Thursday 7 March 2019
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER 1 to 15
In Budapest, Hungary, Matuschek and Company’s store is owned by Mr. Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan) and the bachelor Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) is his best and most experienced salesman.
But everything seems to go awry when Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) is hired by Mr Matuschek, but from the first moment Kralik and she do not get along.
Over the weeks that follows the lonely and dedicated Kralik has an unknown pen pal and through their correspondence he falls in love with her and intends to propose to her.
However simultaneously his relationship with his employer deteriorates and he is fired without explanation by Mr Matuschek on the night that he is going to meet his secret love and propose.
He goes to the bar that night regardless where they have scheduled their meeting with his colleague Pirovitch (Felix Bressart) and he surprisingly finds that Klara is his correspondent, he chooses not disclose his identity to her because he feels ashamed after being sacked.
But following a shocking incident, Matuschek has a change of heart and hires him back again but this time to manage the shop.
However as Klara is still fascinated with her correspondent she pays little or no attention to Alfred so it would take all his guile and cunning to work out a plan to reveal himself to Klara's who his is.
But anything is possible, it is Christmas after all and everyone loves a happy ending.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SMALL CHAIRS
Family friends Sam Reed (Dustin Milligan) and Kat Patton (Danica McKellar) spend every Christmas Eve at the Children's Table from the age of three.
Over the years they grew up together, sharing the highs and lows of young adulthood.
But at the age of thirty, Sam realizes that Kat is the one...but he's afraid that the past will get in the way.
A real gem of a Christmas movie and Danica McKellar is an absolute delight.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – DIE HARD
NYPD cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) goes on a Christmas vacation to visit his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) in Los Angeles where she works for the Nakatomi Corporation.
He is picked up from the airport by limo driver Argyle (De'voreaux White) who drops him at the Nakatomi Tower where the office Christmas party was taking place.
While they are there amidst a tense reunion, a group of bank robbers, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) takes control of the building and holds everyone hostage, with the exception of John, who escapes up the fire escape while the bad guys plan to perform a lucrative heist.
Unable to escape and with no immediate police response, John is forced to take matters into his own hands.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS NOTE
Gretchen Daniels (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) moves back to her hometown with her son Ethan (Dylan Kingwell) but without her serviceman husband and finds her life in disarray as Christmas approaches.
But she discovers new purpose when she helps to deliver a message to her neighbour, Melissa McCreary (Leah Gibson).
Thanks to her son, a friendship begins which ends with her being an ally in the quest to find the neighbour’s sibling she never knew she had.
The women become bonded not only by the search, but by the understanding that being there for each other means they're no longer alone and this friendship becomes the greatest Christmas gift of their lives.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SCROOGE (1970)
Albert Finney stars as miser Ebenezer Scrooge in this musical retelling of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol”.
The classic tale in which he is taught the true meaning of Christmas by three Spirits who visit him, revealing to him the truth about his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current catalogue of cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways.
Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold, death or redemption.
The Spirits are played by Edith Evans (Past), Kenneth More (Present) and Paddy Stone (Future)
The other key characters and portrayed by Alec Guinness (Marley), Suzanne Neve (Belle), David Collings and Frances Cuka (The Cratchit’s), Richard Beaumont (Tiny Tim), Laurence Naismith and Kay Walsh (The Fezziwig’s), Michael Medwin (Fred) and Anton Rodgers (Tom Jenkins).
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Aunt Sally's Christmas Cookie Company is sold to a large conglomerate and executive Hannah Harper (Jill Wagner) must seal the deal and shut down the factory in the small town of Cookie Jar, which is the lifeblood of the town.
What was supposed to be a simple assignment for Hannah becomes complicated when she meets Jake Carter (Wes Brown), the factory owner, who is determined to keep the factory in the town.
Despite Jill not being a fan of the holiday, the Christmas spirit in this small town is infectious and she gets swept up in the joy of the season while also falling in love.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (1988)
As World War 2 rages on in Europe the Bundy family are making plans for a Christmas reunion in the small town of Rockport.
The matriarch Martha (Eva Marie Saint) cashes in all of her ration-stamps to purchase the best Christmas dinner she can with everyone expected round the table.
Rockport is a small town where everyone knows everyone else and the tough times bring them even closer.
But the one person no one wants to see at their door is the Western Union man, because most of the news he delivers are telegrams from the War Department, reporting the death of a loved one and sadly he makes his rounds far too often.
This is a wonderful Christmas movies with happiness and sadness in equal measure and some strong performances, Hal Holbrook as head of the family, Joseph, Courteney Cox as expectant daughter in law Nora, and the strongest of all Nancy Travis as young widow Leah.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS TREE FARM
Molly Logan (Lacey Chabert) and Lucas Bishop (Corey Sevier) were childhood friends and high school sweethearts in Danbury Falls, Vermont, where Molly's family founded the town two hundred years earlier, and with her immediately family still living on the same property, where her parents, Gordon and Betty Logan (Eric Keenleyside and Lini Evans), have continued the family business of operating a Christmas tree farm.
Since they were children, Molly knew she wanted to become a writer, a dream which her parents supported while Lucas knew he wanted to become a photographer, something his banker father, Elliot Bishop (James Kidnie) vehemently opposed him pursuing as a career, he believed only in careers like his own, and making money by any and all means.
When he would not follow her to New York, where they would have pursued their professional dreams together, Molly and Lucas broke up and had not seen each other since.
After getting an MBA, Lucas returned to Danbury Falls to work at the bank for his father.
Molly works at a publishing house, where she is treated more as a 24/7 PA by her recently widowed boss, Walter Dunlap (Jim Thorburn) at the expense of her writing career.
When Molly hears from her brother Ryan (Matthew Kevin Anderson) that the bank is foreclosing on a mortgage for the tree farm property they both head back to Danbury Falls to help their parents save the farm from being turned into a golf resort.
On her return, Molly runs into Lucas, who is heading the search for investors for the development proposal and then Christmas begins to work its magic.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – NOVEMBER CHRISTMAS
This is the beautiful tale of love and generosity of spirit where neighbours go above and beyond with their wonderful surprises to make a little girl happy.
At the heart of the story is Vanessa Marks (Emily Alyn Lind) a brave young girl who is battling cancer, which has an effect on the people around her.
In particular her parents Tom and Beth (John Corbett and Sarah Paulson) and her brother Gordon (Max Charles).
But when it looks like she may not see Christmas her parents decide to bring Christmas forward so that she will see another Christmas if the worst came to the worst.
Which is how they came to meet Jess and Claire Sanford (Sam Elliott and Karen Allen) who had themselves lost a child, and high school student Tammy (Elizabeth McLaughlin) who between them made sure Vanessa had Christmas in November.
The look on young Vanessa’s face when she sees the result is an absolute joy, Emily Alyn Lind’s performance in the film steals the show, and I say that despite the fact she is in very esteemed company.
November Christmas is a lovely family movie, a real, hot chocolate, warm fuzzy blanket kind of film, oh and a box of tissues for all those tender moments, of which there are many.
If you only ever watch one Christmas movie in your life, make sure it’s this one.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – I’M NOT READY FOR CHRISTMAS
Holly Nolan (Alicia Witt) lives in a world where lying has become second nature for her. However, she finds after telling a few too many lies and disappointing those around her once too often that her life's about to change, because Holly's niece, Anna, (Mia Bagley), asks Santa Claus (Dan Lauria) to make Holly incapable of telling a lie as her Christmas wish.
