Author: Lauren Thomas

They posed for the photos without looking like they were posing for the photos. It was an art form that few seemed to appreciate. “Do you ever get tired of this?” “Of being stared at? Of course I do. But it’s all we know right?” “I suppose so.” ‘What are you thinking about? I can…

She didn’t know how long she had been on the water. When she found the boat at the edge of the lake, looking unloved and splintered, she felt like she was looking at herself. She pushed it into the water and climbed in, feeling the emotional burdens she had left on the shoreline shrinking as…

She was the girl that no one noticed. She liked it that way. She carried guilt in her pockets. Had secrets that lay just beneath her surface. If she stepped out from the shadows she worried that people would see them, dancing under her pale skin like a zoetrope. So she continued to keep her…

She looks really chubby these days. She’s lost so much weight. She looks ill. She’s starting to look really old. Why did she have surgery? She doesn’t even look like herself. She had grown up with these stories. Witnessed women pulled apart in the magazines she hated but couldn’t give up. Damned if they did…

She thought of the dirty casserole dish she had left to soak in the sink. She thought of the smell of lavender in her front garden, the bees drunkenly bumping against the flowers. She thought of the last chapter of the book she had planned to finish that night, dragging out the ending so that…

“What would you do today if there was no tomorrow?” She looked at her daughter, into those eyes that couldn’t decide if they were blue or green, and as always she saw the face of someone who had quite clearly already lived many lifetimes. “That’s a pretty deep question kiddo. I’d probably let you choose,…

He couldn’t help but stare when he caught sight of his own reflection. It was mesmerising. It didn’t happen often. The clouds were often in the way. But when the axis of the earth was just right he could see himself winking back through a body of water. He wanted to get closer. To fully…

“This will work. Mice are stupid.” He put cheese on the trap. Topped it with peanut butter for good measure. He was looking forward to the silencing of claws scrabbling above his head. The mouse watched the stupid humans from his vantage point on the cupboards. When they were out of sight he helped himself…

“I saw your mother today.” She didn’t turn around, feigning busyness with the tea making. “Did you? How was she?” “She seemed well. She was out in the garden. Her dress matched the roses.” “Sounds lovely dad.” She took the chocolate digestives from the cupboard and put two on a plate. Placed them in front…