Richard Lewis

Remembering is a chair that is hard to sit still in, along the twisting backroads of my mind. It was years ago but I remember it like yesterday, leaning into the still, sunlit morning, waiting for the boy to breathe life back into me. My wheels itching to spin again, after long months gathering dust… Continue reading→

‘I’ve done everything I ever wanted in life,’ thought Earnest, as he tended his beloved rose garden. At 83 he was remarkably fit, considering his significant waistline and all the cigar and pipe smoking he’d enjoyed over the years. The garden had always been a place of peace and contentment where he could lose himself,… Continue reading→

My father stood in the hallway, still as a tin soldier, gazing at the grandfather clock. The clock looked back at him suspiciously. He turned and said, “John I’d like you to have it, we won’t have room when we move and it would be nice to keep it in the family”. I was taken… Continue reading→

It was Monday morning, the week having passed in a blur. Lock down was grinding on and there was nothing happening, just the same old same old. The hours crawled on their hands and knees as the clock face grew pale and sullen; seconds ringing out their doleful tick-tock tune. I thought I’d climb up… Continue reading→

Marmalade Skies They say there’s nothing new under the sun but there are new suns and days to bring new dawn. Buying the high rise flat in Paddington had been a mistake, yet how was Janice to know that disaster was about to strike. She’d made the purchase just months before Grenfell, in a block… Continue reading→

When she was five, Beth’s grandmother told her, “if a loved one dies in the house, all mirrors must be covered to prevent their soul being trapped inside.” This was the start of it. She suffered from an eating disorder in her teens and on seeing her distorted reflection in a mirror, would cruelly mumble… Continue reading→

Birth ‘What is this talked-of mystery of birth but being mounted bareback on the earth?’ – Robert Frost That hot day in June things changed forever when Jess’s waters unexpectedly broke. Panic drove us to the hospital, the baby having decided to come six weeks early. Outside it was a surreal scene; due to a freak… Continue reading→

A feeling to describe happy feet, due to perfectly fitting shoes It’s hard loosing someone who’d looked out for you from the start. When a cruel twist of fate took my elder brother Pete out of the game I felt as if the colour had drained out of my life. I missed the larger than… Continue reading→

After Gabe’s wife died, struggling to deal with the loss, he’d thrown himself into work at the software company in the city. He was approaching retirement and didn’t need the money but felt he had to keep busy. When not at work he’d find jobs to do at home, anything to avoid getting in touch… Continue reading→

The red light flashed impatiently. “Hey you! There’s a message, sounds important,” it urged. I pressed the button, releasing the captured voice and was astonished to hear your soothing tones. Familiar still, after all this time. Holding my breath I dialled the number given but kept getting the same reply. “Sorry this number is unavailable.”… Continue reading→