Ludwig

If this had been any of all those ordinary days she would just have walked past the ridiculously ornate mirror hanging on the stair landing wall without even casting a glance at her own reflection. This time, however, she paused in mid step to take a closer look at the deceitfully smirking green-eyed face that met her gaze. She had not yet got accustomed to her new appearance, even if it by all standards was a change for the better. It was still quite a radical change, which could be a bit unsettling. Someone had said that quick changes to your life were the best, where the old state of normality simply turned into a fresh one without leaving you too much time to react. Well, she thought, this wasn’t entirely true. It certainly helped if you felt at least a bit in charge of what was happening, which was obviously not always the case, and then there was the burning issue of maintaining the new ’normal’ instead of letting it slip back to the rejected previous state or just standing by watching it careening away into the unknown next. It had taken her quite a while to find purchase once the dominoes had started collapsing. ...

She slipped the half-eaten chicken on rye sandwich into the folded Telegraph someone had left on the seat beside hers, and dumped the greasy parcel in the first waste paper basket she passed as she got off the train. An elderly fellow glared at her as if she was doing something quite incomprehensible for him, and she nearly gave in to the sudden impulse of picking it up again just to see his face when it ended up on his lap. Feeling simultaneously edgy and sprightly like a teenager, with a digestion fit for a woman during her first trimester, was only one of quite a few telltale signs that spring was on its way. ...

There was almost something unsettling about how silence swept in when the incessant rain hammering down on the windowsill suddenly ended. A few birds hiding under whatever was available cleared their throats, but like every other living creature around, they kept a wary eye on the sky in case the fat, black clouds should spring another leak. Something which they kept doing day and night this early summer. She was lucky after all, she thought. It was a good call to postpone most of her holidays until Christmas, even if the bosses grumbled like hell. The Biggest Boss had obviously decided to soak the whole country before the wretched Summer Olympics, and more than a few of her colleagues- the ones who hadn’t fled the country- had decided to pull the plug on any holiday plans and stay dry and relatively happy in the office. Business was so slow this season, it was like walking through the Department of Total Inactivity at any time of the day. ...

It felt a bit unfamiliar to wake up like this; without the sound of the alarm clock humming like an overloaded relay station, or another of those abominable morning shows blaring unfiltered nonsense right into her left ear. She hadn’t had a day off for what seemed like centuries, and right now, her decision to take four days plus the weekend off seemed like a stroke of genius. Her back began to have opinions when she rolled over on her side to snuggle down further under the duvet to avoid the bleak sunlight from the window. It was probably best to get up and get the old bag of bones moving, she thought. There was no point in toughing it out until nine thirty, when Mrs. Bradley next door let out those mutts in her back yard. What they couldn’t chew to pieces, they drove insane by barking at incessantly. Yap,yap,yap.No need to let them have the pleasure of ruining her morning now, was there? ...

continued from part 8 Part Nine Chapter 16: Wintering Out There was a knock on the doorframe behind her. The cottage was relatively small and quite cosy, but Alex had an eerie ability to disappear in silence bordering to condensed when she was doing some work or wanted to have a few moments on her own. This meant that she effectively reappeared out of nowhere, often startling whoever was in the room. Niamh thought she would never really get used to it. ...

continued from part 15 Chapter 16: Wintering Out There was a knock on the doorframe behind her. The cottage was relatively small and quite cosy, but Alex had an eerie ability to disappear in silence bordering to condensed when she was doing some work or wanted to have a few moments on her own. This meant that she effectively reappeared out of nowhere, often startling whoever was in the room. Niamh thought she would never really get used to it. ...

continued from part 14 Chapter 15: Spinning Yarns She blinked twice to get rid of the stinging dryness in her eyes. The warming light from the fireplace and the gentle but pervasive heat made her drowsy, but it was hard not to look at the smouldering embers. It might have been one of those rare Zen moments, if she only had been able to clear her head. Now, random sounds, images and sensations kept bouncing smoothly in her mind. The weekend down south seemed so far away now, so very unreal, but yet so close that she could actually taste every single thing as if it happened a single breath ago. She smiled, wetting her lips furtively with her tongue, enjoying the salty flavour that still remained after lunch. That, too, had been something to remember. Alex had obviously decided to feed her up on top of all the pampering before she left, and André had given her certain ideas about cooking that would soon begin to show around the waist on both of them. ...

continued from part 7 Part Eight Chapter 15: Spinning Yarns She blinked twice to get rid of the stinging dryness in her eyes. The warming light from the fireplace and the gentle but pervasive heat made her drowsy, but it was hard not to look at the smouldering embers. It might have been one of those rare Zen moments, if she only had been able to clear her head. Now, random sounds, images and sensations kept bouncing smoothly in her mind. The weekend down south seemed so far away now, so very unreal, but yet so close that she could actually taste every single thing as if it happened a single breath ago. She smiled, wetting her lips furtively with her tongue, enjoying the salty flavour that still remained after lunch. That, too, had been something to remember. Alex had obviously decided to feed her up on top of all the pampering before she left, and André had given her certain ideas about cooking that would soon begin to show around the waist on both of them. ...

continued from part 13 Chapter 14: Amends The cat lay on top of the large fridge, listening cautiously as she made herself as flat and inconspicuous as possible. It was a warm and nice place to rest, and she didn’t want anyone to come after her with a broom and chuck her out in the storm. They had been nice to her here so far, but she had learnt the hard way that people could act very strange sometimes. Now, there was no sign of anyone near where she was. Perhaps she would go for a little sightseeing around the house a bit later. The one without hair had given her better food than she’d had anywhere else around this place, and he didn’t seem to mind having her around. Tonight, he had let her in from the rain. He might still be somewhere in here, and perhaps there would be more to eat. ...

