He turned to the attendant in the ticket office and asked whether he could get a coach to Cornwall.
“Plymouth’s as far as we can take you love,” replied the lady behind the window. She wore so much makeup she looked like she was lightly caked in mud.
“But I need to get to Cornwall.”
“Which bit of Cornwall are you trying to get to my love?”
“Uh, I don’t know, St Ives, no, Newquay.”
He decided that there was more chance of finding work in Newquay, It was much bigger than St, Ives and would be busy, even though the holiday season had ended.
“You want to go to Newquay, do you my love?”
Boyd nodded.
“Get the coach to Plymouth and when you get there you can get a bus to Newquay my love.”
Boyd nodded again and handed over the money. The woman eyed the large wad of cash in his ruck sack and quickly looked the other way as he handed her the fare.
“The next bus leaves at four.”
He looked at his watch. It was two fifteen.
Boyd could have waited at the station but instead he spent an hour looking around the city centre. This would be the last time he’d see the place and wanted a little bit of time to look around before he left for good.
He was back at the station by ten to four. He bought a packet of cigarettes, a newspaper and something to eat and drink for the journey.
He boarded the coach and made his way to the back, sat down and pulled his hoody over his head. He huddled against the window and closed his eyes as the coach left the bay. He was on his way and, other than the lady in the ticket office, no one knew where he was going.
Chapter sixty four
Maria’s flat
4.30pm
Monday 17th October
Maria brought a tray of coffee and digestive biscuits from the kitchen and placed it on the table in the lounge.
“Help yourself,” said Maria as she offered the plate to Esther.
“Ooh, digestives, my favourite,” said Esther, as she eagerly grabbed a couple.
“So what’s this monitor for?” asked Maria as she turned the small plastic device over and viewed it suspiciously.
“It’s to monitor Christopher’s sleep patterns”.
Maria said nothing and continued to look at the monitor.
“It will provide us with information about your son’s real world sleep behavior and rest-activity rhythms.”
“Sorry Esther, you’ve lost me.”
“No, it’s my fault. Basically the data information captured on that little thing will help Dr Phelps make appropriate diagnostic and treatment decisions.”
“So when you say treatment decisions, do you think that Dr Phelps will be able to cure Christopher’s Rhythmic Movement Disorder?”
“No, he won’t be able to cure RMD, there’s no cure for that. He’s hoping to find out more about your son’s sleep talking.”
Maria seemed disappointed.
“As we’ve discussed before, RMD will just stop, Christopher is very likely to just grow out of it,……… Do you still use the metronome to settle Christopher?”
Maria nodded.
“And was it switched on last Friday night when he started sleep talking?”
Maria nodded again.
“Dr Phelps is interested in what is causing Christopher to talk like he does when he’s sleeping. He’s researched sleep behavior in children for years but until now he’s not come across anything like this.”
Maria looked serious, which was something she was doing more and more recently. Her face was showing signs of stress.
“Dr Phelps will go into more detail with you when you see him next week, but I know he’s interested in understanding why your son is saying words that are beyond his vocabulary.”
“So Christopher’s going to be his special guinea pig?”
“Yes, if you put it like that, but hopefully if he can find out more about what’s happening with your son, he may find a way of stopping him from doing it.”
Christopher was sleeping in his cot and Maria and Esther went to see him.
“Does he only bang his head when he sleeps at night?” whispered Esther.
“I’ve never known him do it during the day and my mum hasn’t mentioned seeing him do it either, it’s just a night time thing.”
Maria stroked Christopher’s face and he wriggled in his cot.
“He doesn’t head bang every night and there’s a chance he may not do it before Dr Phelps visits me next week so this monitor thingy may not pick up any information.”
“Perhaps, but there’s not much we can do about that.”
Christopher was waking up. Esther left the bedroom so Maria could get him out of his cot on her own.
She brought him into the lounge as Esther was packing her notes into her bag. She put the actigraph monitor back in its box and placed it on the table.
“I need to get going,” said Esther as she put on her coat.
“I’ll see you on Monday with Dr Phelps, but if you need to speak to me, just give me a call.”
Maria thanked her and walked her to the door.
She closed the door and heard her phone ringing from the lounge. As the phone was ringing Maria could hear Christopher.
“Eyo, eyo, eyo.”
