B The Spirit of Loch Ness

The Spirit of Loch Ness.
Julia read the letter for the third time. There was no doubt that it
was genuine, and her heart began to flutter nervously. Why, she asked
herself, had she ever entered the competition in the first place? She
shook her head in disbelief. She had never expected - nor had she
wanted - to win first prize. No - the most that she had anticipated was
the second prize - a colour television. Or even one of the fifty
runner-up prizes of Chippy Chews tokens. But to win a cruise! And with
that pathetic slogan that she had made up in two seconds flat! How did
it go? Oh, yes - 'A Chippy Chew is just enough to make him beg and say,
"Wuff, Wuff!"' The literary calibre of the other entrants must have
been very poor if she had won with that one, she reflected sadly. Well,
she would just have to turn down the prize. She couldn't possibly go to
the Scottish Highlands on a cruise. Not with her fear of water. (She
told everyone that she had 'aquaphobia.' It sounded better than 'I'm
scared of water.' Giving it a technical name made it sound more like a
real illness.)
But Dennis, her husband of ten years, thought otherwise.
"Look, Julia - it might be the answer to finding a cure for your
problem, you know. It will make you face up to your fear whilst being
in a safe environment. The water will be there, of course, but it won't
touch you. You hardly know that you're even afloat in these luxury
liners these days - and you won't even have to get your feet wet!" he
joked. Julia sighed. It was clear that he wanted to go and, although he
was making light of her phobia, he was desperate for her to try again
to fight it. And he was probably right. She should try again. After
all, it had been ten years since her last failed attempt. But still
Julia hesitated. Dennis had never really understood how utterly
terrified she became when she was near water. In all honesty, she
didn't understand it herself, except that her fear was so tangible that
she felt as though she could reach out and push it away from her body
if only she were brave enough. If only the sight of water didn't
paralyse her with fear. She only had to walk past a pond and she would
start to feel the air turning thick as it tried to enter the pinhole
that her constricted throat had become. She couldn't go to the seaside,
or to the Lake District. The Norfolk Broads were unthinkable and a
picnic on the riverbank was an ordeal comparable only to major surgery.
The swimming baths were off limits - and she would only step into a
bath tub if it contained less than two inches of water.
Her mother had once told her that she had nearly drowned in a lake one
summer when she had been a small child. But Julia didn't remember the
incident at all and presumed that it had passed into that obscure area
of her brain that was impenetrable from the outside - but which allowed
stupid phobias to trickle out at random. If she could only remember
what had happened that summer, then she might be able to exorcise the
demons. But not even the most expensive psychiatrists could evoke the
memory, and Julia had reconciled herself to the sad fact that it would
stay buried and uncured in her sub-conscience forever. She took a deep
breath and her lips trembled into a grimace.
"All right, Dennis," she said shakily at last. "I'll try." Dennis
beamed and patted her hand encouragingly.
"I've always wanted to see Loch Ness!" he cried. "And to sail across
it on a luxury cruiser is an unbelievable opportunity! You never know -
we might see the monster!" He was like an excited child at Christmas,
and Julia realised how much her fear had deprived her husband of the
simple recreational pleasures that other people took for granted. She
tried to look enthusiastic as she swallowed the rising tide of despair
that gushed from the pit of her stomach.
"What's the name of the cruiser?" she asked.
"The Spirit of Loch Ness," replied Dennis.
"Unknown territory," said Julia, though she felt a familiarity with
the loch because of the pictures of it that she had seen on
television.

As the departure date approached, Julia became increasingly anxious,
and she was finding it difficult to conceal her impending hysteria from
the husband who knew her moods so well. She felt, inexplicably that the
end of an era was approaching. But when she said as much to Dennis he
smiled and reassured her that the only era that would end would be that
of her silly fear of water. His bright optimism was infectious,
however, and when she found herself stepping boldly onto the gangway of
'The Spirit of Loch Ness' she was confident that she would be able to
go through with it. After all, she had managed thus far to avoid
looking at the loch itself - and perhaps if she didn't go too near the
side of the ship she would be able to cope with the nearness of the
water.
But the stress of her bravery had exhausted her, and when she reached
her cabin she pleaded a headache and sank thankfully onto the bed -
with the cabin curtains firmly closed. Dennis looked down at her
proudly.
"I knew you could do it!" he cried. "Get some rest now - and we'll put
Phase Two into operation as soon as you wake up. Yes, - we're going to
get you onto the deck!" Julia smiled weakly and within a few minutes
she was fast asleep.

