‘I feel sick,’ Rosie said. ‘And it hurts when I breathe. What’s wrong with me?’ ‘You’ve been diagnosed with Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease.’ ‘What’s that?’ ‘It doesn’t matter because that’s not what you have.’ ‘It isn’t?’ ‘No, the doctors believe that your respiratory system has had a severe reaction to the nitrogen oxides in the …
Nurses came and went. They wore blue uniforms and mostly revolved around a chaotic, unorganised desk, littered with papers and folders. What I assumed to be a doctor appeared, and she was immediately surrounded by an explosion of activity, as the nurses and other staff vied for her attention. I gathered from the exasperated whispers …
Dishevelled nicotine addicts besmirched the white-walled arch of the main gates of the hospital. A crumbling statue of a dead king stared down as I approached a black woman in a blue uniform. She sucked on a short pipe and when she exhaled, great plumes of cold white vapour poured out of her mouth and …
They had stolen my youth. Gone was the caramel smoothness of my skin and the rounded sheen of my boyhood. I was a man. Hard lines and a thick jaw. I saw nothing in the eyes that looked dully back at me. I turned my face left and right in the light. My eyes were …
Chapter One - David ‘Father, It is dark. Father, it is dark in here. Father, can you hear me? Father? Father?’ Time passed. I do not know how much, but it was too much. Too often I am left waiting in the dark. This time I am minded not to go back. ‘Father. Please let …
I found some clothes in a locker down the corridor and put them on. Black trousers, white collared shirt. Then I went for a walk. Outside, it was a chilly spring evening but I turned down my temperature sensitivity settings and felt more comfortable. Under the weak sun and in the fetid breeze that was …
Continue reading Humanity @ 13% – Chapter One (three of six)
David J Harrison 