Metamorphosis

I am sat in a café. I’m hungry but there’s no food. My husband goes outside to the street. Then something terrible happens.

I rush outside. All that is left of my love is a long sliver of trampled flesh on the floor.

I kneel and touch the flesh. As I do a mouth appears at one end. It gasps desperately. I pick it up and as I cradle it, the flesh morphs into a large black fish - one that you would find at the bottom of a deep dark river. My terror wanes. If I hold him for long enough my husband will become himself again.

Picture from Mass Bay Guides

The Wrong Spots

Caring for my new puppy is utterly exhausting.

I get up at 5am when I hear the whine. Her tail is a blur. Her little body is made of rubber. Desperately, she bounces to reach my face to greet me with her tiny pin teeth.

I wash her smelly paws while she wriggles incessantly. I clean up the mess in her bed then take her outside a so she can produce yet more. And so begins another day of boundless energy, constant attention and frequent toilet trips.

All I can think about is sleep. I'm a wreck. Dark circles weigh on my eyes and everything sounds muffled. Every movement is a struggle. In my desperation I decide return her to her original owner.

Regret turns to panic. I ask for her back but the owner brings me puppy after puppy that looks like mine - but is not quite right. The grey and white splodges and spots are slightly different shapes or sizes on every one.

Panic turns to despair. I realise I've made a terrible decision that I cannot undo.

Bright Future

(When I was very young I had a friend called Elliot who died of cancer.)

When we were little Elliot had the whitest blonde hair. Now we're in our 20s and I'm watching his latest music video on television. He is sitting in the sun playing his acoustic guitar and singing. His hair hangs over his eyes and shines like a halo.

Zombies and Aliens

The world has been taken over by zombies. The entire town of Chepstow is hiding out in half ruined shops on the high street.

An enourmous silver ship appears in the sky. Lucky for us aliens have come to save us. They gather up all but two humans and herd them on to the ship.

Me and one other person are left. They promise to come back for us but we're not sure whether to believe them. We go back into hiding, zombies banging at the door.

Killer Chickens

I am being held hostage in a dusty basement with around eight other people. Through a small window we can see that we are being guarded by fierce animals. There is a pack of chickens and a turkey, all trained to kill.

A few of us squeeze out of the window and make it past the poultry. We come to a fence that borders a dark pine forest. In the blackness we can hear killer horses waiting to attack.

Nose to Nose

My husband dreamt that his face was being licked by a dog. He woke up nose to nose with his wife.

Butterflies

Butterflies start to appear. More and more, until a fluttering cloud is all around us. Someone suggests that we exterminate them. I say no.

A friend asks if I speak Welsh. "Only a little bit," I reply and list all the phrases I know. My friend waits impatiently, I can tell he is annoyed. I say I'll get lessons and he promises that when I've learnt Welsh (all of it) he'll take me for a ride on his organic motorbike.