The idea for this short story came quickly. Making it work on the page took longer. In large part, I was responding to the idea of ‘the nip’, the idea of friction, abrasion and tensions tying people together in impossible knots – and the idea too that the security of a bond in certain circumstances might require a lot of nip, and how unfair and confusing that might feel for the person on the receiving end. Quite where the image of the static caravan came from – or why – I don’t know, but as soon as it parked up in my imagination, as the setting for the story, I got thinking about the chicken-legged hut inhabited by Baba Yaga, the witch figure from Slavic folklore, and then more elements fell comfortably into place. I must say I found exploring the relationship between the boy character and the witch exhilarating and I enjoyed writing this story very much, despite its rather grim scenario. I’m finding that participating in the Kick-About has the effect of doing away with procrastination and driving me towards getting stuff done within certain constraints. I would never have written this story were it not for Jan Blake’s prompt, and I most certainly wouldn’t have finished it!
You can find a large-print PDF here
Red's Kingdom 
What an extraordinary story Phil, I found it haunting and deeply moving. I was hooked from the opening paragraph and then it doesn’t let go until those heartbreaking last lines, it’s very powerful.
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Hey thank you, Phil!
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I was riveted as I read this. So many layers of humanity.
I too find that the prompts lead me to places I would not go myself. And they are full of surprises. (K)
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Cheers Kerfe – very happy you enjoyed it. Looking forward to your response to the ‘5 canons’! 🙂
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