1st Prize: £100.00 Alistair Lewis
2nd Prize: £75.00 M. Penny
3rd Prize: £50.00 Susan Smith
Righting Wrongs
By Alistair Lewis
The man that lay in the hospital bed slipped in and out of being her Grandfather, there were glimpses of recognition when he opened his bright blue eyes, now cloudy with dementia and the illness had wiped much of his memories of her. He talked incessantly about life as a young boy, his words fuzzy from the recent stroke, but she had listened to his faltering account of life before and after the war, her heart aching. The pocket watch was mentioned many times and he would turn his sad eyes to hers, reminding her that his health had demised after the watch had been stolen.
He opened his eyes suddenly and recognition dawned but before he could speak, she placed the gold ornate pocket watch in his gnarled hands and he sighed with pleasure and gratitude. Death came quickly and quietly, peacefully slipping away. As the nurses closed the curtains around him, Kerry walked away, regret tinged with satisfaction. She wondered if he knew that it had been her that had stolen his watch. She had been desperate for cash and had pawned it when she had lost her job without warning. She would forever have it on her conscience that she had caused him such emotional pain but at least now, she had righted the wrong and had held his hand tightly as he made his way from this world to the next.
