Dreamlander Read online

  Dreamlander

  Samantha Liddell

  First Published in 2019

  Copyright Samantha Liddell

  Edited by Andrea Reeves

  Written by Liddell, Samantha

  All rights reserved.

  No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the Prior permission of the Publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  For my two daughters Patience and Alexis.

  Of all the things I’ll ever do in my life time, mothering my children will always be my greatest accomplishment.

  * * *

  And for Diana

  Without her there would never have been a

  Jamie or Claire.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  The awakening

  A circle has no beginning or end and is therefore a symbol of infinity. It is endless, eternal, just the way love should be and just the way I felt towards Scott.

  Many wear the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand. This is because the vein in this finger was once believed to lead directly to the heart. Why then had the symbol of the ring that Paul gave me on our wedding day come to an end? Had my vein from my finger that wore the ring stopped pumping the blood of love that I had once felt towards Paul up to my heart? Had that one vein decided to change its course of direction in life and decided to seek adventure in Scotland? Or was I just beginning to think with my head?

  Had this vein started to pump love blood up to my head instead? Was I now thinking with my head and not my heart?

  If that was the case, shouldn't Scott have my heart and Paul have my head? After all, I was in love with Scott, head over heels in love with Scott. As for Paul, well I will always love Paul, he is the father of my children. But I was never going to be in love with him again. My head was starting to hurt, it was over thinking again. I was confusing myself with thoughts.

  I lifted my hand up to my forehead as if to protect it from the pain. A strange pressure appeared upon my hand. The weight of another hand; the warmth, the love, the feeling of security rushed through my entire body from the feeling of this mysterious touch upon my hand. I heard somebody speak, “Aye, she’s coming to. It could still be hours until she’s completely back with us, but nonetheless it’s a good sign.”

  The voice then drifted off into the distance. The silence was all around once again, and so was the feeling of being lost. I was back in that dark, lonely, secluded place that I had only just escaped from, but not for long. I suddenly found myself waking up in my own bed - but alone. Why was Scott not beside me this morning? I thought to myself. I decided to go and investigate.

  I wandered out into the kitchen in the hope of seeing Scott and my two girls, Polly and Leah, cooking up a big Scottish Breakfast for Sophie, James and myself. Sophie and James were over visiting from Scotland, but their whereabouts were also still a mystery.

  With the help of Scott, Polly and Leah had become quite masterful at cooking up magnificent Scottish breakfasts. Scott was not only a great cook, but he taught cooking very well. He had a real passion for it. Just another reason I was head over heels for him: my stomach loved him just as much as the rest of me.

  As I approached the kitchen I could hear nothing but silence. I could smell nothing but silence. Everything felt like it was frozen. I looked out the window and there was not even a single breath of wind or a single chirp from a bird. I started to feel uneasy, something was not quite right. I searched every room of the house for any sign of life, but every room was empty.

  Once I came to the realisation that there was nobody around, no signs of life, my attention then went to the things that had once been in my house and noticed that all my furniture was gone. All my belongings, all the clothes that had once been folded neatly away in my draws or hung up in my closet, were now nowhere to be seen. The only thing left in this house was the bed I had woken up in that morning - and of course me, in this oversized blue nightgown with a big slit up the back revealing my backside, or my big round ass as Scott would say. Why was I even wearing such a nightgown? I don't ever remember buying such an unflattering thing…

  I did a second search of the house, in a panic this time. My breath was becoming laboured. Sweat was starting to dispense out of every open pore of my body. I opened up the front door of my house and ran down to the bottom of my driveway. Once I got there I looked both ways for signs of life, but saw nothing. There was not a single car in sight, not one dog in sight, nor person out on their morning walk. I decided to knock on my neighbours door, my last resort to find life and help.

  I banged hard upon Mr. and Mrs. Murry’s door, a lovely dear old couple who were like another set of grandparents for Polly and Leah. they They always had time for them, and the door was always open for them to visit any time of the day. Today though there was no response. I peered through the window as the curtains were pulled wide open, but it was hard to see at first because of the reflection of the sun that shone straight through, making the room look dark from the outside. As my eyes adjusted and focused I noticed that their house too was empty. Not a single bit of furniture was left.

  I backed off the porch slowly, still in disbelief. I wasn’t sure whether to scream for help or fall to the ground in my unflattering blue oversized nightgown and land in a frightened, weeping heap. I could shut my eyes in the hope of finding answers that way, or maybe in hope of disappearing myself.

  I decided on the first option instead: to scream at the top of my lungs. “Where is everybody? Help! I need help!”” I yelled with desperation. At that moment I felt a wet sensation upon my forehead. It felt like a damp cloth washing my sweat away. I heard that familiar voice again, “Aye, Sshhhhh. You are doing well, this will all be over soon.”

