Followers

Thursday 26 September 2024

Bitter Sweet Revenge

Bitter Sweet Revenge 

By Sis Unsworth


Valerie stood motionless in the doorway. A deep black cloud seemed to slowly devour her, like an early morning mist that appears from nowhere.

 She had been in a good mood when she arrived that morning. She loved her job as a carer at the Bluebell nursing home. The handover from the night shift had gone smoothly, all had gone well overnight.

The staff nurse had informed them of a new arrival, a Mr's Benson who had arrived the previous evening. She was in room 36, and would they all make themselves known to her. 

Valerie had been quite busy that morning, so it was just before lunch when she arrived at room 36. There she stood when a strange shiver went down her spine, as Mrs Benson looked up and smiled.

Something about her looked familiar, she looked just like a little old lady with a friendly smile on her face. Why then was she feeling this way about her? Trying to pull herself together, Valerie smiled, introduced herself, and welcomed Mrs Benson to the Bluebell nursing home. It was when she turned to leave, that something caught her eye. It was a photo on the bookshelf.

With a deep feeling of foreboding Valerie picked it up. “Who is the lady in this photo?” She enquired.

“Why that’s me!” Mrs Benson replied. “That was me when I was young, I haven’t always looked like this,” she laughed.

Valerie recognised the woman in the photo, it was her old school teacher, known then as Miss Hayden, or ‘the dark witch’ as they all called her. Slowly she replaced the photo, so the dark witch must have been married, who ever would have married her, Valerie pondered. She caught her breath muttered a few words and retreated from the room. 

All Morning she reflected on her discovery, ‘the dark witch’ had ruined her last year at school. All the girls had hated her, she seemed to love to humiliate them, especially in front of the boys. The cane was still in use in schools at that time, and the dark witch did not hold back from using it. Valerie decided not to tell the other carers, if they knew how she felt about Mrs Benson they might report her. However, she was burning inside for revenge which she was finding difficult to control. What made her more angry, was all the other carers thought well of Mrs Benson, saying what a kind old lady she was. This really infuriated her. Somehow she would make the dark witch show her true colours. She began by making Mrs Benson wait for everything when she was on duty. Valerie made sure she was always last to get her tea or receive her mail. Always last to get her meals or last being put to bed.

However, nothing seemed to annoy her, and the more Mrs Benson smiled and thanked her, the angrier she became.

It all came to a head one afternoon. Staff nurse was sorting out the medication, when she was suddenly distracted. Valerie took advantage of the situation; she took some tablets and slipped them into her pocket. Later, she dissolved them in Mrs Benson's tea before she left to go home. 

Valerie didn’t sleep too well, realising what she had done. She hurried to work the next day, and was first of her shift to arrive. The staff nurse was waiting for her. “Mrs Benson has had a bad night, she was quite sick,” she explained. “We have sent for the Doctor, and informed her next of kin who is her brother. He is waiting in the lounge. Would you go and keep him company? We have given him a cup of tea.” 

Valerie obeyed in silence realising the consequences of her actions. Reaching the lounge she found an elderly gentleman who introduced himself as Mr Hayden. “I am Mary’s Brother,” he explained.

“Sorry to hear your sister is poorly, she seemed alright when I left yesterday,” Valerie felt a wave of guilt pass through her. 

“I’m worried about her,” he said. “She moved here to be near me when her husband passed away. She is such a lovely girl, we get on so well, unlike her twin sister, we don’t get on at all!”

 

Copyright Sis Unsworth

 

 

  

IN MEDIO TUTISSIMUS IBIS

 IN MEDIO TUTISSIMUS IBIS

(ACROSTIC)


By Peter Woodgate

Lonely shadows shift and merge

Enhancing comfort to our souls,

Grey is white amidst the dreams

And we have reached those distant goals.

Loosen up you hypocrites

Inhibitions thrown away,

Show the world that we mean business,

Eventually we’ll have our say.

 

Can you keep ignoring facts?

Ask yourself “can it get worse?”

Nothing ventured, nothing gained,

Needlessly we face the curse,

All our lives are touched with sorrow

Bearing scars formed by the lie,

In medio tutissimus ibis

Sic transit gloria mundi.

Copyright Peter Woodgate

 


Tuesday 17 September 2024

MOVING ON

 MOVING ON

By Peter Woodgate 


Glad we were

To leave behind

Those dingy rooms,

The peeling paint

And musty smells.

 

The old, cracked mirror

On the wall,

A picture of the king

And another that was made

From cockle shells.

 

The stairs,

That echoed daily,

With the thunder of our feet,

Would fall silent

With perhaps a creak or two.

 

And the mice,

Unwanted company,

Would be free to roam the rooms,

Undisturbed

And admiring the view.

 

Our brand new flat of concrete,

Had everything,

Three bedrooms and a bath

And balconies, with views

Out front and back.

 

Electric lights,

It smelt pristine,

Fresh painted walls,

Nice shiny floors,

Oh, what then did it lack?

