Downstream

mind says, very clearly “so
this is what death is, it is like
this.” One final desperate
thrash, everything turns
bright. I hear a piercing
scream. I realise later that it
was my mother, who raced
into the tranquil Thames and
fell flat on her face.’ But then
some strong-armed men grip
him just in time. ‘I remember
one last thing, all these
decades later. I had been
wrapped in a towel and my