WINNER: GILLIAN DUNSTAN
Her Last Postcard
Dearest Susie
Yesterday I walked the coastal path.
Pink balls of thrift and carpets of wild thyme edged cliffs. I breathed bedstraw’s grassy scent. I wonder, could it ease confinement as was once believed?
At midnight, the vast basin of the sky shimmered with stars. Some startled, brilliant, harsh. Others, mere pricks of silver light, drifted like gossamer across the Milky Way. The plough dipped low, skimming the quiet sea.
I had the strangest sense of spinning round and through great galaxies of light.
Today a foghorn’s groans warn of lethal rocks. I hear – but cannot see – the raging waves.
It’s said ghosts of the drowned prowl on these paths. But do not worry.
I am snug and safe inside this ancient coaching inn, enjoying luscious cake!
Your loving sister,
Celeste.