Joe Lake's Fear Of Darkness

A serial novel by Joe Lake.

(So far: Julie’s husband has had an accident and disappears. At the police station Julie sees two people who have no reflection in the mirror. Next, her husband is back and she notices two marks on her neck after she takes a dream-like excursion through the universe. Then, she meets a social worker who says that she is from five hundred years in the future who gives her a ring to travel in different dimensions. They step into a parallel universe and return. Susan leaves but

warns Julie not to turn the ring as this could be dangerous.)

But Julie did turn the ring and felt herself drawn into a parallel universe as if stepping into a swimming pool where the water closes above one’s head. Then there was a swishing sound and all became blurred and the ground gave way under her and then someone or something or someone grabbed her. She tried to shake it off but it wouldn’t let go, so she quickly turned the ring the other way and felt herself emerging in her own universe with the creature still holding on. She let herself drop to the ground but something was on her shoulder. She shook it off and it disappeared into the other dimension.

She stayed in the squatting position for sometime. The moon over the ocean at Cooee had risen and was now at its zenith but still trailing a yellowish gold reflection right up to the horizon.

She sat on the step of her Winnebago and wondered whether her husband was still asleep, not dreaming that his wife had wandered into other universes and the horrors they might contain.

She stood up once more and walked down to the beach. She took her shoes off and let the wavelets play with her toes. She wondered about reality and the pleasures the wavelets awoke in her psyche as if they were alive and were caressing her lovingly. Something whooshed past her face but it was only a seagull who was heading home.

She thought of telling her husband about her experiences but knew that he had a rather closed mind and would probably think that she was losing it and contemplate how he would persuade her to go to a doctor to get some tranquilisers. If he ever did join her in her journeys into parallel universes would Susan allow it? Susan had said that she, Julie, was a special person, one who could be trusted not to misuse these experiences which were hidden to the general public because they lived their lives as in a dream and are never aware of the secret depth of life. But then Julie shook her head violently as if ridding herself of accumulated water in her hair, as she realised that she had broken Susan’s commandment where she was told not to twist the ring by herself as this could or would have dire consequences.

Julie went back to the mobile home and lay down next to her snoring husband. She was asleep even before she had covered herself with the blanket.

(To be continued next month)