You know I need someone

“Mother, help me!” she called, but there was no response. Where was Mother, now, when she was needed so desperately? Maggie suddenly remembered that Mother had gone away a long time ago and wouldn’t be coming back. It had been very hard at the time, but as the years passed she had become independent and the terrible loss eased to a dull ache, until she was so used to it she rarely noticed it.

She’d managed very well, she thought. She’d found herself a lovely man, and their marriage had been long and very successful, with children and grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. At the time it had been a wrench to leave all she knew and come here with him, but there had been letters and visits, and Hank had done so well, working his way up the company until he'd bought it, that she’d always known that she only had to pick up the phone and she could get a flight whenever she wanted.

The trouble had started gradually. At first the pain was merely niggling, soothed by gentle exercise, but it steadily got stronger, and the painkillers needed to keep it at bay did likewise. Eventually she agreed that all the insurance money they’d paid should be put to good use and she signed the consent forms for the surgery that should fix the problem for good. What a shame it didn’t work but actually made things worse. The painkillers got even stronger, and the operations (because they could do them, not because they should, she thought) more frequent and more involved. She'd felt rather like a guineapig at the time, but they assured her it'd all be worth it in the end. Now she realised they meant it'd be worth it for them because of all the money they'd make, not worth it for her. She still needed the drugs, more and more, and the weakness extended. The diapers were just another humiliation, and she realised what she'd lost and could never regain.

This was when the fear started. She was no longer the master of the drugs, and had become their servant, and she couldn’t do without them. And now she was unable to just pick up the phone to arrange a flight to the past because no airline would take her. She badly wanted to go ‘home’ just once more, to hear the old familiar accents and smell the air, and see the small houses and the cars on the left, but she couldn’t even leave the hospital to go to the home where she’d raised her family. She was trapped here forever, and she panicked. But they don’t like you to lose control, and they shut you away.

“Help me Mother, please help me!” she screamed, as they locked the door.

Saddle up your horses we've got a trail to blaze

“The sun’s shining; what shall we do today?” asked Jan as she leapt joyfully out of bed in the morning. “Gnnnrrrrrrrrruuuhhh” replied Ned through several layers of bedclothes and small primates. “Ooh goodie, I’ll get ready then” said Jan, and off to the bathroom she scampered, looking forward to the day’s activities. Several hours later the chores were completed and the two were ready to set off on their Adventure in southern parts.

The journey south was uneventful (for them anyway; the chap on the hard shoulder watching smoke and flames billowing from his car might not have agreed) and, with only minor queries and tetchy recalculations from Henrietta-the-Navigator the first destination was reached in good time. “Should we have the picnic now or later?” wondered Jan, her tummy rumbling at the thought of the yummy sandwiches, crisps and lashings of pop which were nestling on the back seat of the car. “Both!” laughed Ned, so they each took a sandwich leaving the rest for their return, and off they set on the search for the treasure.

They’d made a careful copy of the original map with the clues and they studied it intently – after coming all this way it wouldn’t do to get lost now! But all was well and they skipped merrily from one landmark to the next, taking particular care to note accurately any details that might prove essential in the hunt. Potential disaster was narrowly averted when they noticed strange reflections on the ground ahead of them, and directly in the route they needed to follow. “That’s water!” exclaimed Ned, and they made a detour to avoid getting trapped in the bog. At last they had all the clues needed, so after finding a secluded spot to make themselves comfortable, they settled down to solve the arithmetical problems. “It’s that way! Come on!” said Jan excitedly, and the pair eagerly sallied forth on the final stage of the quest.

Along the path they went, lizards scuttling out of their way, until they reached the dark forest with its shaggy-coated guardians. “Come on, we’re nearly there” encouraged Ned, and bravely they ventured under the trees. And there it was – the treasure! It had been carefully hidden from prying eyes and its location was undetectable to someone without the map. Ned and Jan cheered and examined the contents of the treasure chest, taking a beautiful pen as their reward, and leaving a book for a future seeker. They carefully hid the box again and returned to their car.

