{"id":2152,"date":"2022-08-23T12:07:59","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T02:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=2152"},"modified":"2022-08-23T13:59:39","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T03:59:39","slug":"lily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=2152","title":{"rendered":"Lily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">The last time he saw her was at his father\u2019s funeral. It took a moment only to notice the vaguely familiar face but it wasn\u2019t until the final dirge-like hymn that the penny finally dropped. Dave couldn\u2019t be sure of which brain connections collided with which memories that led him to the \u201cbingo\u201d moment. In truth, the pondering was a welcome distraction from the heaviness of the day. Lucy? No that wasn\u2019t it. Lily. That was her name. Lily Findlay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">She now hovered just outside his peripheral vision, towards the back of the church, next to the rough chocolate brick wall. Dark hair, still in a severe bob, but somewhat shorter now and an unusual shade of chestnut brown &#8211; not the hue that he remembered from his teens. He mused as to whether she had it dyed now and as he ran his fingers through his salt and pepper mop, concluded that she probably did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Lily always had a severe countenance, to go with the hair. Time and the puffiness that middle age brings had softened this somewhat. He remembered her as a serious child but maybe she just inherited a serious face. Mind you, she probably had things to worry about. They lived down the street from Dave and his family. Her and her four older brothers. Dave wondered if he had ever met the father, then decided he hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">No, he couldn\u2019t put a face to Frank Findlay. He was well aware of his reputation as a hard man though. So different to his own dear father. Did Frank have to put up with the ravages of Alzheimer\u2019s? Probably not, Dave decided. No &#8211; he was more likely to have shuffled off because of alcohol poisoning. That\u2019s what led to the shouting and shrieking that would come from their house. Well, that\u2019s what the neighbours said anyway. The Drink. Funny how that expression makes it sound like a singular thing, not a continuing activity. One glass would merge into another, then another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">So why was she here? Nice of her to come, of course, but Dave hadn\u2019t seen her for years. He supposed it was the same for his Dad. Not since a transfer moved their whole family away when Dave was a petulant sixteen year old. Lily would have been about twelve then. Maybe even thirteen. On the verge of adolescence. Dave seemed to remember his younger brother, Greg, noticing her and commenting on her legs, quite out of the blue one day. Then they moved away and neither Dave nor, he supposed, Greg, thought of her or the Findlay family ever again. How had she suffered in that house? The thought worried him all of a sudden and he felt a heaviness in his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Tentatively he turned his head. She was still there at the back of the church, crumpled hanky in one hand and a sad bunch of supermarket flowers in the other. Her eyes flicked towards him and he swiftly cast his gaze down. Somehow embarrassed. Not knowing why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitetext-color has-sitebg-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Afterwards, his father\u2019s wake was a parade of family and friends, offering warm, clammy hands, a nod of the head, kind careful words, some tears. She wasn\u2019t one of them though. Dave didn\u2019t see her again that day and thought her presence might remain an odd mystery. It was only a few days later when he finally found the strength to open the condolence cards that there was a resolution. The inside of the card was completely covered in black spidery writing and its contents left him reeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitebg-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Do you love fiction from Helen Jahn? Read more here; <a href=\"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?author=7\">https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?author=7<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-sitebg-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Fancy having cocktails with another notorious Lily? Try Lily Blacks, a cocktail bar in Melbourne&#8217;s CBD; <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lilyblacks.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.lilyblacks.com.au\/<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The last time he saw her was at his father\u2019s funeral. It took a moment only to notice the vaguely familiar face but it wasn\u2019t &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[154,25,153,8,11,10],"class_list":["post-2152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-funeral","tag-helen-jahn","tag-lily","tag-mountain-ash-chapter","tag-story","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/sff1uY-lily","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4469,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4469","url_meta":{"origin":2152,"position":0},"title":"The Funeral Celebrant","author":"Judie Mitchell","date":"May 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The funeral celebrant He didn\u2019t know him, of courseThe deceasedInstead he stitched together\u00a0a homespunCloth of many huesA wifely tale or twoA child\u2019s distant memoriesA mate\u2019s amusing anecdote He didn\u2019t know him, the deceasedWasn\u2019t privy to inside infoCouldn\u2019t know the fault linesOf a flawed and fractured life. He wasn\u2019t told the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Poetry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=19"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AdobeStock_631587878_Preview-e1715341211269.jpeg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AdobeStock_631587878_Preview-e1715341211269.jpeg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AdobeStock_631587878_Preview-e1715341211269.jpeg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4799,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=4799","url_meta":{"origin":2152,"position":1},"title":"To Valhalla!","author":"Amanda Gambas","date":"January 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018We can\u2019t do it,\u2019 says Roman, wiping his tears. \u2018It\u2019s too hard. I\u2019m telling Mum.\u2019 \u2018No! We promised Grandad,\u2019 says his twin Rommy. \u2018But, how can we get him down the stairs?\u2019\u00a0 \u2018The kayak,\u2019 says cousin George. \u2018We know about the kayak, \u2026Ohhh!\u2019 says Rommy, \u2018we bring it here, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Stories","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alexander-klimm-HC9KPH8_6UY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alexander-klimm-HC9KPH8_6UY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alexander-klimm-HC9KPH8_6UY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alexander-klimm-HC9KPH8_6UY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/alexander-klimm-HC9KPH8_6UY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3268,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3268","url_meta":{"origin":2152,"position":2},"title":"Low Tide","author":"Kel White","date":"February 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"His hands crease around his empty coffee mug like old leather. Paint peppers his fingers, flaking off under the flex of his grip. Brown tide marks circle the faded ceramic to punctuate his cumulative breaks. Boats float in the water, tugging against their moorings like dogs on tightened leashes.\u00a0The sun\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Stories","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/annie-spratt-KjxH1eHFb8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/annie-spratt-KjxH1eHFb8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/annie-spratt-KjxH1eHFb8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/annie-spratt-KjxH1eHFb8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3685,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3685","url_meta":{"origin":2152,"position":3},"title":"The Look of Love","author":"Michele Mitchell","date":"July 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Those eyes! They follow me everywhere I go. From this angle, I see some golden flecks. From this angle, they look exactly like the caramel syrup on top of my ice cream. When I move about the room, the colour changes to mocha. The light changes his eyes, as quickly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mountain Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mountain Life","link":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dog.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dog.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dog.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/dog.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3850,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3850","url_meta":{"origin":2152,"position":4},"title":"Gifted","author":"Kel White","date":"September 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Armitage Shanks could never simply present a gift to a friend. You'd think that\u2014the selection of the gift aside\u2014it would be the easiest thing in the world. 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Now, to his dismay, it was upon him. As he turned away from his locker the school bully was standing behind him. 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