November's story

Sue got the most votes scoring three.

Next meeting is in January and the word is "piece"

'Futile' 

It's futile.  I have been round and round trying to find a way out, but I am getting so tired now and it's pitch black.  Even if I close my eyes for a few seconds, then open them again, I can't see any difference.  I sag against the nearest wall, then sink down in a heap, completely spent, thinking, "I'll just rest here for a few minutes before I start again."

Behind my closed eyes I relive the beginning of this nightmare.  We'd been driving to a remote cottage in the Scottish Highlands, where we were looking forward to doing some walking in the rugged countryside.  The weather was pretty awful, with heavy rain and a sort of twilight all day.  James had just said to Isla that we should be there soon when he gave a shout and Isla screamed once, before the car was veering crazily across the road, then tipping sideways and starting to career madly down the steep hillside.  There was a grinding crash and we tipped over even further so suddenly that my door flew open and I was catapulted out and continued to roll and bounce down the crag side.  I saw a stunted fir tree right in my path and tried to avoid it, evidently unsuccessfully, as the next thing I knew was opening my eyes and seeing nothing below me.  I was wedged into a fork at the base of the tree with my head hanging over the void.

I stayed like that for a few minutes to get my bearings and check how I felt.  Apart from being battered and bruised, I felt okay, so looked cautiously around.  I was on a narrow ledge with a solid rock wall at its back.  The ledge seemed just wide enough to accommodate the tree, then petered out to nothing.  I wriggled around until I could get myself out of the tree, then carefully backed towards the solid rock and looked up.  It soared away above me until it met the sky, so there was no hope of climbing up that way.

As I sat there, I noticed there was a scrubby bush at the base of the tree.  I idly pulled at it and realised it was concealing a low cave entrance.   "Well," I thought, "This looks like the only way to go, and besides, at least it will be dry and a bit warmer in there."

 I had sat in the small cave and pondered for a while, getting myself pulled together, then decided to see if there was another way out.  At first it had seemed very promising, as there was a narrow passage leading back into the hillside.  I followed this slowly, bumping against the walls, as I couldn't see where I was going.  It felt very damp and smelled of small creatures which had sheltered in it before me.  Then suddenly there was nothing either side of me and I realised I must be in another cave.  

So here I am, having followed the walls blindly for I don't know how long, always coming back to the passage I had come down, recognisable by the lump of rock at its entrance which I kept falling over.

I must have slept because I suddenly jerk my head up and think, "I'll just go round once more, then go back the way I came."  I must be going even closer to the wall this time, because I find a small slit in its surface and eagerly investigate.  Is it wide enough to slide through?  I try putting my head to the gap - not a chance.  But I persevere and bend lower.  Yes, it's wider here, and I stick my head through, then squirm first my shoulders, then my body, after it.  I hope I don't get stuck.

I find the new space is a little larger and seems to go even further back into the hillside.  It begins to slope more steeply downwards as I creep along.  Soon I am having trouble keeping up with my feet and lose my balance, sliding down the steep slope until the ground disappears altogether.  "Help," I scream in my head as I tumble on, then splash into icy cold water which closes over my head before I claw my way back to the surface.

I soon realise I am being borne along on a rushing torrent and before I can gather my wits, whoosh, I am catapulted out into the dim daylight again and find myself in a pool at the base of the hillside.

I drag myself to the bank and lay gasping for several minutes.  Then I become dimly aware of noise, people calling my name, so I drag myself up and stagger towards the sounds, realising at the same time that it is James and Isla calling.  Then they spot me trying to run towards them and cry out in relief, "Oh, Scotty, there you are.  Good boy, we wondered if we'd ever see you again when you were thrown out of the car and lost your leash".

