Tender Places by Helen Anderson Loving Cup by Amy McCartney, 2019 She possesses no vocabulary for this pain she feels. It’s “not an ache”, “not a throb” – “more of a strain”, she feels. “Certainly not psychosomatic.” She rubs at imperceptible ulcers on her shin, like a baked-on stain. It feels like she’s losing whatever “it” might have been. Yet taking tablets goes against her grain. She feels things were best when things were left unsaid – lips stiff and chins up. No bones about the disdain she feels for this limp modern language of disease. No sense – no relief for you, daughter – in urging her to explain how she feels. About the Author: Helen Victoria Anderson lives near Redcar and has an MA in Creative Writing from Teesside University. Her chapbook ‘Way Out’ is published by Black Light Engine Room Press and she is the author of ‘Piece by Piece: Remembering Georgina: A Mother’s Memoir’. Winner of the InkTears Flash Fiction Contest 2015 and the People Not Borders Short Story Competition 2017, Helen is a bereaved parent, a widow, and a firm believer in the therapeutic power of words. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Like this:Like Loading... Published by fragmentedvoices A small, independent press based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, and Prague, the Czech Republic View all posts by fragmentedvoices