Abbie's Gift

by M. R. THOMAS

  Simon smiled at her, “well you’re safe now and that’s in the past, he won’t pester you again”.

  “He didn’t really pester me. I only met him a few times either on the road or in the café, but he always seemed to be in the places where you didn’t expect him to be. Like this morning when I left you and went for a walk, and he was down by the garden when I got there. He can’t walk that fast, maybe he was in his car, I don’t know, but it was all a bit odd”.

  “You know what is odd?” said Simon,

  “What?” she asked.

  “That guy, Michael, he told you he came here every year? Well, I’m telling you I’ve seen him before, and this is a small community, you remember people that you see year on year, and let’s be honest in his clothes he does kind of stand out. As there is never really anybody else here this time of year I’m sure I’d have remembered him. Don’t worry about him though; you probably won’t see him again”. Simon raised his glass to Abbie, and this time she lifted her glass to his, smiling.

  Abbie sat quietly looking into her glass, and Simon watched her. He sat back in his chair, again recalling the image of her nakedness in the garden. He felt a pang of guilt, but he was not a peeping tom, after all; he had only gone outside before going to bed as Jess was missing as sometimes happened. He hadn’t shouted as he hadn’t wanted to disturb Abbie in case she had been asleep. At the bottom of the garden, he’d heard a noise, thinking it was Jess he had looked through the hedge, only to see her come along the path from the field. Simon had been shocked; the last thing he expected to see was Abbie, especially unclothed. He had been transfixed and unable to look away; he even thought that she would hear his heartbeat, as it pounded so loud in his chest, yet she had been unaware of his presence as she looked up at the stars.

  When he’d got back to the house Jess had been on the step. Although he’d tried to sleep it had taken him a long time, as he couldn’t get the image of Abbie’s beautiful body out of his head.

  Abbie broke the silence,

  “It’s my last day tomorrow, I have to go home sometime, but as it is I don’t really want to, I’m enjoying it here”.

  “Then stay a bit longer if your time’s your own, why not?”

  “Maybe”, she replied.

  “So how’s the running going?”

  “Fine, it’s fabulous here on the beach”.

  “Do you race then?” Simon enquired.

  “No, just for pleasure, it’s a good stress reducer. There’s a hill near home I want to run up; I’ve tried it a few time, not done it yet but I will”.

  “Good, you keep at” he replied. “You mentioned this morning you’re off work at the moment, are you in between jobs then?”

  “No, not exactly”, she said. “Officially off sick, difficult circumstances of late”.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to pry”.

  “It’s OK, honestly, they say talking about things is good for your recovery. You see a short time ago my boyfriend who I’d been with for five years died suddenly and unexpectedly, so you see it’s been a very difficult time”.

  “I can’t even begin to imagine,” he said. ”I wonder how I’ll cope when dad goes, I mean it’s a reality, he’s elderly and not in the best of health, but he’s been here all the time. Mum died about ten years ago but there were two of us together when it was hard, but we kind of helped each other through it. How have you managed?”

  Abbie put her head back and laughed a little, the wine relaxing her.

  “To be honest I don’t know; God only knows, because I don’t. The bad days are awful and then there are days when you don’t know why you’re alive still, every part of you aches and grieves”.

  “Is it getting better?”

  “Slowly some days, a bit yes, but then something is said or happens and it sets you back hugely, it’s almost like snakes and ladders, you progress then wallop, you’re back at square one, or so it seems. I must have worn out my mum and best friend, I wasn’t fun to be around, they were so patient and good to me, and I owe them so much. What I don’t know if I’ll ever deal with is simply missing him so much”.

  Simon said nothing.

  “And then” Abbie continued “there’s the nightmares; they scare the living daylights out of you, not nice at all. At least I’ve not had one of those in a few nights”.

  Then a voice inside of her said, ‘you know those were not dreams’.

  “Listen” said Simon, “feel free to say no, and after your day, I don’t blame you if you do, but I was just going to eat when I saw you standing in the rain, so I’m guessing that you’ve eaten either. Let me cook you something, nothing flash, I was just about to do something on toast, eggs maybe, do you want some?”

  “I had that this morning,” replied Abbie

  “That’s not my fault” he replied smiling, “yes or no?”

  “Yes then, and thank you” she smiled. ”I can handle that, I can trust you”

  “Good then, that’s settled. Help yourself to more wine”

  The next hour or so passed in easy conversation between them.

  In some ways, Abbie was glad he didn’t press her further about her loss, it saved her from being pitied, she thought.

  “So don’t you have a wife or a girlfriend?” she asked at one point.

  Simon looked uncomfortable at this question, but Abbie didn’t apologise.

  “No” he said, “I did a few years back, we were together a few years, but her family moved and she wanted more than this, she wanted bigger and better things, whereas I’m happy here, life’s uncomplicated most of the time. We didn’t live together, but it was a nice time”.

  “Do you get lonely?” Asked Abbie

  After an awkward pause, Simon simply replied “yes”.

