Short Fat Stubby Finger Stories PRESENTS

Click Icon for EPISODE 1 (start) to read from the beginning

      To go to NEXT Episode: Episode 65

     Use SEARCH (above right) for other episodes.  eg: Episode 36

      WEBSITE: Coming soon           ABOUT: Coming soon

EPISODE 64

“Ah, William, everything going according to plan?” Joseph asked upon arriving at the restaurant at precisely six o’clock.
  “Yes, Joseph.  There is a latte waiting for you at your table, and your meal will arrive shortly, as will the meal for the others.”
  “And does that include Raji?”
  “Well I hope so.  He ordered an early meal … and speak of the devil … here they all come now.”
“The mirrors?”  Joseph asked as he turned his head to welcome his friends.
  “They are in the car.”
  “Thank you, William.”
  “Mirrors?”  Martin had heard the strange question and was instantly curious.
But his curiosity went unsatisfied as Joseph turned his attention to Mary.
  “How was Rosetta, Mary?”  He asked.
  “Still sleeping, I am afraid.  I checked in on her again as I was coming down just now, but she is still the same.”
“That’s a shame.” Joseph replied, “But thank you.   Well come on everybody.  Our food will be getting cold.”  Joseph turned and followed William as he led them to their reserved table, where, as promised, Joseph’s latte was sitting on the table awaiting his enjoyment.
  “So what is all this mystery about, Joseph.”  Raji asked as soon as he sat down.
  “It has been a rather harrowing day for all of us.  It has certainly been rather a fruitless day as you yourself can well attest.  And we have all failed in our tasks.  Or, at least, we have failed in part.  Perhaps Rosetta’s condition is not the same as her father’s, which is why the antidote failed to work.  We are to make arrangements tomorrow to have an ambulance collect Rosetta on Tuesday and take her to the same hospital where her father is located, and while we are there we will remind the doctor that it was he who diagnosed the problem with Rosetta’s father and convince him to inject the antidote into the professor.  Hopefully that will bring the professor back into our world and the good doctor can use his expertise to identify Rosetta’s problem.  She may wake up at any moment without any artificial help whatsoever, but we won’t know what to expect by doing what we are at the moment, which is absolutely nothing.  I don’t thing we are putting  her life in danger, but having an expert run his eyes over her won’t do her any disservice either.
  In the meantime, we are going for a drive in the country after dinner to take our minds of our shortcomings for a short while.  Are you coming with us, Raji?”  Joseph replied with a smile.
Raji looked at Joseph with a smile.  “You are playing games, no?” He asked.
  “Perhaps.”  Joseph replied coyly, then suddenly he looked quickly around the room as if searching for something … or someone, then just as quickly he returned his eyes to meet with Raji’s, and his face now presented a much more serious look as he continued; and when he spoke he dropped his voice to an almost inaudible level, “No, Raji.  I have been told by William that there is a strange phenomenon that takes place in the nearby woods that happens only once every few years … and it is tonight that it takes place.  I thought that it may interest you, but I don’t want the tourists to overhear my conversation and spoil the party by following us.  We will be in a rather secluded area and we need to keep out of sight so we can see the entire phenomena as it takes place because the performers are all animals.  Apparently they won’t worry about our presence unless we make too much noise … or attempt to get too close to them.”
  “Can you tell us a little bit of what we will see, Joseph?”  Mary was hooked on the possibilities and couldn’t control her curiosity and excitement.
  “No, it would take too long to explain,” Joseph replied, whispering just barely loud enough for all at the table to hear his words, but too low to be heard by the continuous array of tourists who where now beginning to flow into the dining room, “But I will tell you that what you will see tonight you may never ever see again in your entire lifetime … and, if things go right, it may expose you to some things that will affect your life forever.
  “Don’t tell me we are going to some brave new world seminar?   Martin spluttered in disbelief, and a rather too loud voice.
  “Martin, please … sssssshhhhhhhhh!”  Joseph chastised in a quiet voice, placing one finger to his mouth at the same time, “No, we are not.  Well, maybe … it all depends on your point of view.  You don’t have to come if you don’t wish to.  I am quite happy to go out and watch a real life magic performance for an hour or so by myself.  I don’t need your company, I would just prefer it.  But, if you do come, then, as William explained it, once everything begins to unfold, everything will self explain.  It will excite you, and you will quickly begin to understand everything that you see and hear, and you will be beside yourself with excitement awaiting the forthcoming resolution to the problem.  Now, of course, William may just be having a lend of us, leading us city folk on a merry chase through the woods; enjoying hot chocolate in a large mug around a warm fire in his office while we are freezing our butts off, as the American’s, say just to give him a bit of a giggle.  But I have a strong feeling that the night will well be worth the trouble that we are going to.  It’s up to you.  However, if you don’t want to … ”
  “Sorry, Joseph,”  Martin interrupted apologetically, “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.  It’s just not what I was expecting.  I still have no idea whatsoever as to where you are taking us, but of course I would love to come with you and delve into a world of wonder for a while.  It would certainly be more soothing for my nerves and disposition than what we have been through over the past couple of days, I am sure.”
“And I am certainly coming, Joseph.”  Mary added quietly, but extremely enthusiastically.
  “And you certainly have attracted my curiosity.”  Raji said, and the huge smile on his face seemingly added truth to his statement.
  “Well, let us finish this sumptuous meal and then we will be off to our real life Disneyland in the woods.”  Joseph smiled at his friends, then began his delightful and invigorating journey into a meal to die for.
But as he hoed into his meal, Joseph also began the process of moving  his eyes subtly around the room at the other diners, and when he saw the two strangers nearest his table in the process of quickly removing their eyes and ears from his direction he smiled to himself as an old quotation came to mind.  ‘Ah, Watson … the game is afoot.’

