Short Story Competition 2014
WINNER: Amanda Oosthuizen
‘But the deadline’s tonight. Midnight.’
‘I have a system. I’m going to make us thousands.’
‘What?’ I pull away from him.
‘I’ve a bet on for midnight tonight.’
It’s ten to midnight. I throw down the mask, kick off my shoes, and leaving Dai standing in the door of the tent, the dog snarling at his feet, I run.
With every stride, my breath is cut by star-bright shards. The wrinkled-woman-in-fur-boots waves; I stare ahead. At the bench, an old man is rummaging in the bin; he’s welcome to the wallets. The throb of the fairground recedes and all I hear is the icy chiming of my heart. At our front door, I pause with the key in my hand; this is what it’s all about, our home, the future of our children. And love and trust, hope and stars? And Dai and Ruby? Where in the universe of scattered fragments do we stand?
At one second to midnight I stand over Dai’s laptop and watch the golden, glittery coins tumble across the screen and finally explode in a fizz of sparkling dollar signs.
Amanda Oosthuizen is a woodwind teacher from Hampshire, UK. Her stories in print can be found in The Lampeter Review, Litro, ‘Scraps ‘the NFFD Anthology, the 2013 Bristol Prize Anthology and on the London Underground. Links to those published online can be found at www.amandaoosthuizen.com