Story Therapy

  Image by AI A mother’s suffering, a son’s bravery, and a choice no family should face. A Contemporary Short Story by S A Spencer  Author of Popular Fictions : The Pink Mutiny , The Black Waters , Dream In Shackles The church smelled of old timber and candle smoke, the kind that clung to your clothes long after you left. Sophie Hartley knelt on the padded bench, fingers laced tight, forehead almost touching her hands. Around her, the congregation murmured through the final hymn, but she barely heard it. Her mother sat stiff beside her, lips pressed thin. Her father stared straight ahead, eyes hollow, as if the stained‑glass windows were showing him something no one else could see. Sophie whispered into her hands, Please… please make them stop fighting. Please make things normal again. She squeezed her eyes shut harder. And please… give me a baby brother. Someone to talk to. Someone to fight the fears with me. The choir rose behind her, voices swelling, but Sophie sta...

  Image by AI When devotion meets desire, someone must be left behind. A Contemporary Short Story by S A Spencer  Author of Popular Fictions : The Pink Mutiny , The Black Waters , Dream In Shackles The knock came just after sunset. Sophie McAllister froze halfway down the hallway, her bare feet silent on the polished timber floor. She wasn’t expecting anyone. She wasn’t expecting him . Yet when she opened the door, there he stood — tall, nervous, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. “Sam?” she whispered. Sam Fraser nodded once. His face was pale, his eyes serious in a way that made him look older than seventeen. “Can I come in?” Sophie stepped aside automatically, her heart thudding. She had imagined seeing him again, but not like this — not alone, not without Daniel, not after what had happened in Parramatta Park. Sam walked into the lounge room and sat on the edge of the sofa, shoulders tight, as if bracing himself. “I need to talk to you,” he said. ...

  Image by AI She hid her truth for sixteen years. Now her son is old enough to ask. A Contemporary Short Story by S A Spencer  Author of Popular Fictions : The Pink Mutiny , The Black Waters , Dream In Shackles I. The Call The phone buzzed on the kitchen bench, slicing through the quiet of Clara Bennett’s Bondi apartment. She had just finished her morning stretch, the ocean breeze drifting through the balcony doors, when the screen lit up with a Victorian number she didn’t recognise. “Ms Bennett?” The voice was thin, trembling. “It’s Margaret Doyle… I’m the woman who adopted your son.” Clara’s breath caught. Sixteen years of silence collapsed into one moment. “I’m in palliative care,” Margaret whispered. “And I need to ask you something… something urgent.” Clara steadied herself against the counter. “What is it?” “Please,” Margaret said, voice breaking. “Take him back. He has no one else.” Clara stared at the horizon, the morning sun turning the water gold. E...