********

Five minutes later the small group rose out of their chairs and casually made their way out of the dining room as they headed outside to their waiting car when William popped his head out of his office door to tell them to enjoy their night,
“We will,”  Joseph replied.  “How did the count go?  I got two at one.”
“Does that include the two closest”  William asked.
“Yes.”
“Our count was raher high, all considered.  Three tables for five in total. And they did not seem related.”
“You are right, William … It is a high count, but that might just be in our favour, well, by that, I really mean in your favour.  Well, we must press on.  Thank the chef for me, would you, it was a scrumptious meal … especially the dessert.  See you when we return.  Alright everybody, let’s get on the road before it gets dark.  Wouldn’t like to miss a second of our special night out.
  “Be careful to not disturb the wild life too much … anything may happen.”  William called out as they exited the hotel and made their way to the waiting car
  Martin and Mary were curious about the weird converation William had just had, but Joseph had simply nodded his head in agreement with an accompanying grin and continued walking to the car, his mind way ahead of the current conversation.

********

“What in heavens name is this?”  Martin asked in surprise at the car that stood in front of him. “I’ve drunk vintage wine younger than this beast.  Bloody thing is probably on pension.”
All eyes lined up the object of his verbal comments and found themselves confronted with a large, black, highly polished, chrome plated, vehicle whose manufacture and styling was from so far back in time many of them were not even now old enough to have remembered this type of vehicle from their childhood.
“My god,” Martin continued, ” How far do we have to travel.  It will probably need a service and an oil change before we get out of the village.”
  “Careful, Martin.  This is William’s pride and joy and we are lucky to be able to use it.  It is family heritage, so we must look after it.  Would you mind driving, Martin,”  Joseph asked innocently,  “You probably know more  about driving classic cars than any of us, though perhaps not Mary.  After all, she drives a vintage classic sixties Mini, but the size and weight difference may make her feel uncomfortable driving somebody else’s car for the first time.  You will find it a very comfortable car to travel in, or at least it did to me when William drove this afternoon.  I really don’t think I would adjust to its eccentricities as quickly and as well as you would, and besides; I still need to run a couple of things through my head before we get to where we are going.  I will direct you as we go.”
Begrudgingly, Martin accepted the keys from Joseph, unlocked the door on the driver’s seat and entered the car.  Thirty seconds later, all seated and strapped into their seats, Martin engaged the gears and they began their journey … and at the same time asked the question that had been simmering in his gut since Joseph had given him the keys.
  “Where did William take you this afternoon?” Martin asked in a rather moody inquisitive tone.
“William took me to where we are going to show me the way so I wouldn’t need a map.  It’s not far, and the car won’t break down.  It’s a dream to travel in, I promise.”
  “I thought that you were meditating in your room.”
  “I was.  Take the same road that we did to the farm for the moment.”
Martin was about to ask Joseph to explain himself when a voice inside his head began telling him to concentrate purely on his driving – and discard any thoughts regarding other things.  Martin suddenly found his mind in confliction with itself as he began to argue with himself whilst inside it, but, as he did so, the loud sound of a horn blasting out an emergency warning snapped Martin’s mind back into reality just in time for him to get back on to the right side of the road.
  Martin immediately apologised to the car’s other occupants, and waved a similar apology to the other driver as he settled back in his seat and attempted to clear his head.  “I am beginning  to think you are right, Joseph.  I think my mind really needs a reprieve from Rangor and Trenthamville.”
  “You’ll be alright, Martin.”  Joseph suggested gently.  Just concentrate on the driving.  We need to get there safely, as well as early.”
