I lay in my hideaway, the warm earth pressing through my thin cotton dress. I could glimpse slivers of blue sky dancing through the leafy branches of my shelter: my own secret world. Here I was safe from the incessant rows at home, demanding teachers, and bullying classmates.
A sudden noise startled me. Someone was coming! Feeling vulnerable, I pulled myself further back. The sounds drew nearer. A shadow darkened the doorway. I bit hard on my knuckles to stifle a scream. A large shape appeared: just an inquisitive deer! Relief flooded through me. My secret life held me safe.
Bio.
Emmie Blake, B.A, had a peripatetic childhood, growing up in post-war Germany. On her return to England, she found herself an ‘outsider.’ That experience strongly influenced her life and led to her working with people on the fringes of society: people with addictions, ex-offenders, and disadvantaged communities. She has been writing for many years but only started writing short stories on her retirement from her full time work as an ordained minister. She has won several regional competitions and has had stories published in an anthology as well as in ‘AWS e-zine, Issue I’. She currently lives in rural Wales with her husband where, alongside her recreational activities, she is involved in voluntary work in the local community and is Chair of the local Refugee Support Group.