The engaging story that follows is a tale of how telling the truth changes Holly's life in ways she could never have anticipated before.
It’s an enjoyable Christmas movie especially with Alicia Witt’s performance who never disappoints.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A HUSBAND FOR CHRISTMAS (2016)
Two co-workers, American Brooke Harris (Vivica A. Fox) and Brit Roger Burkett (Ricco Ross) agree to a loveless marriage of convenience, but as they become acquainted, an unrealized chemistry grows between them.
But when a work colleague informs on them to immigration it looks like their world was falling apart, but Christmas and love have a way of redressing the balance.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – FINDING CHRISTMAS (2013)
Sean Tucker (Mark Lutz), who runs an advertising agency in New York City, and Owen Harrison (J.T. Hodges), a small-town handyman and musician, swap homes for the holidays. Mia (Cristina Rosato) works for Sean and is asked to help Owen get settled into his new apartment while Ryan Harrison (Tricia Helfer) meets Sean after Owen asks her to fix a broken heater, and then finds herself helping Sean find the charm of living in a small town.
Holiday romance ensues in the charming Christmas tale with misunderstandings soul-searching and secrets along the way.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS REUNION (2015)
Madison Avenue executive, Amy Stone (Denise Richards), discovers a rather unusual Christmas surprise when she inherits her Aunt's hometown bakery.
But that’s only half of it as the real surprise comes when she learns that the other half of the bakery was left to her long-ago boyfriend, Jack Evans (Patrick Muldoon).
Inevitably the unresolved personal issues of their past together resurface, as the exes return home to co-manage the store as well as its traditional holiday cookie bake-off.
It’s a nice holiday romantic comedy but the wonderful Catherine Hicks is the star as cunning Aunt Linda.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
Newly widowed Kathy Howard (Kellie Martin) has no plans to “deck the halls” or “trim the tree” on her first Christmas without him, so she tries to avoid anything that will bring back memories of her late husband.
The only Christmas tradition that she will allow is baking cookies for her friends, a passion of hers since she was a child.
When Kathy meets handsome Christmas tree shop owner Tim Pierce (Cameron Mathison), there is an instant spark and an undeniable chemistry, and that along with an ornament Tim gives her that symbolizes hope, actually helps Kathy open up again to the joys of the season.
Aided by the support of her best friend Jenna Lowe (Jewel Staite), and the budding relationship with Tim, Kathy begins to embrace the hopeful message of the ornament but there is still a rough road ahead because although she wants to take a chance on Tim, she struggles to find the balance between preserving the memory of her late husband and moving on with her own future, so is the Christmas ornament a sign that she can have a hopeful future? Watch and enjoy as you find out.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (2004)
Sarah (Tracey Needham) and her estranged sister Beth (Natasha Gregson Wagner) are reunited after their father Buddy (Ronny Cox) suffers a mild stroke.
Buddy, who's never accepted the loss of his wife Lorraine (Meredith Baxter), wants only one thing and that is to return home for Christmas.
With sweet memories of a life gone by, Sarah makes an impossible wish that her mother could be there too and by morning it is as if a winter prayer had been answered and bearing a message of hope, healing, and everlasting love, a miracle has arrived in the form of their mother Lorraine.
Monday 10 December 2018
Uncanny Tales – (005) – Chapter 05 – The House Guest with the Spirit of Christmas
Two days later the
last of the timber was removed revealing the full extent of the damage to the
boundary fence, the garden shed and what used to be the lawn, miraculously the
wishing well sustained only minor damage.
Paul was on site and
talking on his mobile organising the next phase which would be to remove all
the debris and replace the fencing, erecting a new shed and generally tidying up.
The new lawn would
have to wait until spring and the replacement shrubs and plants would be
replaced at the same time.
Julie went out into
the garden just as he was finishing his phone call and I was standing by the
remains of what used to be the shed, the shed erected by my own two hands, I
was amazed it had lasted twenty years, I never did master DIY.
I was too far away to
hear what Paul and Julie were saying but they were headed back inside the house,
I was already in the kitchen when they arrived.
“We’re cutting
Christmas trees on the estate at the moment I will have them cut you one by way
of an apology, what size would you like?”
“I don’t really do
Christmas” She said “It’s just an empty commercial festival”
“But thanks anyway”
She added.
“Oh, and when did you
become so cynical?”
“From the moment I
discovered Father Christmas doesn’t exist”
“Who says he doesn’t?”
he asked
“Ho, ho, ho” she said
sarcastically
“I think everybody has
a little bit of Christmas in their heart” Said Paul
“That would be tiny in
my case” she said, and Paul looked a bit deflated after she said that but
perked up when she added.
“A meal would be a
perfectly acceptable apology though”
It was a week later
when Paul picked Julie up and drove her over to Abbotsford for their meal, I
would say their date, but Julie kept insisting it was not a date.
It was quite late when
he brought her home and I was a little disappointed when the evening ended on
the doorstep with a peck on the cheek, I had high hopes, but Julie was holding
back for some reason.
“Good night” Julie said
and came in and closed the door.
“Nice evening?” I
asked
“Yes, very nice”
“Good meal? Good
company?”
“Yes, to both
questions”
“But?”
“I really like him,
but I don’t know if I want to go through it all again”
“Nothing ventured
nothing gained” I said
“I’ve done my share of
venturing in the past and I haven’t yet gained” Julie said
“I’ll probably just
screw it up again Harry so it’s probably best if I stop it before it starts”
She waved away any protest
from me and went up to bed.
“Night Harry”
“Night Julie” I
replied and to myself I added
“That won’t do at all”
The next day before
Julie was up and about I sent a text to Paul from Julie’s mobile.
It was quite exciting as
I’d never done one before, even while I was alive.
I was quite surprised
that it was more difficult than it looked and really rather complicated to get
the letter you wanted and then it kept changing the word.
I came very close a
number of times to throwing the damn thing across the room, but eventually I
managed to write:
“Thank you, Paul, I
had a wonderful time last night I really would love to do it again. Julie x
PS, just ignore me if
I play hard to get, Lol”
Within a couple of minutes,
I got a reply.
“I had a wonderful
time too I will call you soon. Paul”
Then I quickly deleted
my text to him and his reply and then put the phone back in Julie’s handbag
with only minutes to spare before I heard Julie coming down the stairs.
I felt very pleased
with myself and my subterfuge and I thought it was just a matter of time before
the two of them got together again, however when a week had passed, and nothing
had happened I was not so confident.
There had been a
couple of texts which I didn’t get to see before she deleted them and there had
been a phone call, but it didn’t last long, so it was to be another evening of
chess and conversation.
I set up the board as
Julie entered the room from the kitchen carrying a glass and bottle she opened
a bottle of wine the first she’d had for several weeks.
I frowned at her and
nodded in the direction of the wine.
“It’s ok I haven’t
taken any pain killers for three days, so this is by way of celebration”
“Excellent” I said “I
wish I could join you”
“Bad luck” she said
taking a long sip
“But I would prefer
Christmas Ale” I added
“Oh, don’t start on
Christmas again”
“Why do you hate
Christmas so much?” I asked
“How long do you
have?” She replied without humour.
