Monsters (at Writing the City)

A writing exercise on the theme of “Monsters” as recounted by the person next to you.

He had gotten the attention of the people in the room – the investor from Shanghai, the black guy from the neighbouring mob, his two accomplices and the mayor of the city. They sat across a long table, a makeshift boardroom in the basement of a financial tower block. Only a strip of fluorescent light brightened the underground car park. He had just finished telling them the story behind his scar, about how his father had cut his mouth and gave him a reason to smile – always. Well, it might just have been a joke, he laughed. Holding up a gun and swinging it in the air, he finally broke the silence and asked, “Why so serious?”