Secrets And Styes

Chapter 4: An imaginary foe

Uncle Tommy's Zephyr freewheeled, making a slow rightward turn into the small, gravelled space at the side of the house.

I stared out the windows, trying to make sense of what I saw. But the bright sun dappling through the trees blinkered my eyes, making the tall-man flicker in and out of focus.

Tommy jerked the handbrake up, causing me to lurch forward and splutter, "Who's that man?"

"What man?" asked Uncle Tommy, opening the door and hauling himself out of the Zephyr. I didn't answer. Instead, I jumped out and raced round to the front of the house, stopping abruptly – there was no one there.

Dermot rushed past me and disappeared into the house, followed by an equally eager Maria, "Come on, Gerard, come in and see Granny," she said, hot on Dermot's heels.

Tommy's voice jolted me, "What are you looking at?" I looked back at him, looking over his Zephyr.

"There was a man at the door. I saw him when we wheeled past; he's gone now."

Tommy was emphatic, "All the men of the house are working at this hour, you might have seen the tall-man ghost, or you're raving from the journey," he said, walking past me and into the house.

I stood in the sun and noticed the silence. On my English council estate, noise was constant. Here, quietness surrounded me, and at that moment, it unsettled me – I dashed into The House in The Hollow, where Maria and Dermot's excited chatter shattered the spooking silence.

......

"Get that into you; there's nothing of ya. Do they not feed you over there?"

Granny welcomed me with slices of warm buttered current soda bread.

I tucked in while Maria answered for me, "He's a picky eater Granny."

Watching me eat her home-baked bread with gusto pleased Granny. She beamed and patted my shoulder, "Well, don't be picking the apples from the college orchard and bringing the vexed Bishop down to me, do you hear me?" she said.

I nodded my yes, while Uncle Tommy spoke, "It's Dermot who'll be vexing the bishop. Gerard'll be busy wandering, looking for the tall- man. There's no harm in that mammy."

I swallowed the bread and washed it down with a mouth full of sweet tea, "Who was that man at the door, Granny?" I asked. She looked at Tommy.

When he rolled his eyes, she looked at me, "There was no man at the door; the men are all out working," she said, wiping her hands on a cloth and stepping down into the scullery.

......

Maria and Dermot barely chewed their breakfast; such was their eagerness to get to the college farmyard. Dermot grabbed his wellies and ran out the door, while Maria paused, "You coming with us?"

"I'll see you there when I'm finished," I said, lifting my second slice of soda bread.

......

When Uncle Tommy left for work, I sat alone in the small room, the heart of the home. I listened to the various noises coming from the scullery – the sounds of Granny preparing dinner for her family created a nurturing symphony that soothed me.

Finishing my tea, I looked around, seeking difference. My young life had experienced a cacophony of change since I last sat in this room, yet everything here remained the same. The lack of change kindled warmth in the pit of my belly.

My attention turned to Jesus. He gazed down at me from his prime position above the table. I tilted my head to match the tilt of his and silently mouthed, "Help me find the tall-man, please." Then I winced at the open wounds on his outstretched hands and headed for the door.