neillrees.com

Sunday, February 22, 2009

...time will tell

October 22nd. My darling Jane, Thank you for your visit last weekend, it has certainly lifted my spirits. I do not feel that I am struggling, all the inmates treat me quite fairly, it's not like I'm some disgraceful nonce or have committed murder. Maybe being from the higher echelons of society, they feel that they can get more out of me by keeping me onside? It's only been 7 days now since my arrival; only time will tell. [More]

Sunday, February 8, 2009

...jesus is coming

Joanna was already late for her illicit date. Her hair just wasn't behaving. She let out a disapproving huff and threw her hair straighteners onto the dressing table. As she stood in her little black dress, she caught herself in the mirror; still outstanding for her age no matter who was judging. At 31, Joanna was thinking about 'age' more often now than she ever thought she would. [More]

Sunday, January 18, 2009

...liv the sieve

Liv woke to find the other half of her bed empty. Her latest catch had slipped on his clothes and sloped off and into the winter night. Yet another man had slipped through her fingers and into the ether. Liv the Sieve strikes again. She rose and shuffled in her slippers towards the large bay window. [More]

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

...baking

In his faded black hoody, horrendously baggy jeans and skater sneakers, Dylan stood in the 30º heat. Slouching from one foot to another, his chubby body was vertically challenged. Arthur arrived on the scene dressed as one should for a summer's day. Sporting a white t-shirt, khaki shorts and very trendy flip-flops, he looked the business, despite having an early 20th century name. The contrast between the two teens was palpable in the extreme. [More]

Sunday, January 4, 2009

...fox and biscuit

"It was a Fox, a huge bloody Fox!" Sally exclaimed. "Cat. And don't swear." Jen coldly retorted, unmoved by the protestation. [More]

Saturday, December 13, 2008

...the reluctant psychic

Eddie lay silent on the bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling above him. In the half-light of the bedroom he could pick out the patterns and swirls in the artex above. This was a nightly event; a few hours slumber followed by a stare-a-thon until the morning light filtered through the aged and dishevelled curtains. Only then could he return to sleep where his mind drifted within seas and rivers, soaring over building and mountains — his dreams were always landscapes of solitude and beauty. Far removed from the closeted and enclosed world he lived in. [More]

Sunday, July 20, 2008

...dead life

Amazing. That's the only word I can say to describe..'this'. This place, this feeling, this new life. That's if you can call it a life. My life, as you would traditionally call it, with a living pulse, a beating heart, blood coursing through my veins is gone. [More]

Monday, January 21, 2008

...under the influence

Mia lay slumped in the corner of the shower. The hot water was more than just a metaphor as it sprayed her naked body. She had made the mother of all mistakes; not that she was adverse to making huge mistakes, her life had been littered with many ever since her arrival in England from her natural home of Stockholm with her husband, Tomas. He, however, was hundreds of miles away. She was alone in her flat, wet, mortally hung-over and exposed. [More]

Friday, January 4, 2008

...losing you (third person)

How time a small amount of time changes a man forever. He lies in his bed, still clothed, huddled on his side, clutching a handkerchief for dear life. Lines of tears have fallen down his cheek and into the pillow. The pillow he once shared with her, but now it is his alone. Alone. [More]

Friday, January 4, 2008

...losing you (third person - omniscient)

Answers were impossible, she had given him all the answers before she left. No amount of begging or I Love You's could amount to the strength of her feeling (or lack of in this case.) Every dawn of realisation hit home, every yesterdays dream lost and shattered into oblivion. All gone in less than the time it normally took them to share a pizza. Every memory of her laughter, smile, curves or eyes caused his chest to tighten and more heartfelt tears. [More]

Friday, January 4, 2008

...losing you

I can't go on. I just can't find it in me to rise from this bed. Whatever 'it' is I need has left with her. I'm left here wounded with no wounds to show. My pillow is damp from my tears, my feet are cold; just like her heart. [More]

Monday, December 17, 2007

...letting go

"Are you ready Jane?" Liz shouted from the bottom of the stairs. "Ready or prepared?" Jane returned as Liz appeared at the door. "Ready...as [More]

Saturday, December 15, 2007

...my birthday - by Stephanie (aged 8)

Last weekend was my birthday, I was 8 years old on Saturday. Mum said we could go into town and spend my birthday money from my aunts and uncles. I think I had about £50 to spend, I'm not sure now. I seem to have lots of Aunts. Someone at school said that your Aunties and Uncles are your Mum or Dad's Sisters and Brothers. [More]

Monday, December 10, 2007

...inside

The rising wind roared and swooped, the brisk November weather rattled the branches, small cyclonic forces whipping leaves into eddies. The clouds shifted with a powerful grace ruling all below. Life was seemingly very active outside. Inside it was a very different scenario. Resting his back against the wall the full extent of what life now was came home to roost. [More]

Monday, December 10, 2007

...cheese

The butterflies in Jen's stomach were still flying, it was only an hour since she was called into her managers' office for what she thought was a minor misdemeanour, however her nervousness was turned to joy. A trip to the supermarket for a treat was in order. Alone for the evening, Jen decided on some cheese and biscuits with a nice bottle of Red. Her dizzying rise in fortunes had caused her to lose complete control of her bearings as she found herself in Feminine Hygiene. Unabated she smiled an continued to the wine section. [More]