“I know; let’s visit a local inn for refreshments. We can save the picnic for an emergency” suggested Ned. “Good idea” agreed Jan, and Henrietta heaved a sigh of relief that, once more, the two were following her instructions, and led them a few miles further into the forest to a Tavern. “Two glasses of your finest ale please, Landlord” ordered Ned as they entered the bar. “The landlord’s not here, but you can have your drinks anyway” responded the young man, and served them with alacrity. They took their drinks to a quiet corner and enjoyed the rest from their long walk. As they left to start the long journey home they left a parting gift, captured on a recent trip to the barren wastelands of the Far North, for the absentee landlord on his return, their mission accomplished.

Time after time

Dorothy sighed as she put down the TV remote and slowly got to her feet. What a Godsend those contraptions were for the arthritic “And the lazy!” she chuckled to herself; having to struggle over to the television every time she wanted to change channel had long since meant far too much pain and effort, so she’d either had to tolerate watching a load of rubbish that she really didn’t want to see, or to turn the dratted thing off altogether. But her grandchildren had clubbed together and bought her a very swish, up-to-date model with all the latest ‘must-have’ features, a remote control thingy being the most important. Now she had the opportunity to make those smug, arrogant know-alls on Question Time dance to her tune – do they realise how silly they look, ranting away with the sound off? she wondered. She really should get around to discovering what the all the other buttons do. Maybe tomorrow though. Not tonight.

Slowly she made her way into the kitchen, putting up the fireguard and turning out the sitting-room light as she left the room. A nice cup of Horlicks would be just the thing to sip in bed as she read a few more chapters of her library book. It wasn’t a very good story – absolute twaddle, if truth be told – but it was entertaining twaddle, and helped pass the time.

She took a bottle of milk from the fridge and poured some into a mug. A minute in the microwave, stir in a spoonful of Horlicks from the jar and it was ready. So much easier than having to make sure the milk didn’t boil over in the pan, and then having to wash the pan afterwards before the leftover milk welded itself to the inside. Taken as a whole, she thought, the changes she’d seen over her life had generally been improvements over ‘the good old days’. What couldn’t she have done in her life if she’d had today’s opportunities when she was a girl?

She turned off the kitchen light and took her drink upstairs to bed, taking care not to slop any on the carpet – now that her hands were so arthritic it was difficult to hold a cup steadily. With the mug safely, and unspilled, on her bedside table she got herself ready for bed. It was a bit disappointing to have to put some teeth in water at night, but as she ran her tongue over the gummy gaps between her teeth, she consoled herself that she still had more of her own teeth than most people her age. The hearing aid has come as a bit of a shock too; at first she’d thought people were just mumbling and talking quietly, but when it became obvious that nobody else seemed to have any trouble keeping up with conversations she’d visited the doctor who’d got her sorted out and back in the world of the hearing once more. It did have the advantage that she could turn it off at any time and have a bit of peace and quiet – like now, as she took it out of her ear and settled down with her book and started to read.

Gracious! It was two o’clock already. Although she hadn’t slept well for years she usually tried to turn the light out before it got too far into the next morning. It’d start getting light soon, which always disturbed her sleep, and she still liked to hear the birds in the bushes outside her window starting to twitter in the grey light before dawn. It was more trouble now that she had to put the aid back in her ears to enjoy their chorus, but usually it was worth it – especially if the blackbird was around. So carefully she put the marker in her book and put it on the bedside table. She had a sip of water from her glass, switched off the lamp and settled down to sleep.
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Dorothy had always loved the floaty feeling that happens when a person’s between sleeping and waking; she imagined it was like those ‘out-of-body’ experiences she’d read about where people could travel freely through space and time. Just recently she’d thought she was starting to be able to control where her thoughts drifted without being jerked back to wakefulness by the realisation of what was happening.

She opened her eyes and found herself floating through swirling coloured clouds, rather like those extraordinary photos taken by the Hubble telescope of infinitely distant places like the Swan nebula, with towering mountains of gas lit by innumerable suns. This was a very strange feeling – Dorothy was sure she was moving, and moving very fast at that, but there was no sensation of wind on her skin. And if she rolled over she still felt as though she was the right way up. She stretched her limbs and luxuriated in the absence of pain. This was marvellous! The freedom of movement reminded her of when she was a young girl! She could roll and tumble like a dolphin, without having to worry about coming up for air.

Air. That was a strange thing. She couldn’t remember when she last took a breath, but it didn’t seem to matter at the moment. This was a wonderful dream! It would be a shame to wake up.

