Thanks! I think that’s for when it’s really dark. Like you can’t see your hand in front of your face dark.” She nodded, putting pencil to paper with her tongue between her teeth. “Cold embers.” “Dulled onyx.” “The Devil’s breath.” They had…

I swear he came from nowhere. There was nothing I could have done about it. Is he going to be ok? He was distracted by his phone. I don’t know whether to tell the police but he got a text and glanced down at the wrong moment. I think he was worried about me seeing…

The infection tore through the room. It started subtly at first, one person hiding their symptom behind a politely crooked finger. Only one other person saw it, not because they were looking on purpose, but because the sun caught the ring on that politely crooked finger. The symptom took the second person unawares with its…

When they finally entered the house, they found a pan on the hob, its contents burned to something unrecognisable. It had been there for so long that the air no longer carried the acrid scent. Instead, it smelled of an absence. The windows, cracked open to welcome what the inspector liked to imagine had been…

The frail man sat on the same bench every day, his small dog on his lap and a bunch of roses in his hand. He looked like a painting. “They say he waits there every day for his wife. But she died years ago.” He smiled at this most common rumour. It was only partly…

As the colours around her became richer, she felt herself begin to fade. The fallen leaves were like paint splashes, ochre and burgundy competing with plum and russet. But she saw only grey, the brightness of the clear blue autumnal skies creating headaches behind her left eye as she wearily scanned the hedgerows. The blackbirds…

“Oi! Give us a smile love!” Oh how she wished they would stop saying that. As her pupils dilated and the tendons in her hands stretched uncomfortably, she looked around for the quickest exit route, deciding on the wall that she knew she would be able to jump over before anyone had time to understand…

She wished she’d known beforehand. It seemed so lovely. Buried beneath a sapling, nurturing growth and providing a space where her family could gather and reminisce to the sound of birdsong. She had led a happy life with no regrets. Until now. As they gathered beneath her branches, the lines on their faces a little…

She half smiled at the camera, still uncomfortable with the idea of her image being captured forever. She clutched the little boy so tightly that the discomfort showed on his face. The atmosphere behind them was one of unfettered freedom, the beach packed with holiday makers for the first time in years. She never saw…