Summary

The short story “The Castle” by Chloë Heuch begins with the narrator taking her three children to visit a castle. The narrator is trying to find a parking space and becomes frustrated because the children, Osian, Luke, and Cai, are making a lot of noise. When they see the castle, Cai and Luke are impressed, while the narrator’s eldest son, Osian, is indifferent and does not respond to the narrator’s teasing. 

The narrator buys tickets and the lady in the ticket booth tells her that there is a falconry display at noon. In the meantime, Cai and Luke are running on the grass and climbing on walls, even though it is forbidden. Osian has his earphones in and is ignoring his mother. The narrator feels like crying. This is their first outing since her divorce from her husband, Steve, and she wants to prove to herself that she can handle being a single parent.

While in the museum, the narrator tries to draw Osian into a discussion about the castle. Osian, however, is cold toward...