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Familiar Strangers

Jackie Walsh
Chapters (71)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Prologue
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Chapter Nineteen
  23. Chapter Twenty
  24. Chapter Twenty-One
  25. Chapter Twenty-Two
  26. Chapter Twenty-Three
  27. Chapter Twenty-Four
  28. Chapter Twenty-Five
  29. Chapter Twenty-Six
  30. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  31. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  32. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  33. Chapter Thirty
  34. Chapter Thirty-One
  35. Chapter Thirty-Two
  36. Chapter Thirty-Three
  37. Chapter Thirty-Four
  38. Chapter Thirty-Five
  39. Chapter Thirty-Six
  40. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  41. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  42. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  43. Chapter Forty
  44. Chapter Forty-One
  45. Chapter Forty-Two
  46. Chapter Forty-Three
  47. Chapter Forty-Four
  48. Chapter Forty-Five
  49. Chapter Forty-Six
  50. Chapter Forty-Seven
  51. Chapter Forty-Eight
  52. Chapter Forty-Nine
  53. Chapter Fifty
  54. Chapter Fifty-One
  55. Chapter Fifty-Two
  56. Chapter Fifty-Three
  57. Chapter Fifty-Four
  58. Chapter Fifty-Five
  59. Chapter Fifty-Six
  60. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  61. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  62. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  63. Chapter Sixty
  64. Chapter Sixty-One
  65. Chapter Sixty-Two
  66. Chapter Sixty-Three
  67. Chapter Sixty-Four
  68. A Letter from Jackie
  69. Acknowledgements
  70. About the Author
  71. Also by Jackie Walsh

Cover

Familiar Strangers

Dedication

To Phyllis and Denis

Prologue

The light is dimming now, casting shadows all around, but I continue to dig. Dragging up soil, tossing it aside, digging out more. Lifting my hand, I rub the water from my eyes. Rain? Tears? I no longer know. Sirens whine in the distance, getting louder, closer. I have to find it, take it from the ground. It’s what she wanted, what she asked for.

Rain blurs my vision, seeping through my t-shirt and soaking my skin, running down my front, down my back, filling my shoes.

I glance up at the house looming in the darkness. A gust of wind catches the broken guttering, banging it against the wall. Bang-bang-bang.

I’m alone here, which is what I want.

The hole is already filling with water so I work quicker, making it wider, wishing the gathering pool away. To my right I see a plant pot caught below a plank of wood. It cracks when I pull it free. Sweeping the pools of water into the pot, I pour it to the side but the more I bail, the quicker it fills up again.

My eyes burn as I look up at the sky and feel the rain sting my face. I think I see Him in the shapes created by the dark menacing clouds rolling past, hiding the stars, hiding the moon. Help me, God. Please, help me.

I dig again, harder and harder, grabbing at the earth until finally my fingers catch on something hard. My breathing stops. Tugging and pulling, I haul the box out of the ground and open it. Removing the bundle from inside, I lay it on the grass, let the rain wash it clean.

The bag is badly worn and torn in places, but it’s still pretty much intact. With one finger I press on its hard contents. My hand reaches to my forehead, painting a mud cross on my face. The storm rages on around me but now I feel calm inside, more at peace than I have ever felt before.

Stretching out my hand, I place it on top of the bundle and gently press down on the tiny skeleton.

Chapter One

I hate walking through these doors. Failing bodies shuffling past the white walls and cheerful pictures, struggling to get their feet to take them wherever it is they want to go. The dining room, the TV room, the family room. There’s not a lot of choice.