  He then continued, “I do get lonely; there isn’t much chance to meet people in a place like this, and with taking care of dad, well I have to consider him”.

  “Don’t you ever go to the towns or cities for a night out?”

  “No, I don’t think that’s the best way to meet people, not for a serious relationship anyway. Most of my friends from my younger days moved way; if they come back, I see them. You meet nice people during the holiday season but they go after a week or two and that’s it”.

  “So you had holiday romances then?”

  “No”, he looked embarrassed, “Well yes, once, but as I said it only lasted ten days, she said she would come back but didn’t”.

  The evening passed very quickly, it was 10 pm, and Abbie felt that despite the nice time with Simon, she now wanted to be alone. She felt that for his sake this particular departure had to be handled sensitively.

  “Look” she said, “let me again thank you for a lovely evening and for breakfast this morning, you have been very kind and I appreciate your company this evening, but I need to go and get some sleep”.

  She stood up and put on her now-dry jacket. Simon stood up too, and she took a step closer to him, standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

  Simon was astonished, but delighted.

  Outside the rain had stopped, but the wind was still gusting and seemed stronger, the trees blowing back and forth in the night as Abbie made her way to the caravan.

  …………………………………………………………..

  In the depth of the night Simon eventually drifted off to sleep; his thoughts had been of Abbie and they had kept him awake. His sleep though was not particularly restful, he tossed and turned, unable to really settle and get comfortable. The wind outside was pounding the windows of the house. He felt hot and then cold if he moved the bedclothes. He woke and looked at the clock; it was nearly 2.30 am, so he took a drink of water and tried to settle again, sleep coming only in fits and starts.

  After a while, Simon felt as though his breathing was too shallow and he tried to breathe deeply but felt his chest restricted, unable to take in sufficient air. He gradually felt more uncomfortable and was aware of a sense of a pressure being exerted o
n his chest, and some sort of constriction around his throat.

  Simon needed more air, but couldn’t breathe in. He tried to move, to sit up but felt he was being held back, as though pinned down by an invisible force against the bed. He opened his eyes and looked around the room; in those few moments when he was trying to focus, he sensed something on top of him in the darkness but couldn’t see anything. He thought for a moment that his life was being squeezed out of him and that he would die; his heart pounded, and his head felt as though it would explode. He opened his mouth to speak but could not utter a sound.

  Just when he was resigning himself to certain death, the whole of his body became suddenly light, the physical tension in his throat and head disappearing and he was able to breathe again. Gasping for air, sweat ran down his brow, and he lay there in the darkness, too scared to move as his breathing gradually returned to normal.

  Asmodeus had chosen not to reveal himself this time, as he had in the past when taking a life. This time, in the final moments as the breath was leaving the body below him, he realised there was a greater pleasure to be had than this man’s death; he had ways to torment this one further.

  The old man was asleep; he had been so since early evening, and he very seldom disturbed.

  On the landing outside the bedroom, Jess gave a groan in her sleep and rolled over.

  Asmodeus entered the room. The temperature dropped a few degrees but the old man did not stir; nor did he move as the demon climbed on top of his chest and forced the life force out of his body. In the final moments of his existence as his breathing laboured, the old man was not aware that death was coming and he did not open his eyes. The demon had materialised, as he always did for his victims at the point of death, in case they should open their eyes while taking their final breaths so that the he would be the last, terrible thing they saw before they departed this world for the next.

  In the caravan Abbie too was struggling with a restless night. The wind was making so much noise through the trees, and at times she thought that she felt the caravan sway. She felt she was disturbed often by this, half awake, half asleep, for most of the night.

  The temperature had slowly dropped, cooling the air, but she had not noticed. He waited patiently and silently, and when she seemed fully asleep, the demon approached her.

  He had no hesitation in revealing himself; he had tasted her juices and kissed the flesh on her hand, and now he wanted more, and he would take it. He leaned over her and breathed steadily and directly into her face, the pungent odour of his breath paralysing her and rendering her unconscious.

  The bedclothes were pulled aside and he stood there, watching her as she lay on her back in her pyjamas. Two knurled fingers went in between the buttons of her top and parted the two sides, revealing the soft white rounded flesh of her breasts, and he grunted with delight.

  The demon leaned over her and pulled her pyjama bottoms, his strength easily pulling them down and over her feet in one fluid movement.

  He stood over her, in awe of the sight in front of him. He wanted her so much. He knew from legends of the existence of the goddess Lilith, and he had seen this one in his world. He had watched her from afar, and he had tried to make her desire him following the ways of man, but that had failed, and so he decided that he would have her at any cost, in his way.

  He knew from the moment he had kissed her flesh that to control his desire would be impossible. He had never seen such beauty, even in those for whom he had previously killed. This Lilith was his queen, and she would be his alone.

  Asmodeus climbed onto the bed and on top of Abbie. He would not harm her, but he knew none of the niceties of foreplay; his penis in his hand, he forced himself into her, while Abbie remained unaware and motionless on the bed.

