Tales Across Rivals
The Application
The committee cannot decide: the two best applications are word for word the same. Yet the two authors have not spoken to each other in three years.
Reading time: 5 minRivals — love and conflict
Sometimes love does not begin with the first glance, but with the first argument. Two people who want the same thing and both refuse to give way, yet somehow both notice that the other understands them exactly.
The Tales Across Rivals stories are romantic tales where attraction does not make things easier — instead it raises the stakes. Competition, stubbornness, old grievances, fresh curiosity.
Behind the rivalry there is often something else: respect, a shared goal, and the realisation that the other is not an obstacle but a companion. Reading time: around 4–5 minutes per story.
Stories in this collection
Tales Across Rivals
The Two Cafés
I open a café at one end of the street in March; in April another opens at the other end. The two owners start leaving messages on their boards.
Reading time: 5 min Tales Across Rivals
The Chess Game
For fifteen years the same man has sat opposite me at the chessboard every Thursday. Last week I won for the first time, and he did not want to write it down.
Reading time: 5 min
Tales Across Rivals
The Exhibition
The jury cannot decide: I photograph the city at dawn, she photographs it at night. The curator suggests the two of us make one exhibition.
Reading time: 5 min
Tales Across Rivals
The Vote
Twelve sixty-year-old trees stand in the square in front of the building, and twenty-eight cars belong to the flats. The residents' vote ends fourteen to fourteen.
Reading time: 5 min Tales Across Rivals
The Tower Captain
Arthur Pennock rang the bells at St Brigid's for forty-one years and has just stood down. Nell and I have been rivals since we were fourteen, and there is one captain's seat.
Reading time: 5 minFrequently asked questions
What are these stories about?
About two people who compete, argue, or see the same thing differently — and slowly discover what binds them.
Are they serious or light-hearted?
Both. You will find tension alongside humour and gentle moments.
Are these stories for adults?
Yes. They are romantic stories for adult readers, with restrained imagery.
Can the stories be read independently?
Yes. They do not form a series — begin wherever you like.
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