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Hitchhiker From Another World Part 3

Just as well I was driving at a moderate speed.
Having resumed control I spied Lelia sticking her tongue out at those reckless varmints.
She stopped the minute I noticed.
Odd.
“Children …….sometimes you have to act like a kid when dealing with kids."
Straight and to the point from this hitchhiker.
She now resumed the thread of an earlier topic.
“Work ….you asked me about work.
I sort of work and play with the mind.  
Play act too after a fashion.” 
A retort of sudoku like complexity.
As I digested lelia’s response it dawned on me how much like people my "selfs” were.
Even when driving  I "dialogued” those various aspects.
“You've an interesting face.  The face is like a map,  I say.
Heard you mutter about your  "selfs."
Cheeky but pert side to Lelia slipping out.
This is where an exclamation mark sometimes appears in a story.
Silence as challenge creeping in again.
A form of Russian roulette within the rules.
“Watch your driving, there."  Lelia in a more down to earth tone.
Her different voices somersaulting in an incredible manner.
“Very quite aren't we, Josh?" 
Josh mark you! 
Sounding me out like an interrogator trying to crack a stubborn suspect.
Without a word of warning Lelia raised  her voice and got into a tantrum.
“What's the matter ….lost something ?”
Joshua said anxiously.
A curious search resembling a scrum ensued.
Then another curious silence suddenly kicked in.
I craned my neck and spotted an uncanny regression.
Lelia talking to herself in a child like manner and then changing tack with a more mature voice.
“Don't worry.  Found what I was looking for.” 
Another void.   
A tense lull.  A little lockjaw does creep in when the juice runs out of the tank of discourse.
As I drove at speed I squinted in the mirror once more.
Lelia resumed her child like withdrawal.  This time talking to the palm of her hand.
Starring vacantly at her palm she kept repeating the name Linda.
Lelia continued oblivious to what I saw or might be thinking.
She hummed this strange lullaby which almost covered her conversation.
Suddenly my "selfs" surfaced in an uncontrollable flurry.
I tried to suppress them but failed abysmally.
The "whispers and selfs" started to have a life of their own.
This car is getting a bit crowded.
It's  being converted  into a train with fantasy passengers on board.
The sort one hears late at night  hurtling through the countryside with dim lights flickering. 
Both inside and outside this vehicle a tumult of events was taking place.
Out of the blue  the rain poured heavily,  mercilessly assaulting the windscreen.
“The gods or the elements must be cross or something.”  Lelia opined.

Posted : June 8th 2022

Copyright © Howard Kerr

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Book: Shattered Sighs