Sheep magazine archive 1: issues 3-9

farewells to friends of convenience, smiles all round as the train
jerked into the station, the women’s far off singing had now become
a reality of wonderment.
Priscilla, with little Steve and Nelson on either arm, scanned each
carriage as it went by, Umfons saw her first, their eyes met and it
was just like that day they’d first met, all those years ago, at her
uncle’s wedding. As he stepped from the carriage, the awkwardness
of the suit was gone, his smile broke his face and tears so long held
back criss-crossed the folds of his grinning face, wetting both Steve
and Nelson as they broke free from their mother’s grasp, burrowing
their crinkly heads into his neck as he stooped to lift them. Priscilla
looked on, unsure of herself all of a sudden, nine months was a
long time, Umfons saw the hesitation and grasped her to him, the
four clinging to each other on the emptying platform, oblivious to
everyone and everything, two weeks would soon pass…
57
Dinertime and half-eaten sandwiches were being pushed through
the chickenwire fencing; Jerome’s attempts to catch the bits before
they fell to the floor were less than successful and soon his caged
space beneath the Science Labs was littered with crumbled bread.
The boys’ school was for the English-speaking elite; they used
convicts to work on their sportsfields. Jerome poked about in the
bread for the odd piece of meat, his eyes hooded, but defiant, as
he flicked looks back at the well-fed, healthy, happy schoolboys
who crowded around his cage – their curiosity not yet tempered
FEBRUARY 2016