Present My mother was never one to protect her children from anything they might scar, or scare, them. Life is tough, the sooner you get used to it, the better. While most children watched cartoons and read fairy tales, I grew up with her black and white horror tapes. Darkness, spirits, and cults became my playmates. I remember watching her […]
There’s two worlds: mine, and other people’s. The first is a sea of fine sand, contained in an elevator shaft. It reaches up to my thighs. There’s a glimmer of sunshine coming in through the surface, not enough to lighten up the place, only to overcast it with penumbra. A vast expansion of emptiness. There’s nowhere to go, I’ve been […]
I keep a dagger beside my bed, it has a dull, rough blade and the softest, white marble handle. It’s the first thing people notice when they visit, and I reassure them it’s to protect myself, in case of intruders. For once, I’m not lying. But I’m lying in bed and I can’t breathe. I know what’s happening right now, […]
Surrounded by onyx waves, the island that for years has been my home and prison. There’s a myriad of doors, all leading to the same place differently. To a room with walls studded in paintings of stormy oceans. To another submerged, eggshell corals growing on window sills. My favourite opens up on the beach. Burgundy grains of sand, engraved with […]
‘Bienvenue chez le Ch’tis’ is a 2008 comedy directed by Dany Boon, who also has a role in the film. Philippe Abrams is our main character, a director of a post office in Provence, France. He decided to pose as a disabled man to be transferred to the south of France, as they are prioritised. But he is immediately caught, […]
Who will be the next…ladies and gents say it with me…Temporary Monarch? Prologue. Temporary Monarchs: the most followed gameshow of all time. Every family tunes in once a year to watch it, but not mine, not this time. It was yesterday when my brother threw my bedroom door open and hurled one of my stuffed animals at me. ‘Look up.’ […]