I guess that's a logical continuation from Unbelievable. I have no relevant music track for this though :)
Lost in a dream The sea was closer than I remembered it, but the rocks at the shore were the same: black, faceted and smooth where the water had been washing them for probably centuries. I sat down in my usual spot and slipped my hand into a left cleft in the rocks there. Up came the bottle of Glenmorangie, still a quarter full and chilled by the sea water rushing by at the bottom of the hole. I knew that one day a beachcomber might wander by and steal it, but it hadn't happened yet and a small whiskey as the sun set was an easy luxury.
"James?" Marie had been dead for nearly twenty years now. She died in childbirth and took the child with her more's the pity. The doctors came out of the operating theatre as pale as new linen and wouldn't say a whole lot about what went on in there except that it had been difficult. My wife, Judith, insisted on going in to see her body but I found myself turning away from the concerned, slightly panicked faces, and sitting back down in the lumpy, cigarette-smoke-infused waiting room chair and waiting. Waiting in a waiting room. It seemed like the right thing to do.
"You're a dream, Marie," I said. I didn't turn; I knew what I'd see. She'd be standing there, legs akimbo and her hands on her hips, four ghost children clustered around her legs. I've no idea how ghost have children, and the child that killed her was her first and only, but somehow here in the dream she's found another three. Or found a way to have another three.
"Your dream," she said. I sipped the whiskey from the bottle, I'd never bothered to bring a glass out here. It's not like I'm planning on sharing. The peaty taste was dull and the fumes weren't strong enough; that's the problem with memories. They fade awful fast.
"My dream," I conceded. A seagull squawked overhead and bobbed on an air current, wings outstretched and beady eyes focused on something I couldn't see. "I like my dream though. It's comforting." The sun had reached the sea now and the sky was changing from blue to a panoply of reds and oranges. A couple of fluffy white clouds scudded by and the seagull squawked again, inclining a wing and curving off to the left.
"Mom wants you to wake up, you know." "I know."
There was silence as the sun slid down until half of it was gone. Then there was a rustle and a whisper; one of the kids was asking Marie something. I guessed it was probably tugging at her skirt, looking up at her with puppy-dog eyes. The usual things kids do when they're trying to get their own way.
"Go and play," said Marie in a voice that was firm and caring. The sun hoisted itself out of the water and moved upwards until it was late afternoon again. I sighed; this was perhaps just a touch too early to have the hard liquor out and be drinking. Marie sat down next to me and the tide rolled in until she could dangle her feet in the water.
"You're still a ghost," I said. "And you're still lost in this dream," she replied. "So I think I'm going to have to leave." I felt a chill. "Leave?" A hand rested on mine, but it was as cold as though dug freshly out of the ground. "If I don't, will you ever?" There was a question that the whiskey needed to help me answer.
Olly shifted, startling me out of my dream of the past. We had reached the docks. The sailing ships loomed in the darkness, all dark shapes with the masts and rigging over all. Each ship had a small lantern at the bow and stern, giving light for the sailor on watch, but not enough for me to really see by, down on the docks. I decided to head for one far down the row, around the curve of the harbor, where I could see a light shining from a bow porthole as well -- I hoped this meant the captain was awake and onboard -- perhaps willing to talk to me. My boots tapped on the cobblestones of the harbor way as I walked. The ship seemed to recede before me, the tapping sound now surrounding me. On and on I walked -- how would I ever get there? I began to despair. Olly hissed, startling me. There was a rushing sound and a wail -- Olly had frightened off a vampire ghost, the kind that feeds on despair and anger. The ship appeared before me -- I had walked there and hadn't seen it. I patted Olly and called out, "Ahoy the ship!"
3 comments:
I guess that's a logical continuation from Unbelievable. I have no relevant music track for this though :)
Lost in a dream
The sea was closer than I remembered it, but the rocks at the shore were the same: black, faceted and smooth where the water had been washing them for probably centuries. I sat down in my usual spot and slipped my hand into a left cleft in the rocks there. Up came the bottle of Glenmorangie, still a quarter full and chilled by the sea water rushing by at the bottom of the hole. I knew that one day a beachcomber might wander by and steal it, but it hadn't happened yet and a small whiskey as the sun set was an easy luxury.
"James?" Marie had been dead for nearly twenty years now. She died in childbirth and took the child with her more's the pity. The doctors came out of the operating theatre as pale as new linen and wouldn't say a whole lot about what went on in there except that it had been difficult. My wife, Judith, insisted on going in to see her body but I found myself turning away from the concerned, slightly panicked faces, and sitting back down in the lumpy, cigarette-smoke-infused waiting room chair and waiting. Waiting in a waiting room. It seemed like the right thing to do.
"You're a dream, Marie," I said. I didn't turn; I knew what I'd see. She'd be standing there, legs akimbo and her hands on her hips, four ghost children clustered around her legs. I've no idea how ghost have children, and the child that killed her was her first and only, but somehow here in the dream she's found another three. Or found a way to have another three.
"Your dream," she said. I sipped the whiskey from the bottle, I'd never bothered to bring a glass out here. It's not like I'm planning on sharing. The peaty taste was dull and the fumes weren't strong enough; that's the problem with memories. They fade awful fast.
"My dream," I conceded. A seagull squawked overhead and bobbed on an air current, wings outstretched and beady eyes focused on something I couldn't see. "I like my dream though. It's comforting." The sun had reached the sea now and the sky was changing from blue to a panoply of reds and oranges. A couple of fluffy white clouds scudded by and the seagull squawked again, inclining a wing and curving off to the left.
"Mom wants you to wake up, you know."
"I know."
There was silence as the sun slid down until half of it was gone. Then there was a rustle and a whisper; one of the kids was asking Marie something. I guessed it was probably tugging at her skirt, looking up at her with puppy-dog eyes. The usual things kids do when they're trying to get their own way.
"Go and play," said Marie in a voice that was firm and caring. The sun hoisted itself out of the water and moved upwards until it was late afternoon again. I sighed; this was perhaps just a touch too early to have the hard liquor out and be drinking. Marie sat down next to me and the tide rolled in until she could dangle her feet in the water.
"You're still a ghost," I said.
"And you're still lost in this dream," she replied. "So I think I'm going to have to leave."
I felt a chill. "Leave?"
A hand rested on mine, but it was as cold as though dug freshly out of the ground. "If I don't, will you ever?"
There was a question that the whiskey needed to help me answer.
Olly shifted, startling me out of my dream of the past. We had reached the docks. The sailing ships loomed in the darkness, all dark shapes with the masts and rigging over all. Each ship had a small lantern at the bow and stern, giving light for the sailor on watch, but not enough for me to really see by, down on the docks. I decided to head for one far down the row, around the curve of the harbor, where I could see a light shining from a bow porthole as well -- I hoped this meant the captain was awake and onboard -- perhaps willing to talk to me. My boots tapped on the cobblestones of the harbor way as I walked. The ship seemed to recede before me, the tapping sound now surrounding me. On and on I walked -- how would I ever get there? I began to despair. Olly hissed, startling me. There was a rushing sound and a wail -- Olly had frightened off a vampire ghost, the kind that feeds on despair and anger. The ship appeared before me -- I had walked there and hadn't seen it. I patted Olly and called out, "Ahoy the ship!"
Greg hah, fair enough. On both points.
Woo. This is spectacular. Loved every detail and the reveals and the ending is perfect. Welllllllllll done.
Morganna - Olly seems like a very useful companion to have around. I look forward to reading about these two and their coming adventures!
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