Monday 5 July 2010

Aah, sweet mystery of life


Last week I went to see a medium. Nearly 10 years ago I was riding pillion on my friend's motorbike. We had a head on collision with another motorbike and both my friend and the other young driver died. Ever since then I have wanted to talk to Wiz. It was as if our conversation stopped midway and I was left, slack jawed, waiting for someone to press play so we could continue. For months after he died I would get a taxi to the graveyard in his pretty little village, sit by his grave in the cold, grey air and chatter to him. At first it was just a mound of freshly dug earth. After a while his gravestone was added (Richard Wilson, Wiz, truly a star). Flowers came and went, new graves were dug, the earth settled, the weather grew warmer and I continued to visit. I loved it. In the loneliness which followed the accident, I felt comfortable and less hollow sitting on the gravel and wet grass by his body. Sometimes I just sat and listened to Harry Potter stories on my walkman (the big bang to my nut had affected my ability to read - the words wouldn't sit still on the page for a good year). When the cold had seeped into my bones and made me stiff I would amble over to the pub adjoining the graveyard and drink a hot chocolate in the corner, studiously ignoring the interested stares from locals who were all in sad shock at losing Wiz.

The medium said "There's a young man here who'd like to talk to you". She asked me if there was anything I'd like to ask him. For 10 years I've been having a one way conversation with Wiz. I have whiled away a great many hours fantasising about talking to him, playing out scenes in my mind where were would talk about what had happened and the affect it has had on our families. I looked at the floor and could feel an enormous surge of energy billowing through my organs and blood. It felt like some of Wiz's soul was inside my body. I couldn't articulate even one word in response.

2 comments:

  1. FYI: I'm waiting for the macaroni to get itself ready in the 200 degrees centigrade, my hungry teeth are tap dancing to get amongst it, and I form some sort of response to your writing. I wish I could talk like a polyphonic fugue for harpsichord, as I want to start at many places. The architecture in the writing - wow. I'm addicted to the humour in it, the words that fly in with a surprise, and the wisdom and strength that you and your words share. Then the subject - I find it very moving that you're sharing such depths of you and your experiences and your answer and questions of or to those experiences. Thank you for your generosity and your voice. I'm signing up - a subscription please to jennyjanerudd.blogspot.com

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