I didn’t put on my hat even though it’s cold as forever and the hat’s right there in my bag at the bottom. My mascara came away in the night and for that hat to look any good requires a little recent eye adornment – I realise that. And I didn’t say anything, not a word, about the creature beneath the water. No mention of the monster. The flowers are lovely instead, especially the roses.

Claire-Louise Bennett – Pond

Marijeka continued reading as if she had not heard this exchange. But she did, she heard every word. She would ignore Uncle Janek. If you ignored bad things, they would go away. The book helped to put such things out of her mind.

She was the youngest of the three princesses. No more and no less beautiful than her older sisters, but more loveable. Yes, that was the word, loveable. She inspired love, and her name was Marijeka. They lived in a country far away, somewhere beyond Katowice, where the hills were bare and grey.

Picture of Black Brook, near Ruabon ©Bobby Seal

Extract from Marijeka and the Crow ©Bobby Seal