0:00

Hello and welcome back to the

0:02

BBC Short Story podcast. This

0:05

week's selection is a specially commissioned

0:07

short story about a misunderstanding at

0:09

an out of town play centre

0:11

and is written by BBC National

0:13

Short Story Award 2023 shortlistee,

0:17

Sharice Seywell. The

0:19

title is Minor Disturbances. Minor

0:24

Disturbances by Sharice Seywell, read

0:26

by Katie Lowe. Stand

0:31

back, Mikey. Penny knew

0:33

better than to pull her child away. His

0:36

hands were on the window that looked out from the

0:38

fun court. The glass ran from

0:40

floor to ceiling. He leaned

0:42

in, waved at a distant tractor

0:44

outside. The field it ploughed

0:47

extended from the fence beneath the window to

0:49

the horizon. This leisure

0:51

mall, with its play centre, its pool

0:53

and gym, was on the

0:55

city's outskirts, hard up against farmland. The

0:58

tractor towed some sort of plough, a

1:01

gauze of dust surrounded it. Some

1:04

rain had fallen, but still, everything

1:06

looked very dry.

1:09

The child banged his fist on the glass. Nearly

1:13

time to go in. Penny

1:15

coaxed. Distraction was the best way

1:17

to manage him. He

1:19

kept his hand on the glass, but he turned

1:22

to face the play centre. It

1:24

contained three levels all connected by slides,

1:26

the whole thing contained within a swathe

1:28

of nylon mesh. Inside,

1:31

the edges of everything were softened so

1:33

the children would not hurt themselves. Vinyl-covered

1:36

sponge, wipe-clean cushions, foam-wrapped

1:39

bars. The

1:41

man who supervised the entrance was

1:43

young and very overweight, skin-pallet, hair-thin

1:45

in a way that suggested deficiency

1:47

despite his excess flesh. Penny

1:50

knew his name. Jonah.

1:55

Every week, Penny met friends from her postnatal

1:57

group here. They'd been coming for

1:59

several years. Now their children were

2:01

nearly four. They'd

2:04

drive out, winding their windows in accordance

2:06

with the official advice, filters

2:08

on their highest setting. Unlike

2:11

the play centres in town, there were no rules

2:13

here about bringing your own food. You

2:16

didn't even need to buy a coffee, but

2:18

Penny always did. It was

2:20

her weekly luxury. Today

2:23

it was just her and Caroline. On

2:27

a napkin she arranged a neat pile of

2:29

carrot sticks, a handful of

2:31

garden peas. What

2:33

have you brought for Leonore? she

2:35

asked Caroline. Just

2:37

breadsticks today. Penny

2:40

wanted to roll her eyes. She

2:42

wished Jane was here, or Sharon, with whom she

2:44

could share a secret smile. Caroline's

2:48

daughter rarely joined the children in the play

2:50

centre, instead sitting in a beanbag in the

2:52

quiet zone, turning the pages of a picture

2:54

book. The

2:57

child had an austere manner which Caroline

2:59

indulged. She's very

3:01

self-contained, she'd crow. Penny

3:05

beckoned to Mikey. Nearly

3:08

time! When

3:10

he came to her, she gave him a carrot stick.

3:13

Eat this and then you can go in. But

3:16

Mikey tucked the carrot into his pan, slopes

3:19

towards Jonah. From

3:21

her bag, Penny retrieved a small pot of

3:23

dirt. She popped the lid,

3:26

held it out. Mikey,

3:29

she cooled, you can dip

3:31

your carrot in this. What's

3:34

that? Caroline leaned

3:36

across the table. Pumice,

3:39

from that supermarket on Causeway's side,

3:41

they didn't have many. Penny

3:44

kept a tight hold of the tub. They

3:47

were putting them out as I arrived. Lucky

3:49

timing. Is it

3:51

good? It's fine,

3:53

asked. It ought to

3:55

be for what they charged. Penny

3:58

sighed. for

4:00

Mikey really. I

4:02

worry about what he's missing out on. Like

4:05

most children, Mikey was nourished in

4:07

line with the official advice which was

4:10

to encourage normal eating for

4:12

the situation was not permanent. This

4:15

situation was that foods like the

4:17

carrots and peas Penny had brought

4:19

today contained only trace nutrients. The

4:22

real problem was that they tasted of nothing.

