The Concealed Culture Deep Within (part six.)

It became almost like a competition to Lucy. Between her consciousness and the ticking strikes of the lounge clock above her head. To say that she was worried was most probably the biggest understatement in history. Probably any mother would be feeling like this right now. After all, she had no idea where her precious daughter was, or where she had been, all this time since she had seemingly vanished after they had both been together earlier that same day in the doctor's surgery. Her frantic mind was searching through all the many different scenarios. Had she been hurt, had she been taken off somewhere by anybody, or had she simply decided that bunking off school was a much cooler idea? The truth is that she simply just had no concrete ideas as to where she was, or what had occurred since the end of the appointment.

All she could do was wait.

But really, was that going to help matters? Probably not. At the end of the day, she couldn't even call the police station for help because her child wasn't officially missing as yet.

Just as she was about to get herself off her butt, force herself to stop worrying, and go start preparing the evening meal for them both, the telephone began ringing on the desktop where it sat in the lounge.

She gingerly, and hesitantly picked up the phone, her mind suddenly back on overdrive, assuming that the caller on the other end was about to deliver some very unwanted bad news.

"Hello, is that Mrs. Crevin I'm speaking to?" asked the caller in a clear and confident tone. Lucy replied stutteringly in affirmation with a 'yes.'

"Ah hello, this is Dr. Deetrick here, I just wanted to let you know that I have sent off the referral to the outreach hospital who will now be in touch with you shortly, within the next 48-hours."

"I appreciate the call but, why on earth has my daughter been referred there?" questioned Lucy.

"Is your daughter with you Mrs. Crevin?" countered the caller.

"Err, no, she's at school right now," lied Lucy, who really was not in any state of mind to tell him that she had disappeared sometime after their early meeting with him.

"Ok, good, good," started Dr. Deetrick, "well, your daughter's school and an eyewitness have recently voiced their concerns over Josie's behavioral patterns to me..."

"Oh for pity's sake is all that really necessary, I mean, don't you think that this has been taken just a little too far, f***s sake, she's just a child growing up!" retorted Luch who was now a little angry.

"I can understand that you are upset and angry right now but, I really can't tell you any more until the psyche department gets in touch with shortly in the next couple of days now,' elaborated the doctor, "call me later if you need me, I have to go now as I'm seeing my next patient in ten minutes. Goodbye Mrs. Crevin," and hung up, breaking the connection.

************

The voice that had spoken softly to Josie moments earlier had now vanished without any visible trace left behind, but those last few words remained with her unable to shake her mind free from it, haunting her as though her very mind had been possessed by something as yet unexplainable, 'for now, I must leave you but remember, in time, everything will become clear to everyone,'

The young girl was beginning to panic. Her rate of breathing had elevated and she could imagine something from within her trying to bash itself way out from her small chest with a hammer; the pounding felt intense, tight almost. Everything around her still remained dark which was now beginning to make her feel quite nauseous, her head spinning so fast she imagined that it was about to rip off from her small-framed body itself. Without warning, she imagined herself falling through, what she could only perceive as a vast dark chasm, unable to visualize anything that might have given her a clue as to where she might be. As the sensation continued, Josie tried hard to rationalize everything happening to her but, as much as she did, her mind kept drawing blanks. She couldn't recall anything other than darkness shrowding her. The words she had heard or had she really heard them, simply kept playing over and over, as if her mind was set on its own feedback loop.

Nothing made any sense to her. She felt scared and alone. Josie started shouting in cold fear but no words were uttered from her mouth.

'Just stop, please. Let me wake up at home in my bed, and this be some sort of horrible nightmare!' she thought, trembling with fear.

Instantaneously and almost as if someone had heard her and thrust a hand out to her, the sickening sense of falling came to a complete stop, as if she had been in an elevator that someone had punched the emergency stop button on it.

Everything remained so very dark still but, nevertheless, it was a real human hand, both warm and strong, that she could distinguish was there with her, as she grabbed out to it. Josie felt herself being smoothly but firmly, dragged up from where she believed she had been laying down, to an upright position. The darkness that had consumed her very being was now gradually fading away into the distance, being replaced by what she could make out to be a thickly spread fog, only being able to just about recognise discoloured images of what seemed to her, were tree branches, to her.

A softly spoken female voice spoke to her, "Please try not to worry Josie, you are safe now."

"Safe? Who are you, what happened, where am, why am I not at school?"

From what seemed to be towards the front of her, the female voice replied with a mild hint of chuckling within her voice, "now then, slow done, this has been a shock to you, just one answer to all those fired questions, you are safe. Let me help you through the fog."