  No sooner had it appeared than the voice drifted off again. I yelled back in fear: “No, don’t go, come back, come back, come back.” Just then I heard a shuffling and sniffing sound coming from the corner of my neighbour’s house. Something was around there. I knew it; the feeling of loneliness was disappearing. I wiped the tears away from my eyes to get a better look and yelled, “Hello, anybody there? Hello?” No reply; silence reappeared, just as quickly as my loneliness.

  I decided to go and investigate myself, quietly making my way around the corner of the old rickety house. As I poked my head around the side of the house, I was bitterly disappointed to be presented with emptiness and more silence. Nothing was there, I was still all alone, everything and everyone had disappeared from my life. Defeat started to flow through my body. I now decided on the second option and I fell to the ground helpless and r
eady to give up.

  Two eyes caught my attention in a bush that was beside me. Looking at me were two familiar eyes, but a look of pain shone out of them this time. I moved closer to get a better look, then recognised the two eyes as belonging to our Scottish Terrier, Rupert. “Oh, Rupert come here boy, oh you have no idea how happy I am to see you,” I said in relief.

  I was just about to pull him out of the bush when he leaped out himself, growling at me with foam dripping from his mouth. He was only a small dog but somehow he managed to knock me back and I fell onto the ground. He was trying to attack me! He had so much strength, strength I had never noticed before. I managed to hold him at arm’s length as we struggled with each other. I had to gather all my strength to push him off me before he was able to lay his teeth into my flesh. I threw him far back into the bushes and stumbled back up on to my feet as I started to run back towards my house.

  I heard Rupert scrambling out of the bush and he started to chase me. He was closing the gap between us quickly. The foam in his mouth was getting thicker, and he looked like he was possessed or infected by some zombie-like disease.

  My front door was now within arm’s reach. I grabbed hold of the handle and opened it with force. I flung my body inside, falling to the ground, and slammed the door shut with my foot right into Rupert’s poor face. Something I had never done before. The door was always open for Rupert. He was always welcomed back in by his family after being outside playing or exploring. He always knew there was a bowl of food and lots of cuddles awaiting him inside this very house. Not today though. Something strange was happening today. I stood in the middle of the living room and just started yelling again, “Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott! Where are you?”

  Over and over again I yelled. “Polly, Leah! Please, where are you? Come and save me. Scotttttttt,” I yelled. I tried to yell his name one last time but this time nothing came out. No matter how hard I tried to get sound to come out of my mouth I was just surrounded by more silence. The silence felt like it went on for hours, and so did my inability to move. Every muscle in my body seized up. I was unable to do anything. I felt like a prisoner in my own body and mind. I was waiting, waiting for what? Waiting for someone or something to save me.

  Nothing was happening. Was this the feeling of helplessness? There was no way out. I couldn’t help myself, nor could anyone help me. I closed my eyes in the hope that it would help somehow, but it only made things stranger. When I reopened my eyes I found myself in a lift that had broken down. I read the floor number that lit up just above the buttons in the lift: 201. It was just regaining its power and was slowly starting to descend to ground level.

  The lift was slow and smooth between levels 201 and 190. When we reached floor 189 it made an uncomfortable judder and started to freefall pass every floor at high speed, throwing me against the walls.. I was losing my stomach, the feeling you get on theme park rides that drop suddenly. I longed to be in the arms of Scott. I continued to yell out his name as I fell past every floor at speed. Tears pouring out of my eyes, I needed his big Scottish arms wrapped around me. I needed him to tell me everything would be alright. I needed him to protect me.

  The sound of the lift falling was deafening. I tried to cover my ears with my hands to block the sound out. I saw the numbers on the lift changing fast as we continued to pass each floor. The numbers were bright red and flickered, hurting my eyes. I turned my head away at floor 30 and closed my eyes. I was getting battered and bruised from the impact of the fall. I was defeated, I was helpless. I called out Scott's name again in one last attempt at finding him. We were getting close to the ground floor. I started to panic, as I watched the numbers on the lift start to get lower, I counted the last five levels as we passed them, “five, four, three, two, one.”

  I waited for the impact. I waited to see what the feeling of the end felt like. I was not a circle, I was not a ring, I was not a symbol of infinity nor did I have endless eternal life. I was a person and every person has an end; was this the end for me? Was this the way my life story ended?

  But the impact of the lift crashing onto the ground floor never occurred. Instead of landing on the hard cement floor of an apartment block, I was greeted with the feeling of landing into the arms of my very own Scott.

