No Light

by Michael Costello

"At night I am unable to sleep properly. The heat is still intense and the stench of excrement is even more stifling. The moaning subsides and thankfully the tannoy stops but at night people attempt to escape so the air is regularly punctuated with gunshots and screams. When I do sleep my dreams are vivid and mostly about my life with Anna. I thank her soul for comforting me at such a time. My favourite dream and the one that comes to me most is time we spent in the Alps. She loved mountains and in my dream we are flying together through the valleys and coming to rest on a hillside covered in buttercups and meadow-rue, St. Bruno’s lilies and yellow globeflowers. She lies among the colours bathing me in the brightness of her spirit. She holds her arms out to embrace me and I fall between them feeling her body soften, feeling her lips on mine, her hands in my hair and gently caressing my back. I hear her voice singing sweetly among the birds overhead. They all descend to listen. Then I inevitably wake in the darkness and the fresh fragrant smell of her hair is quickly washed away by the stink of cruelty. At those moments an unfathomable longing empties my heart of love..."

123 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

I am a Teacher and Director of Theatre and Performance and have worked extensively in Ireland, the UK, Europe, Australia and the US. "No Light" is my first novel.