A White Space - Part 2
Eliza: You''ve lost a child?
Martha: Yes. I met Harry when I was sixteen. We were so in love. He used to take me to the races at the weekend, and I''d wear a big hat and proudly walk around on his arm. We were born to be parents, and when little Lucy came in to our lives we had never been happier. There was talk of a war happening and I could not bear the thought of letting my Harry go. So he trained up as a teacher, the only sure fire way of being able to stay in London with me and little Lucy. Then one day, whilst I was at the grocers getting some shopping in, there was a screaming over and over and over again. A noise so loud it burnt right into the centre of my heart. I wanted to be home. But there was no home. A crater where it should have been. A crater where my babies should have been. Years and years of torture followed. Thinking ''Tomorrow''s not another day. Tomorrow is today, separated only by a a few restless hours. Sleeping on my Harry''s bones. Slipping in and out and in and out of consciousness. Clutching my stomach and screaming.'' I died when I was just thirty. Pneumonia. Though I''m sure many would call it heartbreak.
Eliza: Your story is beautiful.
Missy: Trust me, it gets old when you hear it every day.
Martha: Well the pain never leaves!
Eliza: Yes. So what''s behind the door? (She points to the door labelled ''depart'')
Missy: We can only guess
Martha: Heaven, maybe. People are so drawn to it. Even I was to begin with. But I was too scared to go through. Eventually I grew to love this place. Nobody expects me to get dressed in the mornings when I feel like sleeping forever. Or to know what day of the week it is. Or to care. Or to go to church on Sundays and pray to a God I''m certain hates me. For forty years I was alone, and then along came Missy. And together, we stayed.
Missy: Might be heaven, might be hell, all I know is, I don''t want to be the one to find out.
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