Josie took hold of the offered out hand once more. From the sounds that her feet were making underneath, she must be in the woodland she thought, as she could make out crunching, rustling sounds. Walking slowly and cautiously through the fog that seemed to have descended from nowhere, and without tangible reason, the unannounced figure led her safely the way through past the multitude of shimmeringly ghost-like trees and reaching the outer perimeter of the woodland. Eerily enough the fog lifted as soon as they both reached solid footing. Josie could make out very clearly now that they were both standing back upon solid ground once more, back onto the smoothly paved path that led toward the familiarity of her home village. But although to Josie, it appeared to be dark and she could make out the bright outlines of the street lamps dotted around the area.

Josie asked the woman who had led her to here, "what time is it?" as she had reached for her mobile, but it still appeared to not be working still.

"You are safe, it is late evening, and you are home nearly. Let me walk with you."

Too tired to even question any further at this point, Josie simply said, "okay, thanks."

For the remainder of the next few minutes walking home, the two continued along their way, without any further words exchanged between one another. Nothing more than independent singular thoughts. Josie kept on thinking to herself, what really just happened to her back there, why can't she remember anything that happened before that, where indeed had she been, and how on earth did she find herself here with this strange but kindly woman? Her head was cluttered with all these thoughts going round and round unchecked, to which she currently could not provide any logical or sane answers to them. The unnamed older woman kept intermittently casting an eye on the younger girl wondering quietly about her own set of questions. But to her, her thoughts were directed far more toward what were widely unanswerable questions for a much larger audience.

Breaking the quiet and tense moment walking through the village, Josie's mobile had started silently vibrating in the back pocket of her black jeans. She probed her pocket for it, bringing it up to her face wondering as to why it had only just recently started operating once more, after believing its battery had died but, it can't have died she mused, realizing that the screen was bright, the phot of her parents viewable on the screen again, and with full blocks showing her that the battery had been full all the time. So she pondered on that fact whilst tapping the 'accept call' button that was winking up at her. Almost as immediately as she had accepted the incoming call, an angry and panic-stricken voice could be heard almost without any need to pop the mobile on speakerphone setting.

"Oh my God, your alive, where the hell have you been, what the hell have you been up to, do you even know what bloody time it is young girl?" the voice of her mother could be unmistakenly heard, "you have had me sick out of my mind worried Josie, I was just about to call the police if you hadn't have answered this, I've been calling you all day, no one has seen or heard from you, you simply vanished from my side after we left the doctors this morning!"

Josie looked around toward the woman that had been walking by her side, the woman that had suddenly turned up out of nowhere in the common. Oh boy, did she need her input right now at this moment in time? The undeniable flurry of words spurted down her mobile by her mum was too much for her to cope with on her own, after all, she could not answer any of the quick-fire questions aimed at her right now. She needed some support, maybe someone that could at least attempt to make any sense of all this but, she suddenly realized that she was alone in the village street.

'Where has she gone, whoever that person was?' she thought to herself as she all of a sudden found herself alone by herself once more.

Blatantly aware that she had no way of explaining any of this away with her mum, Josie simply quietly and emotionlessly, spoke, "coming home now."

Short, sweet, and to the point. The motherly wrath would befall her soon enough because, Josie had no way in hell of trying to explain away all of what had happened to her today, for pity's sake, she could not even recall much of what had gone on today. Come to think of it, Josie thought about what her mother had shrieked at her down the phone seconds ago, 'mum had not seen her since the doctors this morning?' What doctors? Why had they both been there? She just could not remember any of those events. Come to think about it, Josie only understood that it was nighttime now because it was dark outside, and the street lamps were lighting her way down the street right now.

Josie fast approached the front door of her home. She was unable to locate her key to the front door. 'Damn' she panicked to herself, 'there goes any chance of a quick dash up the stairs to the relative peace, quiet, and safety of my own bedroom then!' Just for the moment, she could really have done without, what she knew was going to be her mother ranting on, tearing strips off her, for having disappeared for most of the day. Josie was again scared and apprehensive because she had no defense, no excuse, she did not even remember what day it was today, let alone face her mum's impending inquisition. Not wanting to drag any of this out anymore, she knocked upon the door. What seemed as though minutes had gone by waiting for her mum to open the door for her, she could suddenly make out the click noise of the lock releasing. The door was opened wide and Josie came face-to-face with her mother instantly.

'Josie where the hell have you been all day?', but then without anything further being propelled at her from her mum, her angry phase quickly dissipated as if it had never happened in the first instance. Her mum's whole demeanor transformed into the person Josie had always been used to having in her life. Without warning, Josie visibly began relaxing, sighing with relief that she was not going to be subjected to a whole new lecture. Josie, all of a sudden felt uncomfortably hot, pins-and-needles enveloping her limbs, and her head started spinning around, her vision darkening and her surroundings quickly and unexpectedly going dark, as she collapsed onto the porchway door into a crumpled heap.

************

Stay tuned for the 7th part coming soon, of 'The Concealed Culture Deep Within.'

If you missed the first five parts of this story, you can click on the links below, to catch up.

Part one:

Part two:

Part three:

Part four:

Part five:

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✨I can't wait to hear from you soon... Jonathan💕.