So far this blog has been largely about my mental health struggles. During the last 6 months or so I have taken an interest in creative writing, specifically short fiction. I have completed a couple of courses with the ACL and have had some excellent feedback.
I have just been looking through some of my writing and came across a story I wrote with the assistance of Nik Perring, a fantastic author and teacher from Sheffield. I originally finalised this in Nov last year and had only sent copies to Nik and one of my teachers at the ACL. Both had been complimentary but it has just sat there since.
I have made a couple of small edits before putting this out, ironically one of them is removing a line that my teacher had said felt out of character and that I had been stubborn about. I guess she was right! haha
If you would prefer to listen to the story I have added a video below where I recite it.
Author: Daniel Stephen Turner Title: Inverse Word Count: 1022
When we woke this morning all colours in the world had inverted. Through the dark window frame the sky was thick yellow and the grass was fire red. We turned on the radio hoping to find out how this had happened. Walking across the room took some getting used to as our eyes had yet to adjust.
Between the crackle and buzz came a voice:
“This is a pre-recorded message. Do not be alarmed. As you will most likely already be aware, something has happened. We are currently investigating and will provide an update soon. Message repeats. Beep”
“Albert.”
“Yes Eunice."
"What colour are my eyes?”
"They….they look pink dear, surrounded by black! How about me?”
"Orange! How strange!”
“Your skin; it looks like dark blue leather.”
“How does it feel?”
“No different!”
“Albert, I can think of one positive so far, your hair hasn’t looked that dark in years!”
“Oh, the cheek!!”
Despite our concerns we both fell into fits of laughter.
Deciding that breakfast would be a good idea. We tried to carry on as usual. Oh, what a challenge it was. Pouring black milk into off white coffee felt strange. How do you know when it’s right? We had fried eggs on toast, the purple yolk and black albumen made it somewhat difficult to stomach.
Anxiety started to build. Both of us were on edge and unsure what to do with ourselves.
“I don’t really understand this.”
“No, neither do I. I’m a little scared.”
“This is a pre-recorded message. Do not be alarmed. As you will most likely already be aware, something has happened. We are currently investigating and will provide an update soon. Message repeats. Beep”
By lunch time the message had not changed. Neither of us had an appetite after the foul coloured eggs. I had taken a nap, Albert attempted to read a book but got a headache. We sat with the message repeating. It was tempting to turn it off but I’m sure the message would have been stuck, playing over and over in our heads.
In the afternoon we decided to go for a walk. Our nearest neighbour and dear friend Wilf, lives around half a mile away, he is alone, and we were concerned that he may not be coping well. Slow and steady we followed the road, buried between the high bushes and trees on either side made for less distraction. Thankfully there was no traffic.
We found him curled up in a ball in the corner of the living room. The radio on repeat.
Beep
“Wilf!” at first, he didn’t respond.
“Wilf!”
“Huh!..oh..hello Eunice, Albert. What are you doing here?”
“We came to make sure you were OK.”
“Well, no, I’m not really. But that’s very kind. What’s going on!?”
“We have as much clue as you do.”
“This radio is driving me mad!”
“Yes, us too…Wh..”
“Why won’t they update us?!?!”
“Indeed. That’s partly why we got out of the house. Why were you sitting in the corner?”
“Honestly it all got a bit much, I was trying to shut off from it. My eyes hurt, I can’t see straight, and my head is splitting.”
“Why don’t you join us outside for some fresh air?”
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea.”
Albert took Wilf by one arm and I got the other side. We helped him to his feet and slowly made for the door.
In the garden the birds were singing. Coming down to the feeders, pecking a few times and then they were off again. Others were washing in the bath that was overflowing from yesterday’s rain. This whole thing didn’t seem to bother them. It probably would have been a beautiful day if it wasn’t so strange.
We sat in silence for a bit, all trying to stay calm. Deep breaths, happy thoughts. Not a lot helped unfortunately. There was an odd beep from the radio heard in the distance.
Between us we have no family to worry about. I was never keen on the idea of kids and Albert was so laid back about everything he was practically vertical! All our elder family members passed many years ago and without brothers and sisters the families were not extended.
Wilf is a confirmed bachelor. He would often regale us with stories of his conquests in his 20’s and 30’s. Rather vulgar if you ask me! From what I understand he fell in love in his early forties. Head over heels, but she broke his heart. He never really recovered and swore off women for the rest of his life.
A noise came from the radio as if to indicate that something was changing, we heard a muffled voice and ran back into the house only to hear “.... please be patient. This was a live broadcast. Automated message will now continue. BEEP”
“Damn it!. Did anyone catch the rest of the message?”
“No, unfortunately not.”
“Me neither.”
“This is a pre-recorded message. Do not be alarmed. As you will most likely already be aware, something has happened. We are currently investigating and will provide an update soon. Message repeats. Beep”
“Right, we need to stay close by the radio. I’m not missing the next update.”
“Agreed.”
We sat round the dining table with a deck of cards. Wilf had one of those decks where the colours have been inverted so this gave us some sense of normality. We played a few rounds of Rummy and had some tea.
As the evening drew on and the sun went down it became harder to focus so we just sat around reminiscing until our eyes were heavy. We made the decision to sleep in Wilf’s spare room in order to avoid the walk home.
We kept the radio on in the background, partly because we had got used to it but also just in case.
At 7am my eyes shot open. The radio making a shrill sound.
“Our research has revealed that what we previously perceived as real is actually false. The world as we see it now is in fact reality. Change is inevitable”
Beep
I hope you enjoyed that. If you didn't well then screw you! 😉😂
If this is something you would be interested in seeing in the future then please do let me know!
Much Love X
Dan