Here Comes the Sun-Perhaps?: A Collection of Short Stories

By Brian Wilson

This is a great book to pick up over a cup of coffee as the stories are short and entertaining. Brian Wilsons short stories have been described as being like a box of chocolates, each one being delightful but quite different. Some of the stories are humorous, while others are thought provoking, and there is a story for everyone. Hold on tight as Wilson takes you on a journey through life. Look out for the twists and turns on the way. Wilson has been described as a master of short story twists.

Here Comes the SunPerhaps? will take you on a journey through the spring of life, leaving behind winterthe Bumpy Roads (his previous book). The dark clouds have now parted and the sun emerges, promising new beginnings and a warmer approach to life. But life is never predictable, and the best of plans sometimes fall apart and the humour of life surfaces.

Brian Wilsons collection comprises thirty entertaining short stories plus the contribution by a new short story writer. The stories are set in New Zealand, China, Japan, England, Zambia, India, and Fiji. Brian Wilson is well travelled and uses his overseas experiences as a basis for these stories. Having an MA (honours) in psychology, he understands how people tick, and his characters are very real and his stories true to life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Apr 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490756967

Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson spent eighteen years as Labour MP for Cunninghame North and served in five UK Ministerial capacities. On leaving politics in 2005, he became a Non-Executive Director of Celtic plc. He lives on the Isle of Lewis.

Book preview

HERE COMES THE SUN-

PERHAPS?

A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

BRIAN WILSON

and

Mark Wilson

©

Copyright 2015 Brian Wilson.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5695-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5694-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-5696-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015903877

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Trafford rev. 04/10/2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Preface

PART ONE—stories by Brian Wilson

Longevity On A Plate

Gone Up In Smoke

Guest Who’s Coming To Dinner

Wall Of Water

The Vege Co-Op

The Empty Room

The Game

Hair

Nosey Neighbours

Cup Of Tea Anyone?

Apartheid

Fish And Chips Anybody?

The Phantom War Canoe

A Day At The Gym

The Writer

PART TWO—stories by Mark Wilson

A Dark Winter

Herd Mentality

Japanese Etiquette

PART THREE—stories by Brian Wilson

An Unwelcome Guest

The Hermit

A Family Gathering

Journey To Nowhere

A New Beginning

The Road To Death

Behind The Curtain

Occupational Blues

Forgetfulness

Angels

Changing Perspectives

A Fijian Experience

Whistling The Wrong Tune

A Surprise Party

It’s All Done In Cash

Other Books By Brian Wilson

About The Authors

POEMS

Here Comes The Sun— Perhaps?-Brian Wilson

Greed-Brian Wilson

Perception-Brian Wilson

Here Comes The Son-Brian Wilson

IMAGES

Central Christchurch before the earthquakes

Central Christchurch after the earthquakes

The Heathcote River, Christchurch, in flood

Mt Egmont (Taranaki), New Zealand

The countryside?lifestyle blocks

Shopping area in Japan

A vege co-op in Christchurch

Lancaster Park

Fish and Chips

Mt Fuji, Japan

A New Volcano (active), Hokkaido, Japan

Picnic scene?taken at Scarborough, Christchurch

Christchurch bus passing through town centre

Picture of Brian Wilson

Picture of Mark Wilson

Christchurch%20before.jpg

Central Christchurch before the earthquakes

christchurch%20after.jpg

Central Christchurch after the earthquakes (note fewer tall buildings)

DEDICATION

I WOULD LIKE to dedicate this book to the people of Christchurch, New Zealand, who between the 4th of September 2010 and December 2013 experienced over 10,000 earthquakes. On the 4th of September 2010 at 4.34 am, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck Christchurch and on the 22nd of February 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 destroyed much of Christchurch taking 185 lives. Since these catastrophic events, amazing resilience has been displayed by the people of Christchurch and now the city and its people are faced with rebuilding and change.

flooding.jpg

During the earthquakes the land in areas beside the rivers dropped in height and now these areas flood at times over winter.

