Read Online Mariah Mundi and the Ship of Fools by G.P. Taylor - Free Book Online
Authors: G.P. Taylor
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this?’
There was gentle laughter, as if whoever it was had remembered a fond and happy memory.
‘It’s me … I’ve come back,’ it whispered just as the line went dead.
Mariah put the telephone back on the table and checked the lock on the door and again looked in the wardrobes and the beds. He was alone.
Just as he returned to the leather chair, he noticed something quite strange. The mirror by his bedroom door appeared to be glowing. It was as if the glass were about to become aflame. It shimmered momentarily. He looked again, and the mirror was just mercurial glass in which he could see his reflection.
From the door came a tap-tap-tapping as if a tiger-claw struck the wood time after time. Then, as Mariah turned, there was a scratching as if a dog was in the passageway. Mariah listened as the scraping came again and again. He went to the door and put his hand upon the wood. He could feel it move with the tremor of the generator. The scratching came again, this time louder. Mariah could feel it against the door – something was on the other side. He listened as the creature sniffed the sill. Then, as swiftly as it had come, the sound had gone.
Mariah sat with his back to the door. He wanted to leave, to be at home. He didn’t want to be on his own. Whatever haunted him seemed to know his mind and what he feared.
‘Mariah …’ He heard the whisper. ‘Mariah…’ said the voice of a child, calling him from the passageway outside. ‘Come with me …’
He didn’t know what to do. The room grew colder, darker … The lights began to fade in their brightness. Mariah could hear his heart beating as the blood rushed through his head.
‘Who is this?’ he asked, hoping the voice would be gone and he would be tormented no more.
‘Topher …’ replied the voice from outside, this time so clear that Mariah recognised its tone.
‘But it can’t be,’ Mariah replied in total disbelief.
‘You remember me. The Colonial School … I fell from the boat, in the Thames …’
Mariah could not forget that summer day five years before when his most perfect friend had fallen from a rowing boat by Chiswick Bridge. They had searched the water but he was never found.
‘Why are you here?’ Mariah asked, as if death could not stand in the way of their friendship.
‘Come with me, Mariah. Jump the ship … We can play again, it’s so easy to do,’ the voice pleaded with him.
Mariah got to his feet, slid the brass guard from the circular spy hole and peered into the passageway. It was dark, as if the lights there had faded also.
‘It can’t be you, Topher. Not after all this time.’ The memories of his friend blew about his mind like a breeze through an open window.
‘You can’t see me, Mariah … Not there …’ The voice of the child now spoke from inside the room.
Mariah gripped the door, his face pressed against the wood,too fearful to turn. He knew that Topher was there, right behind him, standing in a pool of golden light cast by the mirror.
‘Do you wish me harm?’ Mariah asked as he could see the room behind him begin to glow.
‘I’ve come for you, Mariah … We all have,’ the voice replied with chilled breath, as if spoken by an orchestra of spectres.
‘But you’re dead?’ Mariah asked.
‘What is death but a doorway, Mariah? I was given to the waters and from there I have to return. Join me, Mariah – jump from the ship …’
Mariah turned slowly. Streaming from the mirror was a golden light. It fanned out from its source to form a tight cone the size of a small child. There, before him, standing like a mirage in the darkness … was Topher. He was perfect in every way and looked just like the picture that hung on the wall of the Colonial School. Around his feet was a pool of water that dripped from the hem of his coat – the coat he wore on the day he disappeared.
‘I’ll wait for you,’ Topher said, his lips unmoving and smile rigid as if he were but a hologram.
Mariah
There was gentle laughter, as if whoever it was had remembered a fond and happy memory.
‘It’s me … I’ve come back,’ it whispered just as the line went dead.
Mariah put the telephone back on the table and checked the lock on the door and again looked in the wardrobes and the beds. He was alone.
Just as he returned to the leather chair, he noticed something quite strange. The mirror by his bedroom door appeared to be glowing. It was as if the glass were about to become aflame. It shimmered momentarily. He looked again, and the mirror was just mercurial glass in which he could see his reflection.
From the door came a tap-tap-tapping as if a tiger-claw struck the wood time after time. Then, as Mariah turned, there was a scratching as if a dog was in the passageway. Mariah listened as the scraping came again and again. He went to the door and put his hand upon the wood. He could feel it move with the tremor of the generator. The scratching came again, this time louder. Mariah could feel it against the door – something was on the other side. He listened as the creature sniffed the sill. Then, as swiftly as it had come, the sound had gone.
Mariah sat with his back to the door. He wanted to leave, to be at home. He didn’t want to be on his own. Whatever haunted him seemed to know his mind and what he feared.
‘Mariah …’ He heard the whisper. ‘Mariah…’ said the voice of a child, calling him from the passageway outside. ‘Come with me …’
He didn’t know what to do. The room grew colder, darker … The lights began to fade in their brightness. Mariah could hear his heart beating as the blood rushed through his head.
‘Who is this?’ he asked, hoping the voice would be gone and he would be tormented no more.
‘Topher …’ replied the voice from outside, this time so clear that Mariah recognised its tone.
‘But it can’t be,’ Mariah replied in total disbelief.
‘You remember me. The Colonial School … I fell from the boat, in the Thames …’
Mariah could not forget that summer day five years before when his most perfect friend had fallen from a rowing boat by Chiswick Bridge. They had searched the water but he was never found.
‘Why are you here?’ Mariah asked, as if death could not stand in the way of their friendship.
‘Come with me, Mariah. Jump the ship … We can play again, it’s so easy to do,’ the voice pleaded with him.
Mariah got to his feet, slid the brass guard from the circular spy hole and peered into the passageway. It was dark, as if the lights there had faded also.
‘It can’t be you, Topher. Not after all this time.’ The memories of his friend blew about his mind like a breeze through an open window.
‘You can’t see me, Mariah … Not there …’ The voice of the child now spoke from inside the room.
Mariah gripped the door, his face pressed against the wood,too fearful to turn. He knew that Topher was there, right behind him, standing in a pool of golden light cast by the mirror.
‘Do you wish me harm?’ Mariah asked as he could see the room behind him begin to glow.
‘I’ve come for you, Mariah … We all have,’ the voice replied with chilled breath, as if spoken by an orchestra of spectres.
‘But you’re dead?’ Mariah asked.
‘What is death but a doorway, Mariah? I was given to the waters and from there I have to return. Join me, Mariah – jump from the ship …’
Mariah turned slowly. Streaming from the mirror was a golden light. It fanned out from its source to form a tight cone the size of a small child. There, before him, standing like a mirage in the darkness … was Topher. He was perfect in every way and looked just like the picture that hung on the wall of the Colonial School. Around his feet was a pool of water that dripped from the hem of his coat – the coat he wore on the day he disappeared.
‘I’ll wait for you,’ Topher said, his lips unmoving and smile rigid as if he were but a hologram.
Mariah
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