It really didn’t matter what topic she wanted to discuss.No one ever listened to Gabby.
That was reality,every hour of every day was filled with people talking at her.Wanting her to understand what they were saying and how they felt about things.
To some, it was just a game,a game of dominance,a chance to prove how clever they were.To others(more bearable Gabby thought) were those who saw her as the opportunity to talk to someone about whatever was bugging them as normally no one would listen to them. Gabby was their window on their world.
Gabby knew it was a skill to listen but felt she had perhaps missed the boat and had forgotten how to talk.
I don’t bet as a rule, and neither do my brothers and sisters as far as I know.Having one parent who let gambling get a little out of control;should we say;it’s not an attractive prospect.
Nevertheless, I signed up to an app(now defunct) that let me play the stock market.I think I invested about £600 and over a period of about five years lost it all.I’m still nor sure it was a scam.
Truthfully, though, it had its ups and downs ,and I enjoyed using it.If I had some spare cash,I’d try it again.But I don’t and so I haven’t and now it’s a happy memory.
I enjoyed the cut and thrust of the market in my own small way. I suppose I was careful and didn’t risk anything I couldn’t afford.
The guardian angel everyone thought was a black sheep
I was told as a young girl to stay away from Uncle Graham. He would appear intermittently in our lives.He was a traveller ,an adventurer, and he did not fit in.
My mother,God, rest her soul,was afraid of Uncle Graham.She saw him as a bad influence on her curious, quirky daughter who was close to reaching her teens.
Of course,the fact that everyone disapproved of him made me visit his little condo more when I knew he was around. Unknown to my mother, we texted each other regularly, and I was probably one of the few people at any given time who knew where he was.It was his safety net.
I was very good at hiding things from my family.They seemed to disapprove of everything I liked or did.
One day, though,I got into a situation way beyond my control.A so-called friend had called at my house, and we had we’d gone to the local park. There ,we met a group of boys and young men.I knew immediately who they were, and they dealt in drugs.
Stupidly,I didn’t want to look like a sissy,so we laughed and joked with the young men.I suppose hormones kicked in, and I was flattered.One young lad seemed to take a particular interest in me and passed some white tablets into my hand.
“Here, take these,it’ll be amazing! We can go to my flat later”.
Just at that moment,Uncle Graham appeared,looking very dishevelled. All the young lads thought he was drunk and started laughing at him.
I felt the pills in my hand,I knew I did not want to take them.Uncle Graham wondered up to the boys and said to the boys
“You selling good stuff ?”
“What’s it to you, Old Man?”
“Just asking? What’ve you got?”
“Go away,Old Man,you couldn’t afford what we’ve got?”said the one who had passed me the tablets.
“How much?Your whole stash,including the pills you just passed to that young girl!”
“That’s none of your business,old man!”Said the tall young lad who was increasingly agitated.
“Suppose it’s not,but I said how much?It’s a fair question,you’re a businessman, aren’t you?”
“Look it’s ,not for sale…:
“Oh, so you ain’t no businessman then?What are you a pimp?”
At that time, all the other boys started laughing, and I began to get embarrassed.
“Will you sell me the pills,little girl?.”
I saw this as my way out.
“Of course, I wasn’t going to take the stupid things anyway. Twenty dollars”
Uncle Graham reached into his pocket and took out a very dirty twenty dollar bill, and handed it to me.I took it and said to the others.
“See you guys,I’m off to the mall,buy myself a new top,they’ve got a sale on.”
The group of boys and now one girl looked incredulous.
Uncle Graham pottered off in the opposite direction while I made my way around to the gate at the other side of the park,heading towards the mall.
We circled the park ,and when we met up at the gate,Uncle Graham and I smiled at each other.
“Thanks, Uncle Graham,that was very scary.”
“No need to be scared of people like that,they ain’t no good at business are they?Now you owe me a coffee let’s go to Dino’s Café,your paying!”
It was a calorie-less idea. Norm, a young thirty something millionaire chef, had started The Zero as a joke.
