A compilation of short stories, memoir and poetry from emerging and ...

Author:Category:Olive MonkcomProse Non Fiction & MemoirPlacing: 2 nd A Good Deed in a Naughty WorldI was on my usual daily walk to the town centre to do a bit of shopping. It was adull and damp morning matching my mood. As a widowed and elderly pensioner,severely disabled and profoundly deaf, I lived alone in a retirement flat at the eastend of the town.I had spent a restless night; a lot of niggling little worries had reared up to hauntme during the time I lay wide-eyed and sleepless, staring into the blackness ofthe wee small hours. Finally I had fallen into an exhausted doze for an hourwhich did nothing to refresh me for the day ahead.Thus it was I was limping painfully along the pavement at about 10 o’clock,assisted by my walking frame without which I cannot venture outside at all.Halfway along the road a Mini car driven by a young lady came around thecorner, swept past me for a few yards, then stopped and began to reverse.“Oh no!” I thought to myself, “She obviously wants to talk to me. Well, I don’twant to talk to her – I’ll never hear what she says anyway.” So I kept my headdown and studiously avoided eye contact. But she would not be ignored. Edgingslowly along to keep pace she flapped her hand out of the car window to flag medown. I still refused to acknowledge her, exaggerating my limp to indicate that itwould not be convenient for me to stop for any chit-chat because of mydisablement.I was well aware that I was behaving like a miserable old hag but I did not care.Finally she called out, “Excuse me!” I stopped walking and turned to face her.“What do you want?” I asked with obvious irritation.- 12 -