3 questions on this paper's topics

The listening room

Original contemporary fiction; Mara has returned to a disused coastal signal tower to collect a box belonging to her father.

1. 1The tower looked smaller from the road. Mara remembered a building that divided the sky; now a delivery van concealed its door.
2. 2She waited for the van to leave before approaching, although nobody had told her that she must arrive alone.
3. 3Inside, the staircase curled tightly around a darkness that smelt of cold iron. Her bag scraped against each turn.
4. 4On the first landing, a painted arrow promised a view. She followed it into a room without any windows.
5. 5The windows were there, of course, beneath boards. Thin seams of daylight trembled around them like poorly kept secrets.
6. 6A chair faced the blank wall. Beside it stood the box she had come for, labelled in her father’s painstaking capitals.
7. 7She touched the label, then withdrew her hand. The cardboard had softened at the corners, almost accommodating her fingers.
8. 8Once, he had let her sit here while he worked. She remembered being trusted to announce the arrival of boats.
9. 9He had always thanked her, even when she mistook a bird for a sail. That courtesy embarrassed her now.
10. 10An engine sounded outside. She returned to the landing, but through its narrow glass she could see only the road.
11. 11When she went back, the chair seemed to have turned. It had not; the dragging mark beneath it was old.
12. 12She told herself this aloud. Her voice made the small room sound occupied, which was not the comfort she expected.
13. 13In the box were gloves, a cracked mug and a notebook. All ordinary things, arranged with an unreasonable amount of space between them.
14. 14She opened the notebook at the last page. There was a list of boats and, below it, her name.
15. 15For a moment the list seemed to be waiting for her to understand its order. She checked the date again.
16. 16It was the day she had left home. The ink beside her name was darker, pressed almost through the paper.
17. 17Someone below tried the outer door. Mara closed the notebook before she knew that she had decided to hide it.
18. 18The handle clicked twice, then stopped. She waited beside the box, listening to the silence change around her.
19. 19At last she put the notebook in her bag and lifted the mug. Underneath lay a second label, face down.
20. 20Outside, the engine started again. This time she did not move towards the window; she turned the label over.

Original fiction written for this course.

The uncollected parcel

Original practice fiction, written in 2026.

1. 1At half past six, Mara reached the village shop. The window was dark, but a strip of yellow light lay under the side door.
2. 2She carried an empty basket. Her mother had asked for bread; the baker had already sold his last loaf.
3. 3Beside the door stood a parcel wrapped in brown paper. Rain had softened one corner, leaving the string slack.
4. 4Mara read the label twice. It bore her father’s name, although he had left the village before she could remember.
5. 5She raised her hand to knock, then lowered it. A voice inside was saying that some things were better left where they were.
6. 6When the latch clicked, Mara stepped back into the road. She held the basket against her chest as if it contained something breakable.
7. 7The shopkeeper appeared with a lamp. Behind him the shelves gleamed, and a new loaf rested on the counter.
8. 8“I was expecting you,” he said. He looked at the basket, then at the parcel. Mara wished he had looked at neither.

Original fiction written for this course.

The listening room

Original contemporary fiction; Mara has returned to a disused coastal signal tower to collect a box belonging to her father.

1. 1The tower looked smaller from the road. Mara remembered a building that divided the sky; now a delivery van concealed its door.
2. 2She waited for the van to leave before approaching, although nobody had told her that she must arrive alone.
3. 3Inside, the staircase curled tightly around a darkness that smelt of cold iron. Her bag scraped against each turn.
4. 4On the first landing, a painted arrow promised a view. She followed it into a room without any windows.
5. 5The windows were there, of course, beneath boards. Thin seams of daylight trembled around them like poorly kept secrets.
6. 6A chair faced the blank wall. Beside it stood the box she had come for, labelled in her father’s painstaking capitals.
7. 7She touched the label, then withdrew her hand. The cardboard had softened at the corners, almost accommodating her fingers.
8. 8Once, he had let her sit here while he worked. She remembered being trusted to announce the arrival of boats.
9. 9He had always thanked her, even when she mistook a bird for a sail. That courtesy embarrassed her now.
10. 10An engine sounded outside. She returned to the landing, but through its narrow glass she could see only the road.
11. 11When she went back, the chair seemed to have turned. It had not; the dragging mark beneath it was old.
12. 12She told herself this aloud. Her voice made the small room sound occupied, which was not the comfort she expected.
13. 13In the box were gloves, a cracked mug and a notebook. All ordinary things, arranged with an unreasonable amount of space between them.
14. 14She opened the notebook at the last page. There was a list of boats and, below it, her name.
15. 15For a moment the list seemed to be waiting for her to understand its order. She checked the date again.
16. 16It was the day she had left home. The ink beside her name was darker, pressed almost through the paper.
17. 17Someone below tried the outer door. Mara closed the notebook before she knew that she had decided to hide it.
18. 18The handle clicked twice, then stopped. She waited beside the box, listening to the silence change around her.
19. 19At last she put the notebook in her bag and lifted the mug. Underneath lay a second label, face down.
20. 20Outside, the engine started again. This time she did not move towards the window; she turned the label over.

Original fiction written for this course.