She sat cross-legged on the South Bank wall overlooking the Thames. Behind her was the steady flow of late evening commuters and tourists. At 7:30 on a Thursday evening it was at its busiest. She noticed none of this; breathing slowly, and blankly staring into the majestic, wide river. The chatter of two nearby lovers, the laughter of a nearby group of city bankers, the drone of a passing tour guide and his party; none of this registered in her world. All the life around was the static noise in-between radio stations.
Apart from one man, nobody noticed that she came here ever Thursday. That she would arrive here at 6pm on the dot, go through her ritual of taking a snapshot picture of her setting before crawling on to the wall and watching the world go by until Big Ben chimes for 8 o’clock. This strange behavior came to David’s attention five weeks before.
The rain was lashing down with an unusual ferocity. It was mid August and after a dry and sunny start to the day most visitors to the South Bank were caught ill prepared - most sought shelter in the surrounding bars, cafe’s or David’s bookshop. It was 6:30 when David peered out into the incredibly dark grey London sky. The rain was bouncing off the outside Cafe tables and the walkway that hugs the path of the Thames. It was then that the grey silhouette of a woman sitting on the wall opposite caught his eye. In blue jeans and a thin woolen sweater, she was ill prepared for the change in weather. Yet there she sat - unmoved. ‘Another crazy’ he thought, they get their full share of London’s crazies this side of the river. It took him a while to get used to it after
moving away from Derry, but he was slowly de-sensitising.
It wasn’t until half an hour later that David became slightly concerned. The rain had not reduced in ferocity, and the ‘crazy’ was still perched on the wall - unmoved. Her short brunette hair was plastered to her head, her jumper clinging to her skin, with rainwater dripping swiftly down her clothes and down onto the walkway. The picture reminded David of a long forgotten statue; lost and uncared for.
His conscience prickled until eventually he could stand it no longer. As he walked through the tables, he approached the woman at an angle so as not to startle her. He got within a couple of yards, standing beside her but she showed no indication or acknowledgement of his presence. David took a moment to observe her. A hundred trickling rivers crawled across her face, but her eyes never flickered. She was young; twenties and attractive in a most unconventional way.
“Are you okay?” David said, breaking the silence.
For a brief moment he waited, the question hadn’t appeared to have registered at all. He was about to ask again when the rain drenched head of the young woman slowly began to turn, until her empty eyes locked on to his.
“I am fine thanks” her words seemed as empty as her eyes.
This was from a sort of freewrite I did this morning on the train whilst coming in. I have just typed it in, barely 3 or 4 hours later and it feels like I must have wrote it in my sleep. I don’t really wake up until 10.
It is another story start - I have no idea where it is going or whether it is worth pursuing.
