My First Memory

I was strapped into the backseat between my two older brothers. We’d all fought over the front seat, so of course none of us got it. It remained empty. Dad drove. He knew the way well by now. He’d been in and out of the hospital every day for the last week. I didn’t really […]

Drowning (Unedited)

If I had power over anything other than my survival instinct, I may have peed myself. The back of my mind told me ‘this is what it must be like to be in a washing machine.’ A thought instantly swept away as I clawed myself to the surface of the waves. Another. How could there […]

Terry (Edited)

Terry was a typical Aussie bloke. Woke up early, spent a long, hot day in the sun laying bitumen, and then kicked back with his mates and a carton of beer. He was always good for a yarn, my man Terry. Get a few beers in him and he’d be on about some time his […]

Lipstick and Coffee (Part 1)

She always left lipstick on her mug. Not a deep, scandalous red, but a warm maroon. It seemed to say that she wanted to be sexy, but not slutty; wholesome but not dull. I stared at that pink smudge for a moment before washing the cup, looking over my shoulder to see her exiting the […]

Drink (Unedited)

“Drink!” says one. “We’re gonna try every shot in the place,” says the other. “Won’t that be expensive?” I ask. “It’s your going away party, it’s worth it!” I look from one to the other, their seedy but bright faces eager. My vision is already starting to blur at the edges, but you would have […]

Isolation (Unedited)

There wasn’t much to do for the last half hour of work. It seemed silly to be paying me $40 an hour just to sit on my arse or throw boxes in a compactor. I wouldn’t complain of course; money was the only thing that could entice me to wake up at 4am on a […]

The New House (Edited)

Liam sprawled himself across the kitchen bench, his worn Ramones shirt lifting slightly to expose a trail of hair on his stomach. “The space, the beautiful bench space!” The childish glimmer in his eye made me chuckle. After more than a week of time sensitive house hunting, it was heartening to see that his smile […]

The New House (Unedited)

Liam sprawled himself on the kitchen bench. “The space! The beautiful bench space!” It was almost three meters worth of room – sink and oven included – a stark contrast to the elbow numbing cube in our previous apartment. But that wasn’t all. The house had an open-plan kitchen and living area with so much […]

Why I Want to Write (Edited)

When I’m feeling negative, I tell myself that following this path is the only thing I can do. I tell myself that I’m shit at everything else and writing is the only thing I’ve ever stuck with, ever thought I was any good at. On a bad day, writing is my only choice. When I’m […]

Observing vines (Unedited)

You don’t usually see people genuinely enjoying nature. More often than not, they’re so busy with their phones these days that they forget to look up, to take in the world and actually take note of where they’re going. But she did. Though, like many others, there were headphones stuffed in her ears – her […]