Worthing Flash

by Alexandra Dean In the dripping, sun-sprinkled early morning I see you walking through the greenwood. You’re up bright and early but, alas, not to enjoy the sparkling lightness of the birdsong which echoes among the trees. You’re here to destroy. You see the lush fecundity of nature’s wealth as an obstacle and you’re here to bring death to the trees and the flowers which means you’re also here for the bees and insects and the bats which feed on them. I must say I never thought the world’s destroyer would be so … ordinary. Neither did you. Your own literature has imagined this figure many times. Every time it was someone considerably more impressive. Now all the creatures of this prized space are waking up to your presence, learning that their world will soon be gone. And what for? Of course. Money. Even the people who live here don’t want what you’re bringing. Their protests have been small but fiercely felt; they’ve created placards; stood in the rain. But the strident...

The Gift by Alexandra Dean It wasn’t much of a gift. Lara vaguely remembered having a fascination with it when she’d stayed at Grandma’s as a young child. Grandma had always treated it as something exceptionally precious; she kept it out of sight from the rest of the family and only took it out it when she and Lara read bedtime stories together. Lara had incorporated the strange stone into her own stories and games; it was the final clue in an impossible puzzle; a prize to be won; a key to unlock a secret door. All to defeat the mysterious Shadow Man who was the eternal villain in every plot she and Grandma concocted together. Grandma was a master at describing him. Lara often wondered if she’d known someone who had looked similar to the vivid portrait she painted; a tall, dark but handsome figure with piercing blue eyes who carried a cloud of darkness with him. Grandma explained that he wanted to destroy all that was good in the world and only the mysterious stone could stop hi...