FOREWORD

by JOHN REINHARD DIZON (United States)

Internationally renowned novelist

Author of: Tiara, Vampire, Nightcrawler, and 29 other titles

www.amazon.com/John-Reinhard-Dizon/e/B00DU9JNUQ

WHEN I THINK of Brian Wilson, snippets of life come to mind. It is art at its simplest – an artist carrying his sketch pad, a writer toting his notebook, a musician with staff paper in his pocket. When we sit on a park bench, or in our vehicle at the parking lot, or at a café, we are people watchers. We observe children playing, lovers holding hands, old folks arguing, parents shopping for their families. We are eavesdroppers, borrowing from their life energy, delighting ourselves in the casual happenstances of our fellow man. It inspires us, giving us food for thought, urging us to create, to add to our own environment. Brian Wilson writes of such things. He takes us into minutes, hours, and sometimes even a couple of days in the lives of strangers we will never meet again. He intrudes upon the casual conversations of his characters, interrupts the mundaneness and even the crises in their lives, traipses past their victories and setbacks – and makes us pause and reflect. It makes us think, and marvel at the magnificence of the simplicity of life. That is the magic of the short story, and Brian is a master at his craft.

For his fellow authors, he inspires us to embellish and enhance our own paragraphs. He urges us to turn our sentences into paragraphs, our paragraphs into essays, and our essays into the short story masterpieces he devises. Shakespeare is considered by many to be the greatest writer of all time, and his conciseness and brevity have been a lifetime inspiration for me. I have endeavored to fill my pages with as much life, laughter and love as possible, and the Bard has been my muse. Yet, when I first read Brian Wilson’s work, it served to remind me that I am not alone. The short story writer turns this style and substance into an art form, and it is poetic (or the next best thing) in capturing the human element in its simplest form. Reading one of Brian’s stories is sometimes as fulfilling as reading an entire novel by a lesser writer. The best thing is that, unlike a novel, you can read a short story over and over again without devoting endless hours to doing so. And it’s every bit as satisfying and rewarding.

Raise a glass and tip your hat to Brian Wilson. He’s one of a scarce breed of writers, and they come fewer and farther between.

JOHN REINHARD DIZON

FOREWORD

by DAVID MOORE (New Zealand)

IMAGINE….AN UNKNOWN FIGURE approaches and offers a bright shining paper bag for you to dip your hand into and take out a chocolate. As you look into the bag you see many different coloured wrappers. Which shall you choose? You decide to take several and after sampling the first you can’t help taking the next… then the next and so on.

After reading Here Comes the Sun –Perhaps? you may well agree with my chocolate analogy, because here you will find plenty of variety providing for interesting reading. This is a book that will take you on a journey through seven countries: China, England, New Zealand, Japan, Zambia, India and Fiji. It is an exciting adventure; sometimes humorous, as you experience how others deal with their day to day issues in life. Different cultures provide for different perspectives on life and provide for interesting reading. For instance, there is the Chinese fisherman in ‘Longevity on a Plate’, who is struggling to survive until his luck changes. Then there is the Indian slum boy, Rahul in ‘Changing Perspectives’, who is left with only his dreams and hope. Mixed in with these thought-provoking stories, there are many anecdotes of humour—my favourite being, ‘Journey to Nowhere ’. These are all stories that will draw on your emotions; from empathy to laughter. Included in this selection of tasty chocolates is a contribution by a guest writer-Mark Wilson, who leads you on an expedition into the ‘Land of The Rising Sun’.

Short stories by Brian Wilson have been described as ‘a literary pharmacopoeia that hit the spot whatever mood you are in’. In the hectic pace of today’s world these stories are just the right length for what has been called, ‘A cosy, laid-back, easy read of afternoon delights’. As one reader put it, ‘they go very well with a cup of hot chocolate in a warm room on a relaxing Sunday’. But don’t spill the hot drink as many of his stories have surprise twists and turns, after all he has been likened to O. Henry in his masterful use of the surprise twist.

