A new message flashes. The little icon with her photo, all Bambi-eyes and dimples, sets his heart racing. And then there’s that other feeling. The one he shouldn’t have for someone her age. The one that twists his stomach and clamps his jaw tight.
The curtains are drawn, as always. His secrets fester like bacteria in the stale air, seeping into the furniture. They clutter every surface, filthy as the plates that litter his room. He cannot risk them spreading beyond the confines of this house. Not like they did in the old neighbourhood.
These new neighbours seem friendly. They posted that ‘Welcome’ note through his door, with the link to the community Facebook group. That’s where the fireworks display was advertised. And where he found the laughably easy to access local youth chatroom. Honestly, this lot could do with some internet safety training.
It took quite a while to perfect walking across the ceiling but I got it in the end. Just takes practice. As the boot prints attest, this has become a favourite way of taking exercise. And life takes on a fresh perspective.
Jan next door likes to fly. I often hear her talking to seagulls and launching herself off the window ledge. She sometimes drops a fish or part of someone’s pie and chip dinner on my doorstep. Always grateful for a food delivery, and I’m not going to complain about seagull poo on the window.
Helen sat
down with a sigh. It was time to think of a new year’s resolution.
Why do I
do this to myself? she pondered. Each year promising myself to do something
useful. My spare room is filled with things from years past. The cross stitch
still unopened, the exercise bike which I generally hang my ironing on. Shelves
stacked with books I never get round to reading, exercise videos that maybe
were watched once, and I nearly put my back out with them.
Think I
must have tried every avenue to a healthy life. It cost me a fortune in
gym membership, even personal trainers. They all fell by the wayside. Even
tried volunteering with charities, every time finding out I couldn’t give them
the time required with my work schedule.
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