THOSE AWAKE... 


By Tessa Harvey


Everyone had assumed he had been fully vaccinated. He was a modern young person, pliable, part of the crowd. No problem there surely!
    He rubbed his sweaty palms, surreptitiously down his trousers. Suddenly he saw the cleaning lady beckon to him. He hesitated. It would soon be his stop. Still he found himself moving down the dusty crowded carriage.
    She leaned forward. "I am Imelda. You do not leap anymore to get on the train!" Her eyes were sparkling with humour. 
    "So, what do you do?" she continued. "You see my overalls, you see my head covering and you see a cleaning lady. But who am I inside? Do you wonder?"
    Intrigued, Gray leaned closer, then realised it was time to go. "Talk tomorrow," he promised, smiling for the first time in months.
    Perhaps she could help him understand his letter. It was as though light danced around her. Who was she?


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