Jan Marsh

My mother was quietly psychic. Not the usual maternal 'eyes in the back of her head' psychic. I developed that myself when I had children and learned it's a combination of informed guesswork and good hearing. Mum's speciality involved family and NZ Post. '

She woke with a jolt. A shrill scream bounced across the valley – fear or thrill? She listened into the night. Male voices, loud, mocking. Then a softer voice – a woman, or was it a boy? She looked at the time: 1.27am. The voices ranged back and forth, seeming to

It was my turn for the front seat. Childish, I know but siblings are like that even when we're all adult size. I leaned against the window with my cardigan folded into a pillow and watched the road roll out in the headlights. Occasionally I could see the

The rain fell like soft voices all night. Every time he woke, conscious of the empty bed beside him, it was whispering outside his window. And he woke often, still wondering why his wife had left in pursuit of this particular rabbit hole, even though he'd tried to

Ephemera 'Straight to the skip with these?' Angela came into the kitchen with an armload of sun-faded magazines. Her sister peered round the fridge door and waved a rubber-gloved hand at her. 'Come and look at this. Some new life-form I expect.' An open jar of

It's Saturday night and I'm dozing off when loud voices outside my window bring me back to wakefulness. A male voice is telling a casually sweary anecdote that takes the group to the bottom of the zig-zag, with occasional monosyllables from his female companions. There'

What we did with the remains   by Jan Marsh I carefully put down the smeared carving knife and step back from the table. A red pool is seeping into the cloth, blending the holly and reindeer into an angry blur. Behind me, the wreckage of wrapping paper and exploded crackers

I wasn't really listening. The girls can get quite raunchy over Friday drinks and I tend to tune out, but I did hear 'gardener'. 'I need someone to do my lawn,' I said. 'Can I have his number?' I didn't

'Grandma, did you know...?' He bursts into the kitchen, eyes shining with excitement that he has facts to share. At six years old, he's thrilled with his own skill. 'Did you know...?' His father used to start like that before launching into an elaborate

Paul put the last bucket of brushes into the van and drove out from Paint the Town's base in Richmond. It was a calm blue morning. What a relief to have a break from the wind blowing dust on to his paint before it dried and threatening to

In the corner of the living room is a china cabinet. It's made of some kind of blond wood, ash I think, with a curved, leadlighted glass front and a small brass key in the door. This cabinet is where my story of five objects begins and is

Verity spotted Angela's red coat in the taxi queue and tooted. Angela waved and came over to the pick up point while Verity got out to greet her. They hugged, bundled Angela's bag into the back seat and set off. 'Lovely to see you,'

I was surprised to find these little huts in the paddock. The farmer has always made shelters for the pigs but they are usually made of iron and four by twos. I thought the first one was just a small haystack until I got closer and got a clear whiff

"Fred, I don't think that will suit this year. " "Hmm?" Fred's puzzlement hummed like static in her ear. She had practised this moment but she was weakening already. Maria took the phone into the kitchen and studied the month of April under

“The wasp makes a lovely nest ...” Sister Elizabeth's voice came from the back of the room. There was a slight rustle and the jingle of the big rosary beads which hung from her belt as she turned into the next aisle of desks. “...which it lines with a

It started as a joke. My mate Baz signed me up to a dating site and when I protested that I was not a tragic loner he dared me to prove it by contacting someone and going on a date. I arranged to meet Victoria at the Nelson market on

I've got kooties. Probably had them for a while but you know how it is. At first you think there are hardly any, no harm, they'll go away on their own. Time goes by, you barely notice them. Then suddenly they're a rampaging plague.

Lily pinged the go-button and waited for Grandad to appear. Grandad's devices were all old-school and 'slow like me' he said. While she waited she studied the icon on the button. It looked like a handle for something. Dad said it was from an old-school coms

The sun warms my shoulders as I enter another world. With the smell of plum blossom and mown grass in my nostrils, I stand beside a gangly youth at a nineteenth century whaling station in the Sounds, where the stench of blood and death fill the air. He feels the

The harsh sound made no sense. Ruth turned to face the creaking, crunching noise which came from across the river. She stood her ground even though the strangeness increased as she watched the trees whipping this way and that, their erratic behaviour belying the effects of wind, even a tornado.