Going Back

Kelleher was struggling to remember. He’d been walking for ages. Days? There’d been a wide river, a bridge, cars strewn across it, some in flames. Or had he dreamt that? There’d been towns, wrecked, as if a colossal foot had stamped on them. Fields, miles of them, just cinders. And his brain had just kept saying: go west.

            Was he in shock? He’d hunger pangs, felt as numb as a corpse, and his mouth was dry, aching for a drop of water. And now before him a road with a line of stationary lorries, some kind of building, and the sea. Was it a ferry port?

            At the entrance was a gaggle of humanity: fearful eyes, pinched faces, everybody seemingly distracted. Was that how he looked?

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And there came upon the land a great flood…

Sam wondered where Rosie, his home help was, she wasn’t usually late.  He hoped she hadn’t had an accident.  Slowly swinging his legs over to the side of the bed and with the aid of his crutches, he managed to get to the stair lift. He made some breakfast and wrote a list of food items that he needed, that Rosie could get later.

Through the window, he could see the palm tree waving in the strong wind.  Quite a storm we had last night he thought, he was glad the tree had survived.  It had always been a bit of a joke between his wife Maureen, and himself, a reminder of good times together in sunnier climes.  It was only then he noticed that the garden bench wasn’t in it’s usual spot.  It was bobbing up and down in water near the hedge.  He looked towards the road hoping to see Rosie, but only saw a swift flowing muddy river that seemed to be surrounding his home. 

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