By Aaron.Dries On Dec 24 2012, 6:12 am

The following is an excerpt from my debut novel, “House of Sighs”. Here, Reggie Frost indulges in the spirit of Christmas. For her, it’s the end of the world masquerading as every dream come true. For us, we who know better, it’s a fantasy born from the horrifying murder of this poor mother’s family (in fact, there is a knife in her back and she’s caught between a conscious state and the lullaby of darkness) … It’s neither pretty nor merciful, as the festive season so often can be. Delusions, after all, can have claws.

“A bulb switched on in the Frost home and a slice of light cut across the lawn. A silhouette moved past the living room window. The soft shhhh-shhhh-shhhh of its dragging feet could be heard from outside. Then all fell silent. It studied the landscape on the other side of the rain-speckled glass. It saw grass, the driveway and the monolithic form of the bus wrapped in blue nightfall. These things did not hold its attention. It focused on the dead trees near the veranda, at the fairy lights winking into life in its branches. It tilted its head and saw the Christmas cutouts. It was early November and yet it felt a chill. The silhouette looked up at the sky. The storm clouds were gone.

Something fell across Reggie’s vision in gentle, downward swirls. “I can’t believe it,” she said, blinking.

It was snow.

Read more…

No Comments