April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 L is for Lies

L is the next letter in the 26 short stories of 250 words or fewer about Alice’s life and times.

L is for Lies

Lying is not always wrong but it can be misleading when used to alleviate others’ concerns. Ruth was so accustomed to fielding questions about Daniel that she didn’t even have to think before she trotted out the well-worn phrases.  ‘He’s fine,’ was her usual response to friends’ inquiries. To more searching questions she replied, ‘I think he’s improving,’ or ‘He’s much happier.’

Faced with her challenging gaze anyone doubting her veracity kept their qualms to themselves. Only Alice knew the truth. Ever since John and Ivy’s Ruby Wedding Anniversary Ruth had trusted her.

Every day Ruth withstood a barrage of physical and verbal abuse. Daniel didn’t care that Alice was in the room when he set about his wife. She saw the strain on Ruth’s face and knew that matters were far worse when she wasn’t present. He controlled himself when his parents visited but as soon as they left he got up on his artificial legs and started again, screaming, throwing things at her, punching her where it wouldn’t show. After each attack he ended up sobbing and apologising.  

Alice told Ruth to seek help but Ruth refused. ‘I love him,’ she said. ‘He loves me. He’s suffering.’

Alice was frightened by Daniel’s mental deterioration and feared for Ruth’s life. Reluctantly she broke Ruth’s confidence and told her father. He contacted the doctor who took charge. Ruth was incensed; thereafter there was coldness in her manner towards Alice but Alice knew she had done the right thing. 

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 K is for Kith and Kin

K is the next letter in this series of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

K is for Kith and Kin

It was John and Ivy’s 40^th wedding anniversary in May, 1956. The war had been over for eleven years and rationing had finally ended two years earlier. There was a sense of excitement and optimism in the air and Ruth and Alice decided they should organise a party.

It was the first celebration the family had planned since before the war and they wanted to make it an occasion to remember. They invited John’s sister and Ivy’s brothers and their families. Daniel was reluctant to attend but Alice persuaded him it would be fun to see their cousins again. He remarked sourly that they had all survived the war intact.

With their friends there were fifty guests in all. It was fortunate the evening was warm and they could spill into the garden. Everyone was enjoying themselves; even Daniel was chatting animatedly when a tipsy aunt prodded Ruth and whispered, ‘When are you going to give Ivy some grandchildren? Mustn’t leave it too late, you know. We’ve already got five.’

Ruth went white, mumbled an excuse and ran upstairs. Alice found her sobbing in the bathroom. 

‘I’ll never have babies. We don’t . . . Daniel can’t . . . our marriage isn’t like other people’s.’ Alice rubbed her back. She had suspected something of the sort.

John and Ivy thanked them for arranging a wonderful party. Ruth smiled, ‘I’m glad you liked it.’

 Alice never felt greater love and pity for her sister-in-law than she did at that moment.

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April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 J is for John

Continuing 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times, we arrive at J.

J is forJohn

John’s job in the police force often involved danger and he had seen more of the dark side of human nature than he felt anyone should have to experience.  His overriding instinct was to protect his family.

When war was declared he felt a dull ache in the pit of his stomach that remained with him throughout its duration. He knew his sons would be called up eventually but when all three enlisted within a few months he knew a mixture of pride and fear.

He watched as worry consumed his wife and extinguished joy. He felt the loss of their sons as keenly as she but held no false hopes for Edward, grieving for him as he did for Charles. Though he would never have confessed it, in his heart he thought it would have been kinder for everyone if Daniel had died too - his torment continued and increased. His bitterness drained the life and energy from Ruth. She maintained a facade of optimism but John glimpsed the despair in her eyes when she thought no-one was looking.

Alice was the only one who had escaped relatively unscathed. She mourned the loss of her brothers and did her best to encourage Daniel, yet was able to move on and anticipate the future. John was delighted when she introduced Norman. It was refreshing to share the company of an optimistic young man who had survived the horrors of war and felt no need to dwell on them.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 I is for Ivy

The ninth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times is about Ivy.

I is for Ivy

Alice’s mother Ivy had withstood the privations of war and shown immense strength when news came of Edward’s loss and Charles’ death. She knew Edward was dead but a part of her clung to the hope that he would return one day. Miracles sometimes happened. In her bleaker moments she wondered at the wisdom of such hope. Daniel had returned maimed in body and spirit. He had learnt to walk on artificial legs but his mind remained caught in the horrors of war.

When Daniel was discharged from hospital he and Ruth moved into a small house nearby. Ivy protested that he should come home to his family where everyone could look after him but Ruth insisted he needed peace and quiet. Ivy had not argued but she and Ruth were no longer as close as they had been. 

Alice knew Ruth was right. Her mother hovered over Daniel and made him uneasy. Her artificial brightness and attempts to jolly him along irritated him. Ruth’s quieter manner soothed him. Alice learnt from Ruth and moderated her behaviour when she visited. She wished her mother would do likewise. She couldn’t bear the sadness in Ivy’s eyes when Daniel brushed her away. She hated the despair etching lines ever deeper on Ruth’s face. Most of all she couldn’t accept that Daniel was broken beyond repair.

