Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 2048

The Daily Dormouse.
(aka Bike)
Part 2048
by Angharad

Copyright © 2013 Angharad
All Rights Reserved.
  
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Fortunately Phoebe flopped against a wall and I caught her on the rebound and helped her slither to the floor gently. A man who’d been sitting across the room came over and asked if she was okay. He helped me lift her up on to one of the chairs and she slowly came round as I rubbed her hand and cheek.

“Oh,” she sighed and opened her eyes, “that was so weird.”

“What was, sweetheart?”

“I saw some strange woman who was standing behind you and obviously helping you.”

“I think you might have imagined it, sweetheart, you passed right out.”

“Did I?”

“Yes, the man over there helped me pick you up, you were as limp as three week old lettuce.”

“Ugh,” was her response to that. “She was standing behind you wearing a dress that seemed to be made of sunlight, it glowed a golden yellow and shone like the sun does as it rises in the sky.”

“I think your mind was playing tricks as you keeled over.”

“She said Neal would be alright because you had acted so promptly and so selflessly. There was a girl standing with her who looked at you with such love.”

Oh boy, this was starting to freak me out. “It was an hallucination, okay?”

“If you say so, Mummy, I don’t mean to upset you.”

“Good, well let’s say no more about it, shall we?”

“It’s just that she looked like the girl in the photo in your purse.”

“I thought we agreed?”

“Yes, Mummy.”

“Do you feel okay now?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what came over me.”

Just in case it was the thought of being bitten by a dormouse, I said nothing and we sat in silence until the doctor came out and spoke with us again. “We’re going to admit him overnight, so you could tell any family what’s happening. He’ll be seen by a duty psychiatrist before we release him tomorrow–it’s standard procedure when it’s a genuine suicide attempt and this would have worked had you not found him and started CPR.”

“Can we see him?” asked Phoebe.

“Be brief then, he’s coming to but very woozy.”

I nodded and he pointed to a cubicle. We pulled back the curtain and Neal was lying there looking much better though he looked very tired.

“Hi, Neal,” said Phoebe walking up and touching his face.

His eyes opened and he took a moment to focus. “Hi,” he sort of croaked back.

“Don’t ever do that again, ever,” she said her eyes filling with tears descended her face, dripping off her chin.

“Okay,” he croaked. He looked at me and smiled. “Shoulda known you’d be there.”

“Only just, we nearly missed you, but not as much as a little girl would have done. For her sake, don’t you ever do anything like this again, okay?”

He nodded pointing to his throat.

“Keep a look out,” I said to Phoebe and then began gently rubbing his throat. “That should feel easier,” and he nodded again.

“Times up,” announced the young doctor, “porter’s here to take him up to a ward.”

We both kissed him goodnight and left.

“What do we tell the wicked witch of the west?” asked Phoebe as we got into my car.

“Nothing.”

“But won’t she find out?”

“She might. I said I’d look in on him I didn’t agree to report back to her.”

“Isn’t that a case of semantics or whatever they call it?”

“Perhaps, but I’m going home and after a cuppa I’m going to bed.”

“Good idea–why d’you think I fainted?”

“Perhaps you stood up too quickly?”

“Could be,” she shrugged and pulled on her seat belt while I started the car and drove out of the hospital.

I was turning into the drive when she said, “That was Billie, wasn’t it?”

“What was?” I played dumb.

“The girl.”

“What girl?” I knew perfectly well what she meant.

“In my faint, the girl I saw standing next to the goddess.”

“Was it? You’ve seen the photo in my purse which could have stimulated the image.”

“It was the goddess, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t see her did I?”

“But you know her don’t you?”

“How could I know someone I don’t believe could exist?”

“You’re very stubborn aren’t you? She said you were.”

“She?”

“The goddess lady. She said not believing wouldn’t make her cease to exist.”

“Yes but the corollary of that is, believing in imaginary things doesn’t necessarily make them exist either. Just because the Pope believes in a god doesn’t mean he’s right. He still can’t produce any evidence which could be checked.”

“But isn’t that what belief is all about? You choose not to believe, that’s your belief, his is the opposite–the Pope I mean.”

“If you like–look, I’m tired and after a cuppa, I’m off to bed.”

“The Shekinah, that’s her name, said that you wouldn’t progress until you understood and if you refuse to acknowledge her, you won’t understand.”

“Fine, if she understood, she’d leave me in peace and pick on someone more gullible and accepting.”

“You were chosen long ago.”

“Oh pull the other one, I’m going for my cuppa.”

“One day you’ll understand.”

“Yeah sure, where’s that tea?” I dismissed her. Gods and goddesses just cluttered up the mathematics of creation as per Professor Cox, it’s all about the second law of thermodynamics, not fairies from the Old Testament, and the science can be tested.

“Where the hell have you been?” asked Simon.

“Was your dinner warm?” I answered with another question.

“It was fine, thank you; now where were you?”

“At the hospital.”

“All this time?”

“No we started off at Neal’s house.”

“How did that turn into the hospital?”

“He had an accident.”

“Accident?”

“Why are you simply repeating what I’m saying?”

“I’m not, what sort of accident?”

“He’s okay. I’m having a cuppa want one?”

“What sort of accident?”

“Nothing, okay?”

“So if it was nothing why can’t you say?”

“What would it prove?”

“I don’t know until you tell me.”

I rinsed the teapot with the boiling water to warm it then added some teabags and filled it with water. While it was standing, I got two cups and some milk. Then poured the teas after stirring the pot, added some milk and handed the stronger one to Simon.

“Why are you evading my question?”

“There’s nothing to tell, he’d had an accident we called the paramedics and followed to the hospital then waited while he had a scan.”

“So he’d had the accident before you got there?”

“Yes.”

“Lots of blood?”

“No there was little if any.”

“So what sort of accident was it?”

“An accidental accident.”

“That is rubbish and you know it.”

I sipped my tea. “Look, I’m very tired and need to go to bed. Oh bugger, I’ll have to check the baby first.”

“Stella fed her about,” he looked at his watch, “an hour ago.”

“Sometimes she really contributes.”

“And this accident–what happened?”

“If I tell you, will you shut up about it?”

“Cross my heart.” He drew a cross on his chest with his finger.

“Okay, he fell out of the attic.”

“Jeez that could have killed him,” gasped Simon.

“Yeah, only the rope round his neck broke the fall.”

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