The Whispers and The Wolf

Two

Sleep was evading me. I wish I could say it was the excitement, the nerves, the anticipation of what lay before me in this new life. I wish I could say it was Robyn’s snoring, which was akin to a steam train chugging through a tunnel, but that wasn’t it either. It was the thunder rolling through the clouds that kept me on edge. Thunder never fazed me, I actually found it comforting, fascinating even but this… this was some new s**t. I picked up my phone. 2.22 AM.

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Another huge snort from Robyn and I gave up the ghost. How in the world could she sleep through this? For someone who hated thunder, she was coping surprisingly well. Maybe it was the bottle of Prosecco or 3… Sliding my feet into my Ugg slippers, I carefully tiptoed towards the stairs. I stopped half way down, taking in my surroundings. I sighed contentedly. Man, I loved this house. How did I end up so lucky? How was THIS going to be my life?

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Padding through the living room to the kitchen, I clicked the kettle on to boil some water. A cup of peppermint green tea in my favourite mug always calmed my mind enough to let me sleep. It might not deafen me enough to shield me from Robyn’s snoring but anything was worth a try. Grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, I settled down on the loveseat. I gazed out of the rain streaked windows, losing track of how long I sat for. The thunder was dying down and the clouds were clearing, the Moon beaming through those that remained. Thank God for that! Checking my phone again, it was 3.02 AM. Once I was sure the storm was over, I lazily scuffed back to the kitchen to wash my mug.

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Then I heard it.

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I dropped the mug, smashing it in the marble sink. The sound made me physically jump, made my heart batter in my chest. Was that a HOWL? I shook my head. Exhaustion, I thought, got to be. Glancing back at the sink, I grunted. I loved that mug…

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Pushing my glasses onto my head, I rubbed my eyes. “Time for bed Autumn” I mumbled, shuffling toward the stairs. With one hand on the banister, I spun around towards to windows and froze.

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There it was again! “What the f**k is that?!” I gasped, tentatively making my way to the window.

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“Autumn are you OK?” The lights were on and Robyn was at the top of the stairs. “What are you doing?”

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“Nothing doll, just being delusional…” I turned, heading back up the stairs.

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“No change there then” She smirked. “You look as white as a sheet, what’s the matter?” She asked, gripping my shoulders and looking into my eyes. I didn’t know how to answer. Robyn knew about the Whispers. She thought it was cool. We met through work when we were 20 but truly connected through our love of all things spiritual. We’d go on trips to wee Scottish villages and visit their spiritual shops, buying crystals and sage. We’d go to psychics together and read each others’ tarot cards. We were both intuitive, in tune with a higher power. What that power was, we didn’t know- but we knew it was there.

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But hearing howls in the Scottish Highlands? Although she knew my deepest and darkest secrets, not even Robyn could defend this episode of cuckoo.

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“I’m fine honestly, just shattered.” I lied. “I had some tea until the storm stopped. Your snoring didn’t help either…” I couldn’t keep the laugh in.

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“Ah f**k, sorry bub. It’s the prosecco…” She yawned. “Just give me a nudge the next time, I’ll stop” she insisted, climbing back into the bed and facing away, the covers pulled up to her chin.

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“Will do. Night Robs” I followed suit, cuddling under the covers and turning to face the window. I could see the Moon in all her glory now, the clouds had cleared and she was full again, surrounded by thousands of twinkling stars. “What is it about you that I find so comforting?” I thought. Especially here, in this place, She had a new power to her. It was like she was charging my soul each time I set eyes on her, lost myself in her. “Probably because the city isn’t the most ideal place for sky gazing…” I rolled my eyes at my own thoughts.

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I was jolted out of my reverie. Foghorn Robyn was back at it. How could she do that? Falling in that deep of a sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I narrowed my eyes at her with sheer jealously. It always took me ages to fall asleep.

I flicked the lights off and closed my eyes, willing sleep to take me. I could hear the Whispers start. “Not tonight” I sighed. Screwing my eyes closed, I tried to listen. I knew better than to ignore Them. Fuzzy at first, They became clearer, more coherent the more that I concentrated on what They had to say. I focused as hard as I could, but my mind was starting to slow, sleep was fast approaching.

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“Don’t be frightened…” I heard before sleep took over. “Don’t be afraid of Fate…”