  Martin apologised again and said that he was settled down now; just felt a tad uncomfortable in the tummy before.  It had taken his concentration for a little ride … must have eaten his meal a tad fast.  But inwardly Martin was certain that something was going on; something was messing with his mind, though he was uncertain what it was.  And, just for a moment, his mind returned to the strange, unexplained incident that had taken place earlier in the day when Joseph informed him that all of his tyres had been slashed.   Martin was fairly certain that somebody must have dropped in to the hotel to mention the damage to the car, and they had told Joseph who had just decided to have a bit of fun at Martin’s expense in the way that he informed him of the damage.   ‘But, now?’ … he wondered,  ‘Was this some new kind of trick that Joseph had developed?’
  Martin would have had even more to think about had he known that Mary, who had been about to ask the same question that Martin had intended to ask, was suffering the same strange manipulation of her mind.
  Then, what happened next, set both Mary’s and Martin’s thoughts into overdrive … and their nerves on edge.
  “Raji … about my request … all went well.”  Joseph asked offhandedly.
Raji seemed to hesitate before he answered.
“Yes” he finally responded. “Yes.  Yes, I got it.  But I am so glad that you mentioned it.  I was beginning  to think that I had imagined speaking to you, Joseph.  I would really have felt stupid if I had purchased the item off my own bat.  It has worried me all day.
“What do you mean, Raji?”
“My mind is aware that you asked me a few questions earlier today.  And in particular you asked me my advice on a certain thing – and then you asked me to obtain what we had spoken about.  But, would you believe, I can’t remember actually seeing you during that conversation.  Isn’t that strange?”
Martin and Mary’s ears pricked open at Raji’s statement, and they couldn’t wait to hear Joseph’s explanation.
“No, of course you couldn’t see me, you silly Raji, that was because I was talking to you inside your head.”
Mary and Martin almost choked on the spot as they fought with their mind’s need to engage in this conversation, and were finding restraint extremely hard to handle because the situation was so eerily familiar to what they themselves had experienced a minute earlier.
“You what?”  Raji asked in complete surprise.
The silence that seemingly went on forever, pounded inside the heads of Mary and Martin – and their hearts palpitated wildly in their frustration at not receiving more information – an ailment that was only slightly alleviated by Raji expressing that he also was not understanding.   Joseph would now have to explain, they  all suggested silently.
  “Raji, as that famous comedian Jerry Lewis used to say, ‘Are you for real?’  We conversed on the phone.  Don’t you remember.  I gave William a message to ask you to ring me, which is what you did.?”
  Raji looked sheepishly at Joseph for a long minute before replying, and his reply nearly sent Martin and Mary over the edge.  “No, I honestly don’t.
Joseph smiled and looked deep into Raji’s eyes. “Perhaps you did hurt yourself more than you thought when you fell.  When you first spoke on the phone you asked me to be patient with you if you said anything that sounded funny or unusual.  You said that you had been to the bathroom and accidentally spilled a little water on the floor which you managed to slip on – and proceeded to bang your head on the mirror.  I asked if you would you prefer to speak to me later when you were feeling better, but you said no.  ‘It had only been a bump and it was feeling better by the second’, you said.  You also said that if concentration became a difficulty you would let me know immediately.  Then we had the conversation and you appeared to be coherent for the whole five minutes we spoke.  It now appears that you may not have been as well as you thought you were.  Perhaps it may even be a touch of concussion after the blow you got to your head at the farm.  Check your phone to confirm what I am saying is true.  That may help you to remember.”|
Raji said nothing immediately, instead he began to rub the corner of the right hand side of his skull.
