What sets this glorious story in motion is the moment elementary school teacher Mrs Tsubaki inadvertently lets out a loud fart in front of her class of 7-year-olds:

“The friction there, the muscles not fully choking the aperture, the fart became a bit musical. The pitch soared. The class went silent. It was like a bugle had been sounded at a funeral. Young brains were on fire. (…) A thing like that happens and everyone knows the day will not go back to being regular.”

Before I came across ‘Mrs Tsubaki’ last year, I wouldn’t have imagined that a story centred around farts could be so seriously good. It’s a series of unexpected delights, from philosophical musings on flatulence to a delicious cameo appearance by Prue Leith of The Great British Bake Off. And while it’s ostensibly about farting, in fact it’s really about everything – self-acceptance, the many kinds of love between people, life and death, the passing of years. It’s hilarious and moving, and every time I read it, it makes me both well up and laugh out loud, which seems as good a way as any to measure a great short story.

First published in Split Lip, 2024, and available to read online here