Valerie Preston

“Soul of the River” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #98

It was dark and bottomless - and like a serpent twisted and turned, usually gently and calmly but when it changed, angry and unpredictable.  It wound around fallen tree roots thrown into the raging water when furious storms had lifted them completely out of the earth. They continued to live and grow from the depths of the river, and were reaching for the sunlight or just trying to get away from what lay beneath. Bent limbs from the lower branches creaked gently like an old wooden door in a slight draught and dipped in and...

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“Behind the Window” by Valerie Preston

It was dark outside. Lights flickered in the sky and the slice of moon pierced the blue black nothingness. Only the sound of the rain on the window could be heard – a gentle tapping like the hands of tiny children wanting to come in. I sat by the bay window seat clutching my hot water bottle, soft blanket wrapped around me and just stared. The air was cool but I felt warm. I knew every tree and bush, every fence post, footpath and letterbox along the road outside and even in the blackness of night I could picture them all. A tiny portion of ...

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“Because I said So” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #94

“Oh thank goodness they have all gone” he thought. The house was peaceful. The only sound to be heard was the creaking as old Billy trod the floorboards on his well-worn pads. He slid along as he rounded the corner, the surface too slippery for him as he headed for the comfy old couch in the corner of the room. A shaft of light pierced through the window and tumbling down from top to bottom, tiny flecks of dust danced and flipped around until they landed on the shiny wooden floorboards, exhausted from the journey. A black and white bird...

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“Once a Party Pooper” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #93

Sally never felt like going to a party, but once she actually got there she was fine. Well the definition of ‘fine’ is ‘satisfactory, acceptable, good enough, all right’ – all of which are true but it would be a treat for everyone if Sally’s demeanour got into the ‘happy, joyful, merry’ category! It was the same every time and although friends and family got used to listening to her, they didn’t really enjoy it! “I don’t want to go” she whined. “Fine, don’t go because I am truly fed up of listening to you - if you really don’t want to t...

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“Light to Dark and Life to Death” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #92

The life and soul of the party was what she was perceived to be – but only by those who hadn’t known her for a long time. The people who had met her quite recently had no idea what she was really like, only those in whose life she had been for many years, had felt her wrath, seen her anger and known the dark side of who she really was. The party room dazzling, like the brilliance of fresh snow on a cold but very sunny morning, the glare was blinding at first until the eyes got used to it and tiny black pupils gradually dilated back to n...

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“Rejuvenation” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #90

The sea of faces looked no different to any other morning. Pulling the hem of my dress from under the rather large bottom that just sat on it was quite a feat. Mmmmfff escaped from my mouth as I gave it one final tug hoping it wouldn’t tear, but it wouldn’t come out. “Excuse me” I said to the big face next to me “You’re on my skirt, do you think……” “What” he rudely answered spitting out tiny particles of what I assumed had been his breakfast. “My dress, you’re on it” I told him “Oh right” and he lifted his large grey frame while I tugged it ...

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“What a Month” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #89

TW: death, suicide The Month was June and the worst month of my entire life. The month of May was a terrible lead up month but nothing like how I felt throughout June. My life wasn’t exactly caviar and chocolates – I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, as the saying goes. There was no fanfare or ‘welcome to the new bundle of joy’ balloons swirling around when I popped out – just an alone single mother whose family disowned here when they found out I was on the way. The little life growing inside my mother was unaware that she was ca...

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“Lying to Yourself” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #88

The look on her face said it all, disbelief and disappointment. Wrinkles melded into forlornness and the usual bright blue eyes faded into dullness. “I will ask you one more time Adam. Did you take the money from my purse?” She was willing him to tell the truth. She thought maybe her needing him to be truthful would show on her face and somehow be transported from her mind to his. But it didn’t work. He lied….again. “I’ve told you” his voice was slightly raised and tiny beads of perspiration had formed on his smooth brow, “I don’t know where...

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“Not Such a Fool” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #87

I hate the way people think it’s a necessity to play a prank on someone just because it’s that date…1st April. It’s probably because I’ve been pranked a few times in my life and didn’t enjoy any of them! When I was a youngster at school it seemed to be the day for the boys in our class to do ridiculous things – such as tell you that the principal had asked to see you and looked ‘mad as hell’. You would walk very slowly to his office, sweating and trying to think of what it was you had done to warrant a trip to the stuffy dark room where you ...

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“Talking to the Animals” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #86

The air was cool and as a lot of the trees were only party covered in leaves – the canopy above had spaces where the brightness filtered through. A soft light, gently made its way from top to bottom – bits of dust and tiny insects danced their way down on the sun beam. I leaned back as far as I could without toppling over and looked up. Blue sky filled the spaces that bare branches made and as I slowly watched high above I felt like I was spinning around. Or were the trees spinning? Whatever was happening was making me dizzy with delight and...

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“Life in a City” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #85

“That’s the thing about this city. Even though it’s relatively big, it’s very busy and it can sometimes be a very lonely place to live, which by the way can describe most cities, our city also has a lot of positives , built up through the decades by good and caring people, some of which I’m going to talk about now. When my mother came to this place as a ten year old girl, it seemed so vast and strange to her and very different from where she had come. She felt terrified, small and completely overwhelmed by the move to a big town. She and her...

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“Is It Monday” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #84

I want to keep my eyes open but it’s impossible most of the time. A tiny piece of fluff dances back and forth as the fan whirrs around, and I try to look to my right as it floats away but it’s lost. Am I lost? I can’t think straight – if it’s Monday then what did I do on the weekend? I should have played netball – do I still play? Maybe it’s Tuesday – cheap movie night. What did I last see at the movies? Was it‘Jaws’? I think that was further back than last week – maybe, maybe not. Is it January? What day is it? I silently cry out – then not...

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“It Turned Out For the Best” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #83

It Turned Out For The Best Olivia was so excited. She had been nervous about handing over all of her savings to the travel agent (even though it is supposed to be a bargain vacation) and her reluctance showed as she asked a million questions about the insurance, refunds, medical emergencies and lots of other problems she was ridiculously conjuring up in her head. Like a child she loudly told the man behind the desk of the ‘A Getaway of a Lifetime’ travel agency that she had waited so long for this holiday that absolutely nothing could spoil ...

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“An old fashioned love story” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #81

“Are you sure I look alright?” he asked her for the umpteenth time that evening. “Yes Arthur, debonair and handsome, for an old guy”! She added. “We’re only going out with the kids, not to visit royalty”. “I know, but I hate dressing up. Why can’t I just wear my shorts and tee-shirt and be done with it? Where are we going anyway?” he asked. “It’s a surprise Arthur. I’ve told you that! The children have booked a restaurant for us – we’ll know when we get there, so hurry up and put the finishing touches to your outfit” she teased him. She was ...

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“Memories of the War” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #80

The book was stirring up memories of long ago. I hardly ever thought about it these days, but reading this book was bringing it all back again – the words seemed to talk to me and awaken my senses – allowing me to feel and smell and see everything that had gone on around me all those years ago. I didn’t usually read history books or as my friend puts it ‘deep’ books that just make you feel morbid and unhappy! I disagreed with that but could see what she meant about the ‘morbid’ feeling, although I would say melancholy and pensive – but Glor...

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