It had all begun as the takings from his triple Michelin Star Restaurant in Edgbaston,a suburb of Birmingham, had taken a dive. The old restaurant could no longer support him and his growing family.He had two great children and a pregnant wife. He did not want to let them down ,he knew he had to move fast to avoid getting into debt.
As the building lease was about to be renewed,he terminatedit and told his wife that they were moving to London.It was short notice, but Monica was used to Norm’s ways.She knew whatever he was doing,it would be for the best.
He managed to rent a house for them from a fellow chef who was moving to Australia. Norm worked evenings , cooking for celebrities,it was good money and almost seven days a week.
The personal chef dinners he made for his celebrity clients were inspirational.None of them wanted to eat anything with fat,oil, or starch in it. He would present a meal,but most of it wasn’t eaten.His speciality ,no calorie spritzer, was a great hit with the diners.It was a special recipe that Norm had devised and he wouldn’t divulge to anyone. Yes ,it was no calorie,but it had a rare mushroom in it,known to lift the spirits without I’ll effect.
After a few months of working every evening and looking for premises for his new “Zero” restaurant.Norm found the perfect location.It was a trendy bistro in Soho that, like Norm’s old place was finding it impossible to make ends meet.
After a fair negotiation,where Norm agreed to take on the remaining five year lease. Norm refurbished the restaurant and with his mate Connor from Birmingham as Maitre D,he set up in business.
Norm knew every no calorie recipe in the book and knew how to combine herbs and gels to make the most amazing dishes.His mushroom spritzer was a real hit and was analysed by the Enviromental Health people from the council and given full approval.People would come in to solely drink a glass of his spritzer.
There was not a calorie in sight,and Norm expanded his network of “Zeros”. As an aside,he would also buy normal restaurant supplies and do meals for low income and homeless people. After all, it was all tax deductible, and he didn’t want to lose his ability to cook. Still, the money was in the no calorie stuff.
A tiny fist pump through the soil was how it began.
They had buried so many dead babies that they realised they no longer had the time for ceremony or any kind of enclosure had hit them hard as the babies could escape.
Life was precious,so we had babies,lots of them,but we didn’t have enough food to feed them,so most died.The mothers and fathers were healthy enough,you got coupons for being pregnant,you could have the best of everything or so it felt.
Now that the babies had started resurrecting ,the people were not so sure.
Resurrection had not been part of the plan.The aim was to keep the population happy with sex and drugs and the freedom to do what they wanted.It had worked for centuries.
The government, with the problem, emerging literally in front of their eyes, had tried to bulldoze the situation. It had brought diggers in to destroy existing burial grounds and what was left of the corpses.
They had no idea what was causing it,but in fact, by churning up the soil, they had enabled somehow the process of reviving the ” Life ” in those tiny bodies. So the problem became out of control.
Some argued that this was very positive and that any life was good.Others that the fear and dread that the armies of babes were causing was causing concern and that the fact that they could not be killed meant that like rats they would be an ever present problem.
No one liked to see them when they appeared.They stole,they chased people down the street, and they took over towns and villages as no one could bear living near them.
The Babes could not move very fast,but there was such a lot of them when they marched together ,they were intimidating and also you could not destroy them.
Initially, after protests and complaints from the public .The government had used military operations to kill them.
However,it took the authorities a while to realise that death was not the answer as all the carnage imposed on the Babes could not kill them but had only injured them and made them appear as monsters.Some were so badly disfigured that it was painful to look at them.The Babes of course felt no pain.
Slowly,the Babes were taking over the country, and eventually, it would be the world.
Government policy was changed, and people were no longer encouraged to have big families .
The effort was put into ensuring that new babies were nutured and survived into adulthood to reduce the number of Babes.At the same time, the scientists began researching the elements that brought about the resurrection of the babes. However,the results were kept secret as everyone knew that an elixir of life would bring a whole new set of problems.
The Babes that live to this day are ever present and will be with us forever.
I first met Oscar Wilde about a year before he was released from Reading Gaol. He was thin and had pustules on the skin of his face and bad breath.We had many conversations over that year and I watched on the day of his release as he was hurried away in a coach and horses organised by his supporters and friends that did not desert him and hoped to help him recover
Even in those evil days,there were good people who believed in prison reform.I was a member of such a group, and that is how I met Oscar.
