My Secret, Chapter 14

Chapter 14:
When the rain comes...

‘I knew that I’d find you here.’

Summer had come to the garden, and it lay before me, bright and green – and alive. The leaves of the plants glistened with early morning dew, which shone like pearls and sparkled brighter than diamonds. The breeze that swirled around me was warm, with the promise of a long, languid day stretching ahead.

The young man who stood facing me, with his arms resting on his spade, laughed.

‘Aye! tha’ knows I canna stay awa’ for too long!’

I moved closer towards him, eyeing him coyly, the warm wind gently blowing the skirts of my summer dress around my bare legs.

‘Away from the garden, Dickon?’

‘Nay, tis’ not the garden that keeps me here, Miss Mary.’

We came together then, and he clasped me in his arms, before leaning down to kiss me fully and passionately. I tasted the moor in his kiss, the wild sweet taste in the roughness of him. It left me breathless.

When we finally broke apart I spoke, my voice full of emotion. ‘I’ve missed you so much, Dickon’.

His eyes were a vivid blue, the same colour as the sky on a cloudless day in the heat of midsummer. They sparkled with life and happiness, mesmerizing me, pulling me in. ‘We will live forever’, his eyes were saying to me. I smiled through the tears that I now felt, coursing down my cheeks.

He drew me tightly against him, into his warm chest. I could smell freshly dug dirt and perspiration. I felt him stroking my back and my hair, and I leaned into him, relaxing completely, breathing in the warm scent of him. He felt like part of the earth – full of goodness like the freshly dug dirt and warm sunlight. Like a child of the soil.

‘I missed you Lass.’ he was murmering to me. ‘Sometimes I didn’t know how I would stand it, I missed you so much. And here you are now……. I can scarcely believe it.’

‘I’m just so glad to be home, Dickon. So glad.’

The air was thick with the scent of Jasmine and Roses, and he lead me over to the cool shade of the large apple tree. We sat down under the tree, together on the lush green grass. I reached for him once I sat down, and he leant over me, entwining his arms around me, softly kissing me. I leaned back on the lush carpet of grass and sighed in ecstasy. ‘Oh Dickon, please don’t stop.’

But something was wrong.

The quality of the light had dimmed, I could feel it, even through my closed eyes. Its going to rain, I thought. The rain will come. I stopped kissing Dickon and sat up. He must have sensed my anxiety because he also sat up, and looked out from underneath the leafy branches that gave us shelter.

Outside, the sky had darkened, and the brilliant blue was now being replaced by clouds of a dull, dark gray. I felt a shiver run down my spine, and a sudden ominous feeling. The sound of thunder clapped high over head, and then the sound of rain beginning to fall on freshly dug earth.

‘Some say there are spirits that bring th’ rain.’ Dickon was saying. He sounded distant and far away, and I noticed him staring at something in the corner of the garden.

Amid the torrent of rain and wind, stood a pale dark haired girl. The rain had plastered her long black hair and her dress to her body, but she stood motionless, then turned her expressionless face towards us and reached out her arms. I felt an icy chill of terror run through my body and my heart thumped loudly in my chest.

‘I must go t’ her.’ Dickon said, ‘she needs me.’

I grabbed his arm. ‘No Dickon! don’t go, please don’t go!’

‘But I must.’ he replied simply. ‘For she is calling to me.’

I was seized by a sudden urge to run, to get as far away as I could. The wraith that stood amidst the garden, white and pale against the backdrop of the sky, was reaching out her arms towards Dickon, as though she was drawing him in. In horror I saw that one of her wrists dripped with scarlet blood. Out of her open mouth came a toneless sound. Dickon got up and started towards her through the pouring rain, like a man in a dream.

‘No Dickon!!’ I screamed. ‘Come back! please don’t go!’

-------------------------

‘Mary, wake up, you’re screaming!’

