Moonlight Magic
Chapter 17

“Sarah?”

“Yes.” She replied unsure as to who it was on the other end of her mobile.

“It’s Julie…from the hospital. One of the nurses.”

“Oh…yes.” Replied Sarah a little confused as to why Julie would be ringing her. “What can I do for you?”

“It’s Eric. He’s gone…again…except this time he must have been gone for hours because Sandra, one of the other nurses noticed he was nowhere to be seen when she came off last night’s shift this morning. She mentioned it to the day nurses and one of them has just rung me now to say he hasn’t re-appeared…and it won’t be long before it’s dark.” Said Julie sounding extremely concerned.

“I didn’t know he’d gone missing before Julie?” Said Sarah. “When was that?”

“Oh…a while ago. He collapsed in the street not far from the hospital and was brought straight back in…but he’s been gone much longer this time…Julie I’m worried…really worried.” Replied Julie almost in tears.

“Listen…don’t worry. I’m sure he’s Ok…and not far away.” She said trying to reassure Sarah. “Have you tried looking where he lives?”

“You know where he lives?” Replied Julie surprised that Sarah had managed to replace his address.

“Yes. I gave it to the nurses in the hospital yesterday when I visited…did they not tell you?”

“No…no they didn’t.”

“Ok…well…I’m as concerned as you are Julie so…where are you now?”

“I’m at home.”

“Where’s that?”

“Over the road from the hospital…15 Rose St.”

“I know where Rose Street is Julie…I’m at Clifton shopping centre at the moment so I’m not that far from you. Why don’t I drive round and pick you up. We can go round to Eric’s address and see if he’s there?”

“Yes…that’s great…Ok.” Replied Julie relieved that at last she was doing something. In a bad situation like this there’s nothing worse than doing nothing…it makes you feel useless.

“I’ll set off straight away…so I’ll be about ten minutes...Ok?”

“Ok.”

Julie spent the next eight minutes staring at her watch and standing in the window of her terraced house waiting for Sarah to arrive…which she did in ten minutes…almost to the second. Julie flew out of her front door slamming it behind her and not bothering to lock it. She was in such a hurry and a panic that she tried to get in Sarah’s car almost before she had stopped.

Sarah turned round doing a fifteen point turn…the road was a lot narrower than it looked…then they were on their way.

“So where does he live?” Asked Julie as Sarah drove as fast she could through the awful traffic.

“He lives opposite the churchyard…at the end of the road.”

“Churchyard?” Replied Julie a little confused.

Sarah could hear the sound of confusion in her voice, so as they stopped at some traffic lights she quickly tried to explain.

“Yes…didn’t you know?”

“Know what?”

“Where he was found?”

“No…we don’t get to hear about that stuff…we just get to see them in the hospital…so he was found in a churchyard?”

“Yes...an old woman had seen him there and was worried he might freeze to death…he’d been sitting in the same place on a wooden bench for ages.”

“Oh…I had no idea.” Replied Julie with her eyes wide open. “Poor Eric…why was he there?”

“We don’t know…he’s not said anything has he?” Asked Sarah inquisitively.

“No…never…not to me anyway.” Then as if someone had flicked a switch in her head, she remembered what Eric had said…”Hang on Sarah…he did say something.”

“What…what did he say?”

“He said he was playing with someone…or something…when something happened and the next thing he remembered he was in the hospital.”

“I thought he must have been visiting a grave…his wife’s maybe…or a friend’s…but something obviously happened that caused him to stay where he was…on the bench all night?” Replied Sarah as she continued driving through the congested roads of the city.

Ten minutes later they turned off the main road and into Cromwell road.

“Look.” Said Sarah pointing down the street ahead of them, “That’s where the churchyard is…there on the right where the tall stone pillars are…and the big iron gate.”

“Oh yeh.” Said Sarah leaning forward straining against her seat belt.

“And down here on the left at the end is Eric’s house…1 Victor Street.” Said Sarah as she turned the car into the half-cobbled, half-tarmacked road lined both sides with two bedroom terraced houses.

