Julia Kelly

And we ran through the streets, stars like comets streaking the black sky, two girls  laughing,  pounding the concrete through the ugly beauty of the city, the arcing bridge over the black glitter of the river, breath cold and clear, painless, tireless, high above the pavement now from whatever drug we’d taken, we didn’t care, we snorted it, bombed it, inhaled and swallowed it and flew through the empty streets till at last, it felt like hours, we stopped in the tunnel under the motorway, the stars shuddering to a standstill, to the stink of piss, the graffitti shouting its rage from the dirty brick, and we knew that soon we’d collide with that other world, the world of commutes and suits, the tik-tak of tall heels on tarmac that was creeping under the bridge with the dread grey dawn, so we started running again, not laughing now, just running.

Julia Kelly is a mother, writer, and teacher whose work has been longlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize, the Mslexia Novel Award and Penguin WriteNow. Proud member of #VWG @virtwriting, she can be found at @juliarkelly2.