Over the Dyke by Fhionna Mac
There’s a drop that lasts forever between the bin-house and the moss-covered wall. You’ve seen a girl drop her baby down there, her glass eyes staring, a cracked smile. Sometimes you stand on the wall and shout downwards—weird girl noises—mamamama eeeeewwww heloelllooooo—to see if you get an answer.
You bend your bloodied knees till they touch the cushiony greenness, grip the edges of the sharp brick till your fingers ache, search the darkness for signs of life.
From on top of the wall, you can see everything. Except down there. But if you keep real quiet, you can almost hear an echo of breathing.
Olly from the council estate sometimes brings his pals. They dare each other to jump the dyke for prizes of sweets and silver. You listen to their strange words, their laughter when one almost doesn’t make it across. They punch each other on the shoulder, like boys often do, and call each other names. You wait till they’ve gone, ridden away on their scratched bikes with red and blue flashing disks jammed between the spokes—click, clack, click, clack.
When the sky purples, you stand on the wall, stretch your arms wide, feel the cooling air as it rushes through your waving fingers. You hold your breath as streetlights buzz and flicker casting shadows on the spongy carpet beneath your bare toes. Maybe you’ll find her, your sister. Maybe if you fall for long enough, you’ll see her broken smile, her glassy eyes. Maybe you’ll stay with her and care for the girl’s baby, together.
Fhionna McGeechan [author: Fhionna Mac] lives in Scotland with her partner. She is 54 and began writing in July 2020. Her flash fiction and short stories have been long-listed, short-listed, and have received honourable mentions in a variety of competitions throughout 2021/2022. She had three flash fictions published by online journals, in 2021, and has recently been named a ‘group expert’ in the Creative Writing group – Globe Soup Love Writing – on Facebook.
Read more by Fhionna Mac here – www.hauntedwaterspress.com/contributors/fhionna-mac
Illustration by Mander Ellis @mander.ellis
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Another absolutely fantastic short story by the fabulous Fhionna Mac I have read a number of her stories and have enjoyed them all well done Fhionna on another piece of creative writing
Gave me vertigo. Your unadulterated writing evoked memories of my childhood too. Well done!