The Rolling Lawns of Oakdene

The Rolling Lawns

of Oakdene



A Short Story – Reality, Who Decides?













Junzuki Jodan





The Rolling Lawns of Oakdene

Based on a dream/vision/nightmare, you choose, I had on the night of Friday 16th November 2012

November 18th 2012



Prelude



         Looking back, and yes I know that it’s easier with the benefit of hindsight but I really should have seen it coming. But then it’s always easy to say that isn’t it, after the event I mean. Yet at the time for some reason even though it may be staring you blindingly in the face, even though to all the rest of the world it is stark, staringly obvious ‘The Event’ never is until after it’s actually and without any thought for its victim cascaded down, wreaked havoc and knocked you into total oblivion. And then as if it was some strange thing from another planet you turn round and wonder just what the hell actually happened.

             Unless of course you are a totally oblivious, totally ignorant and self-obsessed person living in a place where you think you are a God, if not THE God.

But when the whole universe implodes or worse, your own universe starts to disintegrate…then even God himself won’t be able to help you.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The Rolling Lawns of Oakdene



Monday



Date: Monday 23rd September                                                  Rm:63a

Patient: Alan Freeman                                        In Attn: Dr. Mark Bernard



When was the first time I noticed anything might not be quite as it should be? I don’t know really. I don’t think I can honestly say that there was one defining moment when I could pin-point say a specific moment in time, a certain day, a particular week, or even an actual year.

My life has just been one continuous, well, life. I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say and indeed if I’d know the answer to your question even if you asked me it.

What exactly do you mean when you say ‘as it should be’ anyway?

Well Alan, let me put it this way, have you noticed any of your friends or family saying anything to you about your behaviour recently? The things you do or the things you might say for example?

Just what is the point of all this anyway? What do you want from me? I’ve been coming here for god knows how long now, every day if my memory serves me correct.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your memory Alan, I can assure you of that. I am simply here as your friend.

My friend? You say you’re my friend? How can that be? I didn’t even know you before I came here. We haven’t done any stuff together, ever, if my memory serves me. Hell, we haven’t even been out for a beer, yet you call me ‘your friend.’ Just what sort of friend are you? Ah, I know that sort of fair-weather friend that only comes out on sunny days but disappears like lightning when things get a bit boring, a bit tough or maybe when something gets demanded of you. When you have to put yourself out to help someone or when it’s simply inconvenient and doesn’t fit in with your everyday plans, when it doesn’t fit in with your everyday boring, tedious life.

Alan, it’s not like that at all. I am your friend. In fact I am probably your only true friend, in here, anyway. I simply want to help you. I want to get to the bottom of whatever it is that is troubling you.

Troubling me? I’m fine thank you very much. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. Look at me, ‘I stood up and walked into the middle of the small oak-panelled room where I did a sort of ballerina’s pirouette, but in slow motion, indicating that I was actually in the most perfect of health.’

See, perfect balance, perfect motor skills and a nice slim stomach too if I say so myself. In fact the last time I weighed myself I was thirteen stone and one pound and at six feet two that makes my body mass index or whatever you call it just about perfect. Don’t you agree?

‘I sat back down in the soft brown leather reproduction Gainsborough armchair that had cosseted me, held me cosily even maybe psychologically imprisoned me since my arrival in Mark’s office over an hour ago.’

Alan, no one is questioning your physical state. In fact even I must say that you do have quite an enviable body. But, look just you relax back into your chair a moment. I still have a number of questions I’d like to ask you today, if that’s alright with you?

‘As I relaxed once more back into that all-encompassing upholstery my head turned slightly to my right and through the French doors I had the most amazing view of the undulating lawns, the lawns that had so struck me on the  first day of my arrival here. The way the terracing of the soft grassy banks dipped down every twenty yards or so before dipping again and again and again. They reminded me briefly of a geography lesson I’d had in the closing weeks of school, you know, at the end of term, when the end of my school career in fact was so fast approaching that nothing being taught had the slightest interest at all. Anyway it was geography and the big fat boring teacher, Mr Thorpe was droning on about the Siberian Steppes and all I could picture in my wandering mind was huge great, sandy, wind-blown well... steps. After all what else was a post-pubescent school boy supposed to think?’

