Day 18 - In the Realm of Silent Ghosts

"I kept screaming and screaming for you."

"I honestly heard nothing." 

"How? How could you not have heard anything? I'll never forget it. Even now as I think about it, I freeze. I freeze, just like I was frozen then. Stiff. Screaming. Trying with all my might to slam my fists down. Trying to force my arms to flail. Screaming. Screaming." 

"Breathe, honey. You're getting yourself into a panic again."

"But you don't understand. It is terrifying. It is terrifying. I can't believe it's happening again. What am I going to do?" 

"What happened the first time?" 

"I don't know. I don't know how it happened." 

"Sweetheart, look at me."

He took her hands.

Sigh. "It was a normal night as far as I can remember. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened that day. I was studying then, you remember?" 

"We weren't together then, darling."

"No, no. That's right. We weren't. Silly me." 

"You're not silly."

"No, no. That's right. I'm not." 

"You were studying then, you said."

"Yes, yes. I was studying, for my Master's. My Master's. I was at home, remember. No. No, you don't remember. Silly me."

"You're not silly."

"No, no. That's right. I'm not. I was studying for my Master's, living at home for the year. I studied a lot. You know I like to do the best I can with things."

"Yes, I do." 

"I studied a lot. I'd start at seven or eight in the morning after the gym, and sometimes stay up until three finishing research or writing up my reports. I can't deny being tired."

"Only tired?"

"Well, ok, yes. Maybe a little exhausted."

"Mhmm." 

"I was quite exhausted that week if I can recall. I think I can recall being quite exhausted that week. I had four papers due. One was a full business plan with financials for three years to be fully calculated and accounted for using Excel. You know, I love Excel, but I go into too much detail. It took me an age to get it right. Of course, then, I always sought perfection. I was used to high scores. I was exhausted." 

"It's reasonable you would have been." 

"That's when it happened. I was screaming. Screaming. Trying with all my might to slam my fists down. Trying to force my arms to flail. Wailing for help."

"But nobody came?" 

"Nobody. Nobody. Nobod..."

"What is it?" 

"I don't know how long it was. After I don't know how much time, the man was there."

"What man?" 

"The man on the chair. The man on the chair with the long legs, one crossed over the other like a long rope. One long knee twisted up over the other, the foot dangling down, long and narrow. So long and narrow it almost touched the ground. The brown shoes almost touched the ground. The brown shoes under the long beige slacks - that's what they'd have called them in the days he came from - slacks. The long beige slacks and the narrow brown shoe, dangling, slowly, ever so slowly. He was completely silent." 

"Who was he? How did he get into the room?" 

"He was...I mean, he can't have been. He was, but it's impossible..."

"What's impossible, Nora? Did you know him? How did he get into the room?" 

"His jumper was that thick, old wool you'd rarely see nowadays. Wool from the Foxford Mills or the Aran Islands or somewhere like that."

"From Foxford? Mayo Foxford?"

"Yes, yes, where else? Where else could it have been from. Sure that's where my..."

"Where your what, Nora? I thought nobody came. You said nobody came."

"They didn't. Nobody came. Nobody heard me screaming. Like you heard nothing. Nobody heard me screaming. I was screaming, trying to make my arms move, flailing, wailing. I could hear it all. I could hear it all, but my mouth wouldn't open. I was frozen. He was there. I was frozen. He was silent, smiling. He was smiling. His smile was sweet. It was peaceful. He was helping me calm down. 

"Who, Nora? Who was in the room?"

"My Great-grandfather."