‘Mum, look,’ Robert murmurs suddenly, and pats her on the arm to get her attention, pointing to a patch of bracken framed with skinny young silver birch trees. There, a sturdy brown pony grazes, a white mark on its face. Beside it, a foal, paler, emblazoned with the same white patch between its eyes. Mother, and son.

Laura smiles, and closes her eyes, and absurdly, the memories that eluded her as a young girl come back in that moment, clear and unblemished, and she sees Bobby as he had been on the day he’d first kissed her, nervous, serious and pale, white-blonde hair lifting in a faint breeze.

She feels the touch of his hand on hers, as if he is standing right there next to her, instead of Robert, and she recalls his smile. The remembrance is fleeting, but crystal clear, and she is glad for it.

And now, like a little brown bird, flying north, she continues, walking on, in a straight, true line through the forest, always on, and never back, because that is not how we survive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gemma Amor is a horror fiction author from Bristol, in the UK. Her debut collection of short stories, Cruel Works of Nature, was published in 2018.

Gemma also writes for anthology audio dramas like the wildly popular NoSleep Podcast. She is co-creator, writer and voice actor for horror-comedy podcast Calling Darkness, and hopes to release her spooky cowboy show Whisper Ridge soon.

Her next book will be paranormal mystery novel White Pines, followed by another short story collection called Till the Score is Paid. Gemma’s influences range from Carter to King, Shakespeare to Shelley, and she has a particular love for misunderstood monsters and women with an axe to grind.

gemmammorauthor.com

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