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 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 shouting reached Rohan before he reached the lane. He had been walking home from school, backpack slung over one shoulder, when he heard neighbours murmuring, slippers scraping against the cement courtyard, and a familiar voice rising above all others — harsh, slurred, and furious. He broke into a run. By the time he turned the corner, he saw his mother — Lata — being dragged out of their government quarter by her husband, Prakash. Her dupatta was twisted around her arm, her hair half‑loose, her face pale with shock. Prakash’s fingers were clamped around her wrist like a vice. “Tell them!” Prakash shouted, spit flying. “Tell everyone you’ve been meeting your old boyfriend!” Neighbours stood in clusters — women with half‑cut vegetables in their hands, men ...

  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. ...