pics &

poems

We’ve been in the air for about an hour when I give Coral the package. She is seated between Melissa and me, making heavy weather of a coke and a packet of Japanese crackers. She seems reluctant to accept the gift, and a certain degree of coaxing is necessary before she succumbs. With un-childlike restraint, she carefully opens the box then withdraws one of the teddy bears she’d been looking at in the airport. For a few moments she regards her new toy with an oddly quizzical expression, then, just as I’m beginning to feel I’ve made a silly mistake, she gives it a cuddle, sits it on her knee and signs to Melissa.

‘She wants to know his name,’ Melissa reports, giving me a very strange look.

‘His name’s Temple,’ I explain. ‘He’s a special bear with the power to chase away nasty dreams and protect his owner from anything bad.’

Coral smiles and again signs to Melissa.

‘Nice one, Mr Ottaway,’ Melissa compliments me. ‘The young lady says thank you. Thinks your daft, but loves the bear.’

An excerpt from the novel, Coral’s Age.

by Ivan Jacob Kurst.

Available on Amazon