Writing for Fun
December 2019
Conviction - Maureen Rampersaud
'She came again last night, Mummy.'
'Oh Laura, I think you dreamt it.'
'It wasn't a dream. Her name is Orla and she has green eyes and long, black hair. She's a bit older than me, twelve, she said and she sits on my bed and talks to me when it's dark outside.'
'Goodnight, darling,' Betty sighed as she patted her daughter's hand and smiled, an attempt at reassurance, for herself as much as her daughter. Inside, she was sick with worry at the utter conviction with which Laura explained the night-time visits. Should she consult a psychiatrist?
The wind howled and moaned around their little, isolated house, rattling the windows. Betty closed the old velvet curtains and collapsed in the armchair with a double brandy. She wondered if every night would be like this now. Edward had died only a month ago and here she was, sitting on her own with a drink, while their daughter was upstairs, suffering some sort of hallucination.
'Perhaps she's just missing him,' Betty thought, taking another sip.
Orla sat on Laura's bed, 'My dad died too, that's why I visit you, so you don't feel lonely.'
'What happened?'
'It was a stormy night like this one, he was driving along the forest road near here and a tree fell on his car. Crash!'
Orla clapped her hands, making Laura jump. There was a long silence between the girls, each wrapped up in their own thoughts, as the wind continued to rage outside. Suddenly Laura exclaimed, 'But how do you get in here and where do you live now?'
At this, Orla left the room, as if in a trance.
The next day, Laura insisted that Betty looked up the incident that Orla described on the laptop. Before long they found an article describing a local incident which involved a Mr. O'Brien being killed by a tree falling on his car.
'I told you, Orla is real. Otherwise, how could I know about her father?'
Betty scrolled down, reading the article.
'Wait, Mummy. Why is there a picture of Orla?'
'Because, darling, it says that his young daughter was with him and also died.'