Brief Encounters

By Coral A. Godfrey

This is a selection of short stories any one can read especially if you like magazine type of stories and they are interlaced with poetry.

Keep this book by the bed or take it on journeys with you or commuting to work, give it as a gift and watch out for the next book to be coming out soon called 'Questionable.'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Aug 27, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453530870

Coral A. Godfrey

Coral is a first time writer and has another book being edited, Coral was telling stories from a very young age and then progressed to writing them and putting together little magazines for the other kids. She has her own style of writing which she hopes you will find interesting and will bring you back for more. This is a selection of short stories any one can read especially if you like magazine type of stories and they are interlaced with poetry. Keep this book by the bed or take it on journeys with you or commuting to work, give it as a gift and watch out for the next book to be coming out soon called 'Questionable.'

Book preview

Copyright © 2010 by Coral A. Godfrey.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

0-800-644-6988

www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk

[e-mail]

300634

Contents

Introduction

Really Spooky

Déjà Vous

Rise above it

A day in the life

God

The Beginning

Granddad’s Garden

Did I stay with Nana? Or sleep in Gran’s big bed?

Cottages

In the dark

Heartbreak—Baby

1962

A—in the House

Calling Me

Return to yourself

Everyone should have one

What the hell now?

Introduction

A fictitious collection of stories and poems based on life illustrations and people watching.

One of the stories is connected/ a follow on to part of a big book called; ‘When I’m Ready’ it illustrates a schizophrenic breakdown and how the sufferer dealt with it.

Another story is the first chapter of a life illustration ‘I couldn’t afford my family’.

This little book is just a sampler to fit in to your handbag or on the bedside cabinet.

Emma is a first time writer and has another book being edited and a third due out middle of 2010. She has her own style of writing which she hopes you will find interesting and bringing you back for more.

Really Spooky

I got out of bed quickly, crawled in to the kitchen made a cup of tea with honey in it, and sat down. I knew I would be here for an hour, and another mug of tea. That’s just how the small dose of medication I am on affects me. I hit the pillow, fall asleep, wake up suddenly six hours later and have to get up straight away. Then it takes an hour to get going, to wake right up; I had a nervous breakdown ten years ago.

This morning I was feeling a bit low then suddenly felt the presence of the spirit of Grans, my Grandad and my Mum had tagged along with Granddad. I do feel them around me from time to time, but usually one at a time. I started nattering away to them—about family things and why I hadn’t gone to Gran’s funeral.

Truth is I couldn’t face the family that had ripped her as she got older and then dumped her in a home of the awful type because there was none of her money left to afford somewhere nice and more fitting. I was so tense I couldn’t cry, but the wet around my eyes was stinging my lower lids.—I felt Gran’s arms go around me and she said "We want you to start writing again, the others behind her all nodded in agreement; then they drifted off.

Suddenly the tension dropped from my back and shoulders and I decided to allow myself another half hour in bed now I was more relaxed.

I switched the local radio on to low just in time to hear the presenter read an e mail from a guy who was complaining about people leaving voice mails on his answer phone and how he had misunderstood someone talking about collecting his ‘mower’ when really he was asking him to collect his mother from the hospital. The caller ended up saying he wished people would write more than leave misleading messages.

Sunday afternoon I was listening to the radio, quite enthralled by a caller who was telling her life story to the DJ and I was thinking; sounds a bit like mine. At the end of her call the DJ asked her what her job was, she said she writes short stories and buys and sells antiques.

At last the end of the week came around and Friday at work really dragged, when I got home the phone rang and it was a publisher. Whilst I had been ill I had written a hefty book on Schizophrenia and Society. This book had been in the cupboard six years. I had pulled it out this week and phoned the publisher about editing out all the names and places.

Next morning I was on the very early shift; then would be free for the weekend, or would I, or would I be writing? I picked up the phone for the second time; it was a wrong number, the guy on the other end said he just wanted to chat to someone; he was on his own, some rich guy, had a couple of million quid and lived in a big house; with big electric gates at the drive up to his house and was writing a book on mental health.

This was all becoming too spooky for words, but we both chatted for an hour or more and he encouraged me to persevere with my book; to write short stories to become known and get a backer for my book.

Maybe I just needed someone to agree with me, for how many times do we need to be told, and who tells us, but I was told in a really spooky way to get on with my writing—so this is what I am doing. And I intend now; to carry on, it’s like doing