“I have as long as it
takes, I’m dead remember” I said trying to inject a little humour as I sat down
opposite her.
“Where should I start”
she looked around the room as if seeking inspiration.
“Christmas has been a
disappointment all my life, I grew up with the constant disappointment of not
getting the presents that I asked for” she said with a wry smile “Which I
blamed Santa for”
I started to speak but
Julie interrupted me.
“I know that’s very
childish and pathetic” she said and even laughed a little.
“When did you stop
believing?”
“I believed right up until
I was seven, that was the year I discovered Santa Claus was actually my drunken
father” She said flatly and took a long drink
“So, with a drunk for
a father and a violent bully for a mother my childhood was just full of
Christmas joy”
“Not brilliant then” I
added
“Then three
Christmas’s ago at one of our merry Christmas family gatherings my own sister
stole my husband and my mother took my sisters side” she paused thin lipped
remembering the pain of it, feeling it fresh as if for the first time, she
gathered herself then continued.
“My dear mother said
if I’d kept him satisfied in the bedroom he wouldn’t have strayed, not that he
had to stray too far with my slutty sister sniffing round him like a bitch on
heat”
“What did you say to
your mother?” I asked
“I said that if she’d
kept my father satisfied in the bedroom he wouldn’t have turned to drink”
“Oooh”
“I haven’t spoken to
her or my sister since” she confessed and took another drink.
“Then last year two
weeks before Christmas a drunk driver ran a red light and broadsided me
shattering my hip and putting me in hospital for months”
She reached out and
grabbed her cane.
“And now I still have
my trusty stick as a constant reminder of what Christmas means to me”
I wished I could have given
her a fatherly hug, but I couldn’t, so we fell silent after that and
concentrated on the chess for a while.
I was out and about in
the garden early next morning it was less than a week before Christmas and I
was beginning to despair that as far as we had come together it was not going
to be far enough to save us both.
But it was more than
that, when I started it was about helping Julie in order to cross over and be
reunited with Rose.
But I had come to care
about Julie more than I thought possible and furthermore I had come to realise just
how much I had wasted the final months of my own life.
I had brought her back
from the brink and I resolved that I would succeed in opening her heart, not
for my own sake but for hers.
I transported myself
to the sitting room only to find it empty but there was the sound of cooking
coming from the kitchen and perhaps more alarming the sound of singing.
When I appeared in the
kitchen I found Julie frying bacon and singing along to an Eva Cassidy song
playing on the radio.
“Are you ok?” I asked
with false concern.
“Yes why?”
“I thought you must
have had a relapse and your hip was hurting”
“Very funny Harry” she
said with a smile.
“Would you like some
bacon? Oh, I forgot you can’t eat can you I’ll have to eat it all myself then”
“You can be a very
cruel young woman” I said indignantly and tucked the newspaper under my arm and
withdrew to the sitting room.
After she had devoured
her bacon, which I was denied the pleasure of eating, but perhaps worse even
than that
I was also denied its
smell, she came into the sitting room and sat opposite me and we started a tug
of war over the newspaper.
“You’re in a very
playful mood today” I suggested after I had lost custody of the paper.
“I feel happy today, I
don’t know why, I just do”
As she was in a good
mood I decided to chance my arm and enquire as to the state of play between her
and Paul.
“Have you heard from
Paul?” I said directly.
“Don’t start”
“What? It was an
innocent enough question”
“Hmm, well as it
happens he did phone me”
“Really?” I said
keenly
“He invited me out for
dinner on Christmas Eve”
“That’s great”
“I declined his
invitation” she said
“Why?”
“Look Harry I’m sure
he really is a nice guy and I do like him” Julie said
“But?”
“But, I am finally
getting my life back on course, and that’s due in no small part to you, and I
don’t need any complications”
“That really is a
shame” I
said sincerely.
“I just don’t think I’m ready” She added
With that she handed
me the paper and returned to the kitchen I left it ten minutes or so and then
joined her just as Bruce Springfield’s gravelled tones emanated from the radio
and I dueted with him in a fine rendition of “Santa Claus is coming to town”.
When we had finished
more or less together I took a bow or two.
“Ha-ha I do love a
good Christmas song”
“Oh God protect me
from the happy Christmas ghost” Julie was laughing.
“What is it with you
and Christmas anyway?” she asked rhetorically, then she stood and looked at me,
my portly build, white beard and the hateful red sweater, shaking her head
despairingly.
“In fact, come to
think of it you even look like Santa, in a rather jaded retired to the old folk’s
home kind of way” she said and then chuckled her rich velvet chortle.
“Oh, and why is that,
just because I’m a jolly fat man with a white beard?” I said striking an indignant pose.
“No, you have a fair
point you would only qualify on two out of three” then her chuckle morphed into
a full belly laugh and then I was laughing with her.
Our merriment was
interrupted by a knock at the door and Julie was still wiping the tears of
laughter from her eyes as she opened the door.
It was a smiling Paul
Warwick who had knocked, and his expression instantly changed to one of concern
when he saw Julie’s tears.
“Is everything
alright?” he asked with genuine concern.
Realizing what she was
doing Julie quickly dispelled his concern with a tale about something hilarious
on the radio.
Suitably reassured
Paul’s smile returned to his face and he briefly gathered himself before
revealing the meaning for his visit.
“I know you said you
didn’t do Christmas” He began.
“But as I said
everyone has a little Christmas in their heart”
Julie was about to cut
him off in full flow, but he put his hand up to stop her before she could start.
“So, with that in
mind” he said ducking down to retrieve something from the floor.
“I thought of this”
He was holding in his
hand a small live Christmas tree in a pot, complete with tinsel and baubles,
standing about two feet tall and it was even topped by a fairy.
“A tiny Christmas tree
for someone with only a tiny bit of Christmas in her heart” He said as he
presented the tree to Julie.
“That’s so sweet” She
said “Thank you”
“You can plant it in
the garden after Christmas, so it will keep growing and hopefully your love of
Christmas will grow with it” he said and there were tears in her eyes again, as
she looked at the tiny tree and then Paul excused himself as he had some estate
business that he needed to attend to, which I later found out was delivering
hampers to the homes of his workers.
Julie stood looking at
the little tree with a silly grin on her face as Paul said goodbye and was
heading up the path.
“I told you he was a
nice man” I said.
“Yes” she said looking
at me with tears welling up in her eyes.
“Oh God I can’t let
him go I have to talk to him”
“Well run after him
then” I suggested
“I can’t run” She
said.
“Go and slow him down
somehow”
Julie set off walking
and I transported myself to the gate just as Paul’s hand reached for the latch.
As he tried to open
the gate I held it shut and no matter how much he shook it, the gate wouldn’t move.
Julie was only a few
yards away now.
“Paul!” She called,
and he turned around to see where Julie was calling from.
“Hi, you appear to
have a problem with your gate” He said just as I let go of it and the gate
swung open.
“That’s odd” he said.
“I’m glad I caught
you” She said wincing a little at the effort of pursuing him.
“About dinner on
Christmas Eve, is it too late to change my mind?”
On Christmas Eve I sat
in the solitude of the cottage for what I hoped would be the last time, hoping
that the person I had come to care so much for, would not need me anymore,
while at the same time regretting that I would no longer be required to spend
the long pleasant evenings in her company.