This is the author’s third book. His first book, Moments in Time, has been described as a showcase of Brian’s personality, and his second, Bumpy Roads, as an excellent showcase of Brian’s development as a master of short story writing. I will leave you the reader to be the judge on his third book.

DAVID MOORE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

IN WRITING A third book I have been encouraged by the ongoing support, and positive feedback from family, friends, book reviewers and other readers. I would like to thank my wife Karen, family, friends, reviewers and readers for their support as well as those involved in the editing. In particular, I would like to thank Zara for proof reading the manuscript. I would also extend a special thank you to Andrew who, applying his ingenuity and artistic abilities, designed the book cover. Mark’s contribution of three stories to this collection is greatly appreciated.

I am extremely privileged that a world renowned novelist – John Reinhard Dizon, has offered to fit me into his busy schedule and write the foreword. I am also very thankful to David Moore who has encouraged me and given me the odd push at times in order to get this third book completed. Once again he was keen to write a foreword as well. In the course of writing all three books, he has been very supportive and has offered good feedback. Both David’s and John’s foreword appraisals have been more than generous and it is my hope that the reader will share the same sentiment and enjoy these stories.

Working together is success.

Henry Ford

PREFACE

FINALLY THE DARK clouds disperse and the sun smiles out from behind. A blue sky is revealed as a new season dawns, promising a brighter future and the opportunity to realise our ambitions. Spring has arrived bringing forth new beginnings; there is now light at the end of the tunnel. It seems that over the cold winter months everything had gone into hibernation.

Now, the refreshing smells of new life blossoms scent the air with happiness and expectancy. Birds once again happily chatter and bees hum as they diligently and meticulously gather pollen. Overhead, butterflies flutter as they emerge from their cocoons and add to the bright colours of spring. Perhaps now the storms of winter have all passed and life may move on towards a brighter and rewarding future, but then again, life can be so unpredictable and full of surprises.

I hope that you will enjoy this book and my sense of humour.

The world is but a canvas to the imagination

Henry David Thoreau

HERE COMES THE SUN—PERHAPS?

Life comprises many seasons

That can change for different reasons.

Sunshine to relish, storms to cope.

When dark clouds part, there’s always hope.

The spring of life—a ray of sun.

A promise of the good to come.

Birth, new starts—it all begins,

A pardon for past crippling sins.

The joys of summer now in reach,

Comfort, pleasure—life’s a beach.

Children’s laughter fills the air

All is rosy, not a care.

Greying hair, a balding head.

The autumn trees, their leaves are shed.

Change, uncertainty, peace and strife,

Dark clouds approaching in our life.

Storms and earthquakes, winter roads,

Flat days and sorrow—tiresome loads.

Death and worry, this is not fun,

But wait, perhaps— here comes the sun.

Brian Wilson

PART ONE

STORIES BY BRIAN WILSON

Mt%20Egmont.jpg

Mt Egmont (Taranaki), New Zealand

Life is like a mountain. At the start the base is broad, life is hard and there is much learning. But this reduces as we progress and by the time we have reached our peak, our view of life becomes so much clearer.

LONGEVITY ON A PLATE

THE AMERICAN TOURIST suddenly stopped in curiosity. Shanghai was full of surprises, but what was in those large wooden boxes? She continued to look across the road and at the same time reached for her camera. This was not just a fish vendor on the side of the road. As she stared across at the vendor’s site, a long wrinkled snout with tube-like nostrils poked its head out of one of the boxes. This was followed by a leathery, olive shell covered in dark blotches as the creature crawled towards the edge of the box.

Oh, a tortoise! she exclaimed. Fish, tortoise, food…oh, turtle soup. She suddenly realised that these boxes contained little tortoises about the size of a hand, which were destined for the dinner table. The little tortoise had now fully emerged and, gripping the edge of the box, toppled out and fell onto the pavement. It was now on its way to freedom.

In accordance with the wisdom attributed to turtles,