‘Anyway, the effect created on this lawn was dramatic like steps leading down from a giant’s castle. But this was no ordinary castle. There were no battlements, no drawbridge crossing over some long ago drained moat and no central stronghold. No this certainly was no castle not in the ordinary sense of the word anyway.’

Alan, I won’t take up a lot more of your precious time as I know you have a lot of things to do today.

Come to think of it Mark, there are two moments that I have turned over in my mind and try as I might I just can’t work out what in hell happened. I have been over and over particularly one situation but I can’t make any sense of it at all.

Yes, Alan, don’t worry yourself this is perfectly normal with a person in your present predicament. You must just learn to…..

You see Mark I’ve gone over this one incident in my mind a thousand times and, well, I must confess that I am at a total loss and cannot come to any sort of reasonable explanation.

Maybe you’d like to share it with……

One moment I was walking up the high street, you know the one, in Highten, where I live, with Lizzie, my wife. It was a bright sunny afternoon. We’d spent the morning doing nothing in particular. It was a Saturday and Lizzie, bless her, she’s brought me breakfast in bed, hey that is a rare thing I can tell you. Anyway we decided to go into town and get a coffee and just mooch around the shops.

Now here’s the funniest thing, and I can remember this like it happened yesterday and it has now become one of the most memorable moments in my now increasingly chequered life.

I think I know what you’re going to say Alan…

You do? Yeah I guess you do, it is your job after all and I guess that you see loads of daft idiots like me anyway.

No, Alan, it’s not like that at all, in fact…

It’s o.k. Mark, I’ve long overcome the Master of The Universe arrogance, in fact I have become quite the submissive, chilled out, serene monastic monk in my old age.

Anyway, we were just walking up the high street when all of a sudden, and this is the strangest thing Mark, because nothing happened before this event to give a warning or to give me any indication that anything might be amiss. I mean I didn’t fall and hit my head or anything like that, it really was one of the oddest moments of my life..

Go on Alan, I’d really like to know exactly what happened. Take your time, I’d like to hear every detail, no matter how small.

Well, as I said we were simply walking up the high street hand in hand and the next thing I knew, and you won’t believe this…

Go on, I’ll try…

Well, Mark the next thing I knew I was holding a tray in the cafeteria at work with Ray, a friend of mine three days later. Can you believe that, three days later. I still to this day have no idea what happened in those three missing days. It was like one moment I was in one place and the next I was magically transported somewhere entirely different – THREE DAYS LATER.

Yes, Alan, I can understand what you are going through. Believe me although your condition is not that common I have come across it before…

Mark? Do you mind if we finish it here for today please?

‘I turned back into the gloominess of the room, reflecting on my old geography teacher and those Steppes, after staring at the bright sunlight outside it took me a few seconds for my eyes to adjust and for some reason all of a sudden I began to feel tired. Suddenly I was feeling so very tired.’











The Long Road Home



Part One

Sunday 8th September – Two weeks earlier



I was really looking forward to our day out today. My wife, Lizzie and I had arranged, well to be honest it was her idea and it was her that had done all the organising. When it came to social events in our life it was always her that would phone round our friends and try to sort out an amicable date, a suitable time etc. and sometimes she’d spend hours phoning or texting back and forth, nearly getting everyone together and then at the last minute when one couple couldn’t make it she’d start all over again ringing round with another set of alternatives.

And so it was with our trip out today. It had taken some doing trying to get our twelve friends together but she had persevered and in the end she assured me that everything would be just fine. She told me that she’d even booked a table at our favourite restaurant, The Holly Tree, for lunch followed by a leisurely drive out then weather permitting a walk in the English countryside too, and a visit to something that I would really enjoy, but she was keeping that strictly to herself. I have to say that I do like secrets, don’t you.

