The Garden

by Claire Lorrimer

Genres: Short Stories

Synopsis

A compelling short story from the bestselling Claire Lorrimer

Release date: January 30, 2014

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Print pages: 32

Sample

SOMEWHERE IN THE GARDEN THE CHILDREN WERE playing. From her bed she could hear them but she could not see them. She thought there were five voices but she could not be certain. If only they would come closer to the house — close enough for her to see their faces. …

A butterfly fluttered against the glass panes of the window, fighting a lone, tenacious battle to reach the sunshine outside, unaware that both mullioned casements were open and that freedom was only an inch away. If she could move she would help it, but instead she could only lie and watch its feeble efforts to escape. Like herself, it too was a prisoner in this room, she thought.

The sun’s warmth lay across her white, transparent hands. How thin they were! The blue veins were like lacing beneath the skin. The children were still calling to one another but too far away for her to identify their voices. If only they would come a littl. . .