The veil in the hedge

Original fiction extract.

Mara reached the garden gate before anybody noticed the veil had caught. The photographer was already walking backwards towards the lawn, calling for the bridesmaids to come closer. A breeze lifted the loose end of the fabric, and Mara took one more step. The veil tightened behind her. She stopped with one hand still raised to wave at somebody beyond the gate.

For a second her smile remained pinned to her face. The delicate cloth stretched between her hair and the hedge, a white sentence interrupted by a thorn. Everyone offered a different instruction. Mara lowered her hand slowly, as if putting down something breakable which nobody else could see. Beneath the lace at her wrist, one finger tapped a small, furious rhythm against her palm. Her mother moved towards the caught corner, but Mara shook her head. The garden seemed to lean in and wait for the answer she would give.

She asked the photographer to stop counting down. Then she turned carefully and held the loose cloth while her mother freed the edge. A tiny thread remained on the thorn. Mara looked at it, breathed out, and walked through the gate without waiting for the next instruction. The bridesmaids followed in a much quieter group.

Choose three powerful words or phrases from the extract above. Analyse how the writer uses language to convey the bride’s response when her veil catches in the hedge.

Write about 200 to 250 words.