In the beginning I
thought that I was left stranded on earth solely because of the way I withdrew
from life, and that my having to help someone escape my fate was my penance,
but in fact I came to understand that my predicament was less about a
punishment for me but rather more about salvation for Julie and a last chance
for her to find happiness.
In truth no matter how,
fond I was of her I did not belong there, and though tinged with regret I hoped
soon to be moving on.
I became aware of
voices outside and thought, was this the moment of a tender kiss goodnight on
the door step, but instead the door opened, and Julie stepped into the darkness
and my heart dropped and I thought we were back, perhaps not to square one, but
we had definitely gone into reverse.
But then the light
went on and following Julie was the tall figure of Paul who closed the door
behind him.
“Make yourself
comfortable while I get us a drink” Julie said before disappearing into the
kitchen.
Paul headed in my
direction and I had to move quickly before he sat on my lap.
I stood invisible in
the corner by the stairs and observed as Julie came out of the kitchen with a
bottle of wine and a glass, then she stopped in her tracks and turned on her
heels and briefly returned to the kitchen before reappearing with a second
glass. She smiled to herself at the force of habit and glanced around the room
to see where I was.
Julie set the bottle
and glasses on the table then before she could sit Paul stood up and took her
hand and pulled her gently towards him and beside the tiny two-foot Christmas Tree
he kissed her tenderly and she kissed him back.
At the precise moment
she returned his kiss on that Christmas Eve a bright light emanated down the
stairs and I knew my moment had come.
I looked up the
illuminated staircase and standing at the top was my dear Rose with her hand
outstretched towards me.
I turned again to look
at the embracing couple, Paul had his back to me and as their lips parted I
allowed Julie to see me one last time.
“Good bye Julie it’s
time for me to go now, have a happy life” I said and waved.
Then as she stood
holding onto Paul her head resting on his shoulder she mouthed the words “Merry
Christmas Harry”
I left the young
couple and walked up the stairs and took Rose’s hand and we were instantly in
another place.
Now I spend most of my
time with Rose and all those who went before me, but I still look in on Paul
and Julie from time to time, I can do that now I’m a proper spirit, but that is
a tale for another time.
Sunday 9 December 2018
Uncanny Tales – (005) – Chapter 04 – The House Guest and the Divine Wind
Despite my losing the “battle
of the bonfire night party” I knew that the war was far from lost and that I
had made great progress and what was now more important than anything else was
to pick very carefully the battles I chose to fight.
A victory however
small was still a victory and therefore was invaluable.
So, during the month I
chipped away at the immovable object that was Julie, in small subtle ways and I
felt I was making some progress, but as well as I felt I was doing I couldn’t
quantify it.
I couldn’t measure my
success unless I could get Julie and Paul in the same place at the same time.
I had absolutely no
idea how I could manufacture a circumstance that would bring the two of them
together and I was left with the feeling that it would take divine intervention
to get them together and as it turned out I was right.
We were almost at the
end of November and Julie had made so much progress she was hardly using the
stick in the house even to get upstairs although she still took it with her
whenever she went out, but it was extremely unlikely that she would ever be
free of it entirely.
She had made progress
in other ways as well, she seemed less frightened of the outside world and had
started to take a daily newspaper again and one morning a radio appeared in the
kitchen.
We had taken to
spending every evening together where we spent the time playing chess or cards
and we would chat casually on a variety of subjects though I would often try
and steer the conversation into areas I wanted to explore as part of my long-term
strategy but quite often we would just listen to the radio.
It was during one of
these very pleasant evenings, that I came to enjoy greatly, that events took a
change of direction.
There had been a
ferocious autumn storm battering the cottage all day, the storm was so bad we
had to switch the radio off because the reception was so poor, and it was as we
were sitting playing chess when there was an almighty rumble and crash outside.
“What the hell was
that?” Julie said gripping the arm of the chair until her knuckles went white.
“I’m not sure” I said
standing up. “I’ll go and investigate”
“Well, be careful
Harry”
“Unless it’s the
Ghostbusters I think I’m probably safe” I said giving her a bemused look.
I transported myself
outside and for the first time since my death I was not sorry to be dead the
weather was just awful with a fearsome storm was blowing the rain horizontally
and I was grateful not to have to feel it
It didn’t take long to
find the source of the almighty crash, the gale had uprooted an old horse
chestnut tree and dumped it into Julie’s garden missing the cottage by a few
feet.
I walked the full
length of the tree to find the root end and which sprang up out of the darkness
about ten feet the other side of the crushed wooden fence that marked the
boundary between Julies garden and the land owner responsible for the removal
of the fallen tree, Paul Warwick.
I smiled to myself and
then looked up to the heavens and nodded in admiration.
When I reappeared in
the cottage the room seemed to be empty.
“Is it safe?” Julie
asked.
I couldn’t see where
the voice was coming from at first then I found Julie hiding behind her
armchair wielding her cane like a weapon.
“What are you doing
behind there?” I asked incredulously “Of course it’s safe”
Then she came out from
her hiding place suddenly feeling rather foolish.
“I was scared” she
added meekly.
“Well there’s no need
to be” I reassured her
“What was that noise
then?” She asked urgently
“The storm has brought
a tree down and the good news is, it missed the cottage, but your shed is only
good for firewood”
“Is that all? I knew
it would be something simple like that” she said, suddenly confident again.
“What should I do
now?”
“Well, have a mug of
cocoa and go to bed” I said
“No about the tree, I
mean”
“There’s nothing much
you can do about it tonight, just have a good night’s sleep and phone Paul in
the morning”
“Paul?” She asked
coyly.
“Yes Paul Warwick,
it’s his tree, he’ll arrange everything”
“Oh” she said disinterestedly
“But don’t worry you won’t
have to see him he’ll do everything by phone”
“Oh” She said trying
to hide her disappointment but failing.
The next morning Julie
and I went outside to inspect the damage in the daylight, Julie in her dressing
gown and wellies and me in my revolting red jumper, though Julie couldn’t get
very far due to the tangle of branches, so she went back inside.
When I had finished my
inspection, I went back inside myself and found Julie standing in the kitchen, her
mobile phone in front of her, tapping the counter with the edge of a business
card.
“He won’t bite you
know” I offered “Unless you want him to”
I laughed to myself,
but she apparently didn’t hear my little joke.
“I said he won’t bite
you know”
“What? I’m not worried
about talking to him that’s a preposterous suggestion”
“So, what’s the
problem?”
“There isn’t a
problem, I was just thinking that’s all” she said then she picked up her mobile
and keyed in the number.
“Hello, its Julie
Molesworth here, is that Mr Warwick?”
“Ok Paul”
All the time she was
talking she was fiddling with her hair with her spare hand which amused me
greatly.
“I’m fine but I have a
bit of a problem I have a rather large tree laying in my garden”
She noticed me
watching her, scowled and turned her back to me.
“No, the house is
fine”
“Yes”
“No”
“Oh yes that would be
fine”
“Ok thank you, bye”
She switched off the
phone and put it down.
“Well that sounded
quite amicable, not scary at all” I said.
“I wasn’t scared to
talk to him” she retorted.
“So, what was the
outcome?”
“He’s coming around
this morning” She said matter of factly “in about an hour”
“Excellent” I said,
“That is good news”
Julie nodded her
agreement.
