The Real Miracle

The first time Caitlin laid eyes on me, I was swallowing razor blades. She told me afterwards my performance had been so convincing, she’d taken out her mobile phone, pressed 9 and 9 again, and in the event I started vomiting scarlet parabolas of blood from an inadvertent but no less lethal hole in my gullet, she would press the third and final 9.

Mike Scott Thomson's short stories have been published by a number of journals and anthologies, including those from The Fiction Desk, Litro, Prole, The Momaya Annual Review, and Stories for Homes (in aid of the housing charity Shelter). 'Me, Robot,' his story to feature in The Fiction Desk anthology Crying Just Like Anybody, was also adapted for performance by the theatre group Berko Speakeasy. Competition successes include the runner up prizes in both the InkTears Short Story Competition (2012) and the Writers' Village International Short Fiction Competition (2013). In 2014 he won the inaugural 'To Hull and Back' humorous short story competition, run by author Chris Fielden. Based in Mitcham, Surrey, he works in broadcasting. You can find him online at www.mikescottthomson.com and on Twitter at @michaelsthomson.