How have you been?<\/i><\/p>\n
I have missed you so much Dad <\/i><\/p>\n
I have missed you Victor <\/i><\/p>\n
My departure was very sudden and in a way I was glad that you did not fully understand my final illness <\/i><\/p>\n
What do you remember?<\/i><\/p>\n
Well mummy said that you were very ill and the angels might take you to heaven if you did not recover <\/i><\/p>\n
And then you died <\/i><\/p>\n
Mummy said you were in heaven and very happy <\/i><\/p>\n
I suppose you are wondering why I am here <\/i><\/p>\n
Mummy is still quite well <\/i><\/p>\n
But I do not see as much of her as I should <\/i><\/p>\n
You are in trouble Victor <\/i><\/p>\n
Where have you been?<\/i><\/p>\n
You can probably guess the answer to that question <\/i><\/p>\n
Suspended <\/i><\/p>\n
In a way <\/i><\/p>\n
Did you really die in 1963?<\/i><\/p>\n
Physically yes I was stricken by a deadly disease <\/i><\/p>\n
Do you not remember how tired I was during our Blue Anchor Holiday? <\/i><\/p>\n
I was too young to remember that <\/i><\/p>\n
I said I had worked too hard <\/i><\/p>\n
You have broken one of greatest rules of time <\/i><\/p>\n
I know <\/i><\/p>\n
And in thirty-eight minutes you will be destroyed as time implodes around you <\/i><\/p>\n
That was the price I had to pay for Viola <\/i><\/p>\n
She is dust in space you did nothing <\/i><\/p>\n
I did something <\/i><\/p>\n
Is that why you are here?<\/i><\/p>\n
To witness my destruction <\/i><\/p>\n
No <\/i><\/p>\n
I have come to help you <\/i><\/p>\n
I am beyond help <\/i><\/p>\n
I know you are <\/i><\/p>\n
But do you think that time will recognise your face as it crushes you <\/i><\/p>\n
Let me put it this way if you chain an enemy of yours to the base of a swimming pool do you think that the incoming water recognises the man that it will drown?<\/i><\/p>\n
Time is abstraction <\/i><\/p>\n
Time has no memory <\/i><\/p>\n
If you light a match in a gas filled house <\/i><\/p>\n
You will die in the resulting explosion <\/i><\/p>\n
But the gas like time is abstract<\/i><\/p>\n
If you did not light a match and opened the windows then the gas would dissipate harmlessly into the air <\/i><\/p>\n
What are you saying to me? <\/i><\/p>\n
In just over half an hour I will swop places with you <\/i><\/p>\n
You will sit in the back of the car and I will sit in the driver\u2019s seat <\/i><\/p>\n
I will be crushed <\/i><\/p>\n
I cannot let you do that <\/i><\/p>\n
I am your father <\/i><\/p>\n
All fathers are willing to die for their children <\/i><\/p>\n
There is nothing strange in that <\/i><\/p>\n
In the fifty-four years since I died I have just been suspended <\/i><\/p>\n
I thought I would travel l time as you have done <\/i><\/p>\n
But no I have been in time-suspension <\/i><\/p>\n
I thought it might have been my illness <\/i><\/p>\n
But it was not <\/i><\/p>\n
I was flawed <\/i><\/p>\n
And like a withering flower I was left to droop and die as I had done when I was alive <\/i><\/p>\n
But in time you do not die <\/i><\/p>\n
You are suspended <\/i><\/p>\n
How did you return?<\/i><\/p>\n
Just because I was in limbo it did not mean that I was not aware of what was happening <\/i><\/p>\n
I have followed you and Viola since the day I drew my last breath <\/i><\/p>\n
When she became diseased <\/i><\/p>\n
I watched you in the little shed at Blue Anchor Railway Station <\/i><\/p>\n
You are such a brave boy Victor <\/i><\/p>\n
I was so proud to have you as my son <\/i><\/p>\n
But before we exchange I have a story to tell you <\/i><\/p>\n
Please do not interrupt me as time as you appreciate is short <\/i><\/p>\n
I will listen to you father <\/i><\/p>\n
This will be a little hard for me as I have never lied to you <\/i><\/p>\n
Please go ahead <\/i><\/p>\n
Well in the olden days there was Peter and Margaret and little Victor <\/i><\/p>\n
This little family always took their holidays on the Somerset coast where Peter grew up <\/i><\/p>\n
They were an unremarkable family <\/i><\/p>\n
But at the same time they were the most unique family on earth <\/i><\/p>\n
Mummy told you that you would not have any brothers or sisters because she had problems down there <\/i><\/p>\n
You were so young that it probably did not register <\/i><\/p>\n
But we had to tell you nonetheless <\/i><\/p>\n
That was not the truth <\/i><\/p>\n
You had had a brother and a sister born in 1951<\/i><\/p>\n
What!<\/i><\/p>\n
Please Victor please do not interrupt <\/i><\/p>\n
