John-J Anderson

ORGAN Chapter Nineteen Katie woke up early the following day, knowing it was essentially now or never if she was going to complete her recently acquired crusade to find Oscar and bring him back into the world of the living. Last night’s escapade through the vicinity of the degrading bus terminal, had led her to a rough in every sense of the word clue from a less than reliable source, now it was her obligation to follow up, do what the police are apparently failing to do in bringing Oscar home. Her car burst into life with a splutter of a low tank, the radio was still off after her need to calm down in silence on last night’s journey home, but today she was more equipped for an adventure into what she realistically understood could become a more dangerous hunting ground.  Before she left for the day Katie stuffed a shoulder bag with essentials for her day-out, some provisions for Oscar in case his health had deteriorated, blankets, some nutrient rich breakfast bars, a change of clot...

ORGAN Chapter Eighteen Nights had become an unwelcoming cold for the better part of a month, Oscar was still missing, and the anxiety made Katies bones rattle beneath her flesh, but that evening it was a brief respite, in the temperature breathing through her window at least. Mary Rubens was let into the secret fountain of knowledge that wadded with stories of her sons doctor becoming abusive and threatening towards him, but Katie still felt the guilt and the lack of action was giving her no undeserved period of comfort. Drifting rhythmically in and out of that sleep so deep it conjures drool from the corners of mouths and murmurs from the resting tongues, Katie held her dreams tight hoping they would stay pleasant. She eventually dreamt of her family home, perhaps due to the afternoon spent in Oscars own family home, the warm fire her father would insist on lighting the second the cool breath could be visibly seen outdoors, the times she would play with her sister in the garden and th...

 Alarm goes off. Alarm turned off. Covers kicked down. Phone unplugged. Out of bed. Clothes on. Am I warm enough? Lights pulled. Taps on. Toothpaste squeezed. Teeth brushed. Deodorant rolled. Lid up. Piss taken. Hands washed. Coconut soap. Keys in pocket. Shoes on. Hat fixed. Out the door. Lock the door. Walk to the car. Unlock the car. Seatbelt on. Drive the car. Park the car. Seatbelt off. Lock the car. Open the gate. Shoes off. Boots on. Bucket filled with soap. Meds given out. Curtains drawn back. Dogs let out. Kennels cleaned. Dogs put back. Bucket emptied. Mop rinsed. Breakfast made. Breakfasts handed out. Paddocks blown. Bowls collected. Bowls washed up. Coffee made. Coffee drank.  God that was a nice cup of coffee, time slowed down for a second. Mug in the sink. Laundry loaded. Dogs let out. Dogs played with. Dogs walked. Hope its not raining. Dogs exercised or socialised.  Emails answered. Messages replied. Down for...

ORGAN Chapter Seventeen Mary performed the same routines, which felt almost mortifying at this point, in the quest for her sons return, arrived in the same section of the parking lot at the hospital, talked to the same faces at the reception desk and stared at the same posters in the elevator on her way up to Boothes now undesirably familiar lair on the second floor. Oscar hated this place, Mary was fully aware of this before his disappearance after all the phone calls, she attributed that to his many outbursts and slips of the foul tongue he most definitely did not get from either of his parents, Thomas was a joyful silly man and his idea of cursing involved replacing the “F” word with “fudge” and the “S” word with “sugar-plumb”, Mary did truly love the light-hearted man she married for those quirks that she knew would in some way create a better son for it, as much as she believed love could emerge in a vulnerable human heart. Arrival at Boothes office came sooner than she expected b...