–
Smoking newspaper in the grate awoke her. Sitting up, disoriented, she gazed at the glowing coals. The room, dark-panelled and dimly lit, was silent save for the tick of the grandfather clock and the quiet hiss of a solitary gas lamp. Thomas the black cat lay asleep before the fire.
Reaching down, she retrieved the paper, smouldering where an ember had fallen. Yesterday’s headline – ‘Woman Raped and Murdered!’ Aghast, she recognized the face on the cover. It was her own.
Confused now, she noticed she could see through Thomas to the carpet beneath.
A rap came at the door.
A rap came at the door.
–
Featured in the book and audiobook, To Cut a Short Story Short: 111 Little Stories
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