Patrick Cole

Patrick Cole holds a Master’s degree in nautical archaeology and is a dual-national EU-US citizen living in Antibes, France. His poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in several places, recently The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Review, and The Smart Set. His novel GEMINI was short-listed for the Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction.

The Story of Edouard Rives

Chapter 10
They eye me as I walk towards them. But I must be so worn in appearance that all see I pose no threat, I am no bandit. And that appearance of mine must be very sorry indeed, for I have known bandits, and they are most ragged in face, tattered in clothing, and thin in frame. It helps that I come along an open road and alone. But degradation works in one’s favor at times.
One stands near the road, attempting to press an old rusty hoop onto a dilapidated and splaying barrel. Beside him a young girl, perhaps seven years of age, carrying her baby sister on her hip. When I greet them, a few others come around.