Writer’s confession
We have all seen the cartoon or movie version of the good angel – bad devil. The good angel is sweetly balanced on your right shoulder, all dressed in white, possibly wearing wings, a halo may be involved. The bad …
The Promise
My 45 year old eyes looked at the letter my 10 year old hand had written all those decades ago. I had been a studious boy with an odd love of punctuation and the letter was flooded with quotation marks, …
The towns you drive
Her first town was no more than a handful of businesses clustered around a cobbled main street. The chemist was on the one end and the green grocer was on the other, like bookends bracketing the village. Verdant green meadows …
You are such a liar
“You are such a liar”, hissed Angus, glaring at his little sister. Ailsa was primly perched on the wide window seat, a piece of shortbread delicately balanced in her small white hands. Mrs. Ainsley drew in her breath, carefully replaced …
Nearing Midnight
The walls were a sunny Crayola-orange; no doubt some committee’s misguided attempt to cheer up this ghastly place. Mark shook his head imagining the hours of research that went into that decision. He sighed and softly muttered: “well it’s not …
This is what I remember
I remember the night air was unusually still, not the usual wind pumping down the mountain, just a softness that wrapped itself around us. It was almost like the city didn’t want us to leave. The casual wooden table had …
Second storey window
Most people thought the wheelchair was a prison, keeping me trapped solely within a world of ramps and railings. But to me it was my ticket to sanity. No dealing with all the messy business of other human beings, just …
Taking a Sea Bath
The aircraft has just left terra firma. White tropical beaches give way to the deep blue Caribbean sea as we climb into the clouds. Yesterday was different. The Airbus accelerated down the runway but instead of taking off, slewed to …
Hwaqahwaqa
Hwaqahwaqa, “mottled object”, “overcast sky”. This was her Zulu name, given due to the irregular black pools on her soft grey coat that seemed to echo the ancient skies over a dull African veld. To the mlungus who knew her …
Hello World by Paul Fleischack
This is my first post as an aspiring author at Chapt3r1. I am a recent entrant into the world of writing. As a scientist I have written many formal and structured papers, articles and reports. The surprise of a successful entry …