Sarah stopped her car directly outside Eric’s house. There was no sign of him as they got out and looked up and down the street hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

Sarah cupped her hands against each side of her head as she strained to look through his front window.

“Come and look at this Julie…it’s like a house from the past.”

Julie did the same.

“Wow…it looks like…like it’s so old.”

“Look at the photo on the mantelpiece.” Said Sarah pointing with her finger pressed against the glass.

“Oh my god…it’s Eric…. He looks so young.”

Julie stood back from the window looking straight through the glass of the window.

“I’ve got to get inside Sarah…I have to.” She said taking the two steps needed to be stood in front of the brown wooden door. She looked around her to make sure no-one was nearby and grabbed the brass door handle giving it a hard shake back and forth hoping it would pop the door open…but no. She took a few steps back from the front of the house and studied the outside looking for any way to get in.

“These houses all have a back lane…for the bins…and to get into the back yard…the entrance must be around here somewhere.” She said as she walked briskly past the house next door and around the corner.

There it was. A cobbled back lane running the entire length of Victor Street.

Just as Julie disappeared down the back lane, Sarah appeared around the corner.

“Julie…wait.” She called out but it was too late. Julie was already pushing against the small wooden gate to the backyard of number 1 Victor Street.

It opened with a shudder and a continuous groan from years of lack of oil or grease. Julie walked briskly but quietly down the cobbled back yard to Eric’s back door as Sarah called to her from the lane.

“Julie…you can’t…Julie.”

But she wasn’t listening. She was too focused on getting inside Eric’s house. She tried the black Bakelite door handle and to her astonishment, the door opened with a creak and groan from the hinges…just like the back gate. The door took some pushing to open it enough for her to squeeze through and into what might loosely be called the kitchen by today’s standards. It was very sparse with only a light green and cream heavy iron gas cooker, a small dark blue metal thing on the floor…which she guessed could be the fridge, a large white Belfast sink and an unpainted wooden set of shelves which leant against the wall and stretched from the floor to near the ceiling, completely covered with pots, pans and crockery. Downstairs there were only two rooms, one was the kitchen and the other in the front was the living room where the picture of Eric was stood on the black-slate mantelpiece.

Julie desperately needed to replace out more, so with Sarah following sheepishly a few steps behind she made her way up the rather steep and narrow staircase between the kitchen and the living room to the two rooms upstairs…either side of the staircase at the top. Julie for no reason at all decided firstly to go into the room on the left which was at the back of the house and had a single unmade bed in the middle of the room against the wall. This room was obviously never used so she jumped across the staircase into the front room catching a glimpse of Sarah at the bottom of the stairs holding onto the white stair-rail.

“Julie.” Called out Sarah in a half-shout, half-whisper type of voice. “Julie…hurry up. We shouldn’t be in here.”

But Julie didn’t reply, more interested in what she could see and replace in the front bedroom.

This was definitely where Eric slept.

Julie immediately sat herself down on his bed. It was a normal sized double bed with the old fashioned metal sprung base that squeaked every time she bounced up and down. Next to the bed on one side was a small table with an empty space on the other side. At the front was a window that looked out onto the street with a small dog’s bed up against the wall under the window on the floor. Opposite the end of the bed was the chimney breast with a large, old, brass mirror suspended in the middle of the wall about shoulder height. On the left hand side of the chimney in the alcove was a large mahogany wardrobe, and a tall wooden chest of drawers on the right in the other alcove. Both bits of furniture looked exceptionally good quality.

Julie made a beeline for the drawers, and starting at the top began opening them one after another. They were full of men’s pullovers, underwear…which she quickly shut the drawer to, socks and then…in the bottom drawer…a wooden box about the size of a modern shoe box. Her eyes opened wide as she slowly reached into the drawer and gently maneuvered the box out of the musty smelling drawer.

“What’s that?” Said Sarah leaning over Julie as she knelt on the floor.

