Forgive or Forget , livre ebook

Distributed by eBookpartnership - Elisabeth Krauel

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

107 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

'Forgive or Forget' reached the Finalist stage of the Page Turner Awards 2021.'Forgive or Forget' a what-why-wheredunit, tells the story of 28-year-old Alice, freshly released from prison after serving a sentence for a horrific crime and struggling to readjust to the outside world. Weaving back and forth between the past and the present, the fast-paced and thought-provoking narrative reveals the truth behind the events years ago and accompanies Alice on her quest for closure so that she can begin anew. Filled with suspense, this story about family, crime and the question of how far we are willing to go for those we love will keep y

Informations

Publié par	Distributed by eBookpartnership
Date de parution	19 juillet 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781839525209
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

First published 2022
Copyright © Elisabeth Krauel 2022
The right of Elisabeth Krauel to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Published under licence by Brown Dog Books and The Self-Publishing Partnership Ltd, 10b Greenway Farm, Bath Rd, Wick, nr. Bath BS30 5RL
www.selfpublishingpartnership.co.uk

ISBN printed book: 978-1-83952-519-3 ISBN e-book: 978-1-83952-520-9
Cover design by Kevin Rylands Internal design by Andrew Easton
Printed and bound in the UK
This book is printed on FSC certified paper

CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Questions for Discussion
CHAPTER 1
Ten years was a long time. But not long enough to forget. She still remembered what had happened. But it appeared that the world did not. It had forgotten what had passed, forgotten what she had done. It had – it seemed – forgotten her very existence. Alice took a deep breath as she stepped outside. It was still morning. The ground was damp from the night’s rain, but it promised to be a fine day. No one was waiting for her outside. Although she had expected this, the final confirmation was still a little sad.
The large metal gate clanged shut behind her, bringing a decade-long chapter of her life to an end. Alice turned and took a good look at the building that had been her home for the past ten years. It was an ugly building by any standard, unless perhaps you were that rare type of person who always manages to see beauty in the most undeserving of places. The rusty-red paint alone would deter anyone from wanting to spend time inside, even if it had not been for the bars and barbed wire. The façade of the building stood cold and uninviting in the cool morning sun, oblivious to the fact that yet another inmate had been released. By now, the other women would have finished their breakfast and would have started going about their morning as usual. Very little would remind them of Alice’s former presence, and in a few days, it would be as though she had never been there at all. Alice wondered whether she would be able to erase her time inside as easily from her memory as the prison would. In any case, now was the time for a new start, Alice decided, one that wouldn’t involve the inside of a penal institution ever again.
Turning her back on the building she started walking down the road. It felt strange, after such a long time, to be free to go just where she pleased. Since there was no one waiting for her, here or anywhere, she did not have any particular destination in mind. So she headed south, it seemed as good a direction as any. The prison was located on the outskirts of Ashford, a town so ordinary and British that few people but Alice could have found it especially interesting that morning. But to Alice, it was the first significant change of scenery she had had in years. Passing by the houses, she drank in everything that was going on around her. The world had changed since she had last walked along a street like this. She had, to a certain extent, been prepared for this, had seen the world through the TV and fellow inmates, but ten years felt all the longer for how fast the world was moving. It was a bit overwhelming. But then again, the world had not been a kind one all that time ago, not to her, anyway. Maybe the change was for the better.
She wasn’t used to walking longer distances, and after a while Alice started to feel hungry. She had reached the centre of the small town and decided to get something to eat. It didn’t take her long to identify a café that sold a breakfast deal for £5. Due to lack of context and comparison, Alice wasn’t sure whether this was a good deal or not, but she decided to give it a go. Her heart started to beat a little faster as she directed her steps towards the entrance of the little café. It was an entirely unremarkable place, furnished with neither a particularly large nor a small amount of care. The tables were square and easy to wipe, the chairs just comfortable enough to accommodate customers for a quick meal, but not so comfortable that they would want to spend additional time there, the music in the background neither unpleasant nor interesting. Nevertheless, to Alice, it was a wonderful place, as she was about to have her first meal in freedom for ten years.
She opened the door shyly and observed the various rolls and pastries on offer from her position at the entrance, not wanting to intrude upon the time of the bored girl behind the counter, whose very job it was to have her time intruded upon by customers. Having decided on a croissant and a large tea, she made her way to the counter and ordered her breakfast, excited at the prospect of receiving a meal she had chosen herself. The girl at the counter put the croissant and the tea on a tray for Alice and looked at her expectantly. Confused by the girl’s stare, Alice gave her an awkward half-smile and turned to take her tray to a table before she realised what the girl was waiting for. Oh, yes, of course, she had to pay. Hiding her embarrassment at her mistake, she mumbled an apology and started going through her bag in search of her purse. The prison had helped her to prepare for life outside and she remembered them telling her that using a card was now the preferred method of payment.
Her old card was still in her purse. It was connected to her account, which, she had been pleasantly surprised to hear, still had money on it. Quite a bit, in fact. She had half expected Beth to have cleared it while she was locked up, but she hadn’t. Fishing out her purse from her bag, she pulled out the card. What now? She had only ever used the card to withdraw money from a bank, not to pay in a shop. After all, she had only just received her first card shortly before she had been sent to prison. Alice eyed first the card and then the girl indecisively and then handed it over the counter. The girl pulled up her eyebrows and nodded towards a black, square machine attached to the counter which had a small keyboard and display.
While this was supposedly meant to be helpful, and for anyone used to paying by card it would surely have been the hint to end all confusion, Alice now eyed the card and the machine with just as much indecisiveness as before. The absurdity of the situation struck her and she laughed, which objectively made her – standing in a coffee shop dressed in clothes that had been fashionable a decade ago, unable to purchase her breakfast and laughing to herself – an even stranger picture for anyone watching. But she was in far too good a mood to be worried about what anyone thought.
‘I’ve not used one of those before,’ she explained.
The girl behind the counter was a little taken aback but gave the necessary instructions. It wasn’t the first time she had served breakfast to people like Alice. The close proximity to the prison meant that a lot of the released inmates took the first opportunity they could to buy a breakfast of their own choosing here. Strange, what little things can make you happy, given the right circumstances. Her current customer seemed quite as delighted as most of the inmates were about their fresh freedom. She seemed nice, really, in a quiet sort of way. The girl wondered what she had done to end up in prison long enough not to know how to pay by card. And to no longer have any friends or family to pick her up. Most people came in here with their relieved parents or their tearful partner. This one was alone. It made her a little sad to see it. But it wasn’t any of her business, really, so she didn’t worry about it for any longer than was necessary.
Having successfully completed her very first card payment, Alice walked proudly over to a table near the only window in the shop, ready to enjoy her meal. She had always loved a good tea, and that had been hard to come by in prison. While eating, she concentrated fully on the delicious buttery texture of the croissant and the creamy hot flavour of her drink. Life was good. Alice had never been hard to please, and the decade behind bars had lowered the threshold even further. It was the first time in ten years that she was holding a spoon made of metal instead of plastic and was drinking from a mug made of porcelain. Alice let the spoon clink against the rim of the mug, thrilled at the sound it made.
Even though she was pleased, Alice didn’t feel nearly as excited as she had thought she would upon being released from prison. It was the same feeling one has when finishing a big exam, one that you have been working towards and dreading for months. Instead of excitement, Alice had a feeling of tired relief. The full reality of her situation hadn’t quite got through to her. She had yet to dwell on the fact that she would not only be allowed to, but would even have to make her own decisions again, and that she would also be responsible for the consequences. She hadn’t taken the time yet to appreciate how daunting having control over her own life could be. At this present moment, she was simply relieved.
After Alice had finished the last sip of tea and had mopped up the remaining crumbs with her fingers, she sat back in her chair and looked out of the window. The town was small, but probably large enough to have a train or bus connection to central London. She sighed. London! It