Tallulah Motion was driving her Jaguar XK 120 along Lamont towards the Kings Park area of the city<\/p>\n
She watched as the street lamps passed lazily in sequence<\/p>\n
Some of the bars and shops were still open but on the whole the street was quiet<\/p>\n
She turned into Graham in the general direction of the city museum<\/p>\n
But she knew she had a problem<\/p>\n
Why at three in the morning was she driving around the streets of the city when she should have been sleeping in her bed?<\/p>\n
When Patrick was away she never went out after dark as she had heard of so many awful things happening<\/p>\n
She turned again into Mayfair and intended to take the second left into Lexicon and onwards to her house which she knew to be some ten miles away<\/p>\n
As she approached the main storm drain that led out of the city she felt her car lurch then it stalled<\/p>\n
She put her foot on the gas but only received a muted response<\/p>\n
Why was her beautiful car playing up especially in this part of town?<\/p>\n
She stopped opposite the slip road that lead to the vast concrete bowl that was the main storm drain for the city<\/p>\n
The engine died<\/p>\n
A minute later she started the engine again<\/p>\n
Nothing<\/p>\n
It was then that Tallulah realised that she was out of gas<\/p>\n
She had intended to fill up on the way back from the airport after seeing Patrick off but had neglected to do so<\/p>\n
What a place to run out of gas of all the places in Jefferson what a place to run out of gas<\/p>\n
She looked at the area around her<\/p>\n
It was well lit but menacing and she knew that a man had been shot to death not far from where she was parked a week previously<\/p>\n
Tallulah felt nervous but knew that she would have to keep a cool head and not panic<\/p>\n
She had three options<\/p>\n
1 \u2013 just wait until a patrol car came along and flag them down and ask for help<\/i><\/p>\n
2 \u2013 just wait until daybreak which was about three hours away and when it was safe resolve the situation<\/i><\/p>\n
3- Panic<\/i><\/p>\n
In the distance Tallulah could hear the loud beat of a ghetto blaster which was getting louder and louder by the second<\/p>\n
Fuck fuck fuck why did they have to take this road?<\/i><\/p>\n
The car swung into view and Tallulah slid deeply into her seat hoping not to be spotted<\/p>\n
Nothing happened the car and its noisy passengers just floated by without incident<\/p>\n
As she congratulated herself on passing the first test Tallulah noticed rain drops had begun to hit the dashboard<\/p>\n
At first there was one then two and then ten then twenty then fifty then one hundred<\/p>\n
It was raining hard<\/p>\n
Tallulah pressed the release to operate the automatic hood but nothing happened<\/p>\n
The car was dead<\/p>\n
She remained crouched in the well of her car hoping for some reason to keep dry which she knew to be ridiculous<\/p>\n
The rain torrential as it was only lasted about five minutes<\/p>\n
Tallulah watched as a small puddle formed in the well<\/p>\n
She was soaked and so was her beautiful car everything was soaked<\/p>\n
It was as she sat up that she saw a brightly coloured fish in the puddle<\/p>\n
What are you doing here?<\/i><\/p>\n
Writing a best seller what do you think? <\/i><\/p>\n
You were not here before it rained<\/i><\/p>\n
Obviously <\/i><\/p>\n
Are you a clown fish?<\/i><\/p>\n
No I am an orange and white marlin <\/i><\/p>\n
What are you doing in the well of my car?<\/i><\/p>\n
I dunno I was minding my own business in the aquarium with all the other fish when WHAM there was a bang and I ended up here staring at your toe polish <\/i><\/p>\n
I should not be here you know <\/i><\/p>\n
No really I thought you had this thing about storm drains <\/i><\/p>\n
What shall we do? <\/i><\/p>\n
Tell you what let\u2019s talk for the next ten minutes while this puddle evaporates and you can watch me suffocate<\/i><\/p>\n
Shall I put down the drain there is one over there?<\/i><\/p>\n
Wonderful apart from drowning I will die surrounded by turds <\/i><\/p>\n
What would you like me to do?<\/i><\/p>\n
Well treat me with respect <\/i><\/p>\n
I am as scared as you are <\/i><\/p>\n
What is your name? <\/i><\/p>\n
Tallulah<\/i><\/p>\n
Well Tallulah I have plan lift me gently out of this puddle and without squashing me walk down to the storm drain and release me there and I will swim towards the sea<\/i><\/p>\n
But is so dangerous down there<\/i><\/p>\n
Look it is so fucking late that all the muggers and rapists have gone home and any junkies you might find are so spaced out that they think they are rose bushes<\/i><\/p>\n
Tallulah gently picked the clown fish up and climbed out of the car she had moved about three paces when she stopped<\/p>\n
