After a rather painful attack of conscience at work today I decided to get back in touch with Sue. I realised almost as soon as I had written the previous sentence that my conscience was misguided; the feeling of misplaced guilt was for Sue and not for my wife or my family. That in itself caused another pang of conscience and even more guilt. I realised that I must make decision, once again, as to whether or not I should pursue my, probably mental, obsession with uncovering evidence of paranormal entities walking amongst us. I am sorry to say that I chose to continue with my journey and to push my family into back seat.
I texted Sue first and asked her to ring me, which she did almost immediately. Again she was cheerful and amenable, once again I warmed to her. I resolved to be true to my previous promise and ask direct questions. I did so. I asked her what she had meant by 'close to death'. Initially she was evasive and changed the subject, but I persisted and after a large sigh she relented. The ability to see the shadow people is a symptom of an individuals proximity to death and she witnessed my reaction to the presence of these dark shades. She professed that beyond this she didn't know, anyone seeing shadows has scant time left on this plane. That, of course, shocked me. I found my voice after a few moments and asked my second question. What did she mean by a 'child of the sea' ? This time silence.
I took the muted response as negative and was ready to finish the conversation and hang up. I needn't have worried, after a few seconds, just as I was about to make my ending statement Sue told me. Evidently she was born far below the Atlantic Ocean thirty-four years ago in a city full of similar individuals. OK, anyone reading this is probably as sceptical as I am/was and probably for good reason but this is how Sue explained it to me. (Please willingly suspend disbelief for a short time)
Over five millennia ago a huge cataclysm struck the planet and wiped out most of a technologically and magically adept civilization that had endured for thousands of years. Cities protected by magic survived but were engulfed by the oceans, the survivors were aware, through magical and technological means, of the advancement of their distant relatives on land. They watched and waited for such a time as they could leave their watery prison and re-integrate with their cousins. However, magic had been lost and the new race of humans depended on violence to dominate and rule and as such the water-bound remained within their confinement, interbreeding and weakening.
Eventually, maybe two hundred years ago, a group emerged that saw the integration with the land-borne an inevitability. Sue's grandparents were part of that movement, bringing Sue's parents to the shores of Cornwall. The mermaid legends arose from the stories of families emerging from the sea, their magic protecting and allowing them free passage.
At this point I felt too put upon and my disbelief buffers were full, I made an excuse, she knows my family situation so I told her Jason was calling. I did, however, promise to meet up tomorrow, which I will.
This story raises many questions, the obvious and the left-field and outlandish.
More later.
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