by Frances Gapper

What’s left of Eva’s hair stands upright from her scalp and in her hospital gown she resembles Queen Elizabeth the First. She tells the doctor doing his rounds I could’ve been like you dear, a medical person. But I had to leave school when I was 13. I was in domestic service, then I cleaned people’s houses. Guess how old I am?

It’s the hospital social worker’s job to move patients on and she’s mostly hardened to it but perched on a chair arm by Eva’s bed she cries. I don’t want you to have to go back on the streets. Eva says it’s all right dear, I’ve diagnosed my condition. Won’t be long now.

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In the Wild Wood, Frances Gapper’s third collection of flashes and longer stories, was published in 2017 by Cultured Llama. Her other collections are The Tiny Key and Absent Kisses.