Hope by R.M. Skillen is a short story that describes not only the physical destruction brought about by war, but also the toll war takes on the human mind and soul. Returning from the front, Billy McKay suppresses the pain of “the oozing blisters on his feet, the bloodied scratches that covered his body, the hunger that gripped his stomach and the numbness that engulfed his right thigh” and walks to The Nags Head, the local pub. It is here where he expects to meet his wife, Mary.
Will Bill survive the sight of his destroyed city and also the sight of his wife, “a beautiful apparition sitting in the window”? There is only one way you can find out: by reading the entire short story here.
Hope by R.M. Skillen was the October 2009 winner of the Global Short Story Competition.
R.M. Skillen is a Frankston-based writer.
