mental health

  • Panic

    Panic

    Won Second Place (Category C) in the Monash Short Story Writing Competition (2023). The scent of musk and old sweat wafts off the stained seats. My shoes stick to the rattling vinyl floor as if they are coated in glue. My foot taps; up, down, up, down. I feel an elastic resistance as my heel…

  • Dis-ordered

    Dis-ordered

    Unpublished; written in 2024. It doesn’t happen with a bang. Not like the movies. I’m not stabbed, or attacked, or am otherwise the victim of some traumatic event. It happens like this: Nausea in my throat; I choke. My stomach is twisted up and wrung dry, like a filthy rag. The tin walls of the…

  • Tarnish

    Tarnish

    Won Highly Commended in the Monash Short Story Writing Competition (2022). She wonders why he killed himself. A rich kid like that, he probably didn’t even do his own taxes. His face haunts her as she drives to the school. It dogs her steps as she shakes hands with the PA president. His eyes stare…