In Julianne Pachico's specially commissioned short story for Radio 4 it's a very special night for Carolina and Mattias. Their sixth grade teacher, the exotically named Ms Damson, has been invited for a summer BBQ, but as the evening lengthens, the stories at the dinner table take an unexpected turn. The reader is Joseph Balderrama.

Julianne Pachico is a British-American writer who grew up in Cali, Colombia. Her debut collection, Lucky, was published to critical acclaim early in 2017. Each of the linked stories is set in Colombia between 1993 and 2013 which were especially violent years during the country's long conflict. The stories capture the harsh reality of growing up in a place where the guerrilla insurgency is never far from view, and at the same time they have a lyrical and hallucinatory quality to them that is both compelling and unsettling.

The producer is Elizabeth Allard. Show less