Holme Again

11

Lightning flashed outside my window, followed by an immense crack of thunder. I sat up suddenly, sweating. I couldn't sleep. Not tonight. It wasn't just the storm that had woken me.

I crept out into the corridor with the intention of going downstairs for a drink of water, when I heard a different noise during a lull in the thunder. I froze. Heard it again- voices. But that didn't make sense. I followed by ears down the corridor to a door that led into the room opposite Mycroft's. The door was closed and I pressed my ear against it. A quiet whirring sound and those voices again. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but neither of them was Mycroft's.

Slowly, silently, I turned the door handle, inching it open but by bit. Once it was turned all the way, I leant slightly on it, pushing it open just enough for me to squeeze inside. Then I pushed the door closed again, and released the handle slowly before turning around.

Beside me was an old-fashioned film projector, projecting, as projectors do, a black and white film which looked like it was from the twenties or thirties onto the wall opposite. Mycroft was sat in a chair about a metre in front of the projector, holding a glass of whisky.

For some time I was shocked into immobility, but then I slowly took a seat in the second chair in the room, beside the projector. No sooner had I sat down though, when Mycroft, without so much as blinking or turning his head, beckoned to me with his free hand. I made to get up, but he made a stop sign and then another beckoning gesture, still without any other movement.

I stood up and moved the chair closer to him, then sat down again, and settled down to watch the film.

I woke up in my bed the next morning, and almost thought it had been a dream until Mycroft asked me a question whilst I was reading in the living room.

"Did the film bore you or were you just very tired last night?"

"Oh, yeah, the film was fine, fui sólo cansado, tío. "

"How did your Spanish test go then?"

"You already know the answer. "

"I do. Doesn't mean I can't ask."