Competition Seventeen Highly Commended: Pig Willow by Beck Collett
Say a prayer for poor Pig Willow.
Nobody’s dream, nobody’s love, nobody’s daughter, nobody’s child.
Nobody’s baby. Somebody’s baby, my baby, your baby.
A fever dream, a nightmare, a gypsy curse.
Pig Willow.
Born dead, not born at all, never there, never was, all in your head.
Lost through pills, magic drinks, a beating, a fall, a coat hanger, a clinical hand. Lost.
In your head, always there. Close your eyes, always there. Still there, always there.
Pig Willow.
Somebody’s dream, somebody’s love, somebody’s daughter, somebody’s child.
Your dream, your love, your daughter, your child, your fault. Yours.
Pig Willow.
Beck Collett lives in South Wales with her husband, 10-year-old daughter, two monochrome cats, and Multiple Sclerosis. She writes short-form fiction, and graduated from the Open University with an MA in Creative Writing with Distinction in 2020.
Her work has been published by Makarelle, Sixth Element Publishing , Castle Priory Press , and New Welsh Review among others.
In April 2023, she was featured by The Open University in Wales, WalesOnline, and The Western Mail newspaper.
Her novella-in-flash, Blinks and Shards, was highly commended in the New Welsh Review Rheidol Prize for Prose 2022.
Blog: blinksandshards.blogspot.com
Photo by simplinsomnia on Flickr
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Thanks to Sarah Royston for not running screaming for the hills from my little tale, Pig Willow.
Makes me think of something I’l never forget.
Strange ,sad , wonderful , painful, lost.
One dead one alive.
Somebody’s daughter, somebody’s child.
❤️