Introduction
This collection is a collection of seventy stories, each 240 words. They were inspired by the first picture seen on my Twitter feed on a given day.
31. 23 February 2019 Tired
She got the flu within three hours of having the flu jab. "No, no," the chemist had said, "you would have had it worse if you hadn't had the jab. Believe me."
But she didn't. She was sure that that jab had caused it all.
The runny nose, the fever and the hacking cough passed. But a cough continued. She felt as if she constantly had fluid in her throat. Sure enough, when she coughed she could taste it.
Worse than that though was the aches and pains all over. First it was her knees. Then her hips. Sometimes her arms would feel too heavy to lift, Then there were the strange shooting pains through her head.
"You should go and see the doctor," her husband said.
"No, they're far too busy. Anyway I don't think they'll believe me."
The truth thought was that she felt too tired to go. It would be an effort to get into the car, find a parking space and then walk the distance from the car to the surgery. And that was the other thing. She was so tired all the time. She just wanted to stay in bed or curl up on the sofa an watch old episodes of Poirot or Morse. At least she didn't have to worry about work. She was retired now.
"There's an article in the paper today," her husband said one Sunday. "Seems it does exist. Chronic fatigue syndrome."
He read out the article as she gazed out of the window. The spring had arrived. It might be nice to get out.
"If I make an appointment will you take me to the doctor's next week?" she asked.
About the author
Gill James is published by The Red Telephone, Butterfly and Chapeltown.
She edits CafeLit and writes for the online community news magazine: Talking About My Generation.
She teaches Creative Writing and has an MA in Writing for Children and PhD in Creative and Critical Writing.
http://www.gilljameswriter.com
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