Due to his kind and personable nature and I believe the intervention of an assistant governor who was empathetic to Oscar’s predicamemt. I believe he had the same proclivities as dear Oscar,although hid it ver well.Oscar, had been given certain privileges having suffered the indignities of a horrendous first few months of picking twine and the thing that was notoriously called the hamster wheel.Initially it was felt an example should be seen to be made.
Within a few months,however,he was given pen and paper,and a chance to have visitors.This unfortunately did not extend to providing health care,which in truth Oscar needed.However,I was allowed to bring some relief by supplying him with “drops” which I believe eased his aches and pains ,though it was obvious by then,Oscar’s health was deteriorating but the “drops” eased his pain.
One thing Oscar did was talk,and we talked and talked about every subject under the sun. I didn’t so much fall in love with the man ,but with his intellect.He was in love with everyone and everything he saw through falsehood and had passions for beauty that I could only imagine.He loved and his passion for loving rubbed off on me.
Oh my, as an aside, that sounds quite rude and made me blush,but we did not have that sort of relationship,and sitting now in my comfortable armchair, I can only regret we did not. Oscar loved in all ways.
But I must calm myself.I am not progressing my story of The River Chimera.For Oscar was indeed a mystical man,his story of Dorian Gray had a profound effect on me, and I told him so,many times,and he argued that it was a story a fiction. His strength of feeling was such ,I knew there was more to the story than he would admit.
The last time I saw Oscar was in a bar at Calais,his pustules were covered in heavy theatrical make-up, and his eyes were outlined in red and looked deep set within their sockets.He did not look long for this World.
Oscar wanted money from me, and I was more than happy to give it to him.I had known the man, and he was a good man.If I could help, I would.
The Oscar I had known was not the man sitting in front of me blustering and guffawing .There was no longer any connection between us ,his brain purely sought material means,there was no joy or happiness.It was mechanical.I was a means to an end.In truth, his brain had gone,destroyed by syphilis.
Dorian Gray ,though, stuck in my mind. It was a picture on my living room wall that made me think again of the story. At first, it seemed harmless, it was a view of a river.
However,when I sat in my chair and looked in the mirror;the picture was reflected back at me.It was then I noticed the subtle changes in the picture,as the winter night continued.
The River
The river in reflection, showed various images of chimaera,both animal and human.Horrible creatures that stared at me and beckoned me into their worlds.I could not help but stare back at them. Some looked like dragons,some like staring eyes of men or gigantic slugs with wings.
The River Chimera
Yet I would look back at the picture, and it contained only the attractive scenic view of the river.What the mirror reflected, I will never know or be able to question why these apparitions appeared.I would if Oscar had still been alive and at the height of his powers have asked him.
The images disturb me ,yet I keep the mirror and will not move the painting.Oscar faced his fears, and I also will do so…..
What had happened to her parents and all their money? Susan was devastated,there had been a tacit agreement that her mum and dad would spend their retirement income doing what they loved, extreme sports, but that their house and various investments would be Susan’s inheritance.
She loved her parents and thought that they loved her.Now they’d left her with a missing person’s enquiry and an increasing glut of debts and legal wranglings that she had no resources to deal with.The house had gone remortgaged to the hilt,repossessed and all she had was a letter from her parents Roger and Carrie saying that they had passed their professional “Saturation Diver ” course and were booked into El Hotel de Profund for six months and not to worry.
Roger and Carrie were both early retirement adrenalin junkies. Together, they reached their mid-fifties and were able to retire comfortably with their government index-linked pensions and follow their passion for participating in extreme sports.
They travelled the World Bungee Jumping,Downhill Mountain Biking,Heli-Skiing,Snow-Boarding, Flow boarding,White Water Rafting and Kayaking.The potential for travel and adventure was endless and Roger and Carrie made the most of their opportunities.
They researched and practised until they had mastered their chosen field and were confident of achieving the ultimate “high” for whatever activity they were doing without endangering themselves or each other.
