The Vision
By nickcoates
- 203 reads
The brilliant sunrise that Saturday in October gave no hint of what
was to come. More portentous was a horrific vision that had just awoken
me with a start. I saw my brother, Ed, standing alone. He was
surrounded by darkness, but a mysterious incandescence revealed deep
cuts on his face and neck. His face was contorted in anguish and he was
wailing --like a banshee-- the name of his wife, Louisa. Almost as
suddenly as it appeared, the phantasm was gone, but it left me feeling
terrified.
Shaken, I tried to assure myself it was not reality and went to make a
pot of coffee. Whilst waiting for the water to boil, I gazed out of the
window at the truly breath-taking sight of the sun hauling itself over
the horizon, as if engaged in a mortal battle against the dark,
foreboding rain-clouds that were approaching rapidly from the
west.
The kettle boiled and I absently poured the water onto the fresh
coffee grounds. Steam rose from the glass jug, dispersing the rich
scent of the coffee around the kitchen and, for the moment, I forgot my
nightmarish vision, looking forward instead to tasting the brew I had
made. When finally the infusion was complete, I transferred it to a mug
and made my way out into the garden from where I continued to watch the
sun making its laboured progress over the horizon. The air was crisp
and refreshing so I stayed out there for some time reflecting on how
lovely this time of the morning is, and how seldom I was even awake at
this hour. I made a promise to myself to try and experience this more
often, as I felt a tremendous feeling of tranquillity.
Once the sun had disappeared behind the clouds, not to be seen again
for the remainder of the day, I made my way back inside the house. I
had planned to spend the day relaxing, after the usual hard-slog of the
week but, presently, the troubling vision of my brother returned and I
began to feel extremely anxious. I was becoming convinced that
something terrible must have happened to Ed and Louisa. Although I
repeatedly attempted to convince myself that what I had seen was merely
a dream, I could not shift that image. I picked up the telephone and
dialled Ed's number with a shaking, perspiring hand. Louisa
answered.
"Oh, err, are you alright Louisa?" I tentatively asked her.
"I'm fine, just got up. You don't sound too good though"
I explained the dream to her and enquired if Ed was there.
"Yes he's here, still asleep. He's fine, stop worrying, it was just a
dream" she said, attempting to assuage me. My anxiety appeased a
little, we said our good-byes and I returned to looking at the world
outside the window. It was raining now. The sun had finally lost the
battle for supremacy and a torrential downpour had begun. Wind rattled
the windows in the frames. Despite Louisa's assurances that there was
no need to worry, I still felt more somewhat uneasy. I decided to
listen to the radio -- perhaps it would help me to forget what I had
seen. There was a program on about the Cochineal beetle, and I listened
with interest to the presenter explaining that, these days, people
preferred natural colourings in their food. On balance, I concluded
that I would rather eat food laced with chemicals than eat dried,
pulverised beetles. This was not helping matters much though, since the
constant reference to deep crimson reds was reminding me of the
bleeding apparition of Ed.
By now I had had enough and resolved to go and see Ed and Louisa -- it
seemed the only way to put my mind at rest. I rushed outside and jumped
into my car. I noticed that the roads were wet, and a little icy in
places, as I pulled out of my driveway. There was hardly any traffic on
the roads though, so I put my foot down and tried to get to their house
as quickly as possible, taking every short-cut I knew. The sky was
becoming very dark and I was struggling to see, but I felt a tremendous
impulse to get to my destination as fast as I could.
Then I saw it agian. the same vision had returned directly in front
the car. I panicked and skidded onto the other side of the road,
smashing headlong into a another car. I was knocked unconscious for a
few seconds, but as I came to, I could see to whom the other car
belonged. There was Ed, head slumped over the steering-wheel; he was
not moving. Next to him, in the passenger seat, was Louisa -- also
badly injured. I wrestled myself free from my wrecked car and rushed to
open the doors. Louisa seemed the more badly injured, so I went to her
door first. I thought I would never be able to wrestle that door open,
but the masses of Adrenaline pulsing through my veins came to my aid.
After almost yanking the door off its hinges, I urgently checked her
pulse and breathing. She was dead. I ran round to the other side of the
car to check on Ed. He was still breathing. I managed to bring him
around, and, as he sat up in his seat, he turned his head to see his
wife's lifeless body. He screamed her name and I could see the deep
crimson cuts to his head and neck, illuminated by my car
headlights.
They were on their way to see me -- worried by my anxious
phone-call.
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