In 1950 Alice introduced her boyfriend to her family. Norman had seen three years’ action in the war. Ivy was elated.  Meeting Norman might help Daniel.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 H is for Helplessness

The eighth of these 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times gives us H.

H is forHelplessness

Alice longed to see Daniel in hospital but her mother told her to wait until he was stronger.

Ruth came home from her daily visits drawn and pale. Alice’s anxious inquiries brought monosyllabic replies which told her little. Her parents maintained a cheerful attitude but she saw the strain in their faces after their visits. Daniel’s recovery was protracted.

After a few weeks Ruth said Daniel wanted to see Alice. Alice was excited, sure it was a good sign.

Entering the long ward she was struck by the number of young men. Some lay in bed, motionless. Others propelled themselves in wheelchairs, racing along the corridor, laughing and shouting to each other. Some wore bandages across their eyes. Some chatted. Some moaned. Some were mute. Ruth had tried to prepare her but Alice was shocked.

Daniel was sitting at the side of his bed. He greeted her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. She tried to engage him in conversation but he barely responded.

Ruth chewed her lip and twisted her wedding ring round her finger. Alice understood her distress. Daniel had come home from the war but his mind was elsewhere.

When the bell sounded for the end of visiting Daniel grabbed Ruth’s hands. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘I’m so sorry.’

Ruth said, ‘It’s alright, love. Don’t worry. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Outside she sighed. ‘It’s always the same,’ she said. ‘ He needs me but he can’t talk to me. It’s hopeless.’

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 G is for Glory

G brings us to the seventh of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

G is for Glory

The first months of the war were surprisingly quiet and became known as the Phoney War. People relaxed and stopped carrying their gas masks everywhere. In the spring of 1940 they were made to think again when the Netherlands and Belgium were invaded and the battle for France began. Suddenly the enemy seemed uncomfortably close.

Letters home calmed the anxieties of Alice’s family but they had little idea where the brothers were. They dreaded seeing the telegram boy and sighed with relief when he passed by. One day in 1941 he stopped at the house. Edward was missing in action, presumed killed. He was just eighteen. His parents wept and Ruth and Alice did their best to comfort them though they could hardly stop their own tears from falling.

Three years later another telegram arrived reporting Charles’ death. His ship had been torpedoed in the Atlantic in early January. 

When VE day came in 1945 there were ecstatic celebrations for those who welcomed home their loved ones. There was proud reference to the sacrifices of ‘our glorious dead’ but the bereaved could not see it and could not rejoice.

Finally, Daniel returned. He’d left his legs behind on a battlefield but at least he had survived. Alice watched Ruth as she got ready to visit him in hospital.  She was trembling. Alice recognised her fear and hoped somehow Daniel would be the same as he had ever been.

She was thirteen - half her life had been lived in wartime.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 F is for Foreboding

This is the sixth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

F is for Foreboding

There had been rumblings and rumours for months but most people hoped and prayed that Chamberlain’s 1938 declaration of ‘peace for our time’ would hold true. As 1939 wore on and international peace looked ever more vulnerable Alice’s father and brothers shook their heads and tried to remain optimistic. On September 3^rd they huddled round the wireless as Neville Chamberlain announced ‘this country is at war with Germany.’

In the days that followed Alice heard her parents talking about men being ‘called up’ and asked Daniel to explain. She looked thoughtful. ‘You and Dad and Charles and Edward?’ she asked.

‘Not Dad. He’s a policeman – he’s needed at home. Not Charles - he’s still at university. Edward’s too young. I’ll be called up, but probably not yet.’

Alice was reassured until a few weeks later when all three brothers told their startled parents that they had enlisted, Charles in the Royal Navy, Daniel and Edward in the Army. Daniel announced that he and Ruth were getting married immediately.

The wedding was a bittersweet affair. Two young people promising to remain together ‘till death do us part’ emphasised the fragility of a world at war. Nonetheless, the newlyweds were sent on their honeymoon with much laughter and good wishes. Alice was pleased that she now had a sister who would be living in her house.  In time, she hoped, there would be babies.

All too soon, her brothers left for their training establishments. The house felt shockingly empty and quiet.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 E is for Edward

Letter E brings us to Edward, the youngest of Alice’s three brothers. This is the fifth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

E is for Edward

Edward had been the baby of the family but was ousted when Alice was born. It was a shock to realise the family dynamic had changed and he resented his baby sister for shaking him from his comfortable complacency. However, his sunny disposition ensured that he soon stopped sulking.

As Alice’s personality developed Edward began to enjoy her company. He was the most audacious of her brothers and urged her to attempt things she would not have dared otherwise. She was a willing disciple, trotting after him from an early age and copying what he did. She became adept with a bow and arrow and held her own in conker contests.


She went scrumping when she was six and learnt to jump down from the apple trees and scramble through the hedge to safety. Edward got into trouble for that. ‘Encouraging your sister to steal is not acceptable,’ his father scolded and Edward hung his head in shame. 


