The Meldings (7) Revolution

When she was younger Sarah Midgen (affectionately known as Smidge) loved roller coasters; the exhilaration and adrenaline rush –there was nothing else like it. That was until her mother took her on The Revolution at Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach –a simple loop-the-loop with a twist that Sarah never saw coming.

After completing the first loop Sarah turned to her mother and said: “That was great! We’re getting off now, yeah?” Her mum just shook her head.

“You are about to experience the Revolution 360° looping roller-coaster…” went the sudden tannoy announcement. “BACKWARDS.”

Smidge looked over her shoulder in horror as the cars behind her juddered and then moved in a contrary direction to the one she wanted to go in. The worst part was when she saw the cars disappear, knowing that any second hers would be next.

This highlighted just how little control she really had over her life. True, there was no real difference between the two experiences; they were perfectly safe (if anything the reverse experience was even more thrilling) but it was the unexpected development and the fact that her mum had hidden that knowledge from her. It made her feel helpless.

All this was brought back to her in an instant as she now found herself falling backwards again; but into what? Things had been mirroring the Revolution ride recently: Sarah had been gifted with the ability to open doorways between places and while it had been helpful in escaping the school bully, Gert; there wasn’t much use for it at first. Then Gert took her revenge by trapping her mum and two friends in a fire; it was through quick thinking that Smidge had used the handle to escape once again. That was the last straw for Smidge, she forced a confrontation and pushed Gert into a newly formed ‘room’ to try and understand why all this was happening, but things didn’t go as planned. Gert now had a similar ability herself; one that had been given to her by another entity.

Gert also knew what happened to her mum (which was more than Smidge knew), she then disappeared leaving Sarah alone. It was then that the room started to putrefy quickly, too quickly for her to make the door outwards. The next thing she knew Smidge was falling.

The feelings of helplessness welled up again, threatening to overtake her once more, but Smidge realised that she had to keep things under control. Nothing untoward had happened yet and it was only the fear of the unknown that made things difficult… but that was what life was all about –living in the moment. It was only a fool who knew exactly what was going to happen from one moment to the next. Life was about living with the unknown, at least that was what her mum had said, and making friends with the darkness. Maybe her mum knew more than she had let on and in her own way she had been preparing Smidge for these ordeals.

Suddenly the sense of falling stopped… but there was no ground; nothing solid to fall on to. She was just suspended weightless. Smidge could move her hands, legs, feet; everything worked as it should do but there was no feeling of motion. All around her was creeping blackness and moving her limbs through it was like wading through treacle.

Smidge stopped trying and focused on what she knew. She had this special ability that allowed her to open doorways if there was something physical on which she could create a door. This was a gift that her mum had once possessed but something had happened and she either walked away from it or it had been taken away from her. Gert alluded to this, but what about Gert herself?

She started out as just another bully but Smidge had managed to get even with her and thought that had made them equal. It couldn’t be further from the truth, things had escalated fast and it now seemed that Gert had acquired a similar power to hers.

Wait a minute. It wasn’t a doorway that Gert created but a tear; a rent in the room which then caused it to disintegrate. It was an opposite force; the antithesis to her power which could be conceived as a joining of spaces.

Suddenly she had a flash of a single, simple image in her mind: a circle with two parts; one black fish swimming after a white fish. The black fish had a white eye and the white fish had a black dot for an eye.

“Sarah… is that you?” Came a soft voice from the nowhere, interrupting her vision.

“Mum?” Smidge asked with a shimmer of hope, but then she realised that although there was a similarity to her mum’s voice it was actually older; slightly harsher with an edge to it. She was also aware that she had just given away her presence to whatever was out there.

“No, I’m your Nana, dear. Nana Joesephine.”

“What are you doing here? Where is here?” Smidge had never met her Nan –on either side. Mum never talked about her mum at all, it was as if she never existed. So what was she doing here now?