4:25

Penny added the vital supplements to

4:27

prevent malnutrition, laying Mikey's meals

4:30

out on starchy fortified bread, adding

4:32

the recommended powders to pasta, to

4:34

potatoes. But how

4:37

to encourage a child to eat

4:39

normally? Penny

4:42

knew Caroline wanted to taste the sumus but

4:44

she didn't offer. It's

4:47

for Mikey, she repeated

4:49

to herself, though she'd already sampled some,

4:52

seeking garlic, lemon, finding

4:54

only a poor imitation. Come

4:58

on Mikey, she cajoled,

5:01

but Mikey placed his carrot on the floor

5:03

then dashed past Jonah and into the play

5:05

center. Today,

5:08

Caroline fetched the coffee. Penny

5:11

remained seated watching Mikey. They

5:14

make the foams soak to me, Caroline

5:17

said, depositing the tree. Penny

5:20

took her cup, sipped at the coffee. The

5:23

colour was perfect but the drink was

5:26

thick and bland, tasting neither of coffee

5:28

nor milk. Through

5:30

the window, the tractor that Mikey had

5:32

watched earlier appeared larger, having reached the

5:34

middle of the field. Behind

5:37

it, the wind sucked up

5:39

thin topsoil, slurring gusts producing

5:41

turbid clouds. Perhaps

5:43

there would be a storm. Penny

5:45

imagined traces of dust in her car. The

5:48

scent seeped through the filters, a desperate

5:51

phosphate hum. She

5:53

searched the field for pigeons or

5:55

crows, even gulls. The

5:58

minor disturbances. they might

6:00

create picking about for worms or seeds.

6:04

But perhaps they didn't like the murky air. Can

6:08

I try some of your dip? Caroline's

6:11

bold request took Penny by surprise.

6:15

She held tightly to the pot while Caroline

6:17

dipped a breadstick, assessed the taste

6:19

as if recalling a ritual. It's

6:22

quite singy, but

6:24

I doubt that's lamin'. There

6:27

were still cooking programmes, exhorting viewers

6:29

to try this, add that, advising

6:32

substitutes for ingredients no longer

6:34

available. It

6:37

had been strange watching them while pregnant, when

6:39

everything Penny ate had a strange mineral of

6:41

tang. TV chefs smacking

6:43

their lips, observing

6:45

texture, temperature, colour.

6:49

Only after Mikey was born did Penny

6:51

notice how rarely they observed taste. For

6:55

much of what came out of the earth now

6:57

tasted of almost nothing. Even

6:59

meat, when available, evoked little more than

7:01

the waxy notes of what the beast

7:03

had been fed. Caroline

7:06

coated another breadstick, then

7:09

Penny replaced the lid. She

7:11

searched vaguely for Mikey inside the play

7:13

centre, remembering how once a little boy

7:15

had scaled the outside of the soft,

7:17

strong fence, he'd leaned face

7:19

down in the broad hammock of its roof, arms

7:22

out across the netting. Like he was flying.

7:25

Security staff had to come and retrieve him. Penny

7:28

couldn't see Mikey now, but she wasn't too

7:30

concerned. She popped

7:33

a pea into her mouth, listening for

7:35

the taste, moving it around and

7:37

thinking of the zones of the tongue. Sweet,

7:40

sour, bitter, soaked.

7:44

Mostly the pea was powdery marrow. Potatoes

7:47

were gluey, tomatoes at their

7:49

best, benignly acidic. Penny

7:52

seasoned before serving, as advised.

7:55

There was no shortage of salt, only

7:57

it made you so thirsty and the water

7:59

tasted... it strange, even

8:01

after boiling and filtering. That

8:04

was the advice. It wouldn't

8:06

make you ill, but to make it more

8:08

drinkable, boil and if

8:10

necessary, strain." Leonore

8:14

rose from the beanbag now and approached the

8:16

table. Penny craned her neck.

8:20

"'Did Mikey come past you?" "'Oh,

8:23

yes,' Leonore said,

8:25

matter-of-factly. But I don't

8:27

know where he went." She

8:30

lifted the breadstick delicately to her mouth. "'Check

8:33

with Jonah,' Caroline advised.

8:37

Penny rose, strode towards the mesh. "'Mikey?'

8:42

she called, walking along beside it, peering

8:44

in at the climbing frame, the slides.

8:48

Her coffee was at the top of her gullet. "'Mikey?'

8:52

"'Mikey?' Mikey

8:54

was not on the swings or in the sports zone.

8:57

He was not hanging off the bars or lying in the

8:59

tunnel. Penny even searched

9:01

the netted ceiling. "'I'll check

9:04

the toilets,' she called to

9:06

Caroline. On

9:08

her way, she passed the viewing platform overlooking

9:10

the pool. The swimmers cut

9:12

their way through the treated water. She

9:14

turned away. Mikey would never be able

9:17

to negotiate his way near the pool. At

9:20

the women's toilets, Penny flung open the door,

9:22

calling out. Inside,

9:24

only one cubicle was occupied, not

9:27

the one Mikey liked to use when she brought him in with

9:29

her. She tapped

9:31

on the door. "'He's not in

9:33

here,' came a voice. Tears

9:37

were at the back of Penny's throat, instead

9:39

of behind her eyes. She

9:41

wondered vaguely what they'd taste of if she wept.