Alice didn’t like him being rebuked and cried but Edward looked sideways at her and winked. He gave her confidence and above all he was fun. Spending time with him stimulated Alice, sometimes so much that she became over-excited. ‘There’ll be tears before bedtime,’ her mother would say, shaking her head at Edward and leading Alice away to quieter pursuits.  

Edward would just grin and blow Alice a kiss. On the next fine Saturday they would go out again. Daniel and Ruth joined them sometimes but those occasions were necessarily more restrained.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 D is for Daniel

The fourth letter of the alphabet is about Alice’s brother Daniel. This is the fourth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

D is for Daniel

It is often the case that the middle child of three of the same gender differs from the first and third. So it was with Daniel. Charles and Edward were broad-shouldered, with light brown hair and hazel eyes, like their father. Daniel’s eyes were cornflower blue and he was more finely built than his brothers.  Alice’s eyes were the same colour as his and she too had high cheekbones like their mother.

Daniel was a serious little boy and grew into a thoughtful, quiet young man. He wanted to be an accountant and studied hard, attending evening classes to gain the necessary qualifications. He was the brother Alice took her troubles to. He mended her toys and dried her tears and sat with her while she practised her piano scales.

When she wanted respite from the rough and tumble of games with Edward she sought refuge on Daniel’s lap and listened to the wireless. She was intrigued by the squeals and hisses it made as Daniel searched for different stations. The staccato bursts of music, the crackles of signals that could not quite be tuned and the voices of broadcasters speaking unfamiliar languages made a kaleidoscope of sound that comforted Alice and made her feel she was a part of the wider world.

In 1938, when Alice was six, Daniel shyly introduced his girl-friend to the family. Alice’s mother worried that her daughter would be upset by this new, important person in Daniel’s life but Alice took to Ruth immediately.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 C is for Charles

The letter C brings the third of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice.

C is for Charles

Charles was the eldest child in the family and took his responsibilities seriously. From an early age his parents had exhorted him to be a good example to his brothers and it was a natural extension of this that he should look after Alice. He pushed her in her pram, negotiating kerbs with care and ensuring that no draughts chilled her. His friends often accompanied them and so, from an early age, Alice had many surrogate brothers.

Charles hoped to become a teacher and enjoyed reading to his little sister and playing with her. She couldn’t pronounce his name and called him Dars. The name stuck and before long it was difficult to remember a time when he had not been Dars.

Charles was nineteen the summer that Alice was five. When he arrived home from college she rushed towards him. ‘Dars, Dars,’ she cried and screamed with delight as he swept her up and swung her round.

During the long, hot days the boys took her into the countryside to fish and swim. As soon as she tired a strong pair of arms scooped her up and let her ride on broad shoulders. She favoured Charles to carry her because he was the tallest and she liked being up high. At other times Daniel and Edward would link hands to make a chair for her and swing her along between them. They sang as they walked and her musical voice made a pretty counterpoint to their deeper tones.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 B is for Brothers

This is the second of 26 short stories about a fictional character called Alice.

B is for Brothers

When Alice was born in her parents’ bedroom in 1932, Edward was nine years old. Daniel and Charles were eleven and fourteen respectively.

At first they were not very interested in her, a squalling, red-faced unprepossessing bundle of fury and could not understand their mother and her female friends cooing over her and declaring how beautiful she was. They were even more surprised to see their father rocking her in his arms and singing softly to her.

Once she began to look ‘more human’, as Edward put it, the boys took a greater interest in her and began to celebrate her developmental milestones. By the time she took her first tottering steps all three brothers were entranced by their little sister who repaid their attentiveness with flirtatious smiles.

They took pride in teaching her to ride her bicycle, to swim and fish. They taught her to climb trees and tie knots, to build camp fires and construct Meccano models. Alice enjoyed all these pursuits and adored her brothers as much as they doted on her. Happy and secure, no little girl could have lived a more enviable existence until war was declared in 1939 and everyone’s world changed.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012

This year I am writing 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about the life and times of a fictional character called Alice.

A is for Alice

It was traditional on her birthday for Alice to take down her photograph album and look through it with her grandchildren. As she waited for their arrival on her 85^th birthday she picked it up and turned the pages with care, tracing the faces of the people within. 

Here was one of her parents looking sternly into the camera, two of her brothers standing unsmiling at their sides. As they all grew older there were smiles and laughter and more relaxed poses were captured as photography emerged from its infancy and embraced modern times and cameras became cheaper and more readily affordable. 

The next photo she stopped at showed all three boys with their parents. Edward was grinning straight at the camera. It would be some years before he relinquished his position as the youngest in the family.

She studied a photograph of herself at six years old, sitting between her parents, smiling up at her father. Her brothers, tall, handsome boys, stood behind her parents. 

She sighed. The world had changed so quickly after that photograph was taken. She was the only one left to remember and recount the family history, and the photographs acted as markers for her memories. Some recollections needed no prompting; they were etched with tears or laughter. Though time had softened the hard edges of pain or joy the memories remained sharp and unwavering.

A ring at the doorbell announced the arrival of her family and Alice went to greet them.