continued from part 6 Part Seven Chapter 13: Bundle of Joy Heavy raindrops played an autumn concerto on the barn roof. An unremittingly drumming background noise rolled through the loft where Niamh was watching Alex prepare the next number. She had helped her roll out the large, heavy rubber sack on the floor while Alex took care of the wires attached to overhead pulleys mounted on a beam. She shook her head in disbelief. The sack was a blood-curling body bag-like deflated cocoon with broad belts, buckles and whatnot, and they wanted to string her up in it. No one could blame her for not seeing the point in being the banger in that bun, she thought. Surely, Alex must have had something more in mind than just suspending her like a sausage when she thought this out. ...

continued from part 12 Chapter 13: Bundle of Joy Heavy raindrops played an autumn concerto on the barn roof. An unremittingly drumming background noise rolled through the loft where Niamh was watching Alex prepare the next number. She had helped her roll out the large, heavy rubber sack on the floor while Alex took care of the wires attached to overhead pulleys mounted on a beam. She shook her head in disbelief. The sack was a blood-curling body bag-like deflated cocoon with broad belts, buckles and whatnot, and they wanted to string her up in it. No one could blame her for not seeing the point in being the banger in that bun, she thought. Surely, Alex must have had something more in mind than just suspending her like a sausage when she thought this out. ...

continued from part 5 Part Six Chapter 11: The Russian Doll Walking down the old, wooden stairs quietly enough not to wake up Alex was difficult, even though she kept close to the wall and put her weight on the handrail. Even the floorboards outside the room where she thought she could hear Theresa snoring, sounded like they were designed to creak as much as possible. The grandfather clock down the hall struck eight, and she hurried past it towards the kitchen. It was empty, but there was a wonderful smell her belly immediately interpreted as Festive Breakfast. A door was gently shut, and two large flowerpots entered the room closely followed by their carrier. ...

continued from part 10 Chapter 11: The Russian Doll Walking down the old, wooden stairs quietly enough not to wake up Alex was difficult, even though she kept close to the wall and put her weight on the handrail. Even the floorboards outside the room where she thought she could hear Theresa snoring, sounded like they were designed to creak as much as possible. The grandfather clock down the hall struck eight, and she hurried past it towards the kitchen. It was empty, but there was a wonderful smell her belly immediately interpreted as Festive Breakfast. A door was gently shut, and two large flowerpots entered the room closely followed by their carrier. ...

continued from part 11 Chapter 12: Strings Dad? She forced her eyes open, and although there wasn’t enough light in the room too be able to see clearly, she tried to reassure herself that this wasn’t just another bad dream by staring blindly into the dark to see if there was something real to comfort her. There was no point in moving until she was sure. A faint snoring noise and a familiar warmth on her left side, and a sweet, mature and unmistakably female fragrance with a slight hint of juniper in the air allayed her fears despite the darkness of the early hour. She had never felt that scent in her dreams. They were strangely odourless, nearly all of them. Not all of them. Not this one. ...

continued from part 9 Chapter 10: Under the Influence Although the hour was still early, the stars were already twinkling in the sky, and near the reddening horizon a white crescent moon was shining like a bright scythe. Autumn was soon turning into winter, and the fresh air felt frigid and damp in her face as she tried leaning out the small window to watch the blue hour colour display. There was something saddening about how the whole world fell silent waiting for the next spring, but as long as there was enough light you could always enjoy the divine canvas with all its magnificent colours. ...

continued from part 4 Part Five Chapter 9: Impiety Like a little cluster of colourful gnome-like beacons, the children were standing around the puddle without treading in it in the downpour from leaden skies. One of the bigger boys used a long twig to prod what looked like a deformed piece of freckled fur lying in the shallow, muddy water; and the audience surrounding him paid little attention to the car approaching like a stealthy shark melting into the autumnal backdrop in different shades of grey. ...

continued from part 3 Part 4 Chapter 7: The Enemy Within “You all right, miss?” The faraway voice echoed in her ears. Although everything was a dark blur, she could clearly make out a few distinctive features of the speaker only by her sense of smell. Somewhere deep inside her confused mind, she thought it was quite amusing to see things through her nose all of a sudden. The person spoke again. ...

continued from part 3 Part Three Chapter 5: A Journey down South Sixteen panes of glass belonging to an old hothouse on the grounds lay shattered on the grass. A huge branch from a nearby tree had fallen down in the night. The rainstorm had finished what the rot had started. Niamh did her best to rake the remains of the panes into a neat pile, but the soft soil was peppered with nasty-looking shards that literally dug themselves into the ground. Her choice of footwear didn’t exactly make thing easier either. She had borrowed a pair of proper wellingtons from Alex, which seemed to be a good idea until Niamh realised that all she would need now to cross the pond would be a pair of oars. ...

continued from part one Part Two Chapter 3: The Strangest Season The text message confirmed what she had already guessed. Alex was going to be late. Really late, if she had understood things right. It was all over the news. Planes all over central Europe were delayed due to some terror threat again, and instead of waiting to see if the skies eventually would clear Alex had decided to go by train from Geneva to London. Not a bad idea, if only she had been lucky enough to catch one of the TGV:s, which she of course had not. It always seemed like the French had trouble keeping good ideas working in the long run, and now Niamh didn’t care if it was a strike or a glitch somewhere, what it meant was that she was going to have to spend most of the weekend alone. ...

Part One Chapter 1 October The scenery in this particular district was something she under normal circumstances really appreciated. This time it was like a silent film flickering past her eyes through the window. The shifting autumn colours kept her from falling asleep. She felt nauseously tired, although the dizziness wore off a bit as she straightened herself up in the seat, and a bit ashamed for not keeping the conversation alive the way she used to whenever they were travelling together. ...