Wendy caught Jesse in the garden, snail in his mouth. Its shell splintered like soiled wrapping paper, gleaming wetness sliding forth when she pried his lips apart. “It’s got to stop,” she told his mother. Last week it was a worm; on Monday a pile of tight-balled slaters. “We thought he’d choke.” His mother nodded, … Continue reading Child’s Play
This week saw my story, “Aphis’s Gambit”, published at The Piker Press, an online weekly journal of arts, science, fiction, and non-fiction. Aphis’s Gambit started life as a short story competition entry for the theme, “Today was finally the day…”. I will be forever grateful to my writing friends who saw its initial promise and … Continue reading Aphis’s Gambit
It started with a pair of gumboots. My neighbour of ten years, Mrs McNally, planted bright red geraniums in each one, then got Mr McNally to nail them to their front fence. I watched him do it while I was mowing the lawn. They were bright and charming, those gumboots, with their scarlet polka dots. … Continue reading Mrs McNally’s Garden
A year went by without Rupert mentioning anything, but that didn’t mean he stopped thinking about it. You saw the references in his every move. In his hobby, his obsession, most especially. “That’s the last of them, I think,” he’d said, laying golden roses on the kitchen table. You’d looked out the window to the … Continue reading Letting a Wild Thing Grow
"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."Audrey Hepburn From overgrown mess to native garden Time flies. Just over a year ago I blogged about starting work on my garden. So here we are: I'm going to show how it's gone. I have to say, I'm pretty darn proud, too. Warning: lots of pictures … Continue reading Operation: Garden. One Year Later
EMMA LOUISE GILL 