Read Online Moonlight by Tim O'Rourke - Free Book Online

of a bank of clouds.
    “Isn’t it beautiful?” she heard Thaddeus whisper.
    “Yes,” she breathed, the rain spattering her upturned face.
    “The moonlight makes you look very bea utiful,” Thaddeus suddenly said .
    “Aw, you’re just saying that,” Winni e giggled, looking at him. T here was a part of her that so much wanted what he said to be true. She had never been t old that before by anyone. A lthough it made her feel slightly uneasy coming from a man she hardly knew, she liked hearing those words. She liked the way he was looking at her.
    Reaching out with his hand, Thaddeus brushed the damp lengths of hair from her cheeks, as if wanting to see more of her face. In the moonlight she truly did look beautiful, he thought, and he tried to push those feelings away. The moonlight made her look like chi na, fragile and breakable.
    “What’s wrong?” Winnie asked, slowly pulling his hand away from her face. Even through the fogginess of her mind, she could see that his look of wonder at her had changed to one of sadness - remorse.
    “Wait here,” he said, turning and heading towards the house.
    “Where are you going?” she called out, now standing alone in the shaft of blue moonlight.
    “I’m going to get my camera,” he called out as he fumbled for his door keys in his coat pocket. “I want to take a photo of you.”
    “But it’s raining!” she gasped, not knowing whether she should be flattered by his behaviour or not. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had ever wanted to take a picture of her. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
    But Thaddeus had gone, disappearing inside the house.
    Winnie stood alone in the moonlight and rain. Although she was kind of pleased that Thaddeus wanted to take a picture of her, she hoped he would hurry up. She felt cold and wet through. Not only that, she felt ridiculous standing alone, with her hood up, her hair all bedraggled and plastered to the sides of her face. Winnie doubted that she loo ked very beautiful at all. W ith her self-esteem at its usual low, she wondered if perhaps he wasn’t taking the piss - having a laugh at her expense.
    So wanting to make sure that she looked her best, she positioned herself so she could see her reflection in one of the tall bay windows set into the front of the house. 
    With her fingers almost numb with cold, she combed them through the wispy lengths of hair that hung limply against her cheeks. She turned quickly sideways, then front again, checking out her profile. The wind suddenly picked up, blowing a flurry of leaves from beneath the trees behind her. There was a snapping noise, like feet treading over fallen twigs. Winnie spun around and peered into the slices of darkness between the black and knotted tree trunks. The sound came again.
    “Hello?” she gasped. “Is there anyone there?”
    The noise stopped, or was it drowned out by another sudden gust of wind? A shower of sodden leaves scattered into the air again, and then settled as the wind dropped. Winnie peered into the darkness once more, then turned back to face the window, and then screamed.
    Reflected back in the window, she could see three pale faces looming out of the darkness behind her. With her heart in her throat, she turned again, but the faces were now gone. Her heart raced so fast and loud, she could hear it beating in her ears. The wind suddenly howled all around her, blowing her hair out from beneath her hood and covering her face. She closed her eyes against the wind, her hair, and the driving rain, and in that moment of darkness, she heard voices.
    Snapping open her eyes again, and clawing her hair from her face, the wind wrapped itself around Winnie like a cold, wet blanket and almost seemed to whisper in her ears.
    Come home... the wind cried as it circled her.
    Come home...he will kill you...just like the others ...the wind whispered.
    Winnie threw her hands over her ears, closing her eyes against the leaves that now whipped violently