SHORT STORY
Shiver
HELLO! has invited acclaimed writers to entertain readers in these testing times. This week, secrets of the past haunt a reunion of old friends in this extract from Allie Reynolds’s acclaimed debut thriller
PHOTO: ALAMY
It’s that time of year again. The time the glacier gives up bodies.
The immense mass of ice up there is a frozen river that flows too slowly for the eye to see. Recent victims brush shoulders with older ones in its glassy depths. Some emerge at the top, others at the snout, and there’s no way of knowing who will come out next.
All those cold nights I spent in his bed. I feel bad for not getting in contact with him. But after what happened…
It can take years for them to reappear. Decades even. A glacier in neighbouring Italy made the news recently when it produced the mummified corpses of First World War soldiers, complete with helmets and rifles. Still, what goes in must eventually come out, so I’ve been checking the local news every morning.
There’s one particular body I’m waiting for. “Hello?” My shout echoes around the concrete cavern.
The familiar red-and-white cable car sits in the bay, but there’s nobody in the operator booth. The sun has disappeared behind the Alps, the sky is pink, yet there isn’t a single light on in the building. Where is everyone?