Three Stories from Mary Anne McEnery

A Fine Romance

Meeting in the canteen was a calculated axiom of fate, my gaze being a constant variable in the equation.

“Aren’t we a right pair?” I said. You giggled.” I figure we’ll be married before summer.”

I wasn’t a fraction out.

Our marriage was a developing proof, with new terms and responsibilities that required multiple formulae. We quickly discovered love transcends mere equations; it's an intricate blend of trust, communication, respect, and shared experiences multiplied over time.

Despite our different functions, our personalities graphed together like parallel lines, intersecting at the angle of the heart and reducing conflict to almost zero.

Jungle Instincts

1

In the boutique we jostled for dominance at the clothes’ rail. “Oh, Leone, you’d never dare wear that,” Diana said, her smile challenging. We sprinted toward the fitting room, barrelling past customers. I imagined myself in the disco, turning heads like sunflowers as I hunted prey. The fitting room, a space big enough for two, but not for this. She wanted to win, and I wanted her to see me win. Our friendship of nineteen years fell away, like a slough of old skin. We clung to the promise of that leopard-print dress, anticipation crackled setting the scene for wildness.

Paradise Lost

“Ever craved a new flavour?” the serpent asked

flicking its forked tongue.

Aware of the apple ban, Adam said, “the fruits we’re

allowed to eat are sufficient.”

Eve’s silence gave consent.

“Your Creator lacks imagination,” the serpent coaxed,

presenting a red and yellow ripe round fruit.

“This resembles an apple, but with a subtle twist.”

They hesitated.

“Take a bite; promises flavours unlike any you've experienced.”

They took a bite; their teeth sinking into the sweet flesh of deceit; and then everything went pear-shaped.

Eden crumbled not because of an apple, but because a green pair lost paradise for evermore.