What\u2019s up now? <\/i><\/p>\n
I have forgotten my sneakers I always drive barefoot<\/i><\/p>\n
You know I have one minute or maybe two left before I suffocate in terrible pain and you are worried that you are not wearing your sneakers <\/i><\/p>\n
Tallulah crossed the road and walked down the slip towards the wide storm drain but found that she was faced by a high gate which was padlocked<\/p>\n
Shall I climb over?<\/i><\/p>\n
No just bring a pencil and pad and we can both sketch the gate just get a move on Tallulah <\/i><\/p>\n
There is a gap in the fence over there<\/i><\/p>\n
Then take it<\/i><\/p>\n
With difficulty Tallulah squeezed through the fence and found herself in the vast concrete bowl of the storm drain<\/p>\n
She crouched and was about to release the clown fish<\/p>\n
No not here Tallulah there is not enough water for a gnat to bathe go over there and release me into the main flow<\/i><\/p>\n
Tallulah walked a few more yards and found herself knee deep in the flowing water<\/p>\n
Is this ok?<\/i><\/p>\n
It will do <\/i><\/p>\n
She released the fish which swam away at pace<\/p>\n
Have a safe journey fish <\/i><\/p>\n
After a false start Tallulah made it back to her car which had not been stolen as she had feared<\/p>\n
The car although damp was drying quickly and Tallulah sat in the driver\u2019s seat<\/p>\n
She tried to start the engine again but it was still dead<\/p>\n
The first seeds of dawn were breaking over the towers in the business district of the city and this gave Tallulah a warm safe feeling<\/p>\n
Although it had rained the air was still quite humid and soon Tallulah’s eyes felt heavy<\/p>\n
I must not sleep I must not sleep <\/i><\/p>\n
Were the last words she remembered saying to herself<\/p>\n
When she awoke she found herself in a strange but familiar room<\/p>\n
It was the spare room of Mr and Mrs Brunheims house who lived opposite<\/p>\n
She and Patrick had helped decorate it when Mr Brunheims had been in hospital<\/p>\n
But was she doing there?<\/p>\n
As she rose from the bed she suddenly realised she was naked<\/p>\n
She looked around the room for her clothes but they were not there<\/p>\n
Indeed there was nothing in the room save for a large wooden chest which appeared to be locked<\/p>\n
She looked out of the window and could see her house opposite<\/p>\n
The Jaguar XK 120 was sitting in the drive where she had parked it<\/p>\n
Tallulah considers her options<\/p>\n
She had three options<\/p>\n
1 \u2013 to creep out of the house unnoticed and run across the crescent as fast as she could using the bushes as cover<\/i><\/p>\n
2- to leave the Brunheims house by the back entrance and cut across the vacant lot towards her house it was more exposed but there was less chance of being caught<\/i><\/p>\n
3 \u2013 Panic<\/i><\/p>\n
She opened the door of the room quietly<\/p>\n
The house seemed empty<\/p>\n
Good the Brunheims must be out <\/i><\/p>\n
Tallulah had decided on option two she would leave the house by back entrance<\/p>\n
It would only then be a quick run across the waste ground and she could let herself into her house using the key that she kept hidden for emergencies<\/p>\n
She crept down the rear stairs that led to the kitchen from where she could see the rear door<\/p>\n
Her plan was going well<\/p>\n
Good morning my dear I am glad you are awake we thought we would let you sleep in <\/i><\/p>\n
Mr and Mrs Brunheims were sitting at their kitchen table having breakfast<\/p>\n
They were both as naked as Tallulah<\/p>\n
Where are my clothes?<\/i><\/p>\n
You were not wearing any when you knocked at the door last night <\/i><\/p>\n
But I was driving and most certainly wearing clothes <\/i><\/p>\n
No you were as naked as you are now when you woke us up
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
We kind of figured that you had got scared in that big house on your own and needed company <\/i><\/p>\n
Did I talk to you? <\/i><\/p>\n
For a while but you were very tired so we put you in the spare room as you badly needed the rest <\/i><\/p>\n
Why are you naked? <\/i><\/p>\n
We are nudists you know we are<\/i><\/p>\n
Such a relaxing lifestyle we always walk around our house naked <\/i><\/p>\n
You have always said you would like to try it well here you are in all your glory <\/i><\/p>\n
I suppose I am <\/i><\/p>\n
Coffee? <\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tallulah Motion was driving her Jaguar XK 120 along Lamont towards the Kings Park area of the city She watched as the street lamps passed lazily in sequence Some of the bars and shops were still open but on the whole the street was quiet She turned into Graham in the general direction of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}