Mummy gave birth to twins in the April of 1951 <\/i><\/p>\n
But these were very strange twins <\/i><\/p>\n
They were conjoined <\/i><\/p>\n
Siamese twins if you like <\/i><\/p>\n
Well we were not prepared for this and we arranged for them to be taken into care <\/i><\/p>\n
Do you not remember that mummy and I used to go away every two weeks to see poor Aunt Mavis?<\/i><\/p>\n
Aunt Mavis died in 1955<\/i><\/p>\n
We were visiting the twins in their home in Sussex <\/i><\/p>\n
Mummy and I were going to tell you when you reached an age but this would have made so sense to you at a young age <\/i><\/p>\n
You thought Viola was you cousin <\/i><\/p>\n
She is in fact is your sister <\/i><\/p>\n
Victor\/Viola can you not see the connection?<\/i><\/p>\n
And then it all went wrong <\/i><\/p>\n
In 1961 I leaned that I was suffering from a time disease just like Viola <\/i><\/p>\n
I had to retire from work and that is why you spent so many holidays at Blue Anchor during that period <\/i><\/p>\n
People supposed I had a terminal disease as I was a heavy smoker <\/i><\/p>\n
But that was just a screen <\/i><\/p>\n
But here is the awful part of my story <\/i><\/p>\n
I infected Viola during one of my visits and it became vital that she and her brother were separated <\/i><\/p>\n
In the 1960s this was more or less unheard of <\/i><\/p>\n
So I did what you did<\/i><\/p>\n
I altered time <\/i><\/p>\n
But did it not work well <\/i><\/p>\n
Yes I did not visit the twins on that fateful weekend <\/i><\/p>\n
But I still infected her <\/i><\/p>\n
I did not cause a time warp as when you saved Beryl from drowning<\/i><\/p>\n
As yours was a one off\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
But it was very strong<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I had visited the twins with mummy on a great number of occasions so my time warp was not that apparent <\/i><\/p>\n This said it is likely to be the reason for my suspension <\/i><\/p>\n My punishment <\/i><\/p>\n Although time does not exist as an entity<\/i><\/p>\n Technically I cannot be punished <\/i><\/p>\n It is like placing you hand into a flame <\/i><\/p>\n It will burn your flesh <\/i><\/p>\n The laws of time dictate that <\/i><\/p>\n But it will not burn you for being foolish <\/i><\/p>\n Time is the same <\/i><\/p>\n 2×2 will always make 4 within time <\/i><\/p>\n The answer will never be 5 <\/i><\/p>\n That is the law <\/i><\/p>\n But the answer can sometimes be 5<\/i><\/p>\n You Victor have recreated the mathematics <\/i><\/p>\n 5 was now the answer<\/em><\/p>\n Very few do it <\/i><\/p>\n I did not <\/i><\/p>\n My time-flaw was insignificant <\/i><\/p>\n Yours sadly was very serious <\/i><\/p>\n We have six minutes now <\/i><\/p>\n A perfect number <\/i><\/p>\n That will give me time to complete my story <\/i><\/p>\n When we are within one minute of the time-warp then we will change seats <\/i><\/p>\n 6<\/i><\/p>\n Here is the final part of the story <\/i><\/p>\n When I heard that Viola had become infected I knew that separation was the only answer <\/i><\/p>\n So did mummy <\/i><\/p>\n So we arranged for a time separation <\/i><\/p>\n In the autumn of 1963 there was serious fire at the Sussex home <\/i><\/p>\n Two patients died <\/i><\/p>\n The conjoined twins died in each other\u2019s arms <\/i><\/p>\n All very dramatic but it was a smokescreen <\/i><\/p>\n Our story even made the papers <\/i><\/p>\n A father with a terminal disease has in his last days had to the suffer the tragic deaths of his conjoined twins <\/i><\/p>\n But this was all a smokescreen <\/i><\/p>\n 5<\/i><\/p>\n The burial was a sham <\/i><\/p>\n We used weighted bags to simulate as both Viola and you were being separated <\/i><\/p>\n Me!<\/i><\/p>\n Please do not interrupt <\/i><\/p>\n Time is short <\/i><\/p>\n You were not born in 1954 but in 1951 and Viola as you must gather is your twin <\/i><\/p>\n Why do you think that she haunts your living memory?<\/i><\/p>\n But her brother wants to harm her <\/i><\/p>\n I have nothing but love for Viola<\/i><\/p>\n It is like two yolks in an egg?<\/i><\/p>\n Good Victor and Bad Victor <\/i><\/p>\n Basically you want to rescue and destroy Viola at the same time <\/i><\/p>\n You are the same person <\/i><\/p>\n I have seen her brother <\/i><\/p>\n 4<\/i><\/p>\n But have you touched him? <\/i><\/p>\n Yes the stationmaster placed his hand on my head when I was crying at at the station in 1962<\/i><\/p>\n The stationmaster was only the host <\/i><\/p>\n Beryl was Viola\u2019s host for over fifty years <\/i><\/p>\n You can touch a host <\/i><\/p>\n Both you and Viola have identical scars under your ribs <\/i><\/p>\n Have you never thought about these imperfections?