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𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠: daylight - david kushner
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In the smoky, industrial heart of Birmingham, a time existed not so distant, yet worlds away, where Thomas Shelby's life bore no resemblance to the one he led now. Was it when his mother still graced their home with her sanity and warmth? Or when his father hadn't yet surrendered to the bottle, becoming a hollow shell of a man? Those days felt like another life altogether, veiled in the haze of memory.
But reminiscence served no purpose now.
Tommy lived a life he had meticulously carved out of the jagged edges of fate, and he harbored no illusions of regret. Or perhaps, there were a few things he might change. Yet, among the countless errors of his past, which would he choose to undo? That was a question not easily answered.
One name, however, never strayed far from his thoughts: Marianna James.
As he rode through the dense woods of Warwickshire with his brothers on that bleak Good Friday, her image lingered persistently in his mind. The haunting memory of her straw-blonde hair and her heart-shaped lips was an ever-present specter in his restless thoughts.
"Shall we set up camp here?" John Shelby asked, his voice cutting through the silence.
"We can press on a bit further, can't we, Tommy?" Arthur Shelby chimed in, his tone rough yet expectant.
Tommy paused, the reins slack in his hands as he weighed their options against the encroaching midday, his mind still tethered to Marianna's ghostly presence.
The trees around them, gnarled and ancient, seemed to whisper secrets from a time before their own. The ground beneath their horses' hooves was damp and uneven, betraying the recent rain. The smell of earth and decay filled the air, mingling with the distant scent of burning coal from the city they had left behind.
"Alright," Tommy finally said, his voice low and resolute. "We press on. Just a bit further."
They urged their horses forward, the forest growing denser. The journey was silent but for the occasional snort of a horse or the creak of leather.
A sudden movement to the left caught Tommy's attention. He raised a hand, signaling his brothers to halt. The horses came to a standstill, their breaths heavy in the cool evening air.
