She once was a nurse. She looked after the elderly in a care home. One of the elderly men fell in love with her and gave her most of his money. His daughter, who never came to visit, still accuses her of seducing him, after twenty years, but sends her a Christmas card every year anyway, because they used to be best friends in primary school.
When she was a kid, she jumped off a trampoline without looking below. She told her mum she didn’t know her younger brother was waiting underneath. She had not seen him. She had not heard him. She visits his grave whenever she’s in town.
The reason why she’s in this café opposite the court, is because she’s just been proclaimed not guilty of running over her husband, and her legs are still wobbly and there’s nobody at home waiting for her anyway. Not anymore.
Slawka G. Scarso works as a copywriter and translator. Her words have appeared in Gone Lawn, Ghost Parachute, Fractured Lit and Scrawl Place among others. She was shortlisted for the 2023 Bridport Flash Award and for the 2023 and 2024 Oxford Flash Fiction Prize. Her debut novella in flash All Their Favourite Stories is available from Ad Hoc Fiction. She lives in Italy. More words on www.nanopausa.com
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