I once had a repertoire of signatures including Jenny Sinclair for acclaimed actor, JenSi for celebrated singer, and the full Jennifer Sinclair for swashbuckling navigator, sailing toward high adventure (though Miss Harper from the Home said I’d amount to nothing).
It all began with the tiny, battered suitcase that accompanied baby-me to the Home. It
held a sugar-pink cardigan, matching bootees, and a signature penned neatly on the ripped tartan lining: Susan Sin– with a halo instead of a dot above the i.
When I left the Home, Miss Harper tossed me the case along with a good-riddance
sneer. The case and teenager-me navigated many places – more low adventure than high – and now sits at the foot of my wardrobe in a saved-up-for home that is all mine.
Occasionally I finger-trace the signature, from the proud S heading the troops, to the
solid n with the kick-up flick. I never knew Susan, but I like to think she sailed toward
adventure, bypassing every single Miss Harper on the way.
Sharon’s shorties and flashes have been published in Flash 500, The Phare, Fictive Dream and Bath Flash Anthology. She likes making lists, banoffee pie and having a room of her own (at last!). She dislikes the fact that Sharons are becoming an extinct species. She tweets at @SharonBoyle50 and has a blog at https://boyleblethers.wordpress.com/
This story was shortlisted in the July 24 Monthly Micro Competition.