Monday 18 August 2014

Episode 10 - Chapter 99

 Maria Thesos sits in the back of her taxi trying, as best she can, not to fidget. Not for the first time since her journey began, she's doubting her sanity. “Just don't think about it,” she tells herself, “I'll be there shortly, and then I'll know.”

She twists the magazine in her lap, forces herself to look out at the beautiful English countryside speeding past. What on earth is she doing, a hidden voice keeps asking, it's almost tourist season, her family needs her, the business needs her. But instead she's abandoned everything, jumped on a flight to London, a train to the middle of nowhere, and now this taxi, all without pause or rest. She worries that is she stops moving the doubts (“Reason” her father called them) will take hold.

The taxi slows as it pulls in to a picturesque little village, all quaint cottages circling a village green. The taxi cuts through the main gathering, turning off the main road just before it reaches the farthest edge, following a narrow lane to a dead end.

“There you go, luv,” the driver says as the car draws to a halt, going on to name the price. She pays him with the last notes in her purse, gathers her bags and steps out. The clean air assaults her, fresh and floral, causing her to feel dizzy and unbalanced.

“Maria, is it?” A young man's voice inquires as she struggles to get her bearings. She turns, still disorientated, to see a smiling gentleman walking towards her, arm outstretched to offer his hand. “Don't worry,” he continues as they shake, “You're in the right place.”

Behind her, the taxi pulls away, abandoning her to whatever mysteries have brought her here.


“It's a brave thing that you've done,” the man says, “Coming here because a dream told you to. You can call me Robert, by the way.” He takes her bag from her hand, gently cupping his hand in the small of her back to guide her up the path. “Come on, we'll get you introduced to the others. Then some answers to all those questions in your head, how does that sound?”

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Twixt the Warp and the Weft by Gavin White is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.