Saturday, 19 February 2022

The Peacock 432

 "Sleep well?" Francois asks Carol, while still gently stirring his coffee.

"Divinely", she says with a sweet rapt little smile, and she closes her eyes still smiling raptly and repeats as though intoning a spell, "Divinely."

"Sleep is divine", says Francois.  "Sleep is a gift.  A divine gift."  He takes his first sip of coffee, holds the warm liquid in his mouth, swallows, and says, "Sleep is a gift from God."

"I daresay that you are right", Carol says.

"Did you dream?" Francois asks, and hearing while eavesdropping that question, I know for a fact that Francois is no ordinary priest.

"I never dream"

"Never at all?"

"Well, almost never, I imagine.  Wait", she says, letting the cup pause just in front of her lips.  "There was something early this morning.  Someone was calling my name."

"Your full name?"

"Yes,  It was  a man's voice, calling softly at first, Carol Barlow-Meade.  Carol Barlow-Mead.  
Carol Barlow Mead.  Always three times in a sequence, and it got louder, and louder, and then receded into the background, and then there was silence..."

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