The name Mani has several meanings in Urdu, Islam, India. In this story I use the Sanskrit meaning which is Jewel.

Mani was indeed his Mothers Jewel and her only son and carer.

In this short story we have an insight into the world of abject poverty and a daily struggle to survive, living in the slums of India.

When I was writing this I remembered a brilliant book by Katherine Boo called Behind the Beautiful Forever. I highly recommend this as an honest insight into life in the Mumbai slums.

The Written Word Group suggested that the word 'Blood' should appear somewhere in a piece of work, not exceeding 500 words.

I immediately thought of Dracula and how, when I was younger and watching the old black and white horror movies, I developed a mild fascination with him.

In this piece, I daydream a little, expand on what might happen if he were to visit me.

The inspiration for Heartbreak Pie was a the topic of young love, heartbreak.

I immediately thought of the disgusting pies I used to make and deliver to unfortunate boys in our neighborhood. I was only about 9/10 yrs old.

Living in a council house in a very nice area of Leamington Spa, surrounded by privately owned houses, wasn't great. My parents were working class, Irish catholic, and I was one of five children. Not the best profile.

We formed our allegiance with other council house kids and the division between 'us' and 'them' was huge.

Some of the boys I fancied came from the 'them' category and somewhere, deep in my innocent mind, I thought that a home made pie might win them over.

Enjoy.