Considering the Weather

by Noah Russell, Kent

"Two boys lay in the grass, considering the weather.

'The sun is very strong,' said one to the other. But under the tree, in-amongst the roots, it was cooler. The bells of the church rang out, the sound rushing through the soil, sending bone-quivering quakes down their spines. St Mary's stood tall in its fertile grounds, the deep, green blades surrounding it appearing like an algae-covered lagoon, spattered with engraved, jutting rocks; the central spired building, a great flint island.

In the yews, blackbirds hopped from branch to twig. The boys' headstones cast arching shadows across where they lay."

Encroachment

by Penny Blackburn, Tyne and Wear

"He presses the piano key, frowns. The soft, muffled sound does not match the crystal sharp note in his head.

Not yet thirty, his hearing has aged beyond him. Normal conversation has become impossible and he socialises rarely now, to hide it.

He rages at the silence that encroaches further each day, feels a spasm of pain when he thinks of the music that is lost to him. He rests his head on the piano surface, feels the note's vibration. This is what will be left when his world falls silent.

Someone calls him: 'Ludwig! Ludwig!' He does not hear.