Back at the beginning of summer MJS launched a great challenge. Write 101 words exactly to include the words 'Summer' and 'Heat'; the best entries would appear in an e-chap book to be launched today, 1st September.
Well, I heard from Mr S back in August that my little 101-worder
Cold Heart had been selected with an honorary mention. Ooh! Had to keep stum until today but now
Dog Days of Summer is out there! And there are some great photos too.
The winning entry by Sam Adamson was a cool giggle, well deserved. Great interview at the NOT too.
You can
download the e-chap book FREE from here. Cold Heart is on page 34, but you can also read it below. Many thanks Michael. An excellent literary event.
Cold Heart
It glistens in someone else’s hand. No matter. I have to have it. I’ve got to take it off her, assuage the rabid heat that has made me sweat and stink throughout this evil, relentless summer.
Walking, marching, running now I snatch it and abscond, licking at the frozen juice as I sprint away. Sugared orange spills and drips over my grateful breasts.
The mother’s shouts and her daughter’s ugly wailing do nothing to stop me in my tracks. I suck until the bleached popsicle breaks apart in my mouth and I collapse to the ground, sticky with neuralgia... and regret.
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