Synkroniciti is delighted to welcome writer Anita Campbell of southeast England with “Sweet River Run Softly Till I Hear Your Song,” one of our “Dreams” short story finalists. This is a moving short story about a woman trying to regain hope and confidence after cancer surgery. She is spending time in nature with her two boys, who are also, consciously or subconsciously, working through their feelings about mortality.
“The river ran into a pool under the trees, an opal ring set in a band of silver cedars which lined the river banks. Water plants raised their pale green faces to the dappled sunlight.
She looked up. The boy was smashing his net on the water’s surface.
“You’ll never catch anything now,” she said.
The boy mumbled, “I’ll never catch anything anyway.”
She was always slightly shocked by this pessimism in an otherwise confident child. Perhaps the last few months had been harder on him than she thought.”
Building the scene with captivating and beautiful sensory imagery that draws us into the wistful musings of this woman and her immense love for her children, Anita subtly poses a question–how do we recover from life-changing trauma without becoming stuck? Hyper-awareness of our limited time with those we love threatens to taint the experience of the present with grief for the future. The river shows us the joy of letting go, of embracing the wonder of life’s dance. Nature mirrors the human subconscious, unfettered and wild. Perhaps it is this waking life, ultimately, that is the dream.
Read “Sweet River Run Softly Till I Hear Your Song” in Synkroniciti’s “Dreams” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
“I was born and brought up in Scotland, whose music, landscape and history I still love. I gained my degree in English Language and literature and took a teaching diploma, after which I taught in secondary schools for 25 years. My pupils were from 12 to 18-years-old. From them and private reading, I gained a love and knowledge of poetry and literature…so much so that, after retiring, I began to write short stories and poetry.
I have published two books of my poems. I am still reading avidly and belong to several writing/poetry/art groups. I have two daughters , one of whom lives in Florida. She used to live in Texas and it was visiting her house in the Hill Country on the banks of the Sabinal river that inspired this story.”
Thank you so much for your kind words. It’s given me confidence to continue with my writing.
I am so glad–you write beautifully. So happy to publish your work!