“I’ve been here ever since your mum cast me down here fifteen years ago; and I need your help to get me back.” There was much that didn’t make sense: how did her mum send Joesephine here? Why would she? Was this linked to the bigger picture that no one wanted to tell her about? Someone owed her an explanation when she got out; Smidge needed to know the truth!

But getting out was the primary goal now; she needed something to focus on. There was too much… nothing around which made it difficult for her to focus her concentration; that was the source of her power.

“Will you help me, Sarah?” It seemed that, whatever it was, it didn’t want her to focus; but she could still work this to her advantage.

“How do I know that you’re my Gran?” Smidge didn’t want to use the word Nana just yet, it just didn’t feel right; it was too creepy.

“My name is Joesephine Bell; I’m your grandmother, Sarah. Even though we’ve never met you feel it to be true, don’t you?”

“Go on. Tell me about my mum and why you think she sent you here. Why would she do that? What did you do to her?”

“Don’t take that tone of voice with me, young lady!” The voice suddenly betrayed its true character, snapping that way. Smidge had deliberately bated it and now she was a little frightened by its reply. Whatever it was, she now knew it to be malevolent.

“I’m sorry… Nana…. Please tell me. I’ve never been told anything about you.” Smidge realised that it was best to play it safe now; find as much as she could until such time as she could escape.

“Your mother took possession of a power that was rightfully mine; one that I believe you currently weld, Sarah. It’s a wondrous power that opens all sorts of doors.” The voice chuckled and Sarah laughed along, even though she felt chilled to the marrow.

“Please can I see you, Nana; I so want to see you. It’s unfair that we’ve been parted for so long.”

“I don’t see why not –you’re right that it’s not fair that you’ve never seen your Nana with your own eyes.” A form materialised out of the darkness. Again, at first glance, it seemed to be the vision of her mum but the woman was far older, more haggard in the face and body; with a hollowness in her eyes. “The power you have allows you to pull together the Memory Palace; it will allow me to become whole. Your mother didn’t want that to happen; she chose her husband over me and damned me to this hell. You wouldn’t do that to me, would you, dear?”

It was obvious that there was much her gran wasn’t telling Smidge (if it truly was her gran); and she was speaking to her as if to a child, which really rankled her.  Seeing her gran in front of her made things around her seem more solid. For the first time since she arrived in limbo she knew she could get out.. and how.

“Of course not, Nana. What’s more I can help you get out.”

“Oh, dearest; if only you could.. Do you still have the handle on you?”

“No.. I don’t need it anymore.”

“Really? That is news.. good news, as well. You’re progressed more than we expected.” We, thought Smidge; this had suddenly taken a much darker turn. Smidge should never have mentioned not needing the handle. She had to get out; now.

“I can open a doorway that will help you back to the Memory Palace.” Smidge replied, not missing a beat. This would require firecracker timing; she’d never attempted something like this before. It was through her fear and desire to see her mum again that gave her the added focus she needed.

She felt the air around her become more solid as her gran walked towards her, the air shimmering around her like a petrol haze. Smidge opened the door and waited for her gran to start walking through it. Without warning Smidge suddenly pushed her gran through the open door before slamming it shut behind her. Her hands tingled from touching her.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she opened the next door, imagining her mum and Mrs Norn.  As she walked through she suddenly saw the fleeting image of her gran running towards her, her clawed hand swiping through Smidge as the door closed around her to blackness.

When Smidge opened her eyes she realised that she was back home in her own bed, with her mum staring intently at her.

“Thank God, Smidge! Thank God that you’re back; we were so worried about you!” They hugged, tears streaming down both their cheeks. How had Smidge managed to get back in her own bed like this, and why was her mum looking so relieved?

“What’s wrong, mum? Why the tears? How long have I been here?”

“You mustn’t worry, darling. Everything is going to be fine now that you’re back.”

“Mother… tell me!”

“You’ve been like this.. unrespon… away from us… for three weeks.”