I had been awake for just over an hour and was watching a tiny Jenny Wren jump from branch to branch on a small tree that shaded my kitchen window<\/p>\n
My phone rang<\/p>\n
Houston we have a problem <\/i><\/p>\n
Is that you Viola?<\/i><\/p>\n
Yes <\/i><\/p>\n
Has your brother traced you?<\/i><\/p>\n
No it is far worse than that <\/i><\/p>\n
Has your time fix failed?<\/i><\/p>\n
There was no time fix <\/i><\/p>\n
Sorry <\/i><\/p>\n
I am not preparing for a time fix <\/i><\/p>\n
But I thought you were going to nest in the body of the elderly woman until your brother had passed by <\/i><\/p>\n
I think I need to explain things to you Victor \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Please do <\/i><\/p>\n
Do you remember when you threw my remaining arm into the sea at Blue Anchor all those years ago? <\/i><\/p>\n
Clearly <\/i><\/p>\n
Do you remember anything else about that day? <\/i><\/p>\n
Not really <\/i><\/p>\n
The stationmaster who tricked me <\/i><\/p>\n
My late father <\/i><\/p>\n
The camping coach\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n
Thats all <\/i><\/p>\n
Do you remember a family of four who ran the small shop at the camp site?<\/i><\/p>\n
Vaguely very vaguely <\/i><\/p>\n
Do you remember the mother? <\/i><\/p>\n
No <\/i><\/p>\n
Well she was a swimmer and had swum at the 1956 Olympics and then she had retired and started a family <\/i><\/p>\n
What has this to do with the Blue Anchor time incident?<\/i><\/p>\n
Everything <\/i><\/p>\n
Please explain <\/i><\/p>\n
Well when you threw my arm into the sea the regeneration did not happen as fast as I hoped it would <\/i><\/p>\n
The sea in that area was not that clean and this hindered things <\/i><\/p>\n
So you did not regenerate <\/i><\/p>\n
Not exactly <\/i><\/p>\n
You are losing me<\/i><\/p>\n
I will explain <\/i><\/p>\n
Please do <\/i><\/p>\n
Well I had been in the sea for a few hours and began to realise the futility of my situation <\/i><\/p>\n
What fish there were in the sea were beginning to take an unhealthy interest in what remained of me <\/i><\/p>\n
And then something amazing happened \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
That being <\/i><\/p>\n
The Olympic swimmer decided to take a swim after a long day at the site <\/i><\/p>\n
And she found your severed arm <\/i><\/p>\n
No nothing like that although you are getting near
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Well what happened <\/i><\/p>\n
The woman for some reason did not follow her usual routine and decided to swim further away from the shore and that is when tragedy struck <\/i><\/p>\n
She ran into trouble <\/i><\/p>\n
Yes she swam into my arm which by then was a considerable distance from the shore <\/i><\/p>\n
I am still listening <\/i><\/p>\n
It shocked her and for some reason she began to panic <\/i><\/p>\n
She tried to swim back to shore but could not <\/i><\/p>\n
The cool temperature of the sea that day combined with the shock of finding my arm caused her to lose control of her body and she began to drown <\/i><\/p>\n
What are you telling me?<\/i><\/p>\n
I only had one chance and as she passed through the final time zone I took total control of her body<\/i><\/p>\n
What!<\/i><\/p>\n
I became her <\/i><\/p>\n
She was your unwitting host <\/i><\/p>\n
No it was more than that <\/i><\/p>\n
I became her <\/i><\/p>\n
You must imagine how devastated her husband and young family would have been if she had drowned that day <\/i><\/p>\n
And it was partially my fault <\/i><\/p>\n
I owed it to her <\/i><\/p>\n
So you are telling me that you reformed as this woman <\/i><\/p>\n
Yes <\/i><\/p>\n
I was still Viola but I was also this woman <\/i><\/p>\n
Are you telling me that you have stayed this way ever since? <\/i><\/p>\n
Yes apart from a couple of time excursions when I thought my brother was near I stayed that way <\/i><\/p>\n
I was the loyal wife of a wonderful man and the loving mother of two beautiful daughters <\/i><\/p>\n
It was the perfect mask and to be truthful I enjoyed every second of it <\/i><\/p>\n
Do you realise that for the last fifty-five years I have been travelling in the time theatre looking for you?<\/i><\/p>\n
I often visited the small shed at Blue Anchor railway station as it was the last place I saw you whole<\/i><\/p>\n
In the finish I had to become a seasonal volunteer just so I could observe the time point there during August
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Viola laughed<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not funny Viola \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
You are so loyal Jonny <\/i><\/p>\n
My name is Victor <\/i><\/p>\n
My husband\u2019s name was Jonny <\/i><\/p>\n
Was<\/i><\/p>\n
He died in 1988 and I was doted upon by my two wonderful daughters after his death <\/i><\/p>\n
I was living a life of total obscurity well away from my savage brother <\/i><\/p>\n
That was until the summer of 2012 when the Olympics were held in the UK <\/i><\/p>\n
Go on <\/i><\/p>\n
Well out of the blue this lovely BBC man contacted me and asked whether I would like to appear on a show that celebrated all the previous medallists<\/i><\/p>\n
And you agreed to <\/i><\/p>\n
I was not thinking I just wanted to celebrate my wonderful host as she had brought me a deep happiness <\/i><\/p>\n
And you appeared on television?<\/i><\/p>\n
I did not think anybody would recognise me after all I was quite old <\/i><\/p>\n
But it did not fool your brother <\/i><\/p>\n
No <\/i><\/p>\n
He saw through my disguise straight away <\/i><\/p>\n
And <\/i><\/p>\n
He started hunting me once again <\/i><\/p>\n
That accounts for the increased time activity I have experienced during the last five years <\/i><\/p>\n
I was aware of this and knew of the dangers so I asked my daughters to move me to Fishponds where I grew up <\/i><\/p>\n
