We are so thrilled to announce the winners of the ‘Right Here, Right Now’ Flash Fiction Competition!
Winner of the Under 18 category is First Came the Virus by Molly McDonagh.
Winner of the 18+ category is Ocean Waves by David Deady
First Came the Virus
First came the virus, then came the leak. Pale green plasterboard, cracked and rotting, surrounded her on this dark, barely lit corridor. Damp had started to seep down from the roof but job loss had meant there was no one to fix it. Money was a problem. They hadn’t been open for months and so had made no income of any sort. The wood-panelled floor had started to lift too. So much to do with so little time. They were expected to be open by Tuesday. How, Kelly had no idea. Anything that wasn’t soaking wet from the leaking pipe was covered in an inch of dust. Miraculously, the kitchen had stayed dry. Kelly didn’t fancy having to move everything to clean it. Her staff wouldn’t be back for another few days and anyway, she wasn’t sure she would be able to pay all of them. Yellow warning stickers covered the windows and the floor, with about half of the oak tables and chairs pushed out to the back to allow for social distancing. Like customers would follow that anyway. Sighing, Kelly took up her brush.
Molly McDonagh
Ocean Waves
James didn’t think he’d get to see the ocean again. Sitting on a crumbling wall overlooking the entire bay, he bounced the backs of his trainers off the stone in slow succession. The old bike he’d rescued from his parent’s shed lay abandoned on the swathe of beachgrass that stretched out beneath him. There had been a storm the night before and the battered thickets were finally beginning to regain their vigour, gently swaying in the panacea of some late summer sunshine.
Finally alone and away from the throngs of people intending for the main beach, James allowed himself a moment to relax. He unlooped the mask from his ears and breathed in the salty air, filling his lungs to capacity, hoping to ease the knots that had been shackled in his stomach for months now. So much of the world had changed, but there was something so reassuringly enduring about being able to see this serene vista, a familiarity that was lost in the city now where tendrils of the virus had touched every surface.
He sighed and vaulted himself down off the wall as he began to make his way to a part of the shore that remained hidden. The path was involved and tricky but James was sure footed. His battered sneakers instinctively gripped to the craggy rocks he knew would safeguard his passage, gliding by the treacherous ones covered in a slick of green seaweed. It seemed like there’d been a trail long ago, but years of weathering and overgrowth had seen to its vanishing.
The trip was more than ritual now. A latent muscle memory took over and within seconds his feet landed on a patch of dry, dusty sand. Seagulls squawked and soared overhead, lunging at the small bubbles on the shoreline in search of hidden bivalves and snails that appeared when the tide retreated out. James removed his shoes and socks, allowing his toes to wriggle and adventure for a second before he slowly walked to the edge of the water.
Frigid waves lapped eagerly at James’s ankles. Every one of his senses was ravenous after months of isolation; each thunderous swell of water was a sparkling aria that welcomed him home. Nothing was the same though. He had lost and sacrificed so much. But at least the sea still remained, strong and unyielding. A seemingly small delight, but one that made James’s heart soar.
David Deady
About the Authors
Hi, I’m Molly McDonagh. I’m 14 years old and I love rock climbing, reading, writing, drawing, cinema and cycling. My fav subject in school is probably English or Art but I like TG too! I have two younger brothers and a baby sister. I also have a dog called Daisy. My instagram account is called @artbymolly2020.
David Deady is a copywriter who works in Dublin and has an MA in American literature and film from UCC. He has been published in Sonder Magazine, Huffington Post, HeadStuff and other online media outlets. He loves pop culture and spends his time writing thinkpieces about Hilary Duff.
Twitter: @david_deady
Instagram: @aboynameddavid
