Dealing With Tomorrow Part Twelve

Bridgette was roused from sleep by the sound of heavy rain pounding on the window pane. Daylight was still nonexistent as she gazed at her bedside clock that illuminated in the dark, it was only 6.30am, but turning over she felt the space beside her empty.

 

Stretching Bridgette focused on waking up. Wiping sleep from her eyes she turned on the bedside lamp sitting up yawning and stretching once more which was her waking up ritual, then running  fingers through tousled hair that left corkscrewed curls.

 

Stepping out of bed and picking up the dressing gown hanging over her comfy reading chair, Bridgette put on her slippers chatting to herself in a whisper. “What's that husband of mine up to?” She crept across the landing to the bathroom so as not to wake the children. “He just doesn't know when to stop.”

 

Kenneth had already made a start on moving the rocks. He hadn't even had his usual wake up tea, feeling so desperate as he was to discover the truth. The boulders were heavy, but with determined effort he'd already made good progress. Hearing footsteps Kenneth looked over his shoulder as his wife poked her head into the room, a neat pile of rocks lay behind him.

 

“I see you've already begun shifting. Thought you might have waited for help, we could have done it together.”

 

The Reverend gave a cheeky smile feeling a lot better this morning. “I wouldn't want you dirtying you hands love – this is man's work.” He winked at Bridgette. “Some tea would be nice though.” His Wife tutted! Not taking umbrage, knowing he was only joking.

 

Making her way to the kitchen and putting the kettle on to boil, she headed for the fridge for some milk. It was good to feel the atmosphere less harrowing. Since last night their home felt more harmonious. All it's hostility seemed to have somewhat dissolved, though she knew things weren't perfect. Bridgette still felt on edge when she thought about the groups of locals that bunched together staring at her while chatting, she'd felt so alone down at the harbor.

 

Just at that moment the phone rang. Bridgette quickly made her way over and answered it wondering who it could be at this early hour. “Hello! The Vicarage.” It was the Caretaker ringing to find out if he was needed.

 

“Mr Hargreaves! I'm so relieved to hear your voice. I wonder if you don't mind could you come over here as soon as possible, only we have an urgent problem.” She could tell by his tone that he wasn't that impressed at having to come straight away. But he agreed much to her relief.

 

Putting the receiver down Bridgette made a pot of tea and took a cup to her husband. “Here you go! A nice early morning brew.”

 

“Thanks love!” He took the well earned tea and sipped. “Ah! That's Nectar. By the way who was on the phone?”

 

“I was just about to tell you. It was Mr Hargreaves, I asked him to come over as soon as he could thought he could help out.”

 

Kenneth came out of the room and into the hallway. “Good idea! Was he okay about it.”

 

Bridgette had a guilty expression on her face. “I have a confession to make, I never actually told him what he'd be doing.”

 

It was about 9am when their was a rap at the front door. Danny and the girls were up and running around, though not in their usual happy go lucky high spirits. There seemed to be some troublesome behavior from Rachel who was in her bedroom playing music as loud as she could, T Rex was blaring out Ride A White Swan, with Catherine banging on the door telling her to turn it down. This made Rachel even more stubborn as she turned it up even more.

 

Bridgette had enough, she stormed upstairs as Kenneth went to answer the front door. “Ah! Charlie – am I pleased to see you. Come in. My wife's just attending to the girls, they're trying her patients and being badly behaved this morning.”

 

“He sounds like he's got his work cut out for he with all that racket. Good thing you's be living out here in the middle of nowhere.”

 

Kenneth coughed. “Yes! Quite. But I really need your help. I know we shouldn't have gone in that room that said DANGER! KEEP OUT! But we did and now we've discovered there's a body buried in there.”

 

Mr Hargreaves nodded in agreement. “Don't know nothing about no body, but I do knows that there be something creepy in there – you shouldn't have gone poking around, there be dangers that you've unleashed.”

 

“I know!” Replied Kenneth. “You see I know the truth – or at least I have my hunches which I'm almost a hundred per cent sure of.”

 

Mr Hargreaves scratched his head in confusion. “What do he mean hunches? What's this about a body anyway?”

 

Kenneth hesitated knowing that the Caretaker probably wouldn't believe him. “I've been shown visions of the past. There's a bear cub's body buried in the room, under some boulders, I do believe the creature that's been scaring people is the Mother Bear looking for it's cub.”

 

Finding the whole situation fascinating, the Caretaker never flinched, he just rubbed his hands together. “Come on then Reverend – what do he want me to do?”

 

Kenneth was so relieved as he showed Mr Hargreaves the boulders he'd made a start on. “Do you think you can help move these rocks? They're quite heavy but I seemed to have managed some on my own.”

 

“Ah! Reverend – you looks like you're on a mission.” The Caretaker rolled up his sleeves. “Come on then, lets get shifting these here boulders.”

 

The two men worked hard that morning, until finally they lifted the last couple of boulders. There lying curled up in the fetal position was a small skeleton. Kenneth wiped his brow and wondered how humanity could be so cruel. Tears filled his eyes as he gazed at the dead creature.

 

“So! He be right about the body” It was a shock for the Caretaker, he'd worked at the Vicarage for so many years and never expected to find such a distressing sight. “Don't know if this be a police matter, as it only be a bear cub.”

 

Suddenly Kenneth noticed something lying beside the body. Picking it up he recognized it as a long leather tube that was tied up. Undoing the ties, Inside rolled up was a scroll. Now Kenneth was getting excited.

 

He took out the parchment and unrolled it. The writing was in Latin. Now he was glad he'd got a degree in classical languages, all his younger days had been spent learning as much as he could with no time for a social life, but it was now paying off.

 

The Caretaker took one look at the scroll. “Looks like a load of gobbledygook to I. What's it say Reverend?”

 

Kenneth felt pleased with himself as he read out the contents of the scroll. “It says, So shall thy body rest here until such time the wolves be banished and ye shall find peace once more.” John Gifford 1598.

 

As they were talking, there was the faint sound of chanting coming from the walls, it echoed all around them filling the room with harmonies. Both the Reverend and Mr Hargreaves found themselves feeling intoxicated as if they'd been drinking, it was a strange heady experience.

 

In the shadows of the torchlight appeared two balls of white light, they traveled from one side of the wall to the other and back, then hovered close to the Reverend, it was only at this moment that they rose up into the air and then disappeared. The two men were mesmerized. Charlie felt as if he was in another world, it all seemed utterly bizarre, this wasn't anything he'd experienced before.

 

Bridgette and the girls came running downstairs, followed swiftly by Danny, his short legs were trying to catch up as he took one stair at a time. They'd all heard the chanting which by now had stopped, it seemed the whole house had been filled with the harmonious sounds of Monks.

 

When they stopped at the door and gazed at the skeleton on the ground, the girls and their Mother took a breath and suddenly understood why there house was so troubled. Danny finally reaching the door ran between their legs. “Daddy! I told you there was a baby.”

 

Kenneth picked his son up. “Yes! You did Danny my boy and it's because of you that I've a feeling things will be okay from now on.”

 

Danny was well pleased with himself as his Father announced that they should say a prayer over the figure for Mother Bear and cub. He was also glad that if John Gifford's body was inside that wall, the man whoever he was would be able to rest in peace and there would be no more chiseling away to find answers.

 

The 15^th Century Manor was a place of many secrets. A tortured Spirit wandering through shadows, searching – rejected by many. A distant growl, no snarl of defeat, but a soul searching for a lost cub. Down through mists of time suffering defeat and loss of dignity. Visions now blurred, slowly dissolve, a morbid solitude no more, but a light shining ever brightly. The End.