Mr Walker by Tim Parson is the story of the many consequences caused by Mr. Walker being later to the post office. It’s a cause and effect short story, the kind that would make you say that the flap of a butterfly’s wings in the jungles of Southeast Asia will eventually bring about the demise of the human race.
“Mr. Walker had posted a letter to the same address every day for the past ten years,” but when one morning his bicycle fails to reach the post office, Amy Andrews’ school bus is late, Mrs Malone forgets to call her mother, and thus Margery Malone is not reminded by her daughter to bring the dog in from the yard. The dog, a ferocious Doberman, is therefore free to chase Simon, the postman, who misses his ‘appointment’ with Kyle Lewis. She, in turn, while waiting for Simon, forgets to call her husband, Henry Lewis, who stops the school bus to wait for his wife’s call.
Mr Walker by Tim Parson was the November 2009 joint highly commended story of the Global Short Story Competition. If you want to know what happened to Mr. Walker, you can read the short story here.
Tim Parson is an Auckland-based writer.
