Here's a short piece of fiction for your perusal.

– 1 –

It was the first time I’d ever visited a church. I was four years old, and my mother decided to walk us to a service while my father was at work.

Being so long ago, the memory is hazy. There were many people, all indistinct and strange, crowding along the pews on either side of the two of us. The wooden seats hurt, but I was happy to discover that there were books hidden in compartments built into the back of the seat in front of us. That...