Three Fairytales

Once upon a time there was no dawn to vanish into with a handkerchief full of belongings: no city, no handkerchief, no time. Only once upon

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Not an old woman. It was an old man lived in the middle of that wood dense as broccoli. No one knew why –– he left for good

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Ever been woken in a big strange bed? By a drop of rain on your eyelid, a twig snapping? In a forest clearing? By someone quickly returning


[Elsewhere, in the actual world, it was our son's birthday: 'the one has married the zero' and he's ten before we knew it. Chocolate cake made by his granny in Wexford, and sparkling wine as it's also her birthday, then later a walk in the woods by myself, with only the usual ghosts to keep me company.]