It was on their trip to Mexico, Deep Diving in Fresh Water Caves,that they heard out about “El Hotel de Profund.”
Over the dinner held for those participants who had successfully passed their Deep Diving Course ,the “Hotel” had been hotly discussed.Some had thought it a mythical place invented by specialist divers in a frenzy of one up man ship. No one had actually been there,but the story went that the hotel had been built on foundations leading down to an extremely deep cleft underground.To all intent and purposes, it was , in effect, bottomless. The real depth was unknown, and the only way of diving it was to enter through the gateway of the Hotel,by invitation only.
The Hotel had been bought in the Nineteen Sixties by a loose conglomerate of hippy divers who had made their money in the oil industry.
The Hotel was in continous need of investment for the development of the “big hole” as the excavations were called.So the group of owner divers changed regularly to keep the money flowing and also to replace divers “lost” while surveying the latest dig into uncharted territory.
There had been no shortage of fresh investors,everyone wanted a piece of the action.Everyone, that was ,who was an expert diver. It was an exclusive club,it had to be,the exploratory dives were made to unimaginable depths.It took great skill to survive.The divers were entering uncharted water. Only shareholders were allowed to take that risk.
The word was that El Hotel de Profund was developing into the best deep diving location in the world. There were fatalities during the exploration and excavation .These people were used to the odds being stacked against them. To be asked to invest was an honour because it also meant that you got to dive the hole. In the early days,it was only the shareholders who could dive. It was a very exclusive; and, a dangerous club to be a member of.
Now ,in the year two thousand and twelve and having been in business for over sixty years ,the Hotel’s excavations had ceased. El profund welcomed guests with deep diving qualifications and had an excellent record for safety. Still, very few people knew where el Profund was or indeed how to get to it.There was no such thing as “booking a room” online. The guest list was still by invitation only, and there were a select few of regular visitors. All the staff in the hotel were knowledgeable and qualified divers.
Roger and Carrie listened intently to the talk of the hotel at the dinner.They had loved their deep diving experience and had proved themselves as “divers” passing,”Bell Diver Lead”,with ease and making inroads into the next step of “Saturation Diving” where gases and decompression were a science that had to be mastered to ensure safety when diving at extreme depths. A science but also an art,Roger and Carrie excelled,they were taking courses and doing work experience where allowed,despite the fact they were now in their early Sixties.
They were known now in the industry ,as exceptional divers, word had got around that Roger and Carrie could dive anywhere,they were to be trusted,they had earned their deep diving saturation spurs and in truth,if they had been thirty years younger and insurable,they would have had very successful diving careers.
They were ,however ,forced to finance themselves, and diving became their joint obsession. They would join projects and be part of a team of divers,but all at their own expense. In the back of their minds , there was always the chance that through working on these projects that they would finally get the invitation to El Hotel de Profund they desired.
The invitation came on Roger’s birthday,it was a letter direct from el Hotel.Roger and Carrie were invited and the costs of their stay were outlined on the invitation.They were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement and the letter stated that the travel arrangements would be made and covered by the hotel once Roger and Carrie had confirmed they were available and completed the necessary paperwork.
“Well ,at least we don’t have to fork out for that! The other expenses, my…it’s a lot, Roger. ” Carrie said.
Roger smiled at Carrie . “Carrie, we’ve come this far,we’ve got to do it.What are you going to tell Susan”
“What we always say,we’re off on an adventure.”
They both laughed and smiled together.
Carrie wrote in the note she sent Susan the name of the hotel and that it was a unique extreme diving experience and they would be away for up to six months.Carrie posted the note before she signed the non-disclosure document,so she didn’t feel she had broken any agreement with El Hotel and she felt Susan would have enough information in case she needed to contact them in an emergency.
Unfortunately ,as events unfolded,despite searching for details of el Hotel de Profund everywhere , Susan found nothing.So the note from her mother only added more layers to the mystery of her parents disappearance.The local police had involved Interpol and it turned out that Hotel Profund was quite a common name and there was no registration documents anywhere for the missing couple.They had vanished into thin air.
