“This is how you tie a bowline,” he says, his hand clamped on hers. “Even you can learn this.” Sickness swells in Alice’s stomach as the boat rocks. “Make a loop,” his fingers pinch hers. “This makes the rabbit hole.”
He stands too close, his breath sour against her neck. At the beginning he’d dazzled with his beauty. She’d glowed under the spotlight of his attention. He’d exuded charisma; even the boat’s name, ‘Wonderland’, seductive.
Her fingers redden under his. “The rabbit goes round the tree...” And it was fun. The thrill of being chased.
“...Then back down the hole.” He pulls the rope as if he’s done something awfully
clever. “Fetch us a beer, then you need to practice.”
Alice hesitates at the hatch. Clammy, stale air pulses from the blackness below. She steps back.
“I’m leaving,” she says, stepping onto the quayside. Flinging the rope onto the deck.
Stephanie’s writing journey began, when she was shortlisted for the BBC End of story competition in 2004. Stephanie enjoys writing in different styles and genres. She’s been short, long-listed and won several writing competitions and recently published a collection, called ‘How to Catch and Keep a Kiss.’
This story was shortlisted in the June 24 Monthly Micro Competition.