 

Alas;

Our spirits lingered

Where bygone friends

Trod one by one,

Apprehension in that promised land

For we were moving on.

 

Copyright Peter Woodgate

Sunday 15 September 2024

Box 666

 Box 666

By Jane Goodhew

The trees were rapidly changing colour, the verdant greens of spring and summer had been turned into burnished gold and lost their leaves completely autumn had come with a rush.  The warm winds that had crossed the Atlantic had fooled people into thinking it was still summer but they only had to look out of their windows to see winter was fast approaching and the next strong winds would remove the remaining leaves and all colour would be gone.  Winter can be such a gloomy time; nature might be busy beneath the ground but up above all appears worn and dreary.  In the early hours of the morning the bare trees look like a silhouette against the sky, filigree lace sketched in charcoal.  The birds still fly overhead and then swoop if they see something move in the fields but there is little around at this time of year and most have found somewhere warm and safe to live out the winter.

 

She had hoped to have gone away, overseas, anywhere it did not matter just as long as she did not spend another winter of doom and gloom here looking at him across the table and wishing upon wish that she had the courage to leave him but he had been clever and tied the business up so she could not easily sell her share.  No money, no travel, no escape. Then she had an idea, how about if she took a job out of the Lady, someone was always advertising for a companion for an elderly aunt of lonely widower.  He would wonder what she was up to if she went to the shops at this time of day so she looked it up on her computer.  Classified adds and there it was just what she was looking for.

 

Elderly lady requires travel companion for 3 months.  All expenses paid.  Up to date passport required and cheerful personality.  Box666

Well she was not too keen on the box number as it had a ring of the devil about it but the rest was just the answer to her problems so she composed a well thought out but witty reply and pressed send. 

 

A few days later came the response she had hoped for but had not dared to dream of.  You sound just the person I am looking for so meet me at Southampton Departures at 10am Saturday 22nd November.  The tickets are booked and you will have your own adjoining cabin.  Send me your dress and shoe size and I will arrange for your clothes to be there so no need to pack, just bring yourself and your passport.

 

This all sounded too good to be true but she had to get away from her life here before she did something she would live to regret.  She had got to the stage where she could not bear to be in the same room as him, even eating was, what, exactly what, there are no words that can adequately describe how she resented every little move he made, every scratch of the plate, every time he lifted his fork to his mouth she cringed just waiting for the noise of his chomping.  No, whatever was ahead of her had got to be better than this; she would tell no-one not even her best friend.  She would send a letter after the ship had sailed.

 

The days seemed to drag, she could barely contain the excitement that was welling up inside of her and she could not believe that this was really happening nothing like this ever happened to someone like her.  She almost had to pinch herself to see if she were awake and not dreaming but no, she was awake and she re-read the new email to make sure there was no mistaking what she had read. It still said for her to get herself ready as the day of departure was this weekend and a car would pick her up at 7am outside St Marys Church Hall.  A car was coming to get her, clothes were being provided and oh how she had believed in fairies at the bottom of the garden, Santa at Christmas, if there was something to believe in then she would.  She longed to talk to her friend about it but she thought if she did she would somehow jinx it, break the spell after all it did appear that magic had played a part in this, she had made a wish and hey presto it was coming true.

 

The day of departure had finally arrive, her husband had gone out early that morning and he would not be back until late by which time she would be miles out to sea and for the first time in decades he would have to cook his own tea!  Her cooking was about all he would miss about her as they no longer had anything pleasant to say to one another.  She wondered how people could end up like this but many do.  Thankfully she had an escape route and she was going to take it.  The sky was brilliant blue but the air was crisp with low temperatures that were only to be expected at this time of year.  She pulled her hat down low over her ears and her scarf up until the ends joined, and she felt snug as a bug in a rug.  Her passport was in her handbag and a packet of paper tissues and wipes and a tooth brush and that was it, she turned and shut the front door and not once did she look back as she walked out of the life she had known and grown to detest. With a determined step she went forth to an unknown adventure that was about to begin.

 

The car was already waiting for her as she got to the church hall, the driver was smartly dressed, suit, tie, and yes he even had a cap, she thought she was about to faint, this was all too much for her to comprehend.  Life was looking good, what was she thinking, good, it was brilliant and she was intent on making the most of every minute.  She climbed into the back as he placed a blanket over her legs even though the car was warm, he said it was going to be a few hours before they got there and she may as well take a nap so that she would be fresh for the voyage.  This suited her as she was not up to making small talk and had had very little sleep for some time. She was too excited to thinking about what lay ahead of her and surprisingly enough she felt guilty.  She had not expected that, after all their relationship had not been loving for many years. Although he knew she was not happy remaining in the wilderness for the rest of her life he made no plans to move.  His life continued and she knew it would without her there, he would barely notice her missing apart from when it came to the evening and there was no meal on the table but he would survive and soon find someone to replace her, if it were only to employ a housekeeper.

