LETTER 33
The Roundabout
A fictional letter from Management.
Written
Management gave our neighbour’s daughter a push on the roundabout.
We walked beside it, one hand on the rail.
“Get on,” she said.
We let go of the rail. The empty seat came round. We took a longer step. It went past.
“We’ll give you another push.”
Her father caught the rail and held it still.
We sat down opposite her.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Just slowly.”
He pushed.
We kept one foot on the gravel. It made a scraping sound.
“Both feet,” she said.
We lifted it onto the platform.
The bench went past, then the gate, then the bench again.
Her father put out his hand as we came round.
“Again,” we said.
He gave us another push.
We kept our feet up.
Management