Welcome to the Beccles Creative Writing Group

Piers the Trepid Explorer

Piers (as he wished to be known to his small select reading public) sat looking apprehensively – “Internet Explorer” he intoned in a nervous voice, “key boards, mice and windows”, then looking darkly down at the books on the table, “eBooks and self publishing”

His sinewy neck burst through his shirt. His head covered with fairly short grey hair, sticking up like a bottle brush gave the impression of a person more comfortable exploring on an archeologically dig rather than the modern internet jungle otherwise know as “the market place”. A Slow tortoise in a Fast world.

Piers was not at ease in this new foreign land but had decided with determination that after years of hermit like existence he needed to enter this confused and confusing land that started right in his living space. Where nothing was what it seemed and worse still others proclaimed to be what they were not.

He stood up as if wearied by the contradiction “It seems in this world now if we are to make a success of reading - ink must not touch paper” he muttered for fear the net would overhear.

Dec 2011 Simon Watts

A visit to A&E

Roy struggled awake at 2:15am as his work phone nagged him out of his sleep. He worked for Global Oil and was “on call” as medical advisor for the night.

They were calling him from offshore that one of the men had gone berserk and also fallen. They had him in a straight jacket sedated and the chopper was ready to leave if he and his colleague could be at the Airport to meet him.

Roy was on his way with his colleague within 20minutes. Roy had been working for Global Oil for a couple of years and had done this a few times now. They picked up the offshore guy and took him to A&E.

Roy saw a woman at A&E he had never see there before. He felt the hairs on his neck rise. He could only see her face.  He said his name, of course he gave his adoptive name, and for some reason he said his date of birth. The woman looked longingly at him – she could remember that day so clearly over twenty years ago. She was Roy’s birth mother and that day their life changed forever. “Hello son” she said.

Short story in 200 words – Simon Watts October 2011.