“Oh,” he cried, “you are right – it is still a bit sore to touch, Raji agreed, but-never-the less proceeded to extract his phone from his jacket before pressing the appropriate buttons on it; the resulting display causing his eyes to light up in surprise.  “Yes, now I remember … or at least I remember falling and banging my head.  I am sorry, Joseph.  I think that you are right … I must have suffered a bit of concussion.  I am so glad that you have been able to clear up my mystery.  It has been frustrating me for hours.  Well, what do you know.  I knocked myself out and heard ghosts whispering in my head, or at least that is what I thought I did.”
“Well now that you are better informed, and you obtained my request … when we get back you will have to show me how it works.  Martin turn right at the next crossing.”
“That won’t be a problem.”  Raji replied, “just let me know when.”
But as Martin began to turn the wheel as they approached the crossing, Joseph, still facing the back seat passengers, winked at Raji, offered his thanks, and then turned his attention to Mary to whom he gave a huge smile before turning his head back to the front window.
Martin and Mary were at a complete loss as to what had taken place during the conversation, however, Joseph had seemed to have completely taken himself out of the equation in relation to their current mind set, and they withdrew their inquisitive minds back inside to their own private worlds.  So when Raji pulled a small, mobile sized apparatus out of his pocket, turned it on, plugged in an earplug and began to play with the various buttons on offer, only Joseph seemed to have any interest in what he was doing as he watched the back seat action through the make-up mirror he had opened before they had left the hotel.
Joseph watched in fascination as Raji’s fingers moved swiftly across the face of the equipment that Raji was holding in one hand; mesmerised by the continuous array of lights that flashed across the small screen as he constantly ran through the various programs on offer.  Then Joseph immediately nodded agreement for Raji to turn it off when he saw the grimace on Raji’s face as he ran his finger in a cutthroat motion across his neck; their predesigned sign for a warning of danger.  Raji quickly put the apparatus back into his coat pocket and Joseph began to cough roughly and loudly.
“Martin, could you please pull over rather quickly.  My lemon meringue and I desperately need to part company.”  Joseph requested in a very jerky voice.
Martin immediately reduced speed and pulled over as fast as he safely could.  Joseph jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped, but surprised Martin and Mary when, instead of heading to the back of the car as they had expected he would do.- he put his fingers to his lips to indicate silence, tapped on his ears twice, then used the same finger to encourage them to get out and follow him.  Martin and Mary simply stared at him in confusion, but Joseph simply turned around and disappeared out of sight.  Then, as if on cue, and before anybody could move or speak, Raji began to groan loudly.
“Oh, I think that it’s a bug … or I have been poisoned.  I must join Joseph.  He said, and his words were immediately followed by the sound of the door opening – then slamming shut again.
Martin thought for a moment before speaking about the sudden departure of the two former passengers, but finally made a decision on what to do next.
“Are you alright, Mary?”  Martin asked with some concern in his voice,  “or are you about to come down with ptomaine poisoning as well?”
No, I am fine, thank you … unlike those two.”  Mary replied.  “Do you think that they will be all right?”
“I don’t know.  I think that I had better get out and check on them in case I need to call for an ambulance.  Listen to them.”  As Martin spoke the sounds of coughing and groaning coming from somewhere far outside the confines of the car were increasing dramatically.
“I think that I had better join you,”  Mary remarked. “Joseph’s cough has really got me worried; seeing that two of them were now sick, perhaps there was something wrong with the food.  You and I might be next.”
The sound of two more doors opening and shutting echoed through the still country air.  Then, with the sound of the car engine discontinued, silence covered the space that the four possible victims of food poisoning had once occupied inside William Jones’s classic nineteen forty four Wolseley.