Tag: Military
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HUGO
Paris, 1829. Victor hastened along the snow-covered street. A warm fireside awaited him. Soon he would be surrounded by dear Adèle and his children, no doubt excited by the late snowfall. ‘Excusez-moi monsieur, a few francs for a veteran?’ The beggar held out his hand. Victor drew back, revulsed at the sight of the disfigured…
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F IS FOR FAMAGUSTA, CYPRUS
A STORY OF FOLLY IN FAMAGUSTA, CYPRUS ‘Not even Turkish Cypriots are allowed in,’ my guide Ferhat tells me as we peer through the barbed wire. Beyond lies a golden beach, straight out of a tourist board advert with the deep blue Mediterranean lapping gently on the shore. Look closer though and things don’t look…
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THE WOLF’S LAIR
Kaufmann swept the final bundle of wood shavings into the wheelbarrow and stretched his aching back. ‘Hör nicht auf,’ the supervisor yelled at him. ‘Schnell, schnell.’ Exhausted, Kaufmann put the broom and spade into the barrow and took up the handles. He waddled as quickly as his skinny frame could manage, clearing the road just…
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SUNRISE / SUNSET
Peter Jones was born at sunrise on a summer’s day. He enjoyed a happy childhood, living with his loving parents and two older siblings in their small one bedroom tenement flat. He enjoyed playing with his friends, kicking a football up and down the street. At school he enjoyed sports and reading stories of lands…
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WAR CRIME
Snowflakes glistened, falling through the electric light. A blanket of innocence covering sin. The same as that night in Kabul. The funeral had been mercifully brief. Another of the unit was gone, only I remained. Still no one suspected me. The Military Court said we were innocent. I knew differently. I still see her pleading…
Iain Kelly 