However, gradually she started to become aware of the passage of time. Her surroundings were changing. She felt … different, somehow. Less free, more … confined. Now she could feel her skin again, and the rolling became more of an effort. There was definitely an up and a down now, too. There were strange noises, too – but how could that be when she wasn’t wearing her … whatever she used to have in her … ear, that was it … oh never mind. She kicked out a bit, and now her feet met soft resistance. It was odd how she now didn’t seem able to stretch out as she wanted to, and she started to fidget, but it didn’t seem to help any more. She frowned, curled up a bit tighter and ran her tongue over her gums. Somehow it didn’t seem to matter that there were no teeth there.

It was nearly time to be born.

Close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination

It being Hallowe'en, Simon suggested that the BlogRing chums should each write an appropriate story ...

Vera didn’t know whether the fluttery feeling in her middle was due to nervousness or excitement at meeting George’s family in their own home. They had met and spoken fleetingly at several of the parties she had attended that season; the parties where she and George had fallen in love. Now they were engaged and so she was invited to spend a weekend in the country at his parents’ large house. Although George’s family was very wealthy they were also very kind and accepting of her, a mere doctor’s daughter. George had told her about the family home (which in Vera’s imagination was a veritable palace) and she hoped desperately that she wouldn’t make a blunder and embarrass George, or his parents – or even herself! As the car which had been waiting at the station to collect her turned into the drive and pulled up outside the house Vera tried not to gasp. Although not vast, it was an impressive building and it was hard not to feel overawed. But there was George, and, swallowing her nerves, she smiled as he held the door for her to get out of the car.

George’s family were, she was delighted to discover, genuinely pleased for her to be joining their family, and she was soon more relaxed in their company. Later that evening at dinner she asked why the maid who had shown her to her room had seemed reluctant to linger there. It seemed to be an ordinary enough room, pleasingly decorated and equipped with the usual furniture and a very attractive looking-glass over the washstand.

Was it her imagination that the silence which followed her question seemed a little uneasy? Then George’s mother laughed and explained that, like all old houses, this one also had its share of stories of ghosts, but there was nothing to be concerned about, anything that had happened had been a long time ago. The conversation turned to general stories of the unexplained draughts and creakings that gave rise to tales of ghosts and haunted rooms, and then moved on to easier topics as the evening wore on. Much, much later, as Vera tried to hide her tiredness, the party broke up and everyone went to bed.

Her bedroom, as she entered it, was welcoming and warm. There was a small fire in the grate, her bed had been turned down and warmed, and her nightdress lay waiting. She undressed and washed, then thoughtfully brushed her hair while she thought about how the day had gone. As she sat there she glanced into the mirror, and screamed. There, looking back at her, was a man! Vera dropped her hairbrush and fled out of the room in horror. George’s family had heard her scream and came running. George’s mother hugged her as Vera sobbed out what she’d seen, and was aghast at the matter-of-fact way it was explained that a previous visitor had hanged himself in that very room, and occasionally made his presence known in this way.

It would perhaps be too easy to round off the tale with the ending that despite this shock, Vera and George married and lived happily ever after. But it wouldn’t be true. Vera went home the next day after a very uncomfortable night in a hastily-made up bed in another room, and George soon after joined the army and went off to France in 1914. He was killed quite early on, and like many other girls of that time, Vera (my mother’s aunt) never married. Following the deaths of George’s parents some years afterwards the house was sold, and later demolished. Nobody knows what happened to the mirror.

The elf-call

The sun rose, and lit up the waterfall cascading over the rocks, which scoured ever deeper the pool at the bottom where the moss grew in the chill damp areas which were in permanent twilight. The droplets of spray scattered the light and carried fragments of it beyond the direct rays into these hidden shadows. The creature was entranced by the sparkling diamonds and cautiously advanced. He could dimly recall a time long ago when there had been many small beings such as him living near the waterfall but there had been many changings of the moon since he last saw another of his kind. The twinkling lights appeared to dance in front of him, and he chuckled as he twisted and turned, delighting in their company in his lonely existence. Where the droplets landed on his skin he was sure he felt the light enter his body, making it tingle with pleasure, and invigorating him. For the first time since he had been left alone he felt his spirits lift, and his pale face stretched into a tentative smile. The glinting of the light drew him further and further from the shadows towards the dazzling mist of rainbows which surrounded the tumbling water.

He never saw the hand which suddenly reached up from the pool to snatch and drag him beneath the surface.

The spray sparkled on.