by Power, Max
“I’m Benjamin Blood.”
The words were spoken so softly, she could barely hear them.
“What?” Daisy May asked. He used up all of his remaining energy to speak louder.
“You asked me who I am. I’m Benjamin Blood.”
He swallowed a painful swallow.
“Woody is gone. He was never here. Woody belongs in Darkly Wood. All you ever saw of him in me was a shadow of the creature, like a mark, or an imprint left behind. He has left his mark on me, as I have on him.”
“Ssssssshhh.” Daisy May tried to calm him.
“Stay away from that place.” He urged her. “Never go back. He has left a mark on all of us. Don’t be drawn back.”
His word’s petered out, as did the light in his eyes. He closed his eyes and Daisy May shook him.
“Benjamin, Benjamin, don’t go!”
The depth of her despair was overwhelming, her pain was unbearable. Daisy May didn’t know what to think. She didn’t know what to do. Benjamin opened his eyes again but slowly as if his eyelids were heavy. He raised his hand. He held it to her face and they looked deep into each other’s eyes one more time.
“Hold me.” He asked her. “Hold me like you held me in the Wood.”
Daisy May wrapped him tight and pressed her cheek to his and kissed him. She closed her eyes and they lay there together. The only sound was the distant clanking of a trolley. They held each other and Daisy heard an altogether different cacophony of sounds. They were in the Wood again, surrounded by night as the wind howled and the forest creaked and groaned about them. Daisy May squeezed Benjamin tight, as though her life depended upon it. She squeezed and squeezed as a familiar rumble gathered in the sky. They were no longer in the hospital.
The world lit up in a flash of lightening and the bellow of thunder and when Daisy May opened her eyes, something moved in the forest not yards from where they lay. She tried to call out as darkness enveloped them once more, but her voice was gone. Daisy May froze, knowing the creature was there, just out of sight. As the noise of the thunder subsided, a more terrifying, even more nightmarish sound crackled in her ears,
“Waaaasssseeeeeshhh!” The creature hissed and something grabbed her leg.
“Daisyee Mayee,” the voice called, “Daisyee Mayee,”
She clenched her eyes shut tight, trying to keep the beast away, praying he would not take her precious Benjamin. But Daisy May was nothing if not brave. Terrified, she opened her eyes.
“Daisy May.”
The voice was her mother’s and she was back in her own bed, in her own room, in her own home. The moment was surreal and Daisy May tried to get a hold on reality.
“Daisy May, how are you feeling?” Her mother asked.
Not knowing what had happened and barely sure of where she was, Daisy May sat up and answered her mother.
“I’m fine.”
As she sat up, Daisy May was aware of pain, she was sore all over.
“It’s so good to have you back home.” Her mother announced happily.
“Do you want me to bring you up a little breakfast or do you think you can make it down stairs?”
Daisy May wasn’t hungry but she needed to be alone for a minute to gather her thoughts. She was confused. It seemed as if two realities had merged. The feeling was very disorienting. Her mother opened the curtains and Daisy blinked against the light.
“I will come down in a minute, mum.” Daisy May sounded groggy.
“Ok, I will make you some scrambled eggs then.”
Daisy’s mum kissed her on the forehead and trundled out of the room and down the stairs without another word.
Left alone again, Daisy May sat up in her bed. She was so confused. The line between what was real and what wasn’t, seemed to blur. Another, altogether baser urge demanded her attention. She needed to pee, so she stood up and shuffled bare foot to the bathroom. Every part of her seemed to ache. The bathroom floor was cold and Daisy May quickly settled herself on the toilet. She jiggled her feet on the cold floor as she sat on the white porcelain.
“Do you want some toast with your eggs?” Her mother shouted up the stairs to her.
“No thanks!” Daisy answered with a shout, as she finished her ablutions.
She washed her hands in the sink. When Daisy looked at her reflection in the mirror above the basin, she was shocked at what she saw. Her eyes were sunken and ringed with dark circles. Her hair was matted and a complete mess. She tilted her head from side to side and as she did so, Daisy May saw something.
“It was terrible sad about that boy.” Her mum shouted as she whisked the eggs.
Daisy May ignored her. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and raised her chin.
“You know,” her mum didn’t ever let go of a question without an answer “the other boy in your ward, the one in the coma.”
Daisy May froze. She stared at the little nick beneath her chin and remembered.
“What boy?” she shouted back and lowered her chin.
“You know, the boy… in the hospital.” Her mother’s obtuse answer was not helpful and Daisy May began to pull up the sleeves of her pajamas.
“Brian, or Billy someone or other!” Her mother tried to clarify.
Daisy May looked in horror at the deep bruises on her forearms and recalled how she had been held down by Woody. She knew it wasn’t Brian or Billy.
“Benjamin?” She suggested to her mother.
There was only a slight pause while Isabel thought about it.
“Yes, that’s the one, Benjamin.” She sounded pleased.
“Seems so sad, after all that time that he just slipped away like that.” She paused again. “Makes you think all the same…Just goes to show…how lucky you are,” and she continued on whisking.
Daisy May looked at herself in the mirror. The blood drained from her face. She felt sick and her heart ached. Then she heard a sound. It was a familiar sound, a distant and almost ancient sound.
“Daisy May!” The wind whispered and she looked towards the half open window.
“Daisy May!”
The sound carried in again, ever so gently this time, ever so enticing. It was a very familiar sound although Daisy May could not quite recognise the voice.
Slowly, as though each foot was made from lead, Daisy May made her way to the bathroom window, one foot in front of the other. She poked her head out of the window and looked out across the meadow that led up towards the forest as she had done once before. That seemed like such a very long time ago. She half-expected to see a boy, just far enough away not to see his features, but close enough to recognise. Daisy May looked long and hard, but there was nothing there.
THUD! Something fell behind her and startled Daisy. She thumped her head off the window frame and immediately rubbed it vigorously. When she turned around, Daisy May froze momentarily and stopped breathing. She held her breath and stared at the small familiar book on the floor of the bathroom. It lay there threateningly. The gold lead title spoke to her.
‘Tales of Darkly Wood’ by J.S. Toner.
“Daisy May!” The wind whispered through the window behind her once more and she whipped her head around. Surely not! Her heart beat faster, her head felt dizzy and light.
“Daisy May!”
The voice called again and she turned fully, gawping at the open window.
“Daisy May”
It teased and tempted her. She stepped forward and poked her head through the half open window.
THE END
r>
