Seeking Escapism

That sound again, like a warning call. ‘Beware. Beware.’ It seemed to say. I’m not afraid, thought Lucy. She straightened and drew her shoulders back, puffing out her chest a little. But where had she heard that sound before? ‘Too-wit ta-woo…’, it wasn’t like there were many owls living in the middle of the city. She carried on walking and took a left down a side street. There were no street lamps here and her eyes took a moment to adjust. Then she saw him. She quickened her pace and headed towards the dark figure ahead.

‘Well look who it is’ said the man as he looked her up and down. He was leaning against the wall and although his body language was relaxed, nonchalant, his blue eyes had a piercing intensity that always made Lucy feel like he was seeing right into her thoughts. He was so handsome though. She always forgot how nervous he made her. ‘You got a cigarette?’ she said, standing close enough for the charge between them to be felt. ‘What will you give me in return?’ he said, grinning, as he pulled out his tobacco. ‘Too-wit ta-woo…’, ‘do you hear that!?’ Lucy asked, caught off guard. ‘It’s a barn owl or something, so what’ he said, put out that his question had been ignored, ‘come on lets go, the guys are waiting for us at mine.’

She was in a clearing, lush green grass padded her legs where she was kneeling, and the trees around swayed slightly to a breeze that couldn’t be felt. The air was heavy and the silence absolute, a thick atmosphere hung about the place, stifling. ‘Don’t forgot what I’ve asked you to do, child’, the woman’s deep sweet treacle-like voice was so loud and clear that Lucy felt it was coming from somewhere inside of her. She glanced to the side and saw a bird perched on a low branch, it looked like an owl, but why would it be here?

‘Are you coming or what?’

‘Huh?!’, Lucy blinked, confused, she was in the lane… He was striding away into the dark, so she shook her head and started after him, trying to clear her mind. ‘Dean, wait!’.

Jamal, Mike and Bets where in the living room. The football was on TV and music was playing over the top of it, the table was filled with empty cans and forgotten ashtrays, clearly they had been here all day. ‘Took your time’ said Bets, her eyes not leaving the TV. ‘Luce! How are you!’, Jamal jumped up and went to give her a kiss on the cheek. He stank of beer and his eyes weren’t quite focusing on her face, ‘do you want a drink? You’ve been ages, leaving me here with these two!’ he gestured to Mike and Bets, and Lucy then noticed that neither of them looked in the mood for celebrating. ‘Don’t start mate’ grunted Mike, ‘you know I’m just trying to enjoy myself, it’s a Friday isn’t it!’. Bets shot him a look that could have turned flesh to stone. ‘Just trying to enjoy yourself?!’ she spat, ‘oh yeah and how much will be enjoying ourselves on Monday when we’ve run out of electric?’. Lucy looked to Jamal. She liked Jamal. He always made her feel safe, like she was welcome, part of the group. He smiled at her but he didn’t look too comfortable himself. ‘I told you babe, I’ll be getting some cash over the weekend, give it a rest, it was my money anyway..’, as those words left Mike’s mouth it was clear he knew he had made a mistake. ‘Your money?! Your money?!’, Bets flew out her chair, enraged, ‘and whose house is this Mike? Ey? Whose furniture is this? Whose lamp is this? Yours is it? Ok then’ and with that Bets picked up the lamp and hurled it at the wall next to Mike’s head. Shards of glass rained down on his shoulders, ‘Jesus, Bets!’ he shouted, ‘you’re going to wake up Billy!’. ‘Oh, so now all of a sudden you’re worried about Billy are you, oh he’s ‘your’ son now is he, oh no nothing to do with me, not like I gave birth to him or anything, yeah you’re such a caring dad aren’t you, so caring that you decided to spend all of our money today with this idiot!’ She gestured angrily in the direction of Jamal. ‘You’re useless, you know that don’t you, I can’t take much more of this.’ And with that she stormed out the room into the kitchen where Dean was sitting, calmly taking it all in. Jamal looked sheepishly at Lucy and shrugged his shoulders. Dean and Bets went outside into the garden together. Lucy wasn’t sure what to do, should she try and change the subject? Laugh it off? Find a broom for all the broken glass? She bit at a piece of skin on her thumb. She was stuck here now. She almost wished she was back at home, but no, don’t be stupid, she told herself, you don’t want to be there, you want to be here. Get a grip. You need this, the cold reality of it all, the mind-numbing distractions. Anything to try and escape those visions, or are they dreams, the forest, and that owl, always following... Lucy stood up and went to find a broom.

Image: https://bybio.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/owling-in-the-dark/