“SARAH.” Cried out Julie as she almost threw the box across the room in fright. “You nearly made me wee my pants.”

“Sorry…but what is it?”

“Not sure.” Said Julie standing up and moving over to the bed with it. “Let’s have a look.”

Sarah sat next to Julie and both glanced at each other as Julie slowly lifted up the hinged lid to reveal papers...lots of papers…and old, very old photos.

“Wha…look…look at all these.” Whispered Julie under her breath. She lifted a handful of old sepia-coloured and black and white photos from the box flicking through them like you would a pack of cards.

“Look at them.” Said Sarah stopping Julie flicking through them. “They…they’re of Eric…look.” Both Julie’s and Sarah’s eyes opened so wide you would think they were going to pop out and their jaws dropped leaving them speechless.

There were pictures of Eric as a young man in the First World War taken with other soldiers…in trenches abroad somewhere, pictures of him at home here, with a little dog when he was much younger, other pictures obviously after the war…then pictures of Eric in another war which must have been the 2nd World War…again abroad somewhere. Pictures after the war, again with a little dog…then more pictures which looked like the 60’s....and then the 70’s…a few from the 80’s…all the time there was a little dog in them.

“Hey…look.” Said Sarah frowning and picking out a series of pictures from before the 1st World War, then between the wars, after the 2nd world War, the 60’s, 70’s and lastly the 80’s.

“There’s a dog in all of these pictures Julie.”

“And…he obviously likes dogs?” She replied a little puzzled.

“But look…look at the dogs.” She spread the photos out across her knees. “Look…they’re the same dog.”

Julie gathered up the photos and began to study them closely.

“Don’t be silly Sarah. They can’t be…I give you they are all very similar…but think what you’re saying Sarah…the dog would be…well…over a hundred years old…crazy.”

Sarah took back the photos and studied them again without saying a word. Julie rummaged through the remainder of the photos which were just more of the same, when she came across a small ivory coloured envelope. She very gently and carefully opened the envelope which wasn’t stuck down, to remove a folded piece of stiff paper…the type of paper important documents are written on. Carefully she unfolded it and read its contents.

It was a birth certificate.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing causing her to drop her hands onto her lap in confusion and amazement all rolled into one. Sarah noticed Julie looking shocked and staring blankly ahead.

“What is it…Julie?” Asked Sarah wondering what could be so surprising it would make Julie so quiet.

Julie slowly handed Sarah the piece of paper, who took it with some trepidation as to what she might read.

She read it…again…and again…and again.

“Oh come on…this can’t be true Julie…can it?”

The pair of them picked up the photos studying them over and over again until it was almost too dark to see them without putting the light on…which of course they didn’t want to do.

Without saying a word to each other they put the photos back in the box along with the envelope and the birth certificate. Julie stood up from sitting on the edge of the bed first, then Sarah.

“Come on Sarah…let’s go.” Said Julie sounding very subdued.

“Yes…yes…I’m with you.” Sarah replied as they made their way down the stairs and to the front door.

“Should we go out the back?” Whispered Sarah.

“You can Sarah…I’m going out this way…coming?”

“I…I…oh alright.” Sarah replied reluctantly.

The door only had a small brass Yale lock that had to be twisted around once to open it, so within a couple of seconds they were both back on the street. Julie went and stood by the car as Sarah made her way round blipping the doors with her car keys to unlock them.

The pair of them almost fell into the car flopping onto the seats.

“I feel as if I’ve run a marathon.” Said Sarah quietly.

“Me too…did you see the date?”

“I did Julie. 1897. Do you believe it?”

“Well…it would make Eric 124 years old…and I’m a nurse…and I’m pretty sure people don’t live that old…and look and behave like Eric.”

“Yep…I know what you mean…and what about his dog…dogs?”

“No way….they were definitely different dogs…he just likes little terrier dogs…Jack Russell’s weren’t they?”

“Now what do we do?” Asked Sarah

“We need to replace Eric.” Replied Julie, “And soon…I’m worried about him.”