Submissions by Lozzamus
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
I compare poetry to painting, believing that I lack any drawing/painting skills but believing my imagination and training in writing has enabled me to transfer my love of visual art to the written word
Silent - Part 8: Her Friend Maxine
LUCY, May 2019, Missing
Yes, she and Maxine shared a secret concerning a boy.
The Boy who lives close to the sea, near Lyme House in Lancashire.
She'd arranged to have lunch with Gavin at a café in the park to discuss The Boy as she'd been curious to see what Gavin would suggest, given his experiences at Lyme House.
But the man with the baseball cap prevented her from getting to Gavin. The Angel of Mercy, as he called himself earlier. He followed her back from the Cybercafé and appeared just as she parked her car outside Maxine’s. And...
Yes, she and Maxine shared a secret concerning a boy.
The Boy who lives close to the sea, near Lyme House in Lancashire.
She'd arranged to have lunch with Gavin at a café in the park to discuss The Boy as she'd been curious to see what Gavin would suggest, given his experiences at Lyme House.
But the man with the baseball cap prevented her from getting to Gavin. The Angel of Mercy, as he called himself earlier. He followed her back from the Cybercafé and appeared just as she parked her car outside Maxine’s. And...
#love
#relationships
#mystery
#obsession
#risk
183 reads
0 Comments
Silent - Part 7: The Escape
Saturday, 5am Gavin
My phone is ringing again. Private Number.
I snatch the handset: 'Yes? Hello?'
Please let this be Lucy or Maxine. Please let this all be a joke.
Silence.
'Final warning, Gavin,' a man says, in a low but menacing voice. 'The Angel of Mercy's watching you and he's very, very angry. Leave Maxine's flat at once. This is your very last chance.'
The line goes dead.
Not hanging around.
I grab the sports bag containing my clothes and coach ticket, and stuff my phone and wallet in my...
My phone is ringing again. Private Number.
I snatch the handset: 'Yes? Hello?'
Please let this be Lucy or Maxine. Please let this all be a joke.
Silence.
'Final warning, Gavin,' a man says, in a low but menacing voice. 'The Angel of Mercy's watching you and he's very, very angry. Leave Maxine's flat at once. This is your very last chance.'
The line goes dead.
Not hanging around.
I grab the sports bag containing my clothes and coach ticket, and stuff my phone and wallet in my...
#narrative
#mystery
#risk
190 reads
2 Comments
Silent - Part 6: The Text
Gavin, Early Hours Of Saturday Morning, May 2019
A few minutes has passed since the silent phone call from a number withheld. Now a text has arrived with an attached image, from an unfamiliar number this time.
re Lucy
I don’t want to open it, as I know it’s going to be bad.
Don’t have a choice. I open the message.
This is serious, much worse than anything I'd anticipated.
I see an image of myself staring back from the screen, broad and clunky with a black leather jacket and coal-like eyes. Friends always tease me about...
A few minutes has passed since the silent phone call from a number withheld. Now a text has arrived with an attached image, from an unfamiliar number this time.
re Lucy
I don’t want to open it, as I know it’s going to be bad.
Don’t have a choice. I open the message.
This is serious, much worse than anything I'd anticipated.
I see an image of myself staring back from the screen, broad and clunky with a black leather jacket and coal-like eyes. Friends always tease me about...
#relationships
#narrative
#mystery
#obsession
#risk
251 reads
0 Comments
Silent - Part 5: How We Met
Gavin, Friday Night
Yeah, there was massive trouble nearly two years ago. It involved Lucy and another girl. And me.
The location? Lyme House in Lancashire, a former Prep School for aspiring concert pianists. You know the sort? Mainly rich kids, apart from those who got in on scholarships (such as myself). The media called it The School of Death because it already had a sinister past.
After the investigation, Lucy occasionally emailed me. One evening I replied to a reply…Lucy responded to that and we started to communicate regularly. Every two or...