9:46

The walk back felt endless, legs loose,

9:48

heart squeezed. Penny did not see Caroline

9:50

at the coffee booth until Caroline called out to her. She

9:52

was holding Leonore's hand. "'Penny?'

9:57

Leonore just told me she saw me." keep

10:00

the window when we were drinking our coffee. If

10:03

he came around the far side it'd be easy to miss him.

10:06

Beside Caroline, the child stood calm,

10:08

smiling, as if pleased with herself,

10:11

penny thought. She pictured

10:13

those breadsticks. Caroline never

10:16

let anyone see Leonore refuse food. Penny

10:19

bit her tongue. How she

10:21

hated them both right now, the impermeable

10:24

unit they presented, holding tight to each

10:26

other, as if the world they'd all

10:28

arrived in could not touch them. Penny,

10:32

Caroline said very gently. It's

10:35

possible Mikey went back into play. You

10:38

should check. Penny

10:40

returned to the play centre, but she didn't

10:42

go inside this time. Instead

10:45

she tried to sense rather than search for

10:47

Mikey. Her thoughts flashed

10:49

and strobed. She

10:51

remembered a child safety video her mother-in-law once

10:53

showed her. You must

10:55

be alert to silence as much as

10:57

sound, it advised. Distillness as

11:00

well as movement. A

11:02

drowning child, for instance, it

11:04

will not splash or call out, but will

11:07

slip quietly beneath the surface of the water.

11:11

Penny turned again in the direction of the pool, but

11:13

as she passed the window, the tractor,

11:16

now so close that the view was blurred

11:18

by dust, slowed and stopped,

11:21

and Penny slowed and stopped too. Inside

11:24

the cab, the driver, visible

11:26

at this distance, stared, gaze

11:29

angled down. At

11:31

a child? He's

11:34

out there, Penny said,

11:36

hardly believing it. But

11:38

how? Penny turned,

11:41

searched wildly, not a single door.

11:44

How had he got out? How would she get

11:46

him back? She turned

11:48

towards the distant exit doors. The

11:51

car park, of course. It

11:53

was underground, where they entered and exited every

11:56

week. Mikey knew the way. She

11:59

turned, preparing for the to dash across the

12:01

forecourt. Only now, Caroline was standing right

12:03

beside her, very close, and

12:05

Penny noticed she was with someone. A

12:08

woman, robed, waiting a swim cap.

12:12

I saw your boy, the woman said,

12:15

heading into the toilets. I

12:17

already checked there. Penny's

12:20

voice was small and distant. He's

12:22

outside. She put her

12:24

fingers in her mouth, as if by doing

12:26

so she might contain her distress. She might cram

12:29

it back into her body. Here

12:31

came the tears. I

12:33

know. I saw him, the

12:35

woman insisted. She was pointing.

12:39

There it was, the thing Penny had not

12:41

seen, for the woman was not

12:43

indicating the door Penny expected. Something

12:46

shifted, settled into place. She

12:49

moved quickly now in the right direction. In

12:52

the men's toilet, with its limy tang, was

12:55

Mikey, pants half-hitched before

12:57

a sink full of soapy water. I'm

13:00

nearly finished, he informed her.

13:04

Come here, love, she said.

13:08

I'll help you. Mikey

13:11

returns to the police centre, Penny to her

13:13

tepid coffee. When

13:16

Leonore reaches for the tub of hummus, Penny

13:18

opens the lid, offers it to

13:20

Caroline too. Then she

13:22

eats one of Mikey's carrots and imagines the

13:24

journey home. Windows wound,

13:27

filters on their highest setting. How

13:29

Mikey will sleep, and she'll check

13:31

the fields as she drives. She

13:34

promises herself she'll pull over if she sees anything

13:36

at all. A flicker in

13:38

the dirt, a crow, a

13:40

pigeon, a girl. She'll

13:44

watch carefully, recalling how

13:46

when she wept, the

13:48

taste of her tears was familiar. Uncomplicated,

13:51

the weight of them there again,

13:54

now, as if they'd

13:56

never left her body. Minor

14:01

Disturbances was written by Charisse Seywell

14:03

and the reader was Katie Long.

14:06

The producer was Elizabeth Allard.