Mystery and Magic
She couldn't sleep again so she made coffee and a sandwich and stared at the silent tv. She didn't know why but something made her go to the window and look out. There was a scooter parked outside with a dark figure sat on it... they looked up at her window, she looked back. Alright for them, she thought, they can just drive off and get away from here. But they didn't. They were still looking at her. Stupidly she waved and they waved back. There's some strange people about, she thought. For some reason they flashed their headlamp, still looking at her. Who was it? She went back to bed to finish her coffee and afterwards turned off the tv and looked out again. They had gone. The next morning she found a note on the doormat, in oddly familiar writing. "See you tonight" Huh? She forgot about it til she was in bed, once again unable to sleep, and looked out. They didn't see her, but they were there. Or was it just her imagination.
Then they looked up and gestured she go down. No way. But she wanted to know who they were, so she wrote the question on some paper and scrunched it up and threw it out of the window. They picked it up and read it. She wrote on the paper "who are you" a second time. They seemed to be getting annoyed. She went to bed.
Another note the next morning "you know who I am". It was like one of those american horror films. Guess who it is before they get you. The next night, she decided not to look. She heard a dog barking and to her horror realised it was barking at them. Oh God, it wasn't going away. She ran down and hesitated at the door. It was either she go, or the whole street. He was pretending to kick it by now. She still couldn't see his face, he had on his motorbike helmet. Handing her the spare one, she looked at him and hesitated. The dog got louder.
Curtains started moving. She put on the helmet and got on the bike. They drove off, the dog chasing and howling like a demented wolf when it fell behind.
The moon lit up the night. Who was he? She held on tight as they sped along deserted streets. Her visor steaming up so she couldn't see. They seemed to drive for ages, until they were in the middle of nowhere. They stopped. She was scared.
He got off the bike and walked away, then took off his helmet and looked up at the stars. She didn't get off the bike, he turned to look but she still couldn't see his face. Then he disappeared. Where did he go? It was either stay here or follow. So there was only one thing to do. She got off the bike and ran after the dark figure disappearing into the woods, through the undergrowth. This was like one of those films.
They were heading towards a light, inside a tree clearing. A fire. The bright embers crackling. He stood infront of it, with his back to her.
"Who are you?" she said. No reply. Specks of water falling from the sky, light at first then heavy, putting out the fire as if on time. It was dark. "Tell me who you are" she asked a second time. She felt about for the nearest tree, and clutched onto it. Suddenly the clouds cleared and the moonlight lit up the scene. The fire smouldered.
Then he tossed a coin into the air, it spun round and round before falling back to earth. The wind started to blow, leaves obscuring the view. When the wind stopped, a carriage pulled up, driven by horses. The door opened and she climbed inside. He was already in there, his appearance was different, long black hair and a shirt decorated with lace. His ring glinted in the moonlight as he swung close the carriage door. She still couldn't see his face, a black mask covering his eyes. And they set off as speed.
"How did you do that?" she asked. He stared at her intently. Maybe best not to ask. They drove through an ornate gateway and up to a mansion. Who's house was it? He disappeared from the carriage and walked inside. She followed, and the carriage sped off into the night. Looking up she could see a huge chandelier high above the main hall. The walls were all dark wood panelling, the heavy oak door, made from what looked like a whole tree, slammed shut behind her. He went into a nearby room and sat in a chair next to a fire. She sat in the opposite chair and he poured them each a drink.
It was really strong like nothing she had tasted before. The room was really warm and she drifted into a deep sleep. When she awoke she was in a 4 poster bed, the sun streaming in through the thick glass window. She felt like she'd been here, in this place, forever. And she didn't want to go back, not now.
The door creaked open and she pretended to be asleep. Slabs of thick bread, covered in butter and a glass of milk by the bed, she ate it hungrily. But what was she doing here? Was she a prisoner?
She heard horses hooves and ran to the window, he was riding round the front of the house. He waved. Just like a few nights ago. Then she noticed a note pushed under her door...
Reading it she took the cape from behind the door, put it on and followed the stairway down, to the hallway, the door way already open. She couldn't see him and then he came from round the corner, pulling her up onto the horse. And away they rode.
Heading off into the distance, the hooves creating a steady rhythm, she knew they weren't coming back. Climbing a steep hill, he dismounted and looked down at the scene on the other side. She got off the horse but couldn't see what was over the hill from where she was standing. Then he took the coin from his pocket and threw it in the air again. She watched it fall and the wind started again. When she finally opened her eyes, nothing seemed to have changed, except the horse had gone and he was wearing what looked like some kind of space age clothing. So was she.
Walking to the edge of the hilltop, she could see the rocket on the launchpad ready for take off. Parked nearby was a jeep and he got in, by now she knew there was no going back and climbed in the passenger seat. They drove down the hill and over to the launch base. People seemed to recognise him and waved as they drove into the parking bay. Getting out, she looked up at the huge rocket.
She still hadn't seen his face, because now he was wearing a dark visor. He went off to talk to the crew. Someone took her off into a separate part of the building, checking her heart rate and doing other examinations. Then she was taken into a room with a space suit. They were really going up in the rocket. A clock on the wall had the time until lift off. Once in the suit, she was taken back outside, got into a jeep and driven towards the rocket. Once inside, she found he was already in his seat, testing the controls before lift off. His space helmet in position so she still couldn't see.
The count down was about to begin and she checked she was safely strapped in the seat. Then the boosters started and the rocket shook, after what seemed like an eternity the countdown started and then they slowly lifted into the air. She closed her eyes tight shut.
Once they got free from the earths atmosphere, they began to circle it and infront of them was a screen showing an image of the world below. She turned to look at the pilot. He waved in slow motion, and opened his space glove to reveal the shiny gold coin.
But how do you toss a coin in space...
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