Introduction
This collection is a collection of seventy stories, each 280 words. They were inspired by the first picture seen on my Twitter feed on a given day.
At least they'd let him keep the thick duvet. A street light was shining straight into the doorway. That would help him to keep warm. Tomorrow he'd go to the Town Hall again. This would have to do for now. He buried himself inside the duvet.
He was too cold and angry to sleep. The police had turfed him and the others out of the disused bank. Even he hadn't hit anybody that hard when he'd been a soldier, not even when they'd been at war. The others had been old like him, too. Why would they hit old people like that? He'd been willing enough to move but he was slower on his feet these days. He'd find the others in the morning.
When Ella had died too suddenly and too young he'd not been able to keep up with the mortgage payments. He hadn't got the patience to fill out all the forms. He'd stayed with his son start with but then she'd got fed up. "I'm sorry Ernie," his daughter-in-law had said. "We can't have you snapping at the kids like that."
He'd stayed with mates for a while. The same problem again.
The old bank had been all right. There was even a shower and a toilet but no hot water of course. There had been plenty of comrades.
He felt warmer. The wind had lost its chill. Suddenly he was surrounded by light. He knew what was happening. And yes, there was Ella. And then she wasn't. It was all dark. Was this it?
"Thank you for letting us know," said the policeman as the woman fiddled with her poppy. "We'll take it from here."
About the author
Gill James is published by The Red Telephone, Butterfly and Chapeltown.
She edits CafeLit and writes for the online community news magazine: Talking About My Generation.
She teaches Creative Writing and has an MA in Writing for Children and PhD in Creative and Critical Writing.
http://www.gilljameswriter.com
https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001KMQRKE
https://www.facebook.com/gilljameswriter
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