Yeah, there was massive trouble nearly two years ago. It involved Lucy and another girl. And me.
The location? Lyme House in Lancashire, a former Prep School for aspiring concert pianists. You know the sort? Mainly rich kids, apart from those who got in on scholarships (such as myself). The media called it The School of Death because it already had a sinister past.
After the investigation, Lucy occasionally emailed me. One evening I replied to a reply…Lucy responded to that and we started to communicate regularly. Every two or...
#love
#narrative
#mystery
#obsession
#risk
291 reads
2 Comments
Silent - Part 4: A Long Evening
Gavin, Friday Evening
Quarter to seven. Call someone? Lucy’s only been gone a few hours, but I can’t shrug off the unease. Anyway, who would I ring? It might seem weird, but Lucy and I have kept our friendship a secret.
7pm. It’s getting chilly outside. I shut the window and flick through the TV channels on the remote control.
8.15pm. I think about calling this friend of Lucy’s. Seeing what Maxine thinks. No, too soon for that. Plus, she’ll probably demand an explanation for my presence in her flat and tell me to get out.
I’ve never met...
Quarter to seven. Call someone? Lucy’s only been gone a few hours, but I can’t shrug off the unease. Anyway, who would I ring? It might seem weird, but Lucy and I have kept our friendship a secret.
7pm. It’s getting chilly outside. I shut the window and flick through the TV channels on the remote control.
8.15pm. I think about calling this friend of Lucy’s. Seeing what Maxine thinks. No, too soon for that. Plus, she’ll probably demand an explanation for my presence in her flat and tell me to get out.
I’ve never met...
#relationships
#friendship
#mystery
#obsession
#risk
173 reads
2 Comments
Silent - Part 3: Late Afternoon
Gavin, Friday Afternoon:
Lucy needed to get away for a while. Yeah, that must be it. She's obviously stressed and upset, judging from her nightmare in the middle of the night.
I’m tired from the long coach journey yesterday. I watch TV and drift off to sleep in the middle of a film, coming to with a jolt. At first, I can’t work out where I am, or why. You know the groggy feeling? No sense of day or time or location.
The information comes back to me in short bursts: Leeds – took the coach up from London yesterday (to save on costs) – arranged to meet...
Lucy needed to get away for a while. Yeah, that must be it. She's obviously stressed and upset, judging from her nightmare in the middle of the night.
I’m tired from the long coach journey yesterday. I watch TV and drift off to sleep in the middle of a film, coming to with a jolt. At first, I can’t work out where I am, or why. You know the groggy feeling? No sense of day or time or location.
The information comes back to me in short bursts: Leeds – took the coach up from London yesterday (to save on costs) – arranged to meet...
#relationships
#narrative
#mystery #risk
#mystery #risk
247 reads
2 Comments
Silent - Part 2: Missing
Gavin, Friday afternoon:
Still waiting for Lucy to get back to me. I wonder if she's angry about last night. She said nothing about it when she left for Uni earlier. Just that she wanted my opinion on something. Let's have lunch in the park and I'll tell you about it, she called on her way down to the car. Then she drove away.
The situation's complicated. You see, the flat doesn't belong to Lucy but to a friend of hers, Maxine, who's away for a month. Lucy's flat sitting for Maxine.
2.15 pm. I phone Lucy again, but I don't leave a message this time. ...
Still waiting for Lucy to get back to me. I wonder if she's angry about last night. She said nothing about it when she left for Uni earlier. Just that she wanted my opinion on something. Let's have lunch in the park and I'll tell you about it, she called on her way down to the car. Then she drove away.
The situation's complicated. You see, the flat doesn't belong to Lucy but to a friend of hers, Maxine, who's away for a month. Lucy's flat sitting for Maxine.
2.15 pm. I phone Lucy again, but I don't leave a message this time. ...
#mystery
#risk
232 reads
0 Comments
Silent - Part 1: How It Began
Friday, May 2019
My name's Gavin, I'm eighteen. Lucy's asked me to meet her in the park. She said she needed to talk to me about something, but she wouldn't say what.