I did not think that he would find me and maybe if he did that he would be so enfeebled that he would no longer present a threat <\/i><\/p>\n
He may be feeble but he is still very dangerous <\/i><\/p>\n
I know <\/i><\/p>\n
Has he found you?<\/i><\/p>\n
Yes and no <\/i><\/p>\n
What are you telling me?<\/i><\/p>\n
Do you remember the beautiful pink rainbow that brightened up the city a few days ago? <\/i><\/p>\n
Yes for a while I thought you were returning to me after all these years <\/i><\/p>\n
It was not me but my brother <\/i><\/p>\n
He wanted me to know that he had found me at last so he created the brightest time display that he could manage <\/i><\/p>\n
I was shopping at the time and when I left the shop I immediately became aware of his presence and walked straight into the bus which killed me<\/i><\/p>\n
The last thing I remember was staring at the pink rainbow as I died<\/em><\/p>\n You have hosted before<\/em><\/p>\n Just leave the body and find a new host<\/em><\/p>\n No I am trapped in the body of Beryl Quail <\/i><\/p>\n Then leave it and become disembodied again <\/i><\/p>\n It is not as easy as that <\/i><\/p>\n At present I have taken over body of a junkie but it will not last long as the time parameters are all wrong <\/i><\/p>\n She helps me to move around and make calls but little else <\/i><\/p>\n I can feel the poison oozing through her veins and the pain is indescribable <\/i><\/p>\n It really hurts me <\/i><\/p>\n I cannot stay with her for long <\/i><\/p>\n What do you want me to do?<\/i><\/p>\n I can engage your brother again but he is much stronger than me <\/i><\/p>\n Even in his present state <\/i><\/p>\n I said that Houston has a problem Victor <\/i><\/p>\n It is far worse than that <\/i><\/p>\n My timeline is trapped in the body of Beryl Quail <\/i><\/p>\n What! <\/i><\/p>\n How did that happen Viola?<\/i><\/p>\n I do not know perhaps she hosted me for too long I do not know as it defies all\u00a0 the time laws <\/i><\/p>\n But it is worse than that Victor <\/i><\/p>\n On the 15th<\/sup> of August 2017 there will be a small service at the Westerleigh Crematorium in Bristol to honour the former Olympic medallist Beryl Quail and after that her body will be committed to the flames <\/i><\/p>\n You know what that means <\/i><\/p>\n No timeline <\/i><\/p>\n No Viola <\/i><\/p>\n To put it in a poetic way I will be molten dust in the fires of Hell<\/i><\/p>\n I will remove the body\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n It will give you time to find a new host or at least a chance <\/i><\/p>\n Remember we have been in this situation before <\/i><\/p>\n I was diseased then <\/i><\/p>\n But to some extent the sea cured me <\/i><\/p>\n I was healthy within my host <\/i><\/p>\n But if I leave her I do not know what I will find <\/i><\/p>\n Whatever it is it will be better than losing your timeline to the fi<\/i>res of Hell<\/em><\/p>\n Where are you at present?<\/i><\/p>\n In a chapel of rest <\/i><\/p>\n I am being visited quite often by the few who remain from 1956 and of course my family <\/i><\/p>\n Even the local media has shown an interest <\/i><\/p>\n I looked at the screen of my phone<\/p>\n It was turning pink<\/p>\n Ex Olympic Medallist killed by a Bus<\/p>\n The headlines screamed at me<\/p>\n Are you there Victor?<\/i><\/p>\n Yes <\/i><\/p>\n What were you doing? <\/i><\/p>\n The screen of my phone has turned pink <\/i><\/p>\n Your brother is quite near <\/i><\/p>\n I will remove the body of Beryl Quail and at least you will not have to face the flames <\/i><\/p>\n And then I will secrete her remains in a safe place <\/i><\/p>\n That will give you time to escape <\/i><\/p>\n What about my brother?<\/i><\/p>\n I will delay him as I have been doing since Blue Anchor <\/i><\/p>\n I wish it was that easy<\/i><\/p>\n What do you mean?<\/i><\/p>\n My brother is no fool he will ensure that I am cremated <\/i><\/p>\n That way he will destroy me forever and his strength will return <\/i><\/p>\n How long have you got with your junkie?<\/i><\/p>\n Fifteen minutes twenty minutes at the most and then she will corrupt me <\/i><\/p>\n Do not try to remove Beryl\u2019s body from the Chapel of Rest <\/i><\/p>\n My brother and the icons will be waiting for you <\/i><\/p>\n They will destroy you <\/i><\/p>\n And although you are far weaker than me <\/i><\/p>\n They will still take strength from your remains <\/i><\/p>\n Viola swore<\/p>\n What\u2019s wrong Viola?<\/i><\/p>\n The damn battery is running out on this silly girls phone <\/i><\/p>\n Just remember these words before I go <\/i><\/p>\n I was brought up in the countryside \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Repeat them to me Victor <\/i><\/p>\n I was brought up in the countryside \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n The phone died<\/p>\n It had lost its pink tinge<\/p>\n Viola\u2019s brother was aware of my location but he was not interested in me<\/p>\n I was a minor target<\/p>\n Viola was his goal<\/p>\n For the first time since that far off summer holiday I felt totally helpless<\/p>\n I turned to my late father for advice<\/p>\n But he was no longer with me<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To be continued <\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had been awake for just over an hour and was watching a tiny Jenny Wren jump from branch to branch on a small tree that shaded my kitchen window My phone rang Houston we have a problem Is that you Viola? Yes Has your brother traced you? No it is far worse than that […]<\/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\/3728"}],"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=3728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3728\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}