Sam’s concerned voice broke into my muddled and frightened thoughts. I felt the heavy weight of blankets covering me, and the warmth of Sam’s body next to mine. My head was resting on the same feather pillow it had been on for the last two weeks. I wasn’t at Misselthwaite, I realized dismally. None of that just happened. I was still in London, and I was lying in bed next to Samantha Sutherland. I felt despair and anxiety wash over me.

‘You must have had a nightmare, you were screaming and calling out.’ she said. ‘But you’re safe now, Mary.’

I shivered in remembrance of the horrid dream that had seemed so real. I felt myself shaking with fear, still unable to speak. I could only picture Dickon in my mind, and the vision of him heading towards the pale girl, whose face was awash with tragedy. I felt so confused, and near tears.

‘I……I ….’ I began, ‘Oh Sam, I just had the most terrible nightmare.’ and then I burst into tears.
She reached out her arms for me, and drew me close to her, holding me while I cried and shook with a lingering fear. The warmth and darkness of the bed comforted me somewhat, and after a time I stopped crying, although I still shook. Our room was dark, but I could see the faint edges of daybreak begin to lighten the curtains that covered the large bay windows. It wouldn’t be long now before the sun rose, I knew. I lay in Sam’s arms and thought about the coming day, feeling myself sinking further and further into depression. Today was the day of my sixteenth birthday, and it was the first birthday I had spent away from home in six years.

The dream had been so real and vivid, and it had felt as though Dickon and I were together again. I shuddered again thinking about the strange girl with dark hair, and how she had called Dickon to her. I could still see her in my mind’s eye – drenched with rain, her dark hair hanging long and lank against her face, her white dress plastered to her body, and her arms outstretched and bloody, calling Dickon towards her.

Presently Sam fell back asleep, but I lay awake beside her, thinking about the dream. It had all felt so real. I got up and pulled the curtains, to see what the day was like outside. It was cold and grey outside the window, endless streets drenched in rain, row upon row of red brick buildings. The occasional carriage making its way slowly down the muddy road. The sky was iron gray in the dawn, and it was raining softly. I walked over to the dresser, and feeling the need to feel Dickon close to me, retrieved his latest letter.

‘I wish I could be there to help you celebrate your birthday’, he had written ‘but I know we’ll celebrate it together when you return.’

When I return……. it all seemed so far away now. I went back to the window and stared down the misty gray streets. It would soon be time to rise. Charlotte would come in to help us get dressed and there would be a whole day to live through – not to mention the birthday party to be held later that evening. Everything seemed so pointless and hollow, and more than anything, I longed to be back at Misselthwaite, and back in Dickon’s arms.

I looked over towards the bed that I shared with Sam and noticed her sprawled out languidly in the middle of the large bed. Her arms were raised above her slightly, and her dark lashes were closed. Her dark hair framed her face as she slept. I noticed that her nightgown was slipping down one of her arms, revealing the pale white flesh of her arms – and something more.

I crept closer to the bed, wondering if I had really seen what I thought I had. Slowly I moved towards Sam, quietly, as to not wake her. I carefully moved so I could see her arm, and gasped at what I saw.

For down her left arm, was the ugly scar of a strong, diagonal cut.

Her eyes fluttered open.

'Ah Mary, ' she said, her voice thick with sleep. 'Is it time to get up already?' She yawned and pulled her arms down under the blankets. 'I can't remember it being this cold for a long time. Why did you get out of bed?'

'Ah... I just woke up, that's all. I wanted to see what the day was like outside.'

'You should come back to bed.' She scolded. 'You'll catch a chill standing there in your nightdress.'

I felt so confused. Had I really seen what I thought I had? why would Sam have such a large scar down her wrist? I struggled to think of an accident which could have caused it. I couldn't remember her mentioning anything to me about it. I made up my mind to ask her about it when the moment presented itself.

'It's the day of our party, Mary.' She said softly. 'I hope you're in the mood to socialise.'

I didn't reply, but lay down in bed, with the covers pulled tightly around me, listening to the rain falling outside, the strange girl in my dream still haunting my mind, along with the unanswered question of Sam's scar...