She was in that dark, shadowy place again. It was so very cold and wet
- and strange objects floated past her eyes. She was aware of a deep
sorrow that forced hot, stinging tears from between her lashes. A
strangled cry that she knew was hers escaped from her lips and she
sensed a dark, bleak despair that she knew had been born from
loneliness. It had been such a long time since anyone had come to see
her and the solitude was unbearable now&;#8230;&;#8230;
A movement above her head startled her from her reverie and she looked
up into a bright shaft of sunlight. A flash of red caught the sun's
rays and a swirling eddy was sucking something down towards her. At
last! Someone had come! She raised her eyes hopefully, knowing that she
must bide her time, for she must not be the one to cause the death. The
magic wouldn't work if she did that. But she had to be there at the
moment of death so that she could take the spirit as it left the body
and then she could become reborn in that other world. That world where
she had been so happy with many husbands and children over the years.
Her chance had come again - though this time it had taken more than two
hundred years.
It was a little girl wearing a red summer dress. Her frightened eyes
peered through the bubbles as she exhaled her last breath. She gaped in
abject fear at the enormous dark shape, which was the last earthly
thing she saw. Julia breathed in the departing spirit and then passed
joyously into the child's body with practised ease, and a moment later
she surfaced into the bright sunlight, leaving the darkness behind her
in the soft, cold mud of the loch bed. She was free again. Until it was
time for her to return.

Julia awoke with a start. Dennis was sitting on the edge of the bed,
looking down at her anxiously.
"You were dreaming," he said. "Shh - it's all right now. You don't
have to go on deck today if you don't want to." But Julia sat up, and
there was an expression of determination on her face.
"But I do want to," she replied. "It's time for me to go now." Dennis
looked at her in bewilderment.
"Go?" he asked. Something about her manner frightened him and a cold
sweat broke out over his body. She was slipping away and he didn't know
what to do about it. "Go where?" he demanded.
"Back to my real home," she said shakily. "My time here has just been
borrowed from a little girl called Julia, who drowned in the loch
nearly thirty years ago." She stood up and held out her hand to her
husband. "Come on deck with me," she pleaded. "I'm not afraid of the
water any more." Dennis rose and followed her out of the cabin. He
sensed what she was about to do and a feeling of dread crept through
him. He had never seen her so calmly resolute before. She was stronger
than he had ever known her to be and he knew that her actions would not
be influenced by him, or by anything that he might say to her.
Wordlessly they stood on the deck and looked down over the railings
into the murky depths beneath them. Julia turned to her husband and
there were tears in her eyes.
"Good bye, my darling," she whispered, and climbed onto the rail that
was all that stood between her and the water which she had feared all
her life. Dennis wanted to reach out to her, but he was rooted to the
spot and was unable to cry out, even as she leapt from the rail. All he
could do was to look down in horror as her body hit the water. Then his
eyes rounded in amazement - for she seemed to disappear. To melt into
the water and merge with something else that he couldn't quite see.
Then, just beneath the surface he saw it. It was the 'monster' - of
that there was no doubt, for hadn't he seen dozens of pictures and
artists' impressions of it? He should have been afraid, but he wasn't.
He should have cried out, but he didn't. All that he could do was to
gaze down in awe and wonderment at the creature in the loch.
From its enormous body rose a slender swan-like neck which supported a
strange, wizened little face. As Dennis looked into the deep-set eyes
that gazed longingly back into his own, he saw a tender expression
appear there for a moment before vanishing forever into the murky
depths of the loch. And to him, the 'monster' that had frightened
thousands of people over the ages was the most beautiful and gentle
creature in the world.
THE END
No. of words - 1,794

