Author: Walton Merritt

**Shadows of the Past and a New Path** I came home from work to our flat in Pinebridge, drained from the day.

Mum keeps telling me off for not helping her with my poorly brother, but after school I packed my things

Her name was Emma, she had once been his colleague. A few hours before the anniversary dinner, her husband

Margaret sat at the heavy oak table in her home in Manchester, gripping a cup of long-cold tea.

Emily asked me to move in with them for a week to look after their son, but turns out I wasn’t just needed

Margaret sat on the porch of her home in Manchester, clutching a cup of cold tea. Her heart was torn

Emily stood by the window of her flat in Manchester, watching as Paul strapped their four-year-old son

Elizabeth sat on the weathered sofa in her flat in Manchester, staring at the faded wallpaper she hadn’t

Emily sat in the cramped kitchen of her little flat in Manchester, staring out the window as a drizzle

My life in the little town of Pinebrook was once full of happiness: a loving mum and dad, a cosy home