[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-128914-105":59,"doc-detail-128914-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","a-strange-silence-and-other-stories-alex-t-ingham","A Strange Silence and Other Stories - Alex T. Ingham","","A Strange Silence and Other Stories collects interlinked, character-driven narratives where everyday encounters tilt into disquieting uncertainty. The opening story, “Balloon,” follows Alfie in a sea-fret obscured flight over the Jurassic Coast, exposing fear, social pressure, and the fragile mechanics of chance. As mishaps develop, dialogue and sensory detail sharpen into dark humor and mounting dread, setting a tense tone for subsequent pieces featuring loss, haunting presence, and uneasy human motives.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":10,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-strange-silence-and-other-stories-alex-t-ingham/128914/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-strange-silence-and-other-stories-alex-t-ingham/128914.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Oliver","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-19","2026-08-06",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the collection’s title and author?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The document presents the collection titled “A Strange Silence and Other Stories” by Alex T. Ingham.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which story is shown first in the text provided?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The first story displayed in the excerpt is “Balloon,” featuring Alfie and a balloon ride.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What themes appear early in “Balloon”?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Early on, the narrative emphasizes fear and discomfort, social pressure to participate, and the abrupt escalation of danger through technical failure.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},128914,1786006273,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":8,"category_name":10,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":144},687207024643,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","CONTENTS  \nTitle Page  \nBalloon  \nThe Thing About Leonard  \nInto The Void  \nNext Door  \nThe Letter  \nA Eulogy for Edward Bright  \nA Strange Silence  \nAdagio  \nThe Ascent  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nA STRANGE SILENCE AND OTHER STORIES  \nAlex T. Ingham  \nFor my girls  \n‘Death lies heavy upon one Who, known exceedingly well by all, Dies unknown to himself ’  \nSeneca, Thyestes 400  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nBALLOON  \nA lfie stood in the corner of the gondola like a boxer waiting for the  \nbell. He braced his feet wide, stiffening each leg in turn as the basket swooped, stalled and came back in a motion he tagged somewhere  \nbetween unpleasant and sickening. He watched as their pilot, Skip (real name unknown), took a tug on the valve chain, throwing a plume of flame into the throat of the canopy and adding a new subtle complexity to his suffering. Their on-ground briefing had made mention of gusty winds and the possibility of some exciting gyrations, but these had been sold as'experience enhancers' for which some might pay extra. Alfie had not paid at all. His colleagues had chipped in for an adventure he didn’t want but didn’t know how to refuse.  \nThe two other paying customers were grouped together on the opposite side, looking out at not very much. A sea fret had come in since take-off, totally obscuring the magnificent views of the Jurassic Coast that they had been promised, and leaving them all struggling to pick out any demarcation between the grey sky and the grey sea which churned away beneath their feet. Roly was a big guy and Alfie had found himself edging around the floor, fearing a dangerously eccentric load if they were both to stand at the same spot. Peggy, the third of their party, was slight, angular and, Alfie thought, at least thirty years younger than her name suggested. She had examined Alfie closely when they had met in the Portakabin that Widevistashad designated as their ‘Gateway to Exhilaration’. Her look had left him feeling that he had not come up to expectations in some indefinable way, and that he was by no means the first.  \nSkip took another pull at the valve and Alfie felt the compression as the lift took effect. ‘How much longer do we have?’Alfie asked, trying to keep the  \nquestion neutral.  \n‘Depends when we pick up the land breeze. Should be any time. It’ll scoot us in, we’ll put her down and then go back in the truck.’  \n‘What if we don’t pick it up?’  \nSkip gave the question some thought, pulling at strands of his salt and pepper beard and letting them spring back into place. Finally, he shrugged.‘Can you swim?’  \nRoly was coming over to join them. He leaned in, affecting a stage whisper. ‘I need a piss. What’s the protocol Skipper?’ Their pilot pointed at a vertical slot let into one of the sidewalls.  \n‘Go through that.’ He looked at Alfie, ‘I suggest you divert the lady’s attention.’  \nAlfie joined Peggy at the rail and took in a view that was not actually there. Looking straight down, he saw that they were flying just low enough for it to feel very high indeed. The wind was whipping the turbid water into white spume and he could see gulls crossing below them, picked out in silhouette in the flat light. ‘Magnificent, isn’t it?’ he said.  \n‘If you get off on dull.’ Alfie saw that she was gripping the rail so hard that her knuckles had taken on the appearance of exposed bone.  \n‘I see what you mean,’he conceded. ‘Can I ask why you’re doing this? You don’t seem to be enjoying it much.’  \nPeggy turned to look at him. He could see a twisted vine tattoo emerging from her collar, passing behind her ear and disappearing into her hairline. She traced the path of the ink with a fingernail as she composed her response. ‘The thing is,’ she said,‘I’m just trying to get all this bucket list stuff out of the way now: trekking, track days, zip wires…’ Her eyes narrowed as if willing him to understand, premature crow’s feet emerging at their corners. ‘So when I get old I can just sit down ","cbCaiuHNVx8VYlml","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuHNVx8VYlml","pdf",5503996,103,"English","# Contents\n## Balloon\n## The Thing About Leonard\n## Into The Void\n## Next Door\n## The Letter\n## A Eulogy for Edward Bright\n## A Strange Silence\n## Adagio\n## The Ascent","[{\"question\":\"What is the collection’s title and author?\",\"answer\":\"The document presents the collection titled “A Strange Silence and Other Stories” by Alex T. Ingham.\"},{\"question\":\"Which story is shown first in the text provided?\",\"answer\":\"The first story displayed in the excerpt is “Balloon,” featuring Alfie and a balloon ride.\"},{\"question\":\"What themes appear early in “Balloon”?\",\"answer\":\"Early on, the narrative emphasizes fear and discomfort, social pressure to participate, and the abrupt escalation of danger through technical failure.\"}]","A Strange Silence and Other Stories - Alex T. Ingham | PDF",159]