#261 November Fog

by Barry Chantler

I walk through dense fog, water droplets swirling round on my approach, as if somehow they sense that I’m there.

Spider webs, etched silver, cover the clipped yew trees; so many webs—different shapes, different sizes. They were invisible yesterday, when the fog was absent.

Everything is muted—the colours, the sound. Patchworks formed from shades of dark green and light grey; fuzzy edged shapes that create an impressionist painting across the immediate.

A thrush flies low across my path. Normally I wouldn’t have got so close. But the thrush can see as much as I, and has to choose his flight path with care.

Once, long before, I came upon a cuckoo, forced to the ground by dense fog, huddled on a cliff edge. At first I thought I’d found some rare exotic bird, turned from its seaward path by dense sea mist. It took me ages before I realised that it was just a cuckoo.

I return to the present. The fog is quiet; it represents loneliness—and a dull moroseness.

My thoughts turn inwards. I let my mind wander. It finally settles on Christmas—it often does on days like this. Warm fires, laughter, sideboards stocked with alcohol. My brother and I hanging decorations. Drunken singing late on Christmas Eve…

Nostalgic memories—memories tinged with a painful sadness. I envelope them as the fog envelopes me. I drift onwards… becoming just another fuzzy shadow… until finally, I blend in completely… and am lost from view.



A world comes under attack by a vast alien cloud that thrives on consuming life. The book centres around Briony, a Garulii who is having a secret affair with Beryllium, an Emerald Amulii. The Garulii and Amulii are sworn enemies and avoid any contact with each other. The Amulii have stones implanted into their heads at birth, through which they can control Earthpower. Meanwhile the attack by the alien force is growing stronger resulting in bizarre events and powerful, dangerous creatures roaming the earth. Time is running out. Will the Amulii and Garulii stop fighting each other in time to prevent their world from destruction?

Click on the cover to visit the book's Amazon page.