Gun poster

It was seductive. People would respect him like this, carrying the ultimate accessory. They would have no choice but to take him seriously. Reinvention could do it, he thought, but it would be a lot of work. He frowned thinking of the serious commitment involved. And lazily talked himself out of it.

Suede boots

She hated waiting and doubted he was worth it. Minute by minute led to further fuming. No one wants to stand around and her mother once said ringingly “never wait longer than 15 minutes for a man”. Other men were starting to look at her funny, slyly trying to make eye contact. She got madder, shifting her weight from leg to leg, trying to take a diffident stance. As he rounded the corner, sweating while he rushed, she melted and instantly forgot how she had steamed.

Tulip

She lay there as inert as possible, holding her breath but observing it all. It was her favourite spot, the one where she felt alive and in colour. This view eclipsed any fear and ugliness that had tried to find it’s way in. The beauty of it, textural and layered, bright and elegant, was her reminder.

Clothesline

He carefully surveyed what was destined to be his. The excruciating years of taunting and teasing, of hiding out in the dark corners and enduring bottom of the barrel status had ended. The scrappy gang of boys had grown up, most had left, he had stayed, begrudgingly at first, then with subdued acceptance. It had come slowly but the keys to the kingdom were finally his.