Independence Day
by Bill Robertson
Genre: Drama
Swearwords: One mild one only.
Description: A domestic tragedy is not all that it seems...
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Anna collapsed into the chair and wept. The pressure of the last few days had finally brought her to breaking point. It was either sit down and cry or start screaming at the walls. The Police had left barely half an hour before. The two detectives had snapped their little notebooks shut and tucked them back into their respective pockets, satisfied with her version of what had happened. The younger one had even let his professional mask slip for a moment to express his sympathy at her terrible loss.
She had agreed that Ross’ death had come as a total shock, such a tragic accident – he had stepped on one of Alan’s toy cars and gone headfirst down the stairs, landing awkwardly against the stair gate. The pathology report had concluded that Ross’ neck had most likely snapped on impact, killing him instantly.
Now the Police were gone, leaving their half-drunk mugs of tea and empty biscuit wrappers behind while Anna sat in her armchair bawling her eyes out. There was no one else but her in the house – the kids were at her mum’s, poor wee Adam distraught at the notion that his toy was responsible for the tragedy. He would never be allowed to know the truth. It was for him that she cried now, and baby Rosie and most of all for her and for the ten years of her life she had wasted with her recently deceased shitbag of a husband. Now she had a funeral to arrange and, for the moment at least, she could no longer distinguish between joy and sadness.
Swearwords: One mild one only.
Description: A domestic tragedy is not all that it seems...
_____________________________________________________________________
Anna collapsed into the chair and wept. The pressure of the last few days had finally brought her to breaking point. It was either sit down and cry or start screaming at the walls. The Police had left barely half an hour before. The two detectives had snapped their little notebooks shut and tucked them back into their respective pockets, satisfied with her version of what had happened. The younger one had even let his professional mask slip for a moment to express his sympathy at her terrible loss.
She had agreed that Ross’ death had come as a total shock, such a tragic accident – he had stepped on one of Alan’s toy cars and gone headfirst down the stairs, landing awkwardly against the stair gate. The pathology report had concluded that Ross’ neck had most likely snapped on impact, killing him instantly.
Now the Police were gone, leaving their half-drunk mugs of tea and empty biscuit wrappers behind while Anna sat in her armchair bawling her eyes out. There was no one else but her in the house – the kids were at her mum’s, poor wee Adam distraught at the notion that his toy was responsible for the tragedy. He would never be allowed to know the truth. It was for him that she cried now, and baby Rosie and most of all for her and for the ten years of her life she had wasted with her recently deceased shitbag of a husband. Now she had a funeral to arrange and, for the moment at least, she could no longer distinguish between joy and sadness.
About the Author
Born in Perth and now living just outside Aberdeen, Bill Robertson has created a large body of work showcasing a tendency towards the darker side of life and stories which leave an indelible impression on the reader long after the final word is read.
An active member of Aberdeen’s Lemon Tree Writer’s Group, Bill’s work has appeared in Journeys, an anthology of work from the group, and most recently in a chapbook, Himself by the Seaside. He has performed some of his stories as part of the Word and New Words festivals and other events around the north-east. He has also self published two e-books: Reindeer Dust, a short Christmas story, and When the Revolution Comes, a collection of linked short stories concerning an uprising in a fictional eastern European country. A number of his stories have featured on the website http://www.shortbreadstories.co.uk, where he has been chosen as the featured Friday story a number of times and has won a number of competitions with his short stories and flash fiction pieces.
If you would like to hear an interview with Bill and listen to him read some of his work, please go to this link to hear Bill’s appearance on Mearns FM's Smith on Sunday show. You can also keep up to date with Bill’s work by visiting http://www.billrobertson55.wordpress.com, where he often shares work in progress as well as finished stories.
An active member of Aberdeen’s Lemon Tree Writer’s Group, Bill’s work has appeared in Journeys, an anthology of work from the group, and most recently in a chapbook, Himself by the Seaside. He has performed some of his stories as part of the Word and New Words festivals and other events around the north-east. He has also self published two e-books: Reindeer Dust, a short Christmas story, and When the Revolution Comes, a collection of linked short stories concerning an uprising in a fictional eastern European country. A number of his stories have featured on the website http://www.shortbreadstories.co.uk, where he has been chosen as the featured Friday story a number of times and has won a number of competitions with his short stories and flash fiction pieces.
If you would like to hear an interview with Bill and listen to him read some of his work, please go to this link to hear Bill’s appearance on Mearns FM's Smith on Sunday show. You can also keep up to date with Bill’s work by visiting http://www.billrobertson55.wordpress.com, where he often shares work in progress as well as finished stories.