Tag: aftermath
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FARAWAY, SO CLOSE
Now so calm, so peaceful. Even beautiful. Pink sky and blue clouds reflected in the deep blue water. But she could no longer see beauty in the world. Not here, looking out where the Makassar Strait met the Celebes Sea. The violence of the tsunami was gone now. The serene water held the dead below.…
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FIELD HOSPITAL
Woozy. Sweat. Open eyes. Peeling paint, damp patches, broken ceiling fan. Movement next to me. Moist sheets. Another person. She moans. Dark hair, dark skin. Vague memories. A bar, drinking, her smiling face. Sit up, look round. Dilapidated. Head thumping. Air oppressive. Dry throat. Stagger to the window. Old, wooden frame. Open it. Humid air.…
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AFTERMATH
Pale skin made her standout. Too many heads turned in her direction. Assassinations make people suspicious. Years of civil war did that to a country. The heat was heavy and oppressive. The hotel, a ramshackle construction of tin roofs and wooden struts, teetering on collapse. The receptionist, red lips and false eyelashes, eyed her as…
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CULLODEN
Through hard-falling rain a bird, black from beak to tail-tip, swoops and glides, buffeted by wind that swirls around the surrounding mountains. From the elevated height, black beady eyes see across the flat, windswept moor of the valley. In amongst the heather and wild grass the eyes see something unfamiliar. Wings angled to ride on…
Iain Kelly 