  Scott was wiping my forehead with a wet cloth as his other hand supported the back of my head. His touch and the wet cloth reminded me of the strange feelings I was having whilst all alone back at my house. Had Scott been there with me all along? I had not opened my eyes yet but I knew these arms belonged to Scott; I had been in his arms so many times before. I knew that touch and that wet cloth had been from Scott.

  I could still hear myself repeating the numbers counting back, “Five, four, three, two, one, Scott, five, four, three, two, one, Scott.” I was making no sense to the people standing around me, who I didn't know were there yet as I was still to open my eyes. I heard another voice interrupt my counting, it sounded familiar. The voice was asking, “Why is she calling out your name Scott, how does she know you?” The voice sounded familiar. After a few seconds I recognised that the voice belonged to my mum.

  Scott answered, “I’m not sure, it’s all a bit confusing. Let’s just let Letticia come to, fully and rest a bit longer.” I managed to open one eye ever so slightly, enough that it looked like both my eyes were still closed. I peered around the room. I was still confused and couldn't remember everybody's faces that were present. I could make out my parents and Scott, however Scott did look a tad different in a nurse’s uniform instead of chef’s whites. I still recognised him as my Scott though. The other two faces I had forgotten - either that or I never did know them to begin with.

  I wanted to open my mouth and say, “Why wouldn't I be calling out Scott’s name? He is my boyfriend who is going to propose to me any day now. Sophie and I found the ring in his suitcase.” But I didn't yet have the strength to talk a full sentence and before I knew it, I had nodded back off to sleep for a bit. Lucky, I hadn’t said anything otherwise next time I woke up I may have found myself waking up in the Mental Health unit.

  As I awoke after my nap, I felt something strange around my neck. It felt cold and heavy against my skin, and I looked down and noticed I was wearing a gold necklace. I did not recognise it and wondered why on earth I would be wearing a necklace around my neck while in a coma and in a hospital. None of this was making any sense to me. It was just easier to go back to sleep for an hour or two and escape reality, I thought.

  Chapter Two

  Reality hurts

  I awoke the second time to the sound of my name being repeated over and over again. “Letticia, Letticia, Letticia, Letticia.” If it wasn’t for the fact it was being said in a beautiful Scottish accent I probably would have rolled over and flogged the person who was speaking and ask what the hell they wanted. However, it turned out to be my one and only true love, Scott. “Aye easy does it, no rush, take your time Letticia.

  My eyes slowly opened. I had no idea how long I had been out for, and as I regained my focus I could see Scott sitting beside my bed. It was a welcoming sight to see his beautiful face and soft eyes looking down at me. He was holding a clipboard with pages of notes attached to it. Why he had this was beyond me, but that wasn’t important right now. What was important to me was getting a hug and a cheeky kiss from my Scott. I managed to find all the strength I had in myself to roll over and put my arms out in the hope he would do the rest of the work and come in to me for a hug. I even puckered up for a kiss, closing my eyes in anticipation for the first touch of our lips, but nothing came.

  I slowly opened one eye to peek at Scott to see what the holdup was, but instead I was greeted with his hand coming in for a handshake. Then he started to introduce himself. “Hi I’m Scott King, I have been your nurse while you have been in a coma for the last 6 months.”

  All I had heard at this point was his name. Scott King. “Scott, I know who you are, what game are you playing at?” I asked in an annoyed and irritated tone
. Scott looked confused, but he kept his professional composure intact. He too was trying to work out why I had been calling his name out while waking up from my coma.

  “Wait, coma, did you just say coma?” I asked, confused.

  “Letticia it is perfectly normal to be in a state of confusion after what you have just endured,” Scott said.

  “Endured, what do you mean Scott?” I asked abruptly.

  “Letticia you were in a car crash and have been in hospital in a coma for the last 6 months,” Scott explained. I gave a sarcastic laugh. “Ha, don’t be so silly Scott. You and I have been in Scotland for the last six months and four days, and the last week you and I have been up in Cairns on a business trip. Really Scott if this is a joke, I’m not finding it very funny. Just stop already and come give me a kiss would you.”

  I went in and tried for a second kiss but was yet again declined by my very own Scott. Why was this happening, why was he doing all this to me? I pulled away and rolled over and faced the other direction and ignored him. “Letticia I’m going to leave you for a bit to rest and gather your thoughts. I have some paperwork to catch up on anyway, but I will be back in to check on you soon. The doctor will also come and check over you and take some of these tubes out of you.”

  He gave me a friendly pat on the arm as if to say everything will be ok. I didn’t flinch, I just continued looking out of the window at the raindrops dripping in one big, continuous formation down the large window while trying to piece together what Scott had just told me. It was a lot to take in.