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A Moment of Introspection by Madelaine Taylor

29/3/2021

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The dull copper light of the early rising sun tinged the darkness of retreating night. Distant stars, overwhelmed, faded into the obscurity of encroaching day. 
The ground beneath her was cold and damp, the chilly dew soaked into her jeans, freezing her bottom. She lay back and looked up into slowly transitioning skies.  
“What happens now?” A plume of vapour filled the air with her whispered question. She had been reluctant to ask, filled with a sense that the sound would break the perfection of the moment.

There was no reply beyond the sound of birdsong from the trees around her. 

He lay on the sand, looking up into the purple skies of the twilight hour. The extreme heat of the sun had warmed the ground beneath him and he felt the uncomfortable prickling of it on his skin as it seeped into the soft flesh of his body. The sound of waves, lapping at the shore, filled his ears. The gentle clacking of pebbles, pulled back into the ocean depths, a random percussion that lulled him into a meditative state. 
“What happens now?” He cried into the night. 

She lay there for an hour, watching the world wake, a rabbit had scrambled from its warren not far from where she lay, it sniffed at her toes and hopped on past her. The dawn chorus had morphed into a cacophony of sound, like the chanting crowds of a football stadium. “There must be more than this.” She sighed, her thoughts still lost in the labyrinth of her mind. 

He lay there for an hour, watching the world fall into sleep, a crab scrambled from under a rock not far from where he lay. “There must be more than this.” He sighed as the creeping ocean water tickled his feet.
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    Issue 8 & 9

    January 2021
    February 2021



    The Stories

    All
    A Blanket Of Stars By Georgia Cook
    A Chance By Liz Breen
    A Close Shave By Cindy Pereira
    A Compromise By Caitlin Magnall-Kearns
    A Drink After Work By Graham Crisp
    A Furtive Conversation By Sammi McSporran
    A Letter By Joe Bedford
    A Moment Of Introspection By Madelaine Taylor
    An Easy Mistake By Rachel Smith
    An Unfortunate Incident By Hilary Taylor
    Author Author! By Andrew Ball
    Bat Chat By Elaine Peters
    Bat Woman By Niall McKenna
    Beads Of Gold By Eva Bell
    Bearly Dry By Madelaine Taylor
    Bell Bottoms And Beer By Cindy Pereira
    Bench Mark By Jennifer Patsalidou
    Bride To Be By R.T. Hardwick
    Carnaby St Boutique By Steve Goodlad
    Caroline And Steven By Graham Crisp
    Cash Or Claret By Colin Ward
    Caught In The Act By Hilary Taylor
    Chance Encounter By Jeff Jones
    Change Matters By C.R. Berry
    Command By Ian Tew
    Crocodile Tears By Felicity Edwards
    Crossed Wires By Jeff Jones
    Ding Dong Dung By Cindy Pereira
    Dreaming Of You By Steve Goodlad
    Friederike By Mark Harbinger
    Global Architects By Rachel Smith
    Happy To Chat By Elaine Peters
    Holiday Of A Lifetime By Elaine Peters
    Horror Scope By Cindy Pereira
    Hotel Kasbah By Beverley Byrne
    Hunger By Caitlin Magnall-Kearns
    Lend Us A Tenner By Graham Crisp
    Love And Sparkles By Hilary Taylor
    Mistaken Identity By Madelaine Taylor
    Molly-Dolly’s New Clothes By Elaine Peters
    Mountain By Soren Petrek
    Mr. Patel’s Shop By Graham Crisp
    Out On The Town By Caitlin M Kearns
    Peter By R.T. Hardwick
    Plenty By Miriam H Harrison
    Pocket Money By Felicity Edwards
    Raisins And Rum By Cindy Pereira
    Reality
    Room 12 By Graham Crisp
    She Thinks I'm Stupid By Steve Goodlad
    Siesta By Elaine Peters
    Taking The Floor By Claire Barnard
    Tangle By Miriam H. Harrison
    Teacher By Madelaine Taylor
    The Book Of Revelations By R.T. Hardwick
    The Choice By Hilary Taylor
    The Death Of An Actor By Steve Goodlad
    The Ending By Liz Breen
    The Incidentals Table By Liz Breen
    The Inheritance By Graham Crisp
    The Neighbour By Lynne Couzins
    The New Guy By Felicity Edwards
    The Oasis By Tanvi Nagar
    The Present By Peter Hankins
    There Once By Miriam H. Harrison
    The Rescue By Hilary Taylor
    The Returners By Liz Breen
    The Stone By Felicity Edwards
    The Surprise By Jeff Jones
    Tough Cookie By Liz Breen
    Waiting Words By Madelaine Taylor
    Weakender By JP Seabright
    Werewolves By Jessica Brown
    What A Concept By Bud Scott
    When To Err Is Not Human By Dipayan Chakrabarti


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Secret Attic - Founded March 2020