Stranded

by Sarah Goodwin

Part of wanting to leave the outside world behind was me wanting to let go of that anger. I wanted to be kinder, to myself as much as to everyone else.

Panic snatched at me, making my heart beat rabbit-fast. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced the sharp whirl of emotions down. Panic wouldn’t feed me or keep me warm.

If it was to be survival of the fittest, I would play to win.

‘There’s this … compulsion, bred into us. To be polite, to be civilised, as if by ignoring a threat we’re somehow safe from whoever or whatever is out to get us. That as long as we stay silent, as long as no one acknowledges the fear we feel or what might happen … it won’t.’