Today’s prompt was to write about depression. I started with the idea of being trapped in a dark cave – a great metaphor, I thought – and then realised several other people had thought of the same idea. Winston Churchill’s “black dog” also sprang to mind – and then I saw that someone else had got there before me with that one too. In the end, I went for an exploration of grief-induced depression, focusing on the protagonist’s deadness inside after the loss of her husband. I’ve entitled it ‘Gone To Earth’ to echo her husband’s funeral but also because the phrase signifies an animal that is hiding away from the rest of the world. As with other pieces this year, I’ve decided not to share this so I can have the opportunity of trying to publish it elsewhere.