The Spirit of Loch Ness.
Julia read the letter for the third time. There was no doubt that it
was genuine, and her heart began to flutter nervously. Why, she asked
herself, had she ever entered the competition in the first place? She
shook her head in disbelief. She had never expected - nor had she
wanted - to win first prize. No - the most that she had anticipated was
the second prize - a colour television. Or even one of the fifty
runner-up prizes of Chippy Chews tokens. But to win a cruise! And with
that pathetic slogan that she had made up in two seconds flat! How did
it go? Oh, yes - 'A Chippy Chew is just enough to make him beg and say,
"Wuff, Wuff!"' The literary calibre of the other entrants must have
been very poor if she had won with that one, she reflected sadly. Well,
she would just have to turn down the prize. She couldn't possibly go to
the Scottish Highlands on a cruise. Not with her fear of water. (She
told everyone that she had 'aquaphobia.' It sounded better than 'I'm
scared of water.' Giving it a technical name made it sound more like a
real illness.)
But Dennis, her husband of ten years, thought otherwise.
"Look, Julia - it might be the answer to finding a cure for your
problem, you know. It will make you face up to your fear whilst being
in a safe environment. The water will be there, of course, but it won't
touch you. You hardly know that you're even afloat in these luxury
liners these days - and you won't even have to get your feet wet!" he
joked. Julia sighed. It was clear that he wanted to go and, although he
was making light of her phobia, he was desperate for her to try again
to fight it. And he was probably right. She should try again. After
all, it had been ten years since her last failed attempt. But still
Julia hesitated. Dennis had never really understood how utterly
terrified she became when she was near water. In all honesty, she
didn't understand it herself, except that her fear was so tangible that
she felt as though she could reach out and push it away from her body
if only she were brave enough. If only the sight of water didn't
paralyse her with fear. She only had to walk past a pond and she would
start to feel the air turning thick as it tried to enter the pinhole
that her constricted throat had become. She couldn't go to the seaside,
or to the Lake District. The Norfolk Broads were unthinkable and a
picnic on the riverbank was an ordeal comparable only to major surgery.
The swimming baths were off limits - and she would only step into a
bath tub if it contained less than two inches of water.
Her mother had once told her that she had nearly drowned in a lake one
summer when she had been a small child. But Julia didn't remember the
incident at all and presumed that it had passed into that obscure area
of her brain that was impenetrable from the outside - but which allowed
stupid phobias to trickle out at random. If she could only remember
what had happened that summer, then she might be able to exorcise the
demons. But not even the most expensive psychiatrists could evoke the
memory, and Julia had reconciled herself to the sad fact that it would
stay buried and uncured in her sub-conscience forever. She took a deep
breath and her lips trembled into a grimace.
"All right, Dennis," she said shakily at last. "I'll try." Dennis
beamed and patted her hand encouragingly.
"I've always wanted to see Loch Ness!" he cried. "And to sail across
it on a luxury cruiser is an unbelievable opportunity! You never know -
we might see the monster!" He was like an excited child at Christmas,
and Julia realised how much her fear had deprived her husband of the
simple recreational pleasures that other people took for granted. She
tried to look enthusiastic as she swallowed the rising tide of despair
that gushed from the pit of her stomach.
"What's the name of the cruiser?" she asked.
"The Spirit of Loch Ness," replied Dennis.
"Unknown territory," said Julia, though she felt a familiarity with
the loch because of the pictures of it that she had seen on
television.

As the departure date approached, Julia became increasingly anxious,
and she was finding it difficult to conceal her impending hysteria from
the husband who knew her moods so well. She felt, inexplicably that the
end of an era was approaching. But when she said as much to Dennis he
smiled and reassured her that the only era that would end would be that
of her silly fear of water. His bright optimism was infectious,
however, and when she found herself stepping boldly onto the gangway of
'The Spirit of Loch Ness' she was confident that she would be able to
go through with it. After all, she had managed thus far to avoid
looking at the loch itself - and perhaps if she didn't go too near the
side of the ship she would be able to cope with the nearness of the
water.
But the stress of her bravery had exhausted her, and when she reached
her cabin she pleaded a headache and sank thankfully onto the bed -
with the cabin curtains firmly closed. Dennis looked down at her
proudly.
"I knew you could do it!" he cried. "Get some rest now - and we'll put
Phase Two into operation as soon as you wake up. Yes, - we're going to
get you onto the deck!" Julia smiled weakly and within a few minutes
she was fast asleep.

