'Piece by Piece'

This story from Figurehead by Carly Holmes is another piece of flash fiction, or a condensed short story. Oldsters like me may recalled condensed novels in the New Wave era of science fiction. The idea is to concentrate the power of ideas and imagery, obviously at the expense of sedate character development.

In 'Piece by Piece' there is one character, a nameless voice who explains just how much she loved her home, and how she is now part of it. It may be an account of a  haunting, not as a narrative but as a declaration of love. The teller of this tale recalls the thigh-tingling joy of sliding down the banister, the gradual dissolution of hair and flesh as her incessant cleaning of the wood and plaster causes her to merge with the house.

'I huddle into the cracks, crumbled as thin, as dry, as cement dust.' But there is no regret. And no hint of menace for the newcomer being addressed. An enigmatic tale, then, but one well-told. More from this enjoyable collection very soon.