Friendly Fire

By David Jesson

After 1945, the standard unit of Earth-shattering disasters was the Hiroshima. Earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruptions: the energies released were equivalent to a dozen, twenty, fifty Hiroshimas. This was at least a hundred.

She came running at the sound of the incoherent scream. “But why would you put chilli jam so thickly on a slice of toast? It’s a condiment, not a spread!”

He wanted to say, “I thought it was strawberry” but the baleful glare was all he could manage; his mouth and tongue were still numb and unresponsive. The effect was marred by the milk dribbling down his chin.

“I write because the stories in my head demand it.” – the writer