NEW SHORT STORY PUBLISHED BY BODY FLUIDS - A FANCY DRESS PARTY AT A RUSSIAN LUNATIC ASYLUM

 

Neil Randall is delighted to announce that his new short story A Fancy Dress Party at a Russian Lunatic Asylum has just been published by Body Fluids literary journal.

      The story is about Svetlana, a local government official whose existence is turned upside down when her husband, colleagues, and a host of bit-part players in her life claim not to recognise her.

     Here are the opening pages of the story: 

A Fancy Dress Party at a Russian Lunatic Asylum

Every day there was a farmer’s market in the town square. If Svetlana saw a succulent cut of meat or a piece of fresh fish, she would call her husband to ask if he wanted it for his evening meal. Only today, when he answered the telephone, he claimed not to recognise her voice.

      “Please stop messing around, Mikhail. You and your practical jokes. Now, would you prefer the seabass or the beefsteak?”

      “Look, I really have no idea who you are. You accuse me of playing practical jokes, but you’re the crank. You’re the one who –”

       “Enough. I refuse to play along a moment longer. I will buy the fish and a bottle of Tsinandali. If you get the chance – I know you’re busy marking exam papers today – could you please cut some fresh fennel from the window box?”

        “What? How do you know such things? – my occupation, my current activities, my favourite wine? Who exactly are you? What is this all about?”

      “Mikhail, it’s me – your wife. I’m on my lunch break. I’ve called to see what you would like to eat this evening, something I’ve done countless times before.”

       “My wife? Don’t be absurd. I’m a bachelor. I live alone, and have done all my life.” He slammed the phone down.

      Svetlana didn’t know what to make of such an odd and protracted scene. Briefly, she toyed with the idea of calling straight back, or, alternatively, heading home to see if Mikhail was all right. But memory of his past antics, his practical jokes, not to mention a pressing workload, compelled her to return to the office instead, without buying anything for their evening meal. The way she saw it, Mikhail would only have himself to blame if all he had to eat tonight was bread and cheese. As she left the town square, she began to see the funny side of the situation, how he would very much be made to suffer for behaving like an idiot. 

      By the time she reached the office, she had almost convinced herself the incident hadn’t been as worrying as it seemed. During the post-examination period, Mikhail was under a lot of stress. Maybe this was his way of letting off steam.    

      “Excuse me, madam,” said the security guard stationed at the main reception desk. “All visitors must sign in.”

       Confused, Svetlana came to a stop and turned to face him. “But I work here. We spoke only this morning. It’s Pavel, isn’t it? We pass each other every day.”

      “I’m sorry. But I’ve never seen you before in my life. And I’ve been employed here for around five years now.”

 

If you like what you’ve read so far and would like to know how the story ends, you can read it in its entirely here.

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