Tower and Town, March 2015

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Thomas Hancock

On A Thursday Morning

He woke up the morning after, tired. His hands were worn and his mind blank and unfocused from the exhaustion of hours of work.

As he walked downstairs the fresh morning breeze blew the smells from his workshop to him. The mixed smells were overwhelming at first but by concentrating he was able to distinguish one that stood out: that of the big clay pot of sulphur that had its home on his work desk. Beyond that he could see the rubber saplings, which had been the source of his experiments for what seemed like a lifetime. Stiffly he walked across to the centre of the workshop and, fully awake now, opened the oven.

He was greeted by a welcoming blast of warm air and a scent that he was the first ever to smell. He slowly picked up the product of his experiments - his life-changing discovery - and as he walked to the kitchen he looked back at the workshop that had been the home to so many failures and disappointments.

Having washed his hands, he made a cup of tea and proceeded to examine his creation further. It was a small rectangular block of soft, amber coloured, material that he could bend in different directions before it returned to its natural shape with a satisfying twang. He drained his cup of tea and gently placed it back on its saucer besides the block. He then crossed over to the latticed window and stood in the morning sun, warming his brow in thought.

A moment later and he rushed upstairs and got dressed into his Sunday best. He grabbed his coat, followed by his hat and gloves and marched triumphantly to the door. Outside the sunshine of the Thursday morning bounced gleefully off the little amber, life-changing, block that he tucked under his arm.

Charles Roche