Fragments of a storm suspended in time

This is a little taster from my upcoming short story, published as part of Lazy Gramophone's Time anthology. It's an experimental piece of writing which plays with the structure and texture of language as well as being about living, riding bikes, broken hearts and self discovery. "W-o-r-d-s- w-o-r-d-s- w-o-r-d-s, sticky and enticing like your favourite fruit chew, sweet and gummy, you work them through to a slow lubrication of each syllable. That's where it begins. They shower from your tongue like soft rain, hail stones or dew, drip patiently like runny honey, each one with substance that you can get

your teeth right into. Of the words you hear you can choose the ones you like, which to remember and which to repeat... Like life raining down we allow our thoughts to project through time, choosing the right words to define each passing moment. And boy do we fail, fail frequently in our definitions. I called it love but it was just play acting." "Wheels spin, hands on bars, tracking, eyes gaze, fingers graze brakes, breaking in the vehicle, breaking in to life, sitting, bottom up, head down, fixed on a constantly changing point of view, elbows in, palms up, a mutation on the traditional riding position, we would ride alone, giddy warriors charging through dark nights and into beds across the cityscape, we were a group of individuals and dreamers, meeting on the road as passing ships alike in thought and belief, wandering silently, together in mind." " After a night of lavish drinking I found myself in bed with the idea of you again. It can't have been consensual, the image just came flying through the door and into my head. Throw me hard against the wall and rip out my heart as I lie before you. Honey, you are murdering me slowly. Honey, you are the best and worst of me. Honey, be careful... just the thought of you is killing me..."

To read the rest, alongside others pieces published in Time, buy one of the remaining few copies here.

I also illustrated my short story...