Saturday, December 8, 2007

...careless wispa

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. That's all Jen felt like she wanted tonight. For the first night in a long, long time she would be alone. She feared she would be alone for a long, long time to come. Mike had announced from his school he wasn't coming back home that evening or any evening, she couldn't stay at work for more than an hour, continually breaking down in floods of tears. [More]

Thursday, December 6, 2007

...hell hole

The grey building loomed ahead, uninspiring, creaking, an appalling dank hole of a place. Opening the the large front door, the over-talkative Security guard moaned to a passing victim woes on the world. He couldn't secure a padlock. All I could concentrate on was the smell from the floor — a recent flood of the entrance lobby had created an almighty stench. Images of dead rats, rotting fish and stinking effluent raced thought my mind as I held my breath and nose and skipped up the remaining steps, passing the smokers outside including Scary Smokin' Steve muttering and rocking away to himself smoking and chewing nicotine gum at the same time. [More]

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

...first base

Matt sat on the bench that was carved into a felled tree, he was feeling decidedly...dodgy and out of place in the heat of the midday sun. His stomach burbled away, rotating like a frothing washing machine. At 15 years of age he felt light-years behind his peers, they all had girlfriends or had run around the bases. Matt was so slow in catching on to girls that he didn't even know what the terms "first base" and "second base" meant. [More]

Sunday, December 2, 2007

...time for bed

Unlike most children I liked being able to go to bed early, almost straight upstairs to my bedroom after Mum had made tea. I remember getting comfortable in the blankets, making everything just right, fashioning the blankets into seats myself and my little friends. Ready to daydream, to mask the stark reality, to fantasize before sleep overcame me. Time hide from the real world; hoping I had not done anything bad that day before he came home the pub. I didn't want to be hit again. [More]

Saturday, December 1, 2007

...out of place

The wind from the passing train whooshed past her bare legs as she stood on the wet concrete platform. A cold chill rampaged up her skirt. This was definitely the wrong weather for a skirt, she belatedly thought. Glancing up at the orange digital clock, another minute ticked by...and another...and [More]

Friday, November 30, 2007

...going nowhere fast

"Come ON, Daniel!!!" Sarah shouted through hardly gritted teeth. "But where's Becca?" Daniel replied, throwing his arms in the air. "If you ask me that one more time, you and your sister will not being going to Blizzard Beach tomorrow, now come on." [More]

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

...derek's chopper

Looking back it was nothing but pure jealousy, but I coveted that bike for than any friends girlfriend or attractive cousin that's for sure. Derek strode around on that Chopper seemingly all summer like he owned the estate, doing laps and laps around the streets, rubbing my nose in it at every opportunity. His smugger than smug expression rankled me. At that 10 years old, I didn't know what I was feeling of course, I just hated Derek. I hated him, but I loved his bike. [More]

Monday, November 26, 2007

...big love

Martin sat on the bed, looking decidedly grumpy at the television placed on a wall-mounted stand. I say, 'sat on the bed' but he may as may well have been his sleeping position also. You see, Martin is over 40 stone in weight. He has been confined to his bed for, oooh, some 6 years now. He's not worn shoes or socks for five of those years, nor trousers and much to his own disgust, underwear. [More]

Sunday, November 25, 2007

...teachers pet v2 (in first person)

I don't like Mondays. I used to, of course, building up my career, progressing the path, achieving the goals, growing that 'fear' which made me the man I am. Headmaster supreme, Dictator in Chief, Master of St Agnes. It's all meaningless now, I lost my erstwhile wife, Maggie due to my own selfish needs. It's only now I'm beginning to mourn for her passing. [More]

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

...teacher's pet.

Hugh took the final turn down the winding lane to the school, the leaves whispering around his head in a swirling dance. He sighed and held onto his weathered leather satchel tighter, pulled his worn woolly scarf tighter around his face, as the sign of the school displaying his name came into view. "St Agnes School for Boys — Ages 10-18. Headmaster — Dr. Hugh G. [More]

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

...beauty.

I always assumed beauty equalled confidence, nobody could be easy on the easy yet still feel confined, trapped, lost and lonely. I assumed that whilst beauty does not equal intelligence, we all know that is not the case. Whilst she wasn't the brightest bulb in the house, her heart was vibrant and sharp — yet her eyes belied the smile. Whilst most could not notice, they would be too busy gazing at her jaw line, the whiteness of her teeth, her pert (but ultimately paid for) breasts, her eyes told of a sadness that her world wouldn't see. I could see it. [More]

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

...my first ever blog post. ever.

I was going to start my blog probably like a lot of people — "so what do I do now?" or by saying "Hello, Reader" or something else equally as generic. The other thought I have had that's equally as cliched as the previous by stating "I don't know how you found this blog or even if you're still reading..." but I guess there's no way to really start your first ever blog. I have posted on forums, started threads, bought things, sold things, talked over the internet to people thousands of miles away, yet this is the most daunting of my internet dabblings in my many years of riding the wave on the 'super-highway'. [More]