The Real World Book Project: An experiment in fiction

‘This is what happens when you drink putrefied brown tap-water,’ she convinced herself again, ‘plenty of things go into that water supply that I have no knowledge of.’

  Water? Who cares about water? You are going to die … 

  Perhaps the sheer boredom of doing the dishes was leading to this hallucination?  Kimberly wondered if the years of living with a disfigured face were beginning to manifest itself in some kind of schizophrenic episode.  Perhaps.  Then again, it could be that the shadow was actually moving, or did move via some kind of ingrained wall effect or special paint that she hadn’t heard of.  Surely after staring at it for the last two years she might have noticed that.  The sun outside was shining, the world looked good for a moment; it had even made her place in the ‘rat’s nest’ seem inviting.  Sort of. The ‘rat’s nest’ being that part of the inner city she lived in, so named as it really was a haven for all kinds of vermin—especially the rat.   Although, inner city had become chic in Brisbane, this part of Brisbane used to house mental patients, until the government funding all but dried up.  Much like the rain, really.