“And I think he’s just
going to love your outfit” I said, and she gave me a puzzled look, then glanced
at her dressing gown and muddy wellies, and looked back at me again though the
puzzled expression had been replaced by panic.
“Oh God” She exclaimed
then kicked off left boot, so it flew across the kitchen, a technique she was
unable to employ with the other boot due to the bad leg.
So, she sat down and
lifted her foot off the floor and shouted.
“BOOT! QUICK!”
“Alright calm down” I
said as I removed her boot.
“Yes calm” she took a
deep breath “Calm is good”
Then she jumped up and
rushed out of the kitchen, she was still unable to run despite the progress she
had made but she covered the ground quite swiftly anyway.
She reappeared forty-five
minutes later looking much more presentable in a smart skirt and blouse and I
noticed she was wearing makeup.
“Is that better?” she
asked.
“Very smart but you
really didn’t need to go to all that trouble for me”
“I didn’t” she replied
shortly.
“I did it for….” She
tailed off
“For Paul Warwick? Is
that what you were going to say? Why on earth would you care what he thinks?”
“Shut up” she said and
tried to punch my arm playfully but not for the first time her hand went right
through me and she nearly fell over.
“That’s really
annoying Harry” She said when she had straightened herself up “I hate it when
that happens”
A little over ten
minutes later Paul Warwick’s Landrover pulled up in the lane outside the
cottage.
Julie was looking out
the window as he got out of the vehicle and opened the gate but instead of
coming to the front door he went straight to the site of the damage and out of
her line of sight, so she went into the other room which afforded her a better
look and she watched on as he clambered up onto the fallen tree and then he
disappeared down the other side.
“I don’t think he’s
going to come in” she said still trying to catch sight of him amongst the
branches.
“Oh, he’ll be in when
he’s done” I said
It was obvious, if
only to me, that he hadn’t rushed round to the cottage on a job he could quite
easily have delegated only to go off again without fulfilling the real purpose
for his visit which was clearly to see Julie.
Julie spent the next
five minutes craning her next to get a better view then she moved away from the
window and headed back to the kitchen just in time to see him heading back up
the path to the gate.
“He’s off now” She
said unable to hide her disappointment.
“What?”
She went back into the
sitting room and sat down in her chair and I just didn’t know what to say I
couldn’t believe I’d got it so wrong I would have put money on it.
I sat down in the
chair opposite her and tried to think of something clever to say.
“Well it’s probably
for the best, it was bound to end in tears”
“That’s not helping”
she said flatly, and I was just about to say something full of wisdom in
response when there was a knock at the door.
Julie opened the door
to find a rather dishevelled Paul Warwick the other side of it.
After a brief exchange
of polite greetings Julie invited Paul into the kitchen with the promise of
coffee and then she turned to look in my direction and mouthed “Not you”
So, I sat alone in the
sitting room for the next twenty minutes trying to decipher words from the low
rumble of conversation interspersed with small bursts of girlish laughter.
I had just come to the
conclusion, that as I was a ghost I could have been in the room with them all
along and she would never have known, when the kitchen door opened, and Paul
walked through.
“So, the guys will be
here first thing tomorrow” He said as he opened the front door.
“And I will see you
later in the week”
“Ok thanks Paul, bye”
Julie said then closed the door.
“Well?” I said
“Like you weren’t in
the room eavesdropping all the time” She implied
“No, I was not” I said
suitably indignant even though I would have been if I’d thought about it sooner.
“Oh, sorry Harry” she
said and went on to fill me in on the bones of the conversation doubtless
leaving out any of the flirtyness.
Paul was sending a
crew round to cut and clear the timber which due to the size of the tree would
take two or three days.
Then he would return
and assess the rest of the damage to the garden, something else that could
easily be delegated I thought.
The next day was the 1st
of December and the men were hard at work cutting up the fallen tree and I
thought to myself as Julie came down the stairs that she looked like a
different person, her body had been getting stronger day by day for weeks but
now there appeared to be a new spark within her, a new hope.
I just hoped I was
right about her and Paul, because I feared if that spark were to be
extinguished again it would never relight.
I had just returned to
my reading when she said, “Hi Harry they’re a bit noisy aren’t they?”
“Harry!” she repeated
then she shouted
“HARRY?”
When I didn’t answer she
picked up her cane and poked the book I was reading.
“Oh hello” I said.
“I’ve been talking to
you, are you deaf?”
“Not exactly I turned
the sound off, so I didn’t have to listen to the racket outside”
“You can do that?” she
asked, and I nodded.
“Cool” She said
“Unfortunately I can’t do that so I’m going shopping for the day”
“Great don’t forget
the decorations”
“Decorations for
what?”
“Christmas” I said “It’s
the 1st of December the advent calendars go up today”
“No, no, no” She said
firmly “I don’t do Christmas”
“Why not?” I said
shocked
“I don’t like
Christmas” she replied
“Why don’t you like
Christmas?”
“Well let me see, it’s
a waste of money for one thing”
“And?”
“The whole thing is
just a sham, people don’t even believe in what they’re celebrating and if you
believe what the papers say half the country don’t even believe Christ existed”
She stated angrily though at the time I was unsure quite what she was angry
about, whether it was the season itself or peoples’ ignorance.
“Well that’s just nonsense
we know from the Romans that Christ existed, they were great record keepers the
Romans, people might argue that he isn’t the son of God or that God himself
doesn’t exist but they can’t deny Christ’s existence” I said but I don’t think
she was really listening, it would not be the first time I’d lost the attention
of the person I was conversing with, boring conversation was a bad habit of
mine throughout my life and apparently after my death as well.
“And what do you
believe?” She asked more calmly.
“I believe in the
whole nine yards, Father, Son and Holy Ghost” I said trying to lighten the mood
without success.
“What about you?”
“I must believe in him
because I hate him so much” she retorted and with that she slipped on her coat
and picked up her bag.
“I’ll see you later”
she said and left.
I knew from the start
of this exercise that she had some serious issues in her life but what I didn’t
know was that Christmas was one of them, if in fact it was.
Perhaps her dislike of
Christmas was actually masking something deeper, only time would tell unless I
were to push the right buttons.
Friday 7 December 2018
Uncanny Tales – (005) – Chapter 03 – The House Guest and the Wise Counsel
I was trapped in the
cottage and its environs, I was earth bound because I shut myself away to
wallow in self-pity after the death of my wife Rose.
So, I had come to the
conclusion that I must help another person in order to “move on” and re-join my
Rose.
It would have been
easier if I had done it while I was still alive I could have gone off and
sought out someone to help, but as I was dead I had to wait for someone to come
to me.
But then if I had
lived out my last months in the world in the same way as I lived the rest of my
life I wouldn’t have been in the mess I was in.
Or maybe this was how
it was meant to be, it was my destiny to help someone, which is where Julie
came in, she had come to the cottage to escape the world.
At that moment I
didn’t know why, and I would need to know that before I could help her, and I
was determined to help her whether she liked it or not.
But to find out what I
needed to know I needed to be on good terms with her, which was not helped by
my clumsy handling of the situation.
So, it was with some
trepidation, after our angry exchange, that I went into the sitting room later
in the day.
I feared she might
take out the anger she felt towards me and channel it at the innocent
revellers.