The chauffeur driven car had collected Roger and Carrie and their luggage on a cold Autum morning a couple of months after they had received their invite.They did not need diving equipment it would all be supplied and they could relax on their journey as all the travel arrangements were in place.
Roger and Carrie arrived fresh from their journey at El Hotel de Profund after their chauffeur driven,private jet, and first class table service trip with the best food and drink they had ever tasted .Their arrival was no less classy,the entrance to the hotel was grand,they arrived in darkness,their watches said it was 9.00pm so they couldn’t fully appreciate it’s beauty.
The front of house staff were attentive but not intrusive.Roger and Carrie were tired after their journey, and arrangements were made for a morning call.
The next morning in the warm sunshine, they were breakfasting in the gardens when a stranger asked if he could join them at their table. The gentleman’s name was Raymond Crete,he was a co-owner of the hotel and as they talked,they discovered that Raymond was an extremely well qualified diver and had been to every dive site that Roger and Carrie had visited.
During their conversation over breakfast,it became apparent that their invite had come by way of many recommendations, and Roger and Carrie basked in their mutual feeling of success.
Raymond delicately ate some yoghurt with honey and almonds that he ordered and bluntly asked
“Had they brought the money?”
“Indeed ,two million dollars ,small bills as requested,it’s upstairs in the room safe.”
“That’s wonderful,I will arrange for it to be collected,so you will no longer have to worry about it.There will be no further expenses.Now it is up to you to decide what floor in the hotel you wish to reach?”
Roger and Carrie looked at Raymond with puzzled faces.
“Our little joke,the hotel has 14 floors, the ground floor or 13 where the lobby is , your room is on the 14th floor. Floor 12 is your first dive….and so on.You can sleep on the floor you dive,depending on your saturation levels.
Really ,after Floor 8 ,it is best to spend time adjusting to the pressure,we have decompression chambers on each floor starting on floor 8. That is why we suggest a 6 month stay, there is so much to see and experience.”
“Sounds amazing. Are there trainers or guides or anything?” Carrie asked.
“Oh yes, on all floors,it is very necessary,the floors are all labyrinths,you would get lost without help. Also, on the lower floors,we have two restaurants, for the deep divers,they are quite an experience.In essence you can stay down as long as you like.”
Raymond continued.”Your first safety talk will be tomorrow , and you will meet Javier, who will be coordinating your stay. You can ask Javier anything, and he will be happy to accompany you on any of the dives.”
“That’s wonderful!”Carrie said.
“In the meantime, enjoy the gardens and the warmth of the sun. Everything is so different under the water.” Raymond smiled and excused himself.
Carrie was beside herself with excitement.
“Good, Grief Roger,this is amazing. Everything is below us,it’s below our feet, and we are going to explore it.”
“Yes,let’s just enjoy today, we can meet Javier tomorrow and find out what’s next.I must say so far, I’m not disappointed.”
The next day Javier was already waiting for them in the hotel briefing room, which doubled as a small cinema for guests when Roger and Carrie entered at the agreed timeThey were used to these initial project meetings ,discussing depths,their state of health, depression gases.Javier was obviously an expert in his field. Javier took measurements for wet suits,dry suits and diving helmets,he checked their preference for tanks and explained some of the equipment had been especially designed for the conditions in the “big hole” and they would not have seen it’s like before.
The personalised suits and equipment would not be ready for about two weeks,in the meantime, they could enjoy their leisure time,a car would always be available should they wish to visit some of the local sites of interest and Javier would be here for them to ask any questions. He gave them the maps of all the floors and dives they would make and recommended they study them.
“Can we film our dives?” Roger asked.
“I will video all your dives and at the end of your visit present them to you,it will be our parting gift.You and Carrie will be busy enough adapting to the conditions down there,the lighting can be pretty tricky. I’m used to it and all our guests have loved the videos.”
“That’s great!” Roger smiled,slightly disappointed he was not going to be allowed to film.
When the day arrived for Roger and Carrie’s first dive,Javier met them in the lobby and took the lift down to the wine cellar. Everything they needed was there, and Javier uncovered a barrel shaped hole in the floor and pressed a lever for the underwater lights,which made the freshly uncovered hole glow in the restricted light in the cellar.
