from Where the Wind Blows by Sandra Arnold, published July 2023
ISBN (paperback) 978-1-923000-22-3
ISBN (ePub) 978-1-923000-26-1
ISBN (Kindle) 978-1-923000-30-8
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“How can they be that cheerful in such a dump?” “They are happy because they have a school to go to,” Bernado said. “Many of our children doesn’t go to school.” from Just an old grey Volkswagen
Children, teenagers, middle-aged and old people began to imitate the puppet, swaying their own hips and swinging their arms above their heads. The unexpectedness of it all made me laugh out loud. from The man in the moon
Occasionally I saw rings of burning candles on crossroads at night or woke to the sound of drums, but this was the first sign of macumba I’d seen up close. from The season for burning
He looked up as I approached. I nodded and walked by quickly. He pointed to my camera and gave a shout. My mouth went dry. I’d read the murder statistics. from The colour of sunshine
I sure didn’t want them to end up as street horses pulling carts of rubbish and being flayed with sticks to run faster and faster when they were exhausted and thirsty and the sun was blazing down on their poor mangy coats. from Pablo’s hair
Two men lifted the statue of the black Goddess from her litter and placed her in a small boat filled with flowers and burning candles. from The night of the goddess
I take a step back. I don’t want hugs from strangers. from The bough breaks
The ashes slip through our fingers under the rowan tree. I wonder why they’re called ashes. They’re not. They’re grit. Pure grit. from Grit
Rob wanted to return to Brazil for his long-deferred sabbatical. His eyebrows shot up when I suggested the Middle East. from Time to leave
At Art School Beth sketched an oil pastel of her Siamese cat. The blue eyes blazing. The claws poised to draw blood. from The quick and the dead
It wasn’t that Vincent was violent. It was just the way he kept waking her up to explain what she needed to do to get her act together and make the marriage work that did her head in. from The skin that separates water and air
“When I called in at the pub Zekkie told me Alexa and Rob are moving to the Middle East for a year.” from When the wind died
In the air there is always the scent of frankincense and jasmine and other fragrances I haven’t yet identified. from Connecting
The two Omani crew members and Mohammed carried all the camping equipment to the beach then the Omanis boarded the boat again, leaving Mohammed and us behind. I was relieved they didn’t call out Merry Christmas. from Bridging the gap
This year away from everything familiar was meant to help us re-assemble all our broken pieces, but dealing with Hussein felt like falling further down the rabbit hole. from I’ll get back to you
In the distance a string of camels, led by a Bedouin child, walked along the ridge of dunes towards our camp. from Dawn trek in the Wahiba Desert
Monique was small in stature, huge in voice and ego. She managed to offend everyone on the first day of our team-building weekend. from Team building
“Hussein’s proposed solution to the absconding teachers was to confiscate our passports which were to be given back to us at the airport, after we’d returned the Labour Card and Alcohol License!” from Kassidy’s roof
The men – one of whom was hanging onto a goat – shouted greetings, laughing at our ashen faces. I clutched the stone in my hand. from The stone
Abdullah … suddenly swerved around a camel lying in the middle of the motorway. We gasped and held on to our seats. from The desert wind and the tinkling of the camel’s bell
Rob was less sanguine and was looking forward to pulling the plug. However, the process of doing this was no less fraught than the initial plugging-in had been. from Disconnecting
Sally still looked sixteen, but the previous week she’d had her twenty-fifth birthday. from Shadows
Melanie had lived here with her children for a whole year. The living room had a different smell. from A different road
“I feel as if I’m crying inside. Nothing is happening on the outside. The tears are all on the inside.” from New beginnings
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