There’s no tradition here, no mistletoe or icing the cake. Frost does however come right through my mattress, through three fleeces and two jackets.
Warmth comes in cups – lentil today. The volunteers have bloodshot eyes and worn chatter. They’re smiling, and fighting.
Fighting against more than just a cold wind.
*Thanks for reading, folks. Image courtesy of Flickr. My recent short stories include ‘In the Ribboned Fog‘ and ‘The Dead Don’t Moan’.
Matthew Richardson is a writer of short stories. His work has featured in Gold Dust magazine, Literally Stories, Close to the Bone, McStorytellers, Penny Shorts, Soft Cartel, Whatever Keeps the Lights On, Flashback Fiction, Cafelit, Best MicroFiction 2021, Writer’s Egg, Idle Ink, The Wild Word, and Shooter magazine. He is a doctoral student at the University of Dundee, a lucky husband, and a proud father. He blogs at www.matthewjrichardson.com and tweets at https://twitter.com/mjrichardso0
Matthew Richardson 