The share your creativity thread

“I can hear them outside. Little bastards.” he thought to himself. “They’re probably planning to steal a car like all them hoodies on the news.”


“No respect for anyone. Just take what they want and **** the consequences.”

A click sounds as the kettle comes to the boil. He gets up from his armchair and shuffles into the kitchen.

A good cup of tea, that’ll relax him. Although he can no longer enjoy a sweet tea due to the strict instructions from his doctor to avoid all sugars. And that sugar substitute just tastes like ****e.

He’ll just have to make do with a milky tea.

Things tasted sweeter and the world seemed less ominous when Judith was still around. Sadly the throat cancer didn’t care much about that. “She never even smoked a cigarette”, he thought to himself bitterly.

Her brother, Tony, no longer visits. But then he never really got on with Tony. Tony always thought his sister deserved a better class of man. Someone who probably swam in the same social circles as Tony. At least then she wouldn’t have ended up in an estate that slowly transformed into a council estate.

It was a nice estate when he and Judith first moved there, but the closure of many companies over time meant that most of the working families moved to the neighbouring towns and cities.

They owned their own bakery in the middle of the town so they were able to pay the bills during the tough times.

Truth be told, the bakery would have closed if not for Judith. It was her welcoming presence and memory for names and their favourite treats that kept the customers coming back.

But they worked hard and had looked forward to travelling when they eventually retired. Sadly she was diagnosed with cancer shortly after they retired. This meant that they never got to travel because of her being too weak to do much most days.

Instead of travelling, they spent a small fortune on improving the back garden and sun-room. It didn’t compare to the Butchart Gardens in Canada that she always wanted to visit but at least it helped improve her mood for a while.

It was New Years Eve two years previous when she passed. She had collapsed at seven minutes to midnight. He remembers the torment of following the ambulance in a taxi through the town flooded with drunken revellers joyfully celebrating.

She regained consciousness at around 2am. They managed to wish each other happy New Year before she slipped into the final sleep.

He had to wait in the hospital until after 6am, as it was impossible to get a taxi before then.

The journey back to their home was a more sombre affair. For him and the town outside the taxi. No-one was out celebrating now. He thought the world had lost its ability to enjoy itself when Judith passed.

He paid the taxi as he opened the door of the car. The driver awkwardly wished him a happy New Year. He closed the door of the taxi and made his way to the front door of his house.

He entered the living room, closed the curtains and fired up the DVD player. It already had the travel show about Canada pre-loaded. It was the one Judith enjoyed watching the most. By the time the Butchart Gardens segment came on, he had already broken down crying.

The only words he spoke as he cried himself to sleep were, “Happy New Year, Judith.”