'Shapes of ships from the shore' by Laura Besley

Samuel is the sixth and last son of a sailor and a sailor’s daughter and is born on an unseasonably warm February morning cocooned in his caul. His mother screams and he opens his black eyes, stares at her from inside.

One by one his older brothers grow tall and broad and take to the waves. Each time, Samuel stands on the cobbled wharf, studying the shapes of the ships.

At fifteen, he takes an apprenticeship with the local glassblower. At night by candlelight, he builds intricate vessels and nestles them inside the bottles.

He never once leaves the shore.

---

Laura Besley is the author of (Un)Natural Elements,100neHundred and The Almost Mothers. She has been widely published in online journals, print journals and anthologies, including Best Small Fictions. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, twice nominated for Best Micro Fiction and she has been listed by TSS Publishing as one of the top 50 British and Irish Flash Fiction writers.
Having lived in the Netherlands, Germany and Hong Kong, she now lives in land-locked central England and misses the sea. Read more of her writing on her website (laurabesley.com) or connect on X @laurabesley