She had even gone to the trouble of making sure that the day coincided with the perfect weather forecast, we were assured that there would be sunshine and bright blue skies that afternoon, so everything was set. She had even offered to do the driving so that I could relax over a lunchtime pint or two. She had no idea just how much I was looking forward to this special day.

In fact this was turning out to be the perfect special occasion, except that today was no ‘occasion’ at all. Well none that I could think of anyway. For a moment I thought hard about today and why she had organised such special things, after all it wasn’t my birthday or her birthday and it certainly wasn’t our wedding anniversary. No matter it didn’t bother me, so I just relaxed back into the day and took it as it came.

I went for a run just before breakfast, not far, about four miles and most of it on the flat, which suited me just fine. When I came back Lizzie had run me a hot bath with some of that bubble stuff in it, six scented candles were dotted around the bathroom and she’d drawn the blind giving the room a sort of Ernest-Hemmingway-in-Key-West air to it. The sun shone through the slats and cast tapered shadows all around the walls.

It all felt very warm, cosy in fact, and strangely reassuring. Then when I’d immersed myself into the womb-like liquid silently she came in, naked, her body belied her forty-eight years and as I sat up I counted myself extremely lucky to have such a beautiful and athletic-looking wife. In fact it occurred to me that she hadn’t changed much at all since we’d first met over twenty-five years ago. I was sure that most men would kill to be in the position I was in right now.

I watched her silently as she elegantly lifted her legs over the side of the bath and lowered herself into the warmness that awaited her.

We just sat there together, the water lapping gently under her small pert breasts tightly embracing each other’s slippery bodies, neither saying a word. And as the light steam rose gently about us I felt something that I had never felt before. She was holding me more tightly than she had ever done. It was a grip that felt of desperation, a grip of finality that maybe she thought I would be leaving her and that she’d never see me again. It was as though something was about to happen between us something she was sure would be total, final as though we would be parting, forever. I was excited, scared and confused all at the same time.

She pulled back, we still had our arms around each other, and I noticed she had tears running down her cheeks. I was unsure of this situation and didn’t quite know what to say. But before I could say anything she put her finger to my lips and then planted her hot moist mouth on mine. It felt so good to taste her, her lips, her warm breath, mixed together with the salt-water of her tears. Despite everything I was happy, I hadn’t been this happy in years. Nothing worried me, nothing played on my mind, nothing tried to barge its way into this complete feeling of total bliss.

Half-an-hour later we found ourselves with our damp, clamouring bodies welded together on top of our stripped-down bed having the most intense sex I think I’ve ever experienced in my whole life.













































Tuesday



Date: Tuesday 24th September                                                  Rm: 63a

Patient: Alan Freeman                                        In Attn: Dr. Mark Bernard



Good morning Alan, and how are we feeling today?

‘I’d barely got myself through the door when he started pumping me with questions. He always had questions when we got together, so many questions. Questions, questions, questions. I was tiring of sitting here day after day wasting my time answering his tedious questions.’

‘I sat down in my usual chair, the one by the French doors. The French doors that overlooked the lush, green grass of the grounds that surrounded this enormous stately pile that I now found myself imprisoned in. It’s funny how things can so quickly shunt into reverse. When I first arrived here I couldn’t wait to get inside this house, now, well now god I can’t wait to escape this claustrophobic tomb-like mausoleum.’

What do you mean, ‘how are WE feeling today?’

‘I was irritable this morning as I hadn’t slept well last night, I got up three times during a very fitful sleep awoken by all those strange and unknown noises that a big old house full of weirdos could possibly bombard me with, and on top of all this I had to endure the endless inane chatter of Mr Edwards, that’s Mr Humphrey Elias Edwards, OBE if you please, over my very lumpy porridge at breakfast this morning. Not a great start to what I was sure was going to be another pointless day just like all the others.’

When you say ‘how are WE feeling’ I take it you mean me and my invisible friend here?

‘I sat back smugly in my chair awaiting his answer, his answer that I knew would be subtle, clever, purposeful and probably funny all at the same time. I was beginning to dislike Dr Mark Bernard, quite intensely.’