<\/i><\/p>\n Yes but she said that she accidently set me alight when camping and that we received our scars at the time <\/i><\/p>\n Those were your scars of separation <\/i><\/p>\n 3<\/i><\/p>\n There is so much more to say and now we have less than three minutes <\/i><\/p>\n When we exchange seats we must do so twenty-eight seconds before the event <\/i><\/p>\n Twenty-eight is a perfect number <\/i><\/p>\n This will give you an advantage <\/i><\/p>\n I do not know whether you will be able to rescue Viola but my sacrifice may help you <\/i><\/p>\n But before you find Viola you must defeat yourself <\/i><\/p>\n I cannot give you any advice <\/i><\/p>\n You may fail and Victor will consume what is left of Viola <\/i><\/p>\n She will be no more <\/i><\/p>\n Not even dust in space <\/i><\/p>\n But then again you might succeed <\/i><\/p>\n And give Viola life <\/i><\/p>\n 2<\/i><\/p>\n We have less than two minutes now please prepare to change seats<\/i><\/p>\n I will tell you when <\/i><\/p>\n But I have one last thing to tell you <\/i><\/p>\n And to some extent this is the most tragic <\/i><\/p>\n Your mother died when giving birth to you in 1951<\/i><\/p>\n But she is alive <\/i><\/p>\n I saw her last week <\/i><\/p>\n Your mother is Beryl Quail \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n But she ran the campsite shop <\/i><\/p>\n That was a total smokescreen <\/i><\/p>\n Beryl\u00a0Quail <\/i>was your pseudo mother <\/i><\/p>\n I buried your mother in 1951<\/i><\/p>\n But what about the Olympics and all the fame <\/i><\/p>\n A smokescreen dear boy <\/i><\/p>\n So you are saying that Viola used her mother as a host for over fifty years <\/i><\/p>\n Exactly <\/i><\/p>\n But Viola looked totally different from mummy <\/i><\/p>\n You saw what you wanted to see in Viola <\/i><\/p>\n I do not know what Viola looks like <\/i><\/p>\n Or if she has an image at all <\/i><\/p>\n 1<\/i><\/p>\n Be brave as we are within the last minute together<\/i><\/p>\n Please leave the car when I ask you to and when I give the signal take my place in the back seat <\/i><\/p>\n 50<\/i><\/p>\n Just remember the good times <\/i><\/p>\n We good times we had together before I went away <\/i><\/p>\n What a happy family we were <\/i><\/p>\n 40<\/i><\/p>\n Those Blue Anchor holidays <\/i><\/p>\n Oh Those Blue Anchor holidays <\/i><\/p>\n 35<\/i><\/p>\n What happy days they were <\/i><\/p>\n 33<\/i><\/p>\n Please leave your seat now <\/i><\/p>\n 30<\/i><\/p>\n We are in position\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n Goodbye Victor and Good Luck 28<\/i><\/p>\n Nothing happened<\/p>\n There was no great flash of light<\/p>\n My father just glowed pink for a semi-second and disappeared<\/p>\n 0<\/p>\n I waited for a few minutes and then left the car and walked as fast as I could into Bristol City Centre<\/p>\n My head was spinning<\/p>\n I knew I had to return to Blue Anchor<\/p>\n The answer lay there<\/p>\n I was not sure what my next move would be or indeed if I could move freely in time again<\/p>\n Would I risk my father\u2019s suspension?<\/p>\n If I did move would I be able to rescue Viola?<\/p>\n I could not answer these questions<\/p>\n As I walked towards Temple Meads I could see a pinkish glow in the sky although it was quite late<\/p>\n Most people thought it was just the reflection of the street lights on the low cloud<\/p>\n But I knew who was there<\/p>\n You may have won this time Victor <\/i><\/p>\n You were always Daddy\u2019s favourite <\/i><\/p>\n But I am coming after you and when I have consumed you I will consume Viola<\/i><\/p>\n She is my sister as well as yours \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n To be continued <\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How have you been? I have missed you so much Dad I have missed you Victor My departure was very sudden and in a way I was glad that you did not fully understand my final illness What do you remember? Well mummy said that you were very ill and the angels might take you […]<\/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\/3749"}],"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=3749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/i><\/p>\n