Acts of Rebellion is published today by the good people at Singapore Unbound, in their journal Suspect.

The origins of this story are a patchwork quilt. I have borrowed liberally from those around me in my university days, both my own alma mater of St Johns, and Homerton, home to many dear friends. 

At its heart are my memories of Armand & Evi, both post grads. Their relative maturity and beautiful romance gave them a palpable aura, a sense that we were in the presence of something greater. He (A) was Turkish. She (E) was Greek Cypriot. A forbidden love that outstripped your Montagues and Capulets. 

I recast them into a Pakistani origin Muslim boy (Samir) and a Northern Irish Catholic girl (Sorcha). Proximity makes the latter a little more accessible to me than Greece/Turkey. The former is home territory. 

I modelled Sorcha’s look, if not her life, on a friend of a friend, someone whose social circle intersected with mine. She was exquisite in a way that leaves an impression that lasts thirty years. Sorcha’s mannerisms are more recent, drawn from listening closely to a colleague (I told her why). 

Samir’s look I modelled on a chap I met on my first day at university. He left me an introductory note headed by a beautifully scripted greeting in Arabic. He was a medic so I barely saw him again over the next three years. For the story he wears my leather jacket.  

Evi died of breast cancer the year after I graduated. If you have read my story “The Book of Condolence”, the opening and closing moments, with the narrator deciding what to write in the titular book, are purely autobiographical from Evi’s memorial service. The rest of course isn’t. 

Threads from those lives and the geography of Cambridge are drawn together to make “Acts of Rebellion”. I should note here that during the 90s Homerton was a teacher training college, I understand it has evolved significantly since then.

I’m deeply grateful to Suspect for publishing it, and to Faith and Sharmini in particular for their sensitive and thoughtful editing. 

I used the WordPress AI image generator for this post. It took two prompts to get it right.

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