My Lover, My Liar: Short Story Competition Third Place

Alexa Hanson’s story, “My Lover, My Liar”, was the third-place entry for the Liverpool Guild Student Media Short Story Competition 2021. You can read her entry below. Keep an eye out for the other entries on the shortlist too.

My Lover, My Liar

Think of a daisy. Think of a whole field of daisies with the sun shining bright on each one. Now zoom in. Think of what’s inside those daisies and keep going. Dream of a summer day and a soft smile. Hear the guitar playing and feel the heat softly touch your skin. Remember the happiness and how you feel right now. Remember it.

Because this isn’t that kind of story.

This is my surrender.

This is me falling to my bruised knees on the cold, broken ground and holding my hands up high whilst my silver-plated accomplice falls timelessly to the floor. This is my confessional pen and paper and I’m writing these secrets down. This is me looking down the barrel of each poised gun into the eyes of men and seeing the universe glitter and frozen in time.

This is my surrender to the trouble I’m in.

This is my surrender to the world.

I think it was the disheveled look that first drew me in – or maybe it was the guitar? He had no clue which direction he was going in and it was clear. I watched him cross up above to the opposite platform and pull his hood over his eyes to shelter from the rain. A cigarette lit up the chaos of his face and the smoke swiftly danced into the station emptiness. The stories started in my head of a troubled boy with a troubled family and a troubled world of drugs – all of which later that night I found out to be true. I moved along the yellow platform line to see how he had dropped to the floor and had pulled out the guitar I was originally so focused on. His voice was scratchy and desperate to escape the brevity of human life. I caught him looking at me. With a smile so bright, I looked up to the black midnight sky and spun in circles remembering every rain drop that landed on my face. Eyes were finally on me.

Now are you still thinking of that daisy? Good. Because this isn’t a summer day.

Alexa Hanson

Feature Image Credit: Pixaby