He was trying to say hello. He was copying Maria because ‘hello’ was always the first thing she said when she picked up the phone. He had been doing this for about a week and it made Maria smile. She checked who was calling. It was Campbell.
“Hello Campbell, how are you?”
They had a fifteen minute conversation. Campbell knew that Maria was hesitant about going out on another date just yet, but he was desperate to know how Christopher was. Maria told him what had happened over the last few days and about the appointment with Dr Phelps.
She was missing Campbell. They’d only been out once, but it seemed like she had known him for years.
She didn’t want to go out with him again just yet because she didn’t want to leave Christopher with a baby sitter. She was worried that his strange behaviour would start and she wouldn’t be there for him.
“I’ve got an idea” said Maria, “how would you like to come over one night this week and I can cook us a meal?”
“I’d like that,” said Campbell.
A date was made for Thursday and they ended the call.
Maria smiled. Campbell was selfless. He hadn’t made the call so he could see her again, he’d done it because he was concerned about her son.
Later in the evening Maria struggled to attach the actigraph monitor. The thing was meant to be worn like a wristwatch, but Christopher’s chubby wrists were too small for the strap to fit.
Maria took the thing into the kitchen, opened a drawer, the one with all the batteries, phone chargers and keys to unknown things. She pulled out a small Phillips screwdriver and used it to make a new hole in the plastic strap. She took it back to Christopher who was lying in his cot. Eventually she made it fit. She tucked him in and kissed him goodnight.
Within a few minutes he was sleeping, and within a few more minutes he was head banging.
Chapter sixty five
The Awareness
7.27pm
Ben Walker’s spirit began to stir and, as always, he carried on from where he left off.
Please – Hear – My – Voice.
He briefly continued to chant the four words and then stopped.
He had a sense that he was getting somewhere. He didn’t know why, but it just felt that someplace else, he was being noticed. It was the same perception as the time he screamed. He’d screamed so loud he was sure he could hear his own voice.
It was like sending out a mayday call and hoping to be heard. But who or what had heard him, and would they return his call?
Ben was frustrated and the frustration was turning to anger and the anger was turning into energy and the energy had to be released.
Please – Hear – M
y – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice.
After lying dormant for a few days Ben was recharged and ready to be heard.
Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice.
He could feel the four words resonate as he chanted them over and over.
Chapter sixty six
Maria’s flat
7.48pm
Christopher started head banging shortly after Maria had closed his door.
He started with a few gentle thuds against his pillow, followed by a few minutes of rolling from side to side before he started to chant.
He was chanting the same four words as before, but this time his voice sounded different. It had a different tone, a different timbre.
“Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice.”
Maria’s heart sank. She went back to his room to try to wake him. Although he’d got to sleep only minutes earlier he was in a deep slumber from which he wouldn’t wake.
She had given up trying to wake him and was on the floor with her back against the wall and her head in her hands.
Maria had learnt from experience there wasn’t much point in trying to wake him. Once he started there was no stopping him. She’d just have to let him do his thing.
She went back to the lounge and turned on the computer. She searched ‘children sleep talking’.
There were lots to choose from. She spent half an hour trawling through the various sites trying to find something that could explain what was happening. She read that more than one in ten young children talk in their sleep more than a few nights a week, and that half of all kids between the ages of three and four years old talk while asleep.
Three and four? she thought to herself, but Christopher’s barely one year old.
Maria changed her search to ‘one year old sleep talking’.
She found a forum website and one worried mum posted a question about her child.
‘My one year old child talks when she’s sleeping. The other night, she pointed and said "what are you doing?” She was fast asleep when she said it. Usually it is real words she blurts out in her sleep (what are you doing, duck, cow, daddy, mummy, etc.), it’s not just baby babble. Is this something I should be worrying about? Should I take her to the doctor? Or do I worry too much? I must admit, it’s cute and I quite like it’.
Maria read the posting. “Cute? What my son does certainly isn’t cute,” she whispered as she listened to his chant crackle over the baby monitor.
She read the responses to the mother’s question.
The replies were all much the same. She came to the last of the six responses
‘She sounds just precious!!! It is very common and absolutely normal. You should record it so you can always remember her sweet night time babble. I'm sure she would love to listen to it when she’s all grown up.
