#gemtext.

random first lines

When her father was drunk, he'd say “I used to have a brother, you know”, and get a faraway look in his eyes.

He was terrified of small spaces and she knew.

As he flicked through the letters, a small, handwritten envelope caught his attention and his heart began to thump.

Amongst her mother's possessions, she found--

He realised the child had seen him and he couldn't let him get away.

Someone must have seen him, because the police were at his door.

Spider threads caught at her face, a sign that no-one had been there yet.

The best way to cut the woman down to size would be to flirt with her husband.

He had kept their mother alive in their thoughts. Too alive, perhaps.

He was older than she'd thought he would be.

He had an hour to get home. If he didn't make it--

They say everyone who looks into their family history will find a secret sooner or later.

He didn't reply and immediately she thought: they've got him and now they're coming for me.

The door was closed, and as she put her hand on the handle, she felt afraid of what they might find.

He'd had a bad day and just needed something to make him feel better.

Was it simply luck that had caused her to turn down this street?

As the prison gate closed behind him, he saw someone waiting for him.

The entrance to the tunnel was his only way out.

She had made a poor job of hiding the damage.

The footsteps were moving away.

With sadness, she realised they needed some time apart.

She'd got him wrong, but that was her loss.

He had enjoyed ten years of being totally irresponsible.

He knew he must keep very still while he waited.

She knelt on the carpet in her new living-room, a big cardboard box in front of her, unwrapping ornaments.

They found his diary under his bed.

He looked at his phone, turned pale, then quickly left the room. She watched him, smiling.

It was the trip of a lifetime, yet--

As soon as she walked in, she felt the tension.

He waited twenty years to return it.

He opened the door to find her standing there, crying.

She kept checking her phone and email, wishing someone would make contact.

It was just for one night.

The urge to interrupt him before he had finished was overwhelming.

To his horror, he realised he’d been this way before.