The day I met Dennis, I was a little alarmed, to say the least. My minister had asked me to take the 20-year-old under my wing and try to work with him on the farm. He was an addict with a preference for ‘Tik’ and from our initial meeting, it […]
Tag: Mark Roberts
TRUE STORY: The man in the box — Mark Roberts
Dr Clarence Emersley was a small, bald man who sported wide-rimmed spectacles and walked with an unnaturally healthy spring in his step for a man his age. He had been a teacher his entire life and had loved it, which explained why he was still teaching past retirement age. The […]
TRUE STORY: The boy who could have been a model — Mark Roberts
Written by Mark Roberts on Nov 8 2021 Colossus of Rhodes. (PHOTO: flickr) The Colossus of Rhodes was a gigantic statue of the Titan, Helios: The sun god, who stood 100 feet (30.48m) tall and rested on a marble pedestal, fifty feet (30,24m) high. The statue stood in the Greek city […]
True story: The man who loved geography — Mark Roberts
In 1954 Graham Sutherland was commissioned to paint a full-length portrait of Winston Churchill which was presented to him at a public ceremony celebrating his 80th birthday. Sutherland was a brilliant painter, but he had the reputation of capturing the “real side” of his subjects. He painted Churchill exactly as […]
TRUE STORY: The girl from the orphanage — Mark Roberts
“What on earth are you planning on doing with all those cupcakes?” I asked, as my wife stumbled over the pathway, carrying two large trays filled with the most colourful looking confectionaries. She responded with that familiar, gorgeous looking smile and said: “It’s leftovers from our school’s ‘Derby Day’ and […]
TRUE STORY: The girls on the train track — Mark Roberts
It was early winter and the sun was already beginning to set as the two teenage girls marched along the railway tracks. Debbie, aged 14 and Stacy aged 16 were running away from the reformatory school in town. Most girls hated the place. It was a school where young problem […]
TRUE STORY: The girl in the flames — Mark Roberts
“The flames are too high, we need to get out of here,” she shrieked as the flames from the bush fire leaped two meters high. The flames seemed to jump and leap, dancing to an unheard rhythmic tune. Like surfers, they were caught in a tunnel while the flames attempted […]
True Short Story: The boy at McDonald’s — Mark Roberts
I was sitting in the back corner of my local hangout, McDonald’s, enjoying a hefty quarter pounder when a young man walked up to me. I didn’t recognise him at first, but something seemed vaguely familiar about his features. He sported a long beard and was exceptionally well-groomed. From the […]
True short story: The baby who was blind, but was seen — Mark Roberts
“You never talk to me. You never share how you are feeling!” My wife was definitely not in a good mood. I had just got home from responding to the rape of a five-year-old girl. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about work or my feelings. As […]
True short story: The man on the railway track — Mark Roberts
He sat behind the wheel, head bowed forward, resting gently in his hands. He turned to look at his eighteen-month-old son in the passenger seat, buckled up snuggly, and then stared in front of them. How had he got to this point in his life? His wife was remarried, happy […]
Adverts
