Bygones

''When I met the Devil I was twelve years old. I''d just started holding hands with Holly from the top end of the village and, even though I thought she was only messing me around when she said that she''d be my girlfriend, I still went along with it. That''s something else about this time of my life (the bit about Holly, I mean) but I''d say you probably want to hear about the Devil, don''t you?'' The Bygones is a glimpse into a specific part of the world, at a specific time, of what will soon be called history. These small stories range from the very real to the very bizarre, but even at their strangest point they speak an honesty that chimes with the magic that our gut tells us is still alive. You will encounter the devil, god, friends, misfits, relatives, spirits and soothsayers, in a village that doesn''t exist, surrounded by towns that don''t exist. Who knows who you''re going to meet next.