A Badtime Story Nurse Mariam’s voice rose like a bird of prey seeing a mouse after a week, no a month, of rib-dry hunger. “And all the bears and all the rabbits…” she preached. “And all the little boys and all the little girl…” Her cheek bones sharpened, her eyes widened, her pupils narrowed in…

A Badtime Story Jacob grinned a fat cheeked, closed mouthed grin which gave him the look of a stitched doll. His twin, also named Jacob, nodded and clapped. “Keep it closed, little brother,” he said. “Keep it closed until the light goes off.” Wiping her hands upon a cloth, Nurse Mariam returned from the below…

A Badtime Story The one time Nurse Mariam announced she was taking the night off, Jacob and Jacob gnawed at the tree root they had been given for supper and glanced at one another beneath the table. “I shall be back before winding time,” she said. “Cloister will put you to bed and you are…

A Badtime Story ‘And both children were swallowed up whole and the ruby path was never seen again. The End.’ Nurse Mariam slammed the book shut, snapped to her feet and clicked her heels. ‘Now sleep well, both of you. And don’t cry out in the night.’ The elderly lady turned away, and then stopped…