To be on the safe side
I remained invisible until I had assessed the lay of the land, I half expect to
see Julie sitting in a rocking chair swigging from a whisky bottle and catapulting
sweets at the trick or treaters heads, but she was humming, I hadn’t witnessed
her humming before, she did impatient tapping of her fingers, she did grinding
her teeth, but I had never witnessed humming.
Despite the fact that
the humming was a little unnerving, I took a gamble that it was safe, so I
materialized.
“You’re humming” I said,
and she jumped, I had startled her, and she was clearly flustered, then her
face went scarlet.
“No, I’m not” she said
indignantly.
“You were humming, I
heard you”
“What you heard was me
clearing my throat” Julie said without conviction, so she changed the subject.
“Anyway, where have
you been, have you been keeping out of my way?”
“I thought it advisable”
I said.
Before she had chance
to comment she was alerted to approach of trick or treaters coming down the
long winding path.
At this time of the
day Julie would normally have to employ her stick to move with any kind of
speed around the house but I noticed it was leant discretely against the wall
behind the door out of sight of anyone who might be standing on the step if the
door was open.
She pulled the curtain
back a couple of inches and peered out.
“They’re coming, what
do I do?” she asked urgently
“Well” I began.
“Oh, come on, you got
me into this mess”
“Calm down you’ll have
a stroke” I said
Julie took a deep
breath and waited for me to speak.
“All the children will
have a bag for their sweets” I told her.
“Yes, yes” she said
impatiently.
“Well you put a small
handful of sweets into each bag but don’t be too generous to early or you won’t
have enough to go around everyone”
“Ok” she said and
nodded.
“But first you have to
open the door” I said inclining my head towards the closed door.
“Oh God yes” she said
and laughed nervously “that would help”
Julie opened the door
and was met with a chorus of “TRICK OR TREAT” from a small group of excited
witches, warlocks, ghosts and ghouls.
“Wow look at you all”
she said “What brilliant costumes”
“Ok who’s first?” she
asked as she picked up one of the sweet tubs and scooped up a handful.
At the back of the
group keeping order was a tall dark-haired man, wearing a flat cap and leather
jacket, Julie caught his eye briefly and smiled and he smiled back, then
carried on with the sweets, but she kept glancing in his direction, and she estimated
he was in his thirties.
Soon she had deposited
a handful of sweets into every bag and the group moved back up the path.
“Goodbye Miss
Molesworth” the tall man said and smiled, and she smiled back and then looked self-consciously
in my direction.
Despite herself she
was still smiling as she shut the door.
“You didn’t smile at
the children did you” I asked
“You’ll scar them for
life”
“Oh! and which poor
child was it that you made cry” she retorted
“Or was it someone
else you were smiling at?” I said, and Julie blushed deeply just as the doorbell
rang.
“Saved by the bell” I
said
Julie opened the door
and repeated the exercise, and then another three times until the sweet tubs
were empty and all the village children had had their share, then she closed
the door and reached for her cane.
“I’m exhausted”
“You enjoyed it
though?”
She gave me a stern
sideways glance and I could see pain in her features.
“Ask me later after
I’ve had a drink” she said and then with a bottle of wine and a glass she
hobbled towards her armchair.
“Will you join me?”
She asked smiling “Oh I forgot you can’t”
“Oh, that’s cruel”
After her first glass
of wine she began to relax and after the second she had lowered her guard.
“You had a good time,
didn’t you?” I ventured.
“Ok yes I enjoyed, it
though I’ll deny it tomorrow”
“And the smile?”
“I admit he was very
handsome, for a yokel”
“His name is Paul
Warwick and he’s not so much a yokel more a country squire”
“Really” She said with
disinterest
“So, which of the
little darlings were his children?”
“None of them” I
answered “He’s not married”
“Oh!” she exclaimed
then replaced it with a rather muted “oh”
After another glass I
thought it was safe to raise the subject of this afternoon’s exchange of views.
“Am I forgiven?” I
asked.
“What for?” She
slurred
It became apparent I
had left it one glass too late for a sensible conversation, I had forgotten to
take into account that she hadn’t eaten since lunch.
“This afternoon”
“Of course, you spoke
very wisdomous words”
“Wisdomous?”
“Yes, you are very
wisdomly” she said as she leant forward to raise her glass to me and slopped
half of it on the table
“I think you mean
wise”
“Well I was close” she
almost said slopping more wine this time down her blouse.
“Time to get you to
bed I think”
“You cheeky old ghost
you” She said trying to get out of the chair.
Once she managed to
get vertical her bad leg gave way and I had to catch her before she hit the
floor.
It was a good job I
had been practising otherwise I would never have been able to help her, it
would have appeared as a very comical scene as I had a firm hold on Julie yet
when she tried to hold onto me her hands kept going through me.
“You’re a difficult
man to get to grips with Harry” she remarked with a puzzled expression on her
face.
“Well you concentrate
on staying upright and I will propel you upstairs to bed”
“Ok”
So, with her tongue
sticking out the side of her mouth and one eye closed tight shut she managed to
adopt a stance which kept her more or less upright.
I then gave her
instructions “Left, Right, Left, Right” until we had made the journey up to her
room then I guided her onto her bed.
“I hope you’re going
to behave like a gentleman” she said and smiled, still with one eye shut tight.
“You’re quite safe,
I’m dead remember” I replied as I covered her.
“That’s the story of
my life” She said
“What is?”
“Trying to raise the
dead in the bedroom” this caused her to explode with a laugh so dirty it
wouldn’t have been out of place in a Carry On film, she was still chuckling
when I turned out the light.
“Good night Julie”
“Night Harry”
The next morning, I
was sat in the kitchen reading the local newspaper, when she walked in,
surprisingly bright though she was walking quite stiffly, and she was a little
shamefaced.
“Good morning Julie
and how are we this morning?”
“I’m fine” she said
shortly then she added.
“Was I very
embarrassing last night?”
“Not very” I replied.
“Oh God, I was
embarrassing though?”
“You were very funny
it was nice to see you happy”
“Thanks to you” She
said quietly.
“I beg your pardon?” I
said and looked up from the paper quite shocked, but she was already on her way
out the door for her physio appointment.
It was late afternoon
when she returned, and she was moving only a little more stiffly than she had
been when she left that morning.
“Didn’t you go to
physio?” I asked
“Yes, I did, and it
was the best session I’ve had” She replied “I think I’m turning the corner at
last”
“Excellent”
“Good news and bad
news from the doctor though”
“Oh?”
“The good news is he’s
changed my medication which is stronger, but I only need to take them as and
when needed”
“And the bad news?”
“Strictly no alcohol
with these ones” She said holding up an innocuous looking brown bottle.
“A small price to pay
though” I said encouragingly
“That’s easily said by
someone who can’t hold their drink” she said then laughed like a drain, but her
mirth was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Quick hide” She said
“Ok” I said jumping
up.
“Wait a minute I don’t
have to hide I’m a ghost, I’m invisible”
Julie looked at me and
put one finger up to her lips indicating I should shut up even though she was
the only one who could hear me, then she opened the door.
When the door opened
it revealed a very wet Paul Warwick.
“Oh, look it’s the
yokel” I said
“Hello Miss
Molesworth” the yokel said
“Please call me Julie and
do come in out of the rain”
“Thank you”
He stepped in and
Julie closed the door.