  Once inside her he touched her belly, her hips and breasts, He wanted this to last forever as he thrust at her, in and out, making her whole body jerk back and forth violently. He so wished she had chosen him, but he had seen that she was with another, so this he now knew was his only way of having her.

  The terrible creature was lost in his own private ecstasy as he ejaculated deeply within her, his pleasure ripping through his muscular humanoid frame. He felt his energy and desire drain from him as he had fulfilled his lust for her. For a while he remained motionless, hunched over her, whilst his knurled member remained inside her, his erection never waning, and after a few moments he began thrusting at her again, this time harder and more aggressively; he held her breasts and grabbed at her the flesh on her muscular thighs. He felt so hard he knew he was coming again, but this time at the point of ejaculation, he stopped thrusting and let the pleasure seep through his frame as he unloaded his semen into her.

  After he had finished he remained looking at her beauty beneath him, and before climbing off her and departing, he breathed deeply again into her face.

  A while later Abbie felt cold and reached for the bedclothes, covering herself completely and continuing to sleep.

  …………………………………………………………….

  Simon was up at his usual time of 7 am; Jess was still asleep in her basket on the landing outside his room. He showered and made himself some tea, thinking of Abbie and the evening they had spent together.

  It dawned on him that he hadn’t heard his father upstairs; he was usually also up by now, so Simon decided to take him some tea, in case he had overslept.

  Simon knocked on the door, but there was no reply.

  “Dad” he shouted, but there was no response, and he had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong. He opened the bedroom door and looked in; he could see his father still lying in bed.

  “Dad” he said for the second time from the doorway, “it’s morning; I’ve brought you some tea”.

  Still there was no reply. Simon entered the room and walked over to the bed, putting the tea down on the bedside table.

  “Dad” he said again gently. Leaning over, he touched his father’s shoulder, which was as cold as ice.

  Abbie was aware of gradually waking up. She felt she had slept well and, opening her eyes, she lay for a while enjoying the warmth of the bed.

  It was only when she moved that she noticed something felt strange, something was wrong.

  She glanced under the bed covers and noticed that her pyjama top was open, and the bottoms removed and lying next to her. She remembered being restless early on in the night, and thought she must have somehow wrestled her way out of her pyjamas. This thought amused her; she wasn’t used to wearing them after all, and she’d only brought them to sleep in, in case she was cold.

  Abbie got up and showered, and it was only when drying herself that she noticed a bruise at the top of her thigh. She couldn’t recall how that had happened, but she was sure it hadn’t been there the day before.

  After a breakfast of porridge, she noticed the time was 8.30 am; the village would be coming to life she thought, which meant the shop and café opening, the local rush hour.

  The bad weather seemed to have passed, and again the day looked as though it would be bright and clear. All was silent around the caravan, not even the birds were singing.

  Abbie dressed in her running gear and set off towards the beach. As she passed the shop she didn’t notice that it was still closed.

  For some reason the village seemed more deserted than usual, not a soul to be seen. It was as though she was in a time warp, one of those disaster films where you awake to find you’re the only person left.

  At the top of the hill, she approached the clearing that led to the path in the dunes; there was no Michael and she was glad of that.

  Once on the beach again, Abbie decided she would definitely return to this place in the future. She ran at a brisk pace, confident in her ability.

  This particular morning her talent to project happened very quickly, and she soon found herself engulfed in bright light, as a familiar figure appeared in front of her and became Isaac. He smiled at her.

&nbs
p; “Hello” she said

  “Nice to meet with you again Abbie, but you need to be very careful. We are aware that your beauty has continued to attract the attention of a malevolent spirit; you are aware of this also. It is persistent as it has been at the height of its strength, but this will pass. You yourself have to deal with it in your world, we cannot help you. If however, you feel really threatened there is something you can do.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Burn a fish heart and liver. The smell will be unpleasant for you but it will succeed in driving him away. Be strong”. said Isaac.

  “I will, thank you”.

  “Abbie, there is something else”.

  “What is it?”

  “Peter. He is suffering increasingly, you see he is in what you would call limbo; your visits he loves, and of course desires them, but as a human you cannot stay here all the time and when you depart he is so sad. He now feels stuck, he cannot move on because he wants you, to be with you, and he also does not want to leave you again. You must understand that this is so heavy on his spirit”.

  Isaac continued: “Abbie, Peter’s future is in your hands; let him go, let him move on and find true spiritual fulfilment, let him be free”.

  Abbie looked at Isaac and knew what he said was true.

  “You’re asking me to give him up?”

  “Yes, for his sake. You love him, you would not harm him; he needs you to give him permission to move on and for him to be able to go. He is only here for you now. He is fully aware and has come to terms with what has happened to him. Here, this is usually a transition stage, as you know at times souls are stuck, but Peter, he needs you to release him. You need to do this for his sake.”