When I was told that I had been mugged on the street, I sat up abruptly and began to laugh and laugh, so much that the onlookers – and there were several – were alarmed and rushed to call the doctor again. They thought I must have hit my head and lost my memory – or worse, lost my head itself. In their murmurs I thought I discerned the word 'hysteria'. When I was in school we learned hysteria and epilepsy together. We knew the latter from movies, but what was hysteria? Someone said hysteria was excessive laughter so we had a lot of fun with that word. If ever anyone laughed we accused them of suffering from hysteria and then we laughed hysterically too. I never forgot the word, though at the moment that was not my problem. Perhaps no one had uttered that word, it might have been my memory playing tricks as usual. FUMES is a collection of stories about ordinary people who experience one extraordinary day in their lives, and how that defines them, or alters them. And how they deal with their fears, mistakes, betrayal, revenge, love and, most importantly, hope. A parasite that feeds on an unsuspecting couple... A young woman who stares into the face of love and makes a difficult decision... An old woman who has mastered the art of life... A twelve year old who has made a grave mistake - and has a narrow escape... A woman who has lost her way, unable to cope with her loss...