Oct story in November

All of us at Pat & Brian's so a lot to listen to Sue the previous winner started her story first about returning to her childhood home in Cornwall. Rosemary an intergalactic holiday. My story about my first car. Joan our holidays when Mark was young. Joan R, John the pilot proposed and we were left wondering. Sheila remembered days before Asda spoilt Totton. Pat's decision to go to the USA and their houses they lived in. Jenny a holiday in the USA. Brian all about Mason's and their craft. John a dad sorting out his daughter's wayward boyfriend.
The chosen story with a surprising wake up ending was Ann's strange tale.

Next month "futile"

Ann's story

Packed Up

“I’m home Sam”, Adele called as she and the children came in the front door, but there was no answering welcome. Thinking Sam may have gone out while she was shopping and collecting Kelly and Noah from school, she started unpacking and putting things away. It was Kelly who found the envelope with Adele’s name on the front propped up against a vase on the sideboard. Tearing it open she read it with a look of utter disbelief on her face – “Darling Adele, I don’t know how to explain this, but I have found my calling and am going now to pursue it. Please don’t try and find me. I love you all dearly, but this is something I need to do. I will always be thinking of you and wish you all the best in everything. Your ever-loving Sam.” Having read and reread it several times, she went to the bedroom to see if there were any clues there. Everything appeared to be there – no clothes seemed to have gone and his passport was in the drawer along with his bankcards. When she went back downstairs she looked in the alcove under the stairs where they kept the computer and everything was packed up neatly, along with Sam’s laptop. The only thing she could see missing was a family portrait they had had done last Christmas for the grandparents. Frantic with worry she phoned her brother who came over with his wife. David said they should contact the police and show them the letter, but Adele felt they wouldn’t take it seriously. She decided to call his office and see what she could find out. Sam had been on a couple of days off, but they may be able to shed some light on his mental state. Things got even worse when she spoke to his manager. Sam had resigned three months ago saying he had got another position. What other things had been happening that she had no idea about. He had been going out every day as if nothing had happened. She thought she had a happy, loving marriage with two gorgeous children now it had been blown apart. They had met at school and always knew they would end up together. They married when they were twenty and twenty-one and Kelly arrived three years later. Noah came along two years after that. Now at thirty her life was falling to pieces. What was she going to tell the children? How could she explain that the daddy they adored and had thought adored them had suddenly walked away with no real explanation? In the end she and David went to the police taking the letter while his wife took the children to the park.

The police did take the situation seriously and made many enquiries regarding his financial status and health issues. Nothing untoward was uncovered and appeals were made around the country - even Interpol became involved. There were several sightings reported in far-flung places, but they all proved to be false. As time went on Sam’s name melted into obscurity and the general public forgot him. Adele and her family never gave up hope though and always believed he would return eventually. Life went on. The children grew up having done well at school and both got jobs they enjoyed and were good at. In time they both married and Kelly had a daughter who went on to make Kelly a grandmother and Adele a great grandmother. Noah had a son who went into the army. Adele never married again saying that no one could ever replace Sam, but enjoyed her role as regular babysitter for them all. When she was in her late seventies she had a slight stroke which she recovered from, but which left her with a limp. Complications set in and she found life difficult on her own, so moved in with Kelly. One day a young stranger in his early thirties turned up at the door. He asked to see Adele and said that she must be Kelly. She thought he seemed vaguely familiar, but just couldn’t place him. However when Adele saw him she gasped and said he was the spitting image of Sam when she last saw him nearly fifty years ago.
“I am Sam” he replied. “I’ve been helping with research in another universe with my space friends all these years, but I’ve been keeping up to date with you all. I know Kelly has a daughter and granddaughter and Noah a son who has become a soldier. I was visited by these beings who chose me to go with them to help in their research into cell regeneration. I’ve never stopped thinking about you all, but there was no way I could explain what had happened and if there had been, you would never have believed me. I knew I had to come and see you all again before it was too late. There was a price to pay though. I will never be able to go back and in the morning I will have aged as you all have, so I can grow old with you.” When morning came granddad Sam was there to meet his granddaughter and her new baby in person.