"Blue" by Ian Creasey — story background


Spring.  Wood anemones opening their petals to greet the sunlight.  Lesser celandines spangling the ground in constellations of yellow stars.  And most magical of all, bluebells receding in an endless haze of deep blue flowers, with trees rising from the carpet of colour like pillars of the sky.

Laurence strolls through the woodland, enjoying the heady sensation of walking in the open air.  He hasn't been outside in months.  And he can move so easily, in pain-free strides: no arthritis or crocked knee.  The proxy body is strong and tireless.




"Blue" is a melancholic, atmospheric story about memory and grief.  I wrote it as a reaction to growing older and confronting mortality.  The story is set in a bluebell wood because that's where I was walking when I got the idea for the premise and worked out the (fairly minimal) plot.

Since the story is so short and simple, there isn't much more I can say about it.  But in case anyone outside Britain doesn't know what bluebells are, here's a picture from that particular bluebell wood, taken on the day I got the idea for the story.

Bluebell wood




Page last updated: 6 March 2025