People dream of being free, yet their idea of freedom sees them forever bound to a world that cares less for them than it does cattle. Freedom for the likes of us is in a state of mind. It comes from untethering oneself from a system designed solely to reign you in. I want no… Read more

When she puts on her coat, she pops the buttons into place before tying back her hair. It’s windy out there, and the days are still so cold. When she steps into the garden, light bounces off the windscreen of her car, dazzling her with startling, biblical imagery. It feels like she’s having a revelation,… Read more

I’m not a man. I’m not sure what I am, but it’s not a man. I’m just some kid who got lost along the way. Like that one in Flight of the Navigator when he fell down a hill and woke up after several years not having aged a day, or one of the Lost… Read more

In the morning comes a tinned breakfast. In the tin comes beans, sausages, a burger, some weird egg thing and a few scrawny scraps of bacon. It’s unhealthy as fuck. It’s an abomination, but it eases the hangover, and with each bite, life feels a little better, sorta. Too many cigarettes last night. Stomach’s suffering,… Read more

She claims to be unwell, but in her belly, she holds the moon and the stars, and in her veins, flows not blood but milk, so how could she feel anything but heavenly? When she stands in the doorway as I’m drying myself off after showering, she eyes me up while rolling a cigarette pretending… Read more

Some old lady with a scarf wrapped around her head stands beneath a tree wrestling with her umbrella. As she does so, more not-so-old people pour from a care home into a waiting minivan, no doubt off to play card games in the local community centre, wherever that is. It’s raining. It always rains here.… Read more

In a bar someplace on the outskirts of town, slightly drunk but well within my limits. There are too many people. There are people. Beer makes way for Sambuca, and Sambuca makes way for cocktails with stupid names but no one cares because they’re all far too gone. Pushing my way through the crowd out… Read more

While I’m falling asleep watching the leggy blonde on Countdown select random squares for the numbers game, X pulls her car over to the side of the road and bursts into tears. It’s been coming all day. Longer, really. With both hands on the steering wheel, she leans forward and hides her face from those… Read more

The waitress boils a pot of tea and fetches a slice of caramel shortbread, a favourite of mine since childhood. The waitress is attractive. Brunette with wholesome hips, though for some reason she doesn’t like me. It’s in her eyes. A silent type of disdain I know all too well. Maybe it’s the beard, or… Read more