She was in that dark, shadowy place again. It was so very cold and wet
- and strange objects floated past her eyes. She was aware of a deep
sorrow that forced hot, stinging tears from between her lashes. A
strangled cry that she knew was hers escaped from her lips and she
sensed a dark, bleak despair that she knew had been born from
loneliness. It had been such a long time since anyone had come to see
her and the solitude was unbearable now&;#8230;&;#8230;
A movement above her head startled her from her reverie and she looked
up into a bright shaft of sunlight. A flash of red caught the sun's
rays and a swirling eddy was sucking something down towards her. At
last! Someone had come! She raised her eyes hopefully, knowing that she
must bide her time, for she must not be the one to cause the death. The
magic wouldn't work if she did that. But she had to be there at the
moment of death so that she could take the spirit as it left the body
and then she could become reborn in that other world. That world where
she had been so happy with many husbands and children over the years.
Her chance had come again - though this time it had taken more than two
hundred years.
It was a little girl wearing a red summer dress. Her frightened eyes
peered through the bubbles as she exhaled her last breath. She gaped in
abject fear at the enormous dark shape, which was the last earthly
thing she saw. Julia breathed in the departing spirit and then passed
joyously into the child's body with practised ease, and a moment later
she surfaced into the bright sunlight, leaving the darkness behind her
in the soft, cold mud of the loch bed. She was free again. Until it was
time for her to return.

Julia awoke with a start. Dennis was sitting on the edge of the bed,
looking down at her anxiously.
"You were dreaming," he said. "Shh - it's all right now. You don't
have to go on deck today if you don't want to." But Julia sat up, and
there was an expression of determination on her face.
"But I do want to," she replied. "It's time for me to go now." Dennis
looked at her in bewilderment.
"Go?" he asked. Something about her manner frightened him and a cold
sweat broke out over his body. She was slipping away and he didn't know
what to do about it. "Go where?" he demanded.
"Back to my real home," she said shakily. "My time here has just been
borrowed from a little girl called Julia, who drowned in the loch
nearly thirty years ago." She stood up and held out her hand to her
husband. "Come on deck with me," she pleaded. "I'm not afraid of the
water any more." Dennis rose and followed her out of the cabin. He
sensed what she was about to do and a feeling of dread crept through
him. He had never seen her so calmly resolute before. She was stronger
than he had ever known her to be and he knew that her actions would not
be influenced by him, or by anything that he might say to her.
Wordlessly they stood on the deck and looked down over the railings
into the murky depths beneath them. Julia turned to her husband and
there were tears in her eyes.
"Good bye, my darling," she whispered, and climbed onto the rail that
was all that stood between her and the water which she had feared all
her life. Dennis wanted to reach out to her, but he was rooted to the
spot and was unable to cry out, even as she leapt from the rail. All he
could do was to look down in horror as her body hit the water. Then his
eyes rounded in amazement - for she seemed to disappear. To melt into
the water and merge with something else that he couldn't quite see.
Then, just beneath the surface he saw it. It was the 'monster' - of
that there was no doubt, for hadn't he seen dozens of pictures and
artists' impressions of it? He should have been afraid, but he wasn't.
He should have cried out, but he didn't. All that he could do was to
gaze down in awe and wonderment at the creature in the loch.
From its enormous body rose a slender swan-like neck which supported a
strange, wizened little face. As Dennis looked into the deep-set eyes
that gazed longingly back into his own, he saw a tender expression
appear there for a moment before vanishing forever into the murky
depths of the loch. And to him, the 'monster' that had frightened
thousands of people over the ages was the most beautiful and gentle
creature in the world.
THE END
No. of words - 1,794