 

She saw the sign for Departures or was it Embarkation after all it was a cruise ship and not a plane that she was about to spend the next three months on.  She suddenly began to feel a bit nervous and why not for she had no idea who she was meeting, where she was going, would it be 3 months at sea or would some of the time be spent on land and if so which country?  Too late now she had gone too far to change her mind or to let the old lady down, she just hoped it would all turn out okay and they would get along with each other.  The car had stopped and the driver opened the door and smiled as he could see the mixture of fear and excitement in her eyes and he wished she could tell her that it was going to be fine, that she had nothing to worry about, life was about to become everything she would ever have dreamed and more.

 

She stepped through the door and someone with a board with her name on it was standing just inside so she walked over to him and he took her into another area which was obviously for those who were travelling deluxe class.  There on a sofa which was far to large for her was a petite lady, elegantly dressed in a lilac silk trouser suit and a smile that lit up the room.  She introduced herself and at once she was able to relax as she just knew that everything would be fine, that she could get on with Eleanor and wherever they ended up would be more than acceptable for her.  They chatted as if they had known each other their whole lifes, they could so easily have been sisters or perhaps because of their age difference Aunt and niece.  It did not matter they were going to be friends of this she was sure.  After all the procedures had been followed, passport checks and tickets being given with cards that had your photo included on them, this would open your cabin and also allow you to have as much food and drink as you wished to indulge in throughout the voyage as well as other extras too many to mention.  It was not a large ship of which she was glad as she did not like to think of some of the cruise ships that sailed the seas these days. They were as big as a small town if not bigger as some could hold over 5,000 passengers, far more people than lived in her village and even those for miles around.  This could take only 500 and that was more than enough for her especially as this was her first cruise and what a first it would be.

 

They entered on level 3 but they were shown to a lift and taken to Deck 5 which was often referred to as the pay and sway as the higher you went the more it would move if the sea was rough or the winds strong.  She did not care, she did not get travel sick and the higher she was the further she would be able to see in the distance as they crossed the Atlantic and made their way up the might Amazon and then onto the Caribbean.  Finally she knew where they were going and she could not believe it, the Amazon then Barbados, Grenada, and St Lucia the names went on until she could not take in more names.  Her cabin was 6b and Eleanors 6a, there was only one other and that was 6c.  It seemed quite spooky that the Box number was 666 and not the cabin numbers read 666 if you missed out a, b and c.  She wondered if the Captain would be called De’vile.  She laughed out loud as she thought of someone having that name and then she saw the photo on the wall and it was of the Captain and his crew and his name was none other than D’Eville.   This was just too coincidental for words and she began to feel very uneasy about the whole situation she found herself in.  She gave herself a long and hard talking to, when she realised how ridiculous her thinking was becoming. The Devil? Was she going to find that the ship was call Hell?  No, it was in fact called D’Angelo.  That was just as bad; since now she was on an Angel with the Devil at the Helm…

 

Copyright Jane Goodhew

                                     


                                    

Wednesday 11 September 2024

Limpet - between the tides

 Limpet - between the tides

                                  By Christopher Mathews


 

Oblivious of men, she keeps her small safe world, locked away from crashing waves, but she never makes a pearl.

 

No precious jewels are secure and safe inside her secret cave. She has no time between the waves to be a human’s slave.

 

Record of the years, the cycles of the moon, marked in calcium layers, she paints her little room, now dark now light, now blue now white, the health of the sea is held in each, the container of her life.

 

The ebb and flow of tide, are her night and day, now wet now dry now hot now cool, deep beneath the waves.

 

Slowly graze the limestone crags, the gravestones of the ships of men. Hold fast, be strong, all winter long, when storms must always come.

 

Hold tight, hold tight, with all you might, when the pecking seagull comes. be tough, survive and live your life, my armour plated one.

 

Like the grooves of a record or the rings of a tree, she marks the years of famine or of plenty. First he then she, then young now old, the solitary life of the limpet is seldom ever told.

© Christopher Mathews

Friday 30 August 2024

No Title

 It is piece where I was asked to provide ten lines of something different, whilst still having a connection to Japanese short form poetry.

In this case I chose to interspersed a tanka with an opening verse from something I wrote back in 2015/16.
No title.

By Robert Kingston


 all at once 

Out into the shadows of mighty cranes trod 

      the cherry on the corner

Distant sound of pulleys, wires whining through the sky 

      releases its blossom 

Muffled sounds of toiling, on occasion a ship's fog horn 

      we reflect on memories 

A milkman laughs and whistles, 

        in the family home 

As birds traverse through Autumn's dewy ply. 

 

By Robert Kingston ~ from (Pan Haiku Review, August 2024)

 

Thursday 29 August 2024

Riddles 18

 Riddles 18

By the Riddler



 

The Riddler has two puzzles for us today:

 

No 1.  Which hand is best for stirring sugar into a cup of tea?

 

No 2. Feed me, give me life!   Give me a drink and I will die…  What am I?

 

Keep em coming Riddler