“He’s dripping on your
carpet”
“I hope I’m not
disturbing you” Paul said.
“No not at all” She
replied
“Good, it’s just I
thought I could hear voices before”
“That was probably the
radio” She lied
“Good” he said unconvinced.
“Quick change the
subject” I suggested.
“Can I offer you a hot
drink?”
“No thank you I can’t
stop I’m afraid, I just called to see if you were aware of the November 5th
bonfire party?”
“No, I wasn’t” Julie
answered
“Well we run a coach from
the church hall over to Little Trotwood every year, they have an organised
display, would you be interested?”
“That’s very kind of
you but…”
“Go on say yes” I
urged
“…my leg isn’t really
up to it…”
“Liar”
“…. It’s not good in
the damp weather”
“That’s a shame” Paul
said sincerely “It’s always a very good display and they have the best hog
roast in the county”
“Thank you anyway”
Julie added
“If you change your
mind just give me a call” He said reaching into his coat and bringing out a
card which he handed to her.
“I will”
She opened the door
again and Paul stepped out into the rain again.
“No problem, bye”
“Good bye and thanks
again” Julie said closing the door.
“Coward” I said after
she had shut the door.
“I don’t like
fireworks that’s all” she said pulling a face.
“Coward”
“I’m not a coward” She
replied indignantly.
“What else do you call
it? He’s attracted to you and you to him”
“Nonsense” Julie said
clearly flustered
“And even if there
were any attraction I don’t need anyone in my life”
“Everyone needs
someone” I said
“Rubbish, in the end people
always let you down”
“You can’t tar
everyone with the same brush” I said
“I don’t need anyone
Harry, I’m perfectly happy on my own”
“Paul’s a good man” I
pointed out
“It doesn’t matter how
they start out in the end they always let you down, trust me”
I started to speak but
she interrupted
“Harry let’s just
agree to disagree, shall we?”
I knew I was fighting
a losing battle so meekly I said “Ok”
“Good now I’m off to
have a bath”
Thursday 6 December 2018
Uncanny Tales – (005) – Chapter 02 – The House Guest Exposed
Three days after, for
want of a better phrase, I exposed myself to Juliana, was one of those
wonderful early autumn days that lifts your spirits but can also take you by
surprise when you step out into it as the sun can deceive you into thinking the
summer hasn’t quite surrendered and then the bitter October wind stings you.
I couldn’t tell which
it might be as it looked like it might be quite warm, but I couldn’t tell,
firstly as I was inside looking out and secondly because I was dead and
couldn’t feel anything.
Juliana had been
upstairs dressing as it was one of her physio days and she was just hobbling
her way downstairs and I was beginning to think that she had indeed passed off
our encounter as a hallucination but as she picked up her car keys and opened
the front door she called back behind her without turning around.
“Bye Harry”
I didn’t reply because
it caught me by surprise, but I don’t think she was looking for an answer
though it was difficult to tell as there was no feeling behind the words.
Was it a “Bye Harry”
see you later or “Bye Harry” I can’t live in a house with a ghost?
Or perhaps “Bye Harry”
are you really there?
She was gone all day
and I was beginning to think I had scared her away as it was unusual for her to
be quite so late and it had been dark for some time when her car pulled up
outside the cottage.
It was a little after
seven when she came in through the door her face was tired and strained and she
moved uncomfortably.
I had seen that pained
look before in the weeks I had been observing her.
It was as a result of
her physiotherapy sessions where they worked her hard and she suffered for it, but
it was working, and she was getting better.
I had seen the change
in her over the weeks and she was getting better, becoming stronger and less
reliant on her stick, but her sessions left her exhausted and in a lot of pain.
She moved slowly over
to the armchair and collapsed into it, after a few moments she rummaged in her
bag and brought out a bottle of water then she reached onto the table and
picked up her pills, her hand was shaking as she opened the bottle, she put one
in her mouth and took a long drink of water then she leaned back and sighed.
She closed her eyes
and was drifting off to sleep, so I sat in the chair opposite her and spoke to
her.
“Juliana!”
She didn’t respond.
“Juliana!”
“What do you want?”
she said without opening her eyes. “And don’t call me Juliana, only my Mother
calls me Juliana”
“What should I call
you then?”
She opened her eyes
and looked straight at me.
“Julie is fine, but
never Jules, I hate that”
“Ok” I said
She closed her eyes
again.
“Julie”
“What?” She responded
impatiently.
“You need to go to
bed”
“I can sleep here, its
fine now leave me alone”
“Julie, you need to go
to bed”
“Leave me alone or
I’ll call Ghostbusters and they’ll come and Hoover you up”
“They don’t exist” I
said
“Nor do you” she
replied
“But I’m here though,
and I’m not going to shut up until you go to bed” I stated, and she opened one
eye.
“That’s really unkind”
she said with surprise.
“It’s for your own
good” I said sagely
She looked unconvinced
but struggled to her feet muttering under her breath, then she started slowly
towards the stairs.
I felt guilty because
it was clearly painful for her to walk but I knew it would be so much better
for her to get a good rest in bed.
I wished I could help her,
but I was unable to, I hadn’t mastered any of the physical stuff when I was in
the cottage on my own it didn’t seem worth training myself to open a door when
it was easier to walk through it.
Since I had had a
house guest, or perhaps landlady would be more precise, as I was actually the
house guest, I had been practising with some small success but propelling a
person, even a small person, up a flight of stairs was beyond my capabilities.
“I can’t believe that
I’m being haunted by Casper’s Granddad and he is making me do this” She said as
she struggled up the stairs.
As she reached the top
she paused briefly to catch her breath then she headed for her room.
“Tomorrow I’m calling
an exorcist” she shouted.
A few minutes later
all was silent, and, in an instant, I left the sitting room and transported
myself to her bedroom.
It was the first time
I’d been upstairs since she moved in and she had made the room very nice.
She was lying on her
back fully clothed and sleeping peacefully on her bed.
On the trunk at the
foot of her bed was a throw, which with a great deal of effort I managed to
cover the lower half of her with it, and I was just about to continue when her
hand reached down and pulled it the rest of the way up and she turned onto her
side with the throw wrapped round her shoulders.
That left me with the
simple task of flicking the light switch something that I had mastered.
The next day was a
dull and dreary early October day and it was raining hard, the rain beating
against the window glass like someone was throwing handfuls of gravel.
Julie didn’t come
downstairs until 11 o’clock, I had heard her moving about upstairs from about ten
then I could hear the bath running so after more than twelve hours sleep and a
hot bath she made her way down the stairs in a good deal less pain than her
ascent the night before.
She was bright and
breezy and had real vitality about her such as I had not seen in her before, she
was so alive, so vibrant, and she was smiling!
“Harry?” she called as
she headed for the kitchen, but I said nothing.
“Harry?” She called
again as she entered the kitchen
“Where are you?”
I appeared suddenly in
front of her.
“Oh” She exclaimed and
jumped, then she laughed.
“I’m here” I said,
“What’s all the noise about?”
“It’s enough to wake
the dead” I said and smiled.
“Yes, very funny” She
said and was smiling too.
I studied her face, it
was a very pretty face when you removed the pain that was normally etched into
it, what a difference from the night before.
It was nice to see the
beauty of the person when the bitterness and pain were removed or at least
masked temporarily.
