Elaine Ruth White
Bio
Hi. I'm a writer who believes that nothing is wasted! My words have become poems, plays, short stories and novels. My favourite themes are mental health, art and scuba diving. You can follow me on www.words-like-music, Goodreads and Amazon.
Stories (35)
Filter by community
The Fate of T Vasily 03
1. KARIM ‘Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.’ The kneeling Transient’s voice tremored, betraying his desperation. Karim didn’t look at him. Neither did he look at his fellow warder but knew there would be a sneering smirk of delight lurking behind an assumed veneer of compassion. He’d seen it seven times before. Witnessed Bonnar’s insistence on this ridiculous, pointless ritual designed to drag out the inevitable suffering. Karim hated the squirming sensation his bowels made when, before, he’d watched the alternating flashes of terror and hope cross inmates’ faces. He’d quickly learned to look away, to look at a point just above their heads, to study the deep space sky outside, with its flickering remnants of beginnings and endings. He’d learned to keep his gaze at such a discrete angle Bonnar would never guess he wasn’t watching. Karim knew what would happen if Bonnar even suspected he was giving in to any kind of lily-livered response. But still, the whimper in the inmate’s voice reminded him of the days when he had watched and found himself almost admiring Bonnar’s tremendous sense of sadistic timing.
By Elaine Ruth White3 years ago in Fiction
Valley of Old Bones
VALLEY OF OLD BONES 1. ‘There weren’t always dragons in the valley. Or giant bats or tarantulas or really huge venom-spitting frogs but in any case if the worst thing in the world happens and you meet one of them or even all of them at the same time or even something we didn’t even know existed then you needn’t worry ‘cos all you have to do is spin round three times and say a magic word or three magic words in a row but one should work if you cross your fingers then if you do that then every evil thing in the world will just shrivel up and die and in any case if you’ve got a spirit guide with you then it’s fine anyway because…’
By Elaine Ruth White4 years ago in Fiction
The Gift
I’m heading home, and the world is a smear on my visor. The Harley’s headlight flushes midnight’s soot from the road, a route I know so well I could drive it lights out. Every twist, every turn, every pothole. Not a year goes by my father doesn’t curse the highways authority for their slack repairs. But we’re out in the backwoods and low priority when it comes to road maintenance.
By Elaine Ruth White4 years ago in Fiction
Doggedly determined ...
This New Year's Eve I set my intention to be more 'dog', because 'dog' is the path to a good night's sleep. When I ask my dog, 'what's with you?', she gives me a look that says 'nada', which is impressive as I'm pretty sure she doesn't speak Spanish. Then she yawns, shuffles a little on the hearth rug and returns to doggie dreamland. At times, envious of her ability to just snooze at will, I toss a distractor:
By Elaine Ruth White4 years ago in Psyche
Unreliable Witness (a serialized novel - Part 5)
Missed Parts 1 - 4? Check out my page here on Vocal.Media 3. Colour blindness can be difficult to detect, particularly in children with an inherited colour vision deficiency. A child may identify colours they can’t see. Taught the colour of objects from an early age, they will know, for example, that grass is green and strawberries are red.
By Elaine Ruth White4 years ago in Fiction
Wreckage. Top Story - December 2021.
WRECKAGE The June sun fizzed then dissolved as the sea rushed over her face. Suspended in that sliver of space between exhilaration and anxiety, an unfamiliar thought washed through her mind. This time, would she come back?
By Elaine Ruth White4 years ago in Fiction
Unreliable Witness (a serialized novel - Part 4)
Meghan did not admit the accident had caused her eyes to widen when she read the headlines, but only piqued her interest from a human loss point of view. She hadn’t worked a marine accident in nearly four years, not since she’d taken a planned sabbatical and moved to Cornwall to be with Sarah, whose life was then cut short, cruelly and painfully within a year, leaving Meghan stranded in a chasm of unbearable grief. She had only begun piecing her life back together over the past year and the local community, the people, and their needs, had been so key in her recovery. Her old life as a marine archaeologist with a successful freelance career seemed decades ago now, though she was still only thirty. Back then, she had all the time in the world for Judith and her passions. Now that enthusiasm felt draining.
By Elaine Ruth White4 years ago in Fiction
Unreliable Witness (a serialized mystery novel - Part 2)
LOW WATER 1. When confirmation arrived in Judith Glenn’s inbox at the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, based in Southampton, she restrained herself from punching the air and whooping out loud. Investigating marine accidents, her team leader pointed out during an early performance appraisal, particularly fatal ones, is not something to celebrate, so she settled for a po-faced stare at the computer screen while her heart rate doubled.
By Elaine Ruth White4 years ago in Fiction
