The loss of innocence struck me most profoundly when the sound of distant hooves approaching no longer invoked fairy tales but funeral processions and riots.

I stroked your nose and apologised for what we had done to you.

I bit into a sugar lump, and all I found was salt.

Helen Bowie is a writer, performer and podcaster based in London. Her writing has featured in Queerlings, Eater London, and Versification, among others. Helen has a day job at a charity, one cat, and several bafflingly strong opinions on highly trivial matters.