Author: Lauren Thomas

I’m sorry that I somehow managed to burn the peas, a job you were so sure I couldn’t possibly mess up. You know I like a challenge. I’m sorry I was adamant that it wouldn’t rain and dragged you out for a walk until it began to hit the side of our faces like splinters…

Her head was filled with voices from the past. The teacher who told her she was bossy. The boy who called her frigid. The men who said “come ‘ere little cutie, we won’t hurt you.” The boss who told her he thought she would have more of a sense of humour. They would turn up…

They had driven for hours in the dead of night to reach the coast before sunrise. Months in the planning, they had kept a meticulous eye on the forecasts and were convinced that Mother Nature was planning a dazzling display. When the sky began to lighten, it became clear that they were facing a heavy…

Every time she tried to laugh, the creature in her throat caught it in his hand and pulled it back. Everyone assumed she had no sense of humour. She developed a reputation for being overly serious. A kill joy. She couldn’t tell them the truth. Who would believe the thing that she herself had never…

She loved to run more than anything. On her regular route along the river with her friend she would sometimes open up and leave her behind, sprinting until it felt like her heart would turn into that of a hummingbird’s, a buzzing in her ears. On a day when the geese took flight from the…

People had stopped moving. At first she thought it was some strange street art and rolled her eyes as she waked past them on her way home. But the next morning they were still there, their eyes dry and dull. As the days passed more people joined them, frozen in time. Some of them had…

The night had been too much. She had been made to feel like a spoilsport when she wanted to go home rather than staying the night. She had slipped out when the partygoers were preoccupied with drinking port and playing charades. “Are you seeing anyone?” “Met anyone new recently?” “Aren’t you lonely?” That last one…

“Someone has spilled diamonds! They’re everywhere!” She could smell her daughter’s hot sleep breath and opened her eyes to find a freckled face inches from her own. “What are you talking about my little Annabanana?” She felt a small hand grasp hers. “Come look!” She gasped as her bare feet left the warmth of the…

She knew where he’d been by the trail of coffee mugs. Sometimes they were completely drained, as if the coffee had never been there at all. Others she found half drunk, the ceramic cool to the touch and the coffee like an unwelcome slick she could see her face in. Rarely they were freshly made…