Make the most of these precious times, they go so fast.’
Maria slammed down the lid of her laptop. Searching the internet didn’t help her, it had made things worse. She’d found nothing useful. Other than drippy mothers getting soppy over their precious kids, there was nothing that suggested that any other one year olds spoke in their sleep like an adult.
She felt lost and alone.
Christopher was banging and chanting away in his room, but it wasn’t the same. His rhythm was changing and his chant was different.
Chapter sixty seven
The Awareness
8.29pm
Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice… Please – Hear – My – Voice.
Ben was repeating the words in his thoughts and was wondering if there was any point in carrying on?
In his strange little prison he still had no concept of time. Each time he faded into his dormant state and then awoke, he had no idea he’d been away. As far as he was aware he was permanently conscious.
Ben felt he’d been chanting the same four words continuously for an eternity and they didn’t seem to be getting him anywhere. What he needed to know was whether anyone was listening, and if there was, he needed a sign. He needed to know that he’d been heard. He’d been reaching out and now it was someone’s turn to reach back to him.
He stopped repeating the four word mantra and started a different one.
Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There…..
This was his new message. He wasn’t going to stop until he had a response. He had no idea what kind of response to look out for. Would he hear someone’s voice? Would he see a picture? Would he stand face to face with god?
Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There…..
Chapter sixty eight
Maria’s flat
8.35pm
Maria listened as Christopher’s chanting changed. The first thing she noticed was the difference in the rhythm. He had stopped the four beat measure and had increased it to six. Six times his head thudded against his pillow and each time his head came down he grunted a word. After the sixth beat he would stop and take a brief pause and then start the sequence again.
The six new words were immediately distinct. Unlike before, when he was chanting ‘please hear my voice’, when it had taken her and Campbell hours to work out what he was saying, these words were as clear as a bell.
She jumped up from her seat and ran to his room. Standing in front of him the six words sounded even clearer.
“Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There”
Maria grabbed her phone. She needed to call someone. Her impulse was to call her mother. She was about to make the call but changed her mind.
She scrolled through the contact list on her phone and stopped at Esther’s number. She looked at her watch and wondered if it was too late to call her. She held the phone tightly in her shaking hand and pressed the call button.
“Hello, Esther?”
“Maria, is everything OK?”
“Listen to this.”
Maria held the phone next to Christopher so Esther could hear him. She kept the phone above his head for thirty seconds which gave Esther enough time to take in what was happening.
“How long has he been doing that?”
“He’s been chanting ‘please hear my voice’ for about forty five minutes, but it’s just changed in the last few minutes.”
Maria’s voice was unsteady and she was close to tears.
“Esther, I’m sorry to call you, but I don’t know what to do.”
“Don’t you worry, I’m on my way over.”
Maria sighed, put her hand to her forehead and turned away from Christo
pher.
“Thank you.”
“Maria, after you finish this call start filming him and I’ll make sure Peter Phelps gets to see what’s happening.”
Maria ended the call and filmed her son.
Twenty minutes later Esther arrived and went straight to Christopher’s room.
He was chanting the same six words.
“Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There….. Please – Let – Me – Know – You’re – There.”
Esther watched in disbelief.
“Have you tried to wake him?”
“I have but……” Maria didn’t finish her sentence, she just shrugged shoulders.
They stood in silence over his cot and watched.
Esther tried to take his temperature and measure his pulse which was impossible because he wouldn’t stay still for long enough.
Esther felt useless. All her years of experience had not prepared her for this. She thought it would be better to not wake him. Christopher didn’t appear to be in any discomfort or danger, so there was no reason to take him to Accident and Emergency.
Esther was there for Maria more than Christopher, and Maria needed someone to be there for her.
“I don’t think there is anything I can do, but I am willing to stay with you if you like,” said Esther as she held Maria’s hand.
Maria wiped a tear from her eye and squeezed Esther’s hand.
“Thank you Esther, I appreciate you being here.”
Maria went to the kitchen to make coffee. They could have a long stretch ahead of them and caffeine would be the order of the night.
Esther pulled her phone from her bag.
“I’m going to call Peter Phelps, perhaps he can suggest something.”
The Hill - Ben’s Story (Book One).: A Paranormal Murder Mystery Thriller. (Book One). Page 25
