Wonderful Short Stories by Stan Mason

Author:Stan Mason
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: comedy, horror, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, drama, suspense, short stories, shorts, brer, tales, grimm, fiction, stan mason
ISBN: 9781783334681
Publisher: Andrews UK
Published: 2013-12-17T05:00:00+00:00

Odd One Out

Fate is often in very close contention with the affairs of men and women alike. It is mercurial, elusive, sometimes good, occasionally bad, but, one thing is certain, mankind does not have the knowledge to assess when it will arrive, or in what strength it will come, or the effect it might have on any individual. It may be simply ephemeral, long-lasting or even permanent, descending in force almost spiritually as it influences the lives as well as the will and the determination of a naive population. It may strike suddenly indiscriminately at anyone or at any place any time without rhyme or reason. No one is sufficiently safe or sacred to be able to shelter from it or avoid it, while often it bears down heavily on the most innocent people who deserve a better deal from life!

Davina Wickham was ostensibly an ordinary woman with a very strange secret. It so happened to be her fate to be born at midday on the twenty-ninth of February which meant that her birthday occurred every four years when there was a leap year. Whereas most people born on that unusual day normally accept the first day of March to be their birthday, Davina refused to accept the substitution, insisting that she advanced one year in age only once in every four years. Consequently, at the age of forty-eight, she considered herself to be only twelve years old. Throughout her life, the fact that she adhered firmly to his birth-date caused her no end of problems. For example, when she applied for a driving licence, the administration refused to accept that she was only five, when she was actually twenty years old. Regardless of her explanation, which was absolutely correct as far as she was concerned, she was forced to change the document before the licence was awarded to her even though she resisted most strongly. However, she refused to change her age on the documents relating to her employment after leaving school. Consequently, her employer was forced to submit records which declared her to be only four years old, having to add a rider in parentheses stating the reason for employing someone so ostensibly young. After all, there were laws constraining companies from employing minors and, at four years of age, Davina would certainly be regarded as a minor. However, there were agencies which were completely disinterested in the matter. One, for example, was the Inland Revenue who clawed tax from her salary without caring what age she entered on her tax return.

In general, life ran on in the normal fashion. At the age of twenty, she met a handsome young man and they married. A few years later, they boasted two children and everything ran normally for the couple until the competition too k place! It was sponsored by the local newspaper, the Daily Globe, who ran a short story competition which they advertised broadly. There were three prizes in each category for the best efforts... one for the juniors of sixteen years and under; the other for seniors who were seventeen years and over.

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