The Burning City

by Romance Writer

Waiting alone in the secret alcove they had both come to know so well, with the rank odour of decay wafting in from outside, the terrified Violetta thought once more of young Simon, the ‘hooded visitor’ in her recurring dream. He was now, according to the letter on the bureau, struggling for life in the intensive care ward.

Then came an abrupt fanfare from the long-silent trumpets, and she felt her heart suddenly beat with a new, wild rhythm. He was here! "There’s only ever been you, my dewy, doll-faced delight!" he stammered, flexing his sweaty biceps, and as the glow of renewed love gradually overcame her mounting desire for dinner, she wondered if this would be a good time to remind him about the books he had borrowed.