CHAPTER 2
’That’s quite an ordeal,’ said Donald, looking at him oddly. ’Frightening in its way, yet you say you felt no fear at all.’
’None whatsoever. At first, yes, but not after the girl arrived. Of course, having company of any sort was a great relief, especially the sort that manages to get a fire going in such a vicious temperature, yet it was as though I was being looked after by a guardian angel. An odd thing to say perhaps, considering my viewpoint on the subject, but there was something about that girl that was a real comfort.’
’So who was she? Did you ever find out? I assume you tried.’
Bernard looked troubled. ’You can take that for granted. Yes, I did try, but that’s the oddest thing of all. As I said, I fell asleep shortly afterwards, when it was warm enough, but when I woke up, she had gone and the rescue service was on its way to find me. I asked about her but they said I must have been dreaming. I was told that there were no footprints in the snow except for their own.’
’Perhaps that means only that she left some time before and the snow had drifted in and covered her tracks,’ suggested Donald.
’That would have been my assumption, except that the wind had dropped and it had stopped snowing some hours earlier. There were animal tracks clearly visible. Of course, I don’t know just how long I had been asleep. Maybe she had left while it was still snowing, though why anyone should do that is beyond my understanding. Besides, the temperature must have been still very low then, rising sharply, so I was told, only an hour or two before I was rescued. Anyway, there was more to it than that. When I continued asking, someone made a check and came up with the information that while I was one of four English people in the area, the other three constituted a family and were together all the time. Yes, there was a daughter, but she was only nine years old, a good deal younger than the one that shared the hut with me. Not that she was all that old herself, but certainly no child, not much younger than myself, I would have said, though it was hard to say for certain. Naturally I wished to thank her properly and I also wanted to see her again. She saved my life after all. Say what you like, that creates a bond between people, especially if one of them is a beautiful young woman. To be honest, that is one of the reasons I wanted to see her again. Chemistry rearing its head of course but none the worse for that. I don’t know if she had a boyfriend but I would have been more than willing to step into any position of that nature that might have been vacant. I tried to get to the bottom of the mystery but gave it up when people started looking at me oddly and murmuring things about mountain sickness. I suppose they must have been right. Maybe I did dream it all. Yet it is as real in my mind as this airport and the storm outside. Still, no doubt the strains of coping with my pupils will push it out of my mind. When I finally get back to work, that is.’
’You’ll be late starting, I guess,’ said Donald, changing the subject.
Bernard smiled ruefully. ’I’m afraid so. Still, I have a better excuse than most of my pupils ever come up with. What about you? You’re going to be late as well.’
’No, not really,’ said Donald. ’As a writer, I work from home, so my time is my own in a sense. Fortunately I managed to get my wife on the phone, so she knows I’m in good health, apart from a slight boredom, which I must admit you’ve done much to alleviate. It’s an interesting story. Thank you for telling it to me.’
’Think nothing of it,’ said Bernard. ’Talking about it helps to get it straight in my own mind.’ He laughed shortly and without humour. ‘As straight as it’s ever likely to be, that is. Still, I can’t be the only one with interesting experiences. As a writer, you must have had some yourself.’
’Me?’ said Donald. ’Well, it all depends on what you call interesting. Contrary to all appearances, I live a very conventional life. Nothing much happens, at least nothing so much out of the ordinary. Not that life is boring, far from it, but it is pretty ordinary, for all that. When you live in a tiny village, as I do, any excitement comes from small happenings, every day occurrences, minor frictions.’
He laughed lightly. ’You get the same characters in any community, of course, but in a village, they tend to stand out more, I suppose because people form a closely knit community and everybody knows everybody else, a little too well for comfort at times. It’s a very commonplace environment, though a writer can get stimulus from it. It’s a sort of microcosm of a large city. In its own way, well, it’s pretty peaceful really. We like it there.’
’You said your wife was expecting a baby. Is it your first?’
’It’s her first. I’ve been married before and had a daughter already. She was a lovely girl.’
There came a pause. Bernard looked at him carefully as his eyes drifted away into some deep shadow of remembrance. Suddenly he gave a little shake and returned to the present.
’She died just over a year ago. I suppose that’s my story, really. Would you like to hear it? It’ll fill the time in while we are waiting for the storm to blow out.’
’Not if you prefer not to talk about it.’
’That’s all right. I don’t mind at all. It’s not really such a sad story as you might imagine.’