They put on their small scuba tanks,checked each others masks and connections, and each gave each other the agreed signal to continue the dive.
Javier entered “the hole ” first, and Roger and Carrie followed. They were under the floor of the cellar and had to swim through the timber supports and infrastructure under the hotel.Without the lights, it would have been impossible.It was narrow and full of obstacles, and their progress was slow.
Javier signalled that he was stopping, and Roger and Carrie waited patiently as Javier opened what looked like a man hole cover, which in the narrow confines was just underneath his chest.
On opening the cover ,Javier beckoned for Roger and Carrie to enter. Roger pulled himself through into an amazing underwater cavern. He kicked his fins and realised he could move downwards through the seawater.Carrie followed it was so much better than it had been underneath the cellar.
Javier followed. It was an enormous cavern ,again, it was lit, and it was a beautiful sight to see. The white rock glistened and shimmered ,the water was crystal clear, and Javier signalled to continue downwards, which they did.
The cavern was like a large warehouse,not like a normal cave dive,where there would be fish,plankton, and seaweed. It was crystal clear, and they swam down and then around the bottom.Once they reached the bottom,they could see a door,Javier turned the metal wheel, which held the door shut and all three of them entered the small sealed chamber.Javier closed the door behind them and signalled to swim upwards out of the chamber along a wall which had a ladder attached . Suddenly, they surfaced and realised they were in a large natural cave ,they could hear the sea.They were outside.They climbed out of the water using the ladder.
This is our private beach,it’s a nice day so we can have lunch at the bar and then we’ll walk back to the hotel.Well done on your first dive!
Roger and Carrie breathed a sigh of relief,it had been so different to normal diving, and not knowing where you were going had been difficult.Still it was an amazing place. As they took off their gear, some people appeared with towels and a hand-held cart to bring their gear back to the hotel .They walked out into the sunshine and saw the bar, which had a wonderful selection of seafood.
Their dives continued each day,sometimes, they would do the same dive for two or three weeks as there was a lot to do and a lot to see.
After three months ,they were using saturation diving all the time and relying on the decompression chambers on floor 8 and below. They weren’t the only ones living at those in depths.The restaurants and accommodation were fully staffed,aswell as technical staff who maintained the diving equipment.
Roger and Carrie knew that they were at depths that were close to the maximum any human could dive. They had seen ancient ruins and bottom dwelling fish and creatures that probably had still to be discovered by naturalists.Javier had filmed all of it for them.
One day after a long dive,Carrie asked Javier when they would start making their way up again. They were having dinner in the restaurant on floor 2.
“Ahhh,Javier said,that is up to you.Do you want to do your final dive to Floor 1 then?”
“Yes,why not? Then maybe we should start heading back up and let our bodies get back to normal gradually.”
“OK ,floor 1, it is tomorrow.”
Floor 1 was Roger and Carrie’s final dive.For some ,it would have been a bit creepy, and indeed, Roger and Carrie were surprised to find that it was a memorial to the men and women who had built the fantastic deep dive facility under El Hotel de Profund.
In fact,the cold had preserved their bodies perfectly. Each body had their own chamber with a glass front, and there must have been at least a hundred chambers in the blue lit cavern all arranged in a circle ,all looking out into the water that Carrie and Roger were swimming in.
Roger and Carrie began to feel disorientated and signalled to Javier,but he was nowhere to be seen.They swam around frantically, but they couldn’t find the exit, and the staring eyes of the dead divers bodies made them panic.Eventually they knew they were running out of gas.
Just before they both lost consciousness,they saw two empty chambers and realised that those two chambers were going to be for them and that they were indeed to be part of the memorial for those who helped build and maintain El Hotel de Profund. Carrie’s last word was “Susan”.
Normal service will be resumed once I sort out my planting,weeding, and general holding it together on my allotment.Spring is a busy period!Oh and I think I had a cold,had a very stiff shoulder which seems to be getting better.
In the meantime….I’m enjoying the variety and quality of everyone else’s blogs.
thenotsomightyom 