I arrive at the café near the play area and glance at the time on my phone.
1.15. Friday afternoon. Outside café, I text, and go in to buy a can of coke, working my way through the queue. I return to my waiting spot and check the messages to see if Lucy's responded.
She hasn't. I stand there with my sunglasses on, sipping coke and scanning the park area for signs of...
My name's Gavin, I'm eighteen. Lucy's asked me to meet her in the park. She said she needed to talk to me about something, but she wouldn't say what.
I arrive at the café near the play area and glance at the time on my phone.
1.15. Friday afternoon. Outside café, I text, and go in to buy a can of coke, working my way through the queue. I return to my waiting spot and check the messages to see if Lucy's responded.
She hasn't. I stand there with my sunglasses on, sipping coke and scanning the park area for signs of...
#mystery
#risk
301 reads
6 Comments
An Old Theatre
A gentle touch on my left arm. 'Are you all right?' I heard her saying.
'I'm fine, thanks.'
The inside of the theatre was like the Big Screen at the cinema: really steep, as in no good for anyone suffering from vertigo. I nearly missed a step. Everything slowed down, and I saw myself tripping, plummeting down to the bottom, head crashing against the steps: bang, bang, bang. Then the déjà vu again.
'You must be exhausted,' the girl said. 'I'll get you a cup of coffee before we go.'
A grand piano stood in the centre of a flat stage, several...
'I'm fine, thanks.'
The inside of the theatre was like the Big Screen at the cinema: really steep, as in no good for anyone suffering from vertigo. I nearly missed a step. Everything slowed down, and I saw myself tripping, plummeting down to the bottom, head crashing against the steps: bang, bang, bang. Then the déjà vu again.
'You must be exhausted,' the girl said. 'I'll get you a cup of coffee before we go.'
A grand piano stood in the centre of a flat stage, several...
#mystery
#risk
286 reads
6 Comments
Pause For Thought
My most recent series here covered a range of topics, some of which were difficult to write - and I imagine, to read.
In this post, I share some of my thoughts on relaxation techniques and self-help:
I’ve maintained a keen interest in relaxation techniques over the last ten years, starting roughly around the time I gave up smoking. This has included slow (or deep) breathing and mindfulness techniques. And more recently, Breath Moving, during which a person imagines sending their breath to different parts of the body.
I don’t know how effective these...
In this post, I share some of my thoughts on relaxation techniques and self-help:
I’ve maintained a keen interest in relaxation techniques over the last ten years, starting roughly around the time I gave up smoking. This has included slow (or deep) breathing and mindfulness techniques. And more recently, Breath Moving, during which a person imagines sending their breath to different parts of the body.
I don’t know how effective these...
#MentalHealth
#SelfReflection
#meditation
266 reads
6 Comments
I Escaped, But Only Just - Part 22: Conclusion
I left home as soon as I could. For a while, I retained some social ties from my hometown, but those dissolved over time. I graduated in music and somehow managed to win a prestigious Piano Scholarship, as told elsewhere.
Faith continues to play a role in my life, but not as before. I no longer belong to the Jewish Community. About twenty years ago, I joined the Anglican Communion and I attend a C of E Church these days.
Admittedly, I struggle with the issues presented in my story and would admit that I've sometimes felt that others expect me to wholeheartedly...
Faith continues to play a role in my life, but not as before. I no longer belong to the Jewish Community. About twenty years ago, I joined the Anglican Communion and I attend a C of E Church these days.
Admittedly, I struggle with the issues presented in my story and would admit that I've sometimes felt that others expect me to wholeheartedly...
#LifeStruggles
#faith
#memories
198 reads
6 Comments
I Escaped, But Only Just - Part 21: An Unlikely Saviour
#violence
#bullying
#memories
#escape
#risk
220 reads
0 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by Lozzamus