Hungry Ghosts by C J Barker

Author:C J Barker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Troubador Publishing
Published: 2024-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

Ruth insisted that if she must leave Medmenham then they should return to London. Employment opportunities for Vic were limited in Buckinghamshire, and besides, Ruth wanted to be near to her family.

‘I need my mum and Carol close by. It’s going to be hard enough bringing up a baby as it is. Where I come from, mothers and daughters help each other out. For all her faults, I know my mum will support me,’ said Ruth.

Vic readily agreed. ‘I’m bored with gardening and the city will offer new opportunities.’

‘Do you feel well enough?’

‘I’m just fine, thanks.’

Neither Vic nor Ruth wanted to live with her parents and so they scoured the city for a new home. Post-war East London appeared to Ruth as a grey, damp, post-apocalyptic city from which recovery seemed barely possible. Whole streets had blown apart, and she could see right into what remained of people’s homes. After visiting one, unsuitable, flat, she stood across the road and stared into an abandoned room where a tall, narrow dress mirror still hung from its hook, leaving her with the eerie feeling that the occupants had fled in haste after an unimaginable catastrophe. She watched a woman walking down the street past the debris wearing a long, black coat and gloves to shield her from the cold as she pushed a pram past box-shaped cars with huge, round headlights. She thought, oh my, that will be me soon; this is my life now.

Most of the flats they found and could afford were unfit for human habitation. They were too small, or too damp, or too mouldy, or too dirty, or all those unwelcome features rolled into one. In the end, they settled for a ramshackle two-bedroom apartment perched over a bicycle repair shop in Stepney.

Twenty-eight Paradise Drive was a four-story red-brick block with small windows and tiny balconies; the paint on the doors was cracked and peeling. The interior walls of the two-bedroomed flat, once painted white, were now a dirty, melancholic yellow, and the tiny ancient windows left the occupants encased in a drab and gloomy atmosphere. On the plus side, it was warm and clean and came with a brand-new stove.

It wasn’t ideal, but Ruth felt lucky to have found it. The block was near enough to her family for them to support her, while being far enough away from Ethel that she couldn’t arrive unannounced at any time of the day. They could afford the place, just, and besides, they wouldn’t stay long. This was merely a short stop on their unfolding journey towards a bright, modern future.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.