Bad Reputation

I am delighted to have my story Bad Reputation at Spelk Fiction today!

I wrote this short story as I have always been fascinated with the idea of twins. As a child, I believed that twins had magical powers of intuition and shared a very special connection -Imagine having a lifelong friend, someone with whom you could share your dreams and nightmares, and always feel protected …

I knew you before you were born. I felt your heart beating, next to mine, through the liquid darkness. I couldn’t tell where you ended and I began. You were me and I was you, and that’s the way it was.

I have always been in your shadow: I can see that now. I was born six minutes after you, and have spent the rest of my life trying to catch up. I was your sidekick, your play thing, your weaker self. Always the second half of every sentence — Kate and Josie: never Josie and Kate.

That’s why, when you ran screaming into my room that night, covered in blood and desperate for my help, I couldn’t resist taking the blame for you.  Read more…