The Lady hadn’t left her home when she had passed on. It wasn’t that she was trapped there, she could come and go as much as she wanted. The Lady had loved the house so much that she couldn’t help but walk the corridors and through rooms still.
The Lady was glad people still came and stayed in her house. She loved hearing them praise the decor and paintings, the gardens and the water fountains. Also, it was so nice to hear the laughter of children once more as they dashed from room to room.
She knew her presence was felt because people talk about smelling her perfume. It was one she had made herself using roses from the garden and water from the spring. The Lady felt pleased by this, she liked them to know she was still here watching over her house.
Steven sat on the park bench in the fine rain. He was deep in thought and so could no longer feel the wetness soaking into his jeans and woollen coat, nor how cold he was becoming. He had thrown his head back the second he had settled down and at first he had felt the tiny spots of cold rain on his skin, but they like everything else had faded into the background. His mind kept playing that single moment over and over in his head as if thoroughly examining it would lead to further clarification. It made no difference and only stirred his emotions more. He wished it hadn’t happened and that he could un-see everything, but it won’t quit and there again he saw Tawny sitting on top of Harrison. They were both naked and busy in an act that Steven shouldn’t have witnessed. He remembered closing the door and seeing from the corner of his eye Tawny raise her head towards him and gasp. He had left her house, walked to this nearby park and found the bench. He had dropped the still wrapped bunch of roses on the floor, as up until that point he had forgotten he was actually carrying them. The rain had ruined them now and the blood red petals had become much darker and looked on the edge of dying. In his pocket, his phone vibrated with an incoming call, but Steven ignored it. For some reason, there didn’t seem much point in anything right now. He heard a dog barking and against his will, his eyes flickered open and he pulled his head up. On the path before him was an old woman with a scruffy little dog on the end of a lead. She was dragging the dog away and mumbling at it. Steven shot her a disgusted look before realising that the woman’s face and eyes were fixed on the floor, so she couldn’t see him. A wave of guilt washed over him then faded as the woman and dog left him alone again. His phone went off a second time and he dug it out of his pocket. It was Tawny. He hit answer and pressed the phone to his ear only to hear a very tear chocked and desperate voice. He could hardly catch the words because she was speaking so fast and not making much sense. He hung up. Miniature rain drops fell on the screen of his phone. He watched them gather and drifted back into his thoughts once more.
The Story Files 