The girl before me today
was nothing like the one I had been observing for the past month.
It was clearly only a
type of euphoria which would undoubtedly wear off.
“I hated you last
night” She said looking straight into my eyes “Making me climb those stairs”
“But today I feel the
best I’ve felt since before the accident”
She had not mentioned
the accident before.
“I could kiss you” she
continued.
“Well that would be
lovely but there is nothing to kiss, you’d fall straight through me and head
butt the cooker” I pointed out, so she blew me a kiss instead.
“I’m glad you are
feeling better”
“I know that it won’t
last all day but for now I feel terrific”
“You’ll be dancing by
Christmas” I said
“Don’t spoil it by
talking about Christmas, I hate Christmas”
“Why?”
“I will tell you
another time I don’t want anything to spoil my mood”
The pain did return later
that day though not as severe and the next morning the bitterness was back and
for the rest of the month she did battle with her demons,
Julie had good days
and bad days but overall the demons won.
She still kept herself
to herself only leaving the house for physio appointments, which were paying
dividends, and her only visitors were delivering one thing or another.
The majority of her
time was spent on the computer which she used for her work, something involving
pages and pages of gobbledygook, and as her window on the world, a world in
which she did not have to participate but could merely be a spectator.
Unless she called on
me I chose my moments to appear trying to gauge the right time in between her
black moods.
It was while Julie was
on the computer, on one of her good days that I chose to show myself.
She was ordering her
groceries online when I dropped in.
“Don’t forget the
sweets for Halloween” I said
“Oh God not Halloween”
She replied.
“Don’t tell me you
hate Halloween as well”
“Of course, I hate
Halloween, why wouldn’t I, all those ghastly trick or treaters begging door to
door”
She was bordering on
rant mode and I was beginning to think I had picked the wrong time to call.
“Then there are the
implied threats of violence and vandalism”
I looked at her and
raised my eyebrows and she stopped and laughed
“You’re such a happy
soul” I said
“Well why do you like
it then?”
“I don’t really”
“So why do you want me
to buy sweets? Did Rose like it? is that why?”
Neither Rose nor I
were fans of Halloween before we moved to Appleby, but it was just part of
living in the village.
The thing about Rose
is that she was a community person and being part of the community was
important to her.
We liked the way it
was done, it was so different from our past experience, all the children would
meet at the church hall and would go around in small groups each group being
accompanied by adults, then they would all go back to the village hall and have
a party with all the traditional Halloween games and there were prizes for the
best costumes.
“No not exactly” I
didn’t elaborate.
“You’re so odd” She
said and turned back towards her computer.
“I was mean to them
last year” I blurted.
“Who?”
“The children, I
wasn’t very nice to them” I confessed and looked down at the floor
“I think I made one
little girl cry”
“Oh”
“I feel ashamed of my
behaviour, Rose would have been so mad”
“Well there’s nothing
you can do about it now” She said.
“Hopefully the kids
will remember their bad experience and not come knocking this year, so no
sweets required”
She punctuated the end
of the sentence with an Oliver Hardy style nod, then she smiled and got up and
headed towards the bathroom.
I moved over to the computer
I looked at the screen and observed that she was at the checkout.
Due to much practise,
after all, it’s not as if I have anything else to do, I had mastered moving and
manipulating things over the preceding weeks.
So, I sat down and
took hold of the mouse, I quickly returned to where Julie had been shopping and
found a large tub of Halloween sweets and clicked quantity required 2 and then “add
to basket”, then returned her to the check out just as I heard the toilet
flush.
I went and sat down
again feeling rather pleased with myself, I was not totally unfamiliar with computers,
but I had never shopped on line, but I had watched Julie enough times to pick
up what to do.
When she returned she
completed her shopping transaction and was none the wiser.
The next day when the
shopping arrived, the driver unloaded the bags onto the step and Julie signed
for the delivery and the driver left.
It was only after she
had carried the bags into the kitchen and began to unpack them that she noticed
the 2 large tubs of Halloween candy.
“HARRY!” she shouted
and thumped one of the tubs onto the counter.
“HARRY!”
“You bellowed milady”
“Was this you?” she
said pointing at the sweets.
“You ordered them
after all” I said acting surprised “That’s really sweet”
“No, I did NOT” She
corrected me.
“Well it wasn’t me” I
said “I wouldn’t know how, you must have done it subconsciously”
“I am not the sort of
person who would buy sweets for the little….”
I interrupted her
“Well obviously
subconsciously you’re a very nice person” I said and disappeared.
I stayed out of her
way for the next couple of days and I spent my time practising, I had mastered
the fine manipulations such as flicking switches, unfolding a handkerchief and
picking up a pen, I could even write, though my handwriting was still a bit
shaky.
What I wasn’t very
good at was moving large or heavy objects, so I was in the back garden trying
to move the wheelbarrow, unfortunately when I eventually succeeded in moving it
I managed to frighten a passing dog walker who was startled by the sight of a
wheelbarrow moving along the path under its own power.
So, I went indoors,
where I found Julie was sat in her chair reading some documents, I was considering
whether it was safe to appear when I noticed the tubs of sweets were stood on a
chair next to the door in readiness for the evenings visitors.
I knew that beneath
that thick veneer of bitterness and cynicism there resided a good human being.
I deduced that the
fact that the sweets were now sitting on a chair and not in the dustbin meant
that she was in one of her brighter moods.
I decided I would
appear but that I wouldn’t mention the sweets just to be on the safe side.
“Hello”
She looks up from her
papers then set them on the table in front of her.
“So, you’ve decided to
show yourself”
“What do you mean?
I’ve been busy” I said feigning an indignant attitude.
“Just because I’m dead
doesn’t mean I don’t have demands on my time”
“Yes, I saw you
playing with the wheelbarrow”
“So, did Mary Rudd” I
said sheepishly
“Who’s Mary Rudd?”
“Retired postmistress”
“And she saw you?” She
asked smiling.
“No, she saw a self-propelled
wheelbarrow, she’s probably having a large gin to recover as we speak” he said,
and she was laughing now.
“Has anyone else seen
you?” Julie asked.
“No and I only
revealed myself to you because….”
“You thought I was
going to top myself”
“Yes”
“I hope you think
better of me now?” she asked, and I nodded.
“I do have low moments,
and the world is a shitty place, but on the whole, I prefer life”
“I wish you’d start
living it then” I said
“What do you mean?”
“If you prefer life why
don’t you go out into the world and live it” I suggested
“You’re just jealous
that I’m still alive and not dead like you” She said viciously
“No, you’re not dead
you’re alive but you’re not living”
“You live your life
though a computer screen” I continued
“You never meet
people, you never interact with other human beings, you have everything
delivered to your door”
She was about to
interrupt but I pressed on before she had the chance.
“And if you could cut
your own hair you would never see anyone at all”
“I have physio” she
corrected me
“And what happens when
you don’t need that anymore?” I said, and she snatched up her papers and
scowled.
“I don’t need life
tips from a ghost” she snapped, spitting out the words like venom, then she
turned her back on me.
“Please don’t do what
I did, don’t imprison yourself in this cottage” I pleaded but she ignored me,
she was angry with me but not as angry as I was at myself.
I blew it, I pushed too
hard and she pushed back, I could have got my point across with more subtlety,
I was making progress but now I’d gone backwards.