Half a year is what I have, bargained fair and fiercely. People may say I am unduly influenced by him, that when he stole me away, he poisoned me against my family. But he didn’t steal me away. I ran willingly to the underworld. Crossed the river, paid the

I left home at 21, after my wife died, and set myself a task to explore this whole wide world. At that age I didn’t know how wide the world was but now, after 30 years, I am more aware than ever that I may never complete my quest.

The book was tattered now - the spine cracked, and the pages dog-eared with mysterious stains pockmarking random pages. Inside the front cover the words “Property of Lillian Delavie” were written in a light pen. Lillian being my former girlfriend. I’d “borrowed” the book when we had split. Now

The pattern was almost complete. It just needed one more piece to bring it to life. Dust rose in the background as the creaking of carts and braying of donkeys filled the air. But there was no real movement. Everything was stuck in a sense of suspended animation. The market

CLICK – BzzzzZZZ – Tchk.. Ah there we go the universal translator is on. Now, you may ask why we need a language class. Sometimes the translator malfunctions, or the language being spoken is one we’ve never heard before. The planet you will be visiting is 10.005.03 in the

It had all been so clean. I had washed the floors, hoovered the stairs, dusted the walls and it was all gleaming. So, when my husband came home trailing dirt from his soccer game and scuffing the carpets because he once again refused to take off his shoes at the

It was the 29th day of the month of February and for some reason my friends had persuaded me to join them for the Dance at the Knight’s Hospitaller. So here I was at the ball - brightly lit and full of dancing couples. I do love a good

His tools were laid out in front of him. A small hand saw, a knife – the small blade freshly sharpened on the whetstone, a chisel and a piece of sandpaper, to soften the edges. He could begin. The scent of jasmine hung heavy in the air as a servant poured

Bluebells rim the edges of path, their heads bobbing low under the unseasonably cold wind. Halfway down, a patch of white snowdrops breaks the lilac monotony. To most, this would just be an aberrant planting, bulbs gone awry in last year’s planting. But to those who know, this is