Written piece
Love Language
Marina Merryweather
United Kingdom
About this piece
The theme of this piece is the way language functions as a thread to tie us together - in this case, bringing two complete strangers together. The sewing-based metaphors, and the setting to which neither belong, serve to emphasise this theme and propel the narrative forward.
Normally when Gen attended conferences, it wasn’t so she could give impromptu English lessons to strangers. She was in the Hilton Hotel bar, perched on a headland overlooking Bridgetown’s Carlisle Bay, now cloaked under darkness. She had been checking her emails as she sipped a martini, occasionally brushing sun-bleached hair from her eyes, or rubbing her sunburnt shoulders with bony fingers. A copy of Zobel’s Black Shack Alley lay dog-eared on the table, a red bookmark indicating she was close to the end.
A French-accented voice spoke from above. “The film is really good."