‘And you know what the most ridiculous thing was? It wasn’t even the brakes that did it. It was just the slope. We were all supposed to go to the May fair that day, at Riddlefoot Meadow. They always had it on the last day of the month. I remember that, because she was a Gemini, and so was he, actually. She had a migraine, and said she didn’t want to go. She must have felt better. She was always trying to move some stuff. It was some walkers who raised the alarm but it was too late by that point. It’s hard to say how much too late.’

Are my feet purple? Think they are. Fish nibbling at them. Wouldn’t even feel it if they were. Exfoliation. People pay good money for this. And bad money. Wondering about that house on the hill. Can just see an old woman down the valley, calling a horse, ringing a bell. Water is mellow, tinkly. River has a song but you have to get in really close to hear it.

Excerpt from rough draft of Wallflower Child: The Ballad of RJ McKendree

‘She said love don’t come for free and she pushed me into the trees.’ – RJ McKendree, ‘Marsh Pennywort’