The Stranger by J A Baker

Author:J A Baker [Baker, J A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books

24

I decided to break with habit. The day after the call from Delores, I took an evening walk through Whitchurch rather than my usual early morning ramble. Her call had really got to me, niggled at me and wormed its way under my skin. As much as I’d convinced myself I wouldn’t allow her to drag me down, her words really rankled with me and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the low-spirited feeling that trailed in my wake or the dark emotions that ravaged my mind. I did exactly what I swore I wouldn’t let her do, and allowed her to climb inside my head and mess with my thoughts.

I simply couldn’t face seeing anybody, having to make small talk when I was still focused on Samantha and her mother, so opted instead for strolling in the dark. When I say dark, I don’t mean pitch black. Summer evenings never really close in fully, do they? There is always a distant veil of light present, a streak of amber that stops the blackness from completely enveloping everything.

I stared over towards the distant hills, at the silhouette they cast against the backdrop of a shimmering, burnt-orange sky. A watery, sepia-tinted light hung on the horizon, a thin stream of dusk that refused to descend and allow night-time to begin. As a child, I found evenings like this less oppressive, less threatening. The promise of daylight was always close by, always so near, ready to smother the darkness and quash my fears, to rip in two the nightmares I suffered from for so many years.

Exhaling loudly at the thought of those terrors that had robbed me of sleep for decades, I turned and headed down Church Lane, the sudden presence of unexpected shadows causing my skin to prickle. Tall trees and dense foliage blackened the lane and stopped what little light there was from filtering through. I shivered despite the warmth of the balmy evening and picked up my pace.

The shape of a figure hung about at the end of the road, a grey outline in the distance. I didn’t stop. This was a safe place. Recent events, classified as minor crimes, didn’t frighten me at all. I was getting used to this quirky little village, with its eccentric locals and their suspicions. I knew about its unhappy past and how everybody was trying to move on from it. An unidentified shadow wasn’t going to scare me. People walked down this lane all the time. Every single day, folk strolled up and down this beautiful little patch of land, taking in the views and general ambience. Except the shadow in the distance wasn’t walking. It was still, a dark, motionless silhouette, staring at something, or somebody. Maybe even staring at me.

My scalp prickled. I gritted my teeth, furious at my lack of self-control. This was ridiculous. I was a grown man, more than capable of taking care of myself. There could be any number of reasons why a perfect stranger was standing at the bottom of the lane watching me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.