Not Far From Aviemore

by Michael Reuel

  XXII

  Aftermath

  Back in Aviemore, the morning that followed brought none of the earbashing Adam and Becky, or even Clyde and Jim, might have been wary of. Those who had slept woke to an atmosphere of relief, for indeed Alice had made her way down the mountainside and been picked up by Affleck, as Adam had suspected; a happy eventuality that saw any minor acts of foolishness overlooked.

  Affleck was in fact quite pleased with them all, except perhaps Jim, but he resisted any harsh opinions knowing that even he had played his part, inadvertently. Had they not all met in the bothy in that short space of time then their resources for saving Alice and seeing out the night would have been severely limited.

  As for Adam and Becky, the warden seemed to have an inkling that some happenings had occurred, but he demanded no explanation even after they had recovered from the cold and exhaustion, which they did so snuggled up beside a log fire in his very own living room. Affleck had left to speak with Alice’s mother, in hospital, while it turned out that Clara was the very person looking after the child in her mother’s absence.

  Warmed by whisky and hot chocolate, our two scientists felt life return to their numb bodies as they watched the sun rise on a new day.

  When the warden returned they were able to gain a more complete picture of events without them, beginning with Alice reaching Affleck as he was about to begin his own climb up Ben Macdui.

  Telling him that an Englishman had saved her but fell behind on the mountain, Affleck had no idea what else was occurring but made the child’s safety his first priority – as everyone would have expected. From then on he was able to plan for most other issues at hand, especially as the locating of Alice coincided with the reappearance of Clyde. Dejected and miserable, the youngster looked as if he was about to stand trial, not just for having returned without finding the child but having also lost their London guest somewhere on the mountain. The sight of Alice perked him up considerably, however, as did the confidence Affleck showed in him when he said ‘If there’s one thing you can do right this night it can be to get Alice back to Aviemore without crashing this vehicle. Leave her with young Clara then get back here to pick up me and Jim.’

  To his credit, these were instructions Clyde followed to the letter, leaving the two lost tourists as the outstanding issue they were unable to solve. It was past four in the morning, in snow they’d had to dig the jeep’s tyres from several times, when their perseverance paid off and everyone was accounted for.

  With the dawn came an end to the blizzard and the town, full of foreboding the previous evening, was now full of children building snowmen, throwing snowballs and dragging their sleds. Many of their tired heads hadn’t come to grips with what had occurred on the mountain, but being satisfied the child was well meant there was surprisingly few questions to answer. In this they had to thank Affleck once again; the warden had the wit to tell everyone that all would become clear when Mrs MacGregor returned from hospital later that day, which was in fact a decoy so that Adam and Becky could escape without having to explain what had happened – if they even understood matters themselves.

  For our two scientists this was much appreciated, although they had grown attached to some of the folk of Aviemore there would be a better day for hindsight and reflection. They desired rest and solitude; something more like the holiday they had been pretending to have all along.

  At least this appeared to be the plan until Becky realised how stupid she was being.

  ‘The body in the barn,’ she announced suddenly. ‘We can’t leave. There’ll be an investigation; questions to answer.’

  ‘Be calm now lass,’ Affleck assured her. ‘It’s been taken care of.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘We’re not in the big city now. You have to shout loud round here to get anyone with authority sticking in their nose, unless there’s media involved.’

  ‘You’re not thinking of just leaving it there?’

  ‘It’s been taken care of,’ Affleck repeated, despite Becky’s astounded expression. ‘I’m reliably informed of two things – one, that your actions last night meant that a little girl is still alive and well; and the other that this violent individual you’ve told us of is declared dead by your American government.’

  ‘Yes, but the police.’

  ‘The police will take our advice as long as there’s no trouble involved for them. We all help each other out in these parts and we all owe each other favours. Doesn’t mean we’re a secret society or anything, but we know what’s important and your Stevens fella isn’t. No one wants some post-mortem inquiry it’s impossible to get to the bottom of anyway… unless you two scientists want to publish something on it, but if not we’ll leave well alone.’

  Becky needed further assurance no one was being put out before she gave in, but it was always obvious the warden was going to win. Adam took the offer up far more readily, feeling very proud of his colleague’s resilience far from help while sensing the warden wanted to do something for the pair of them. He thought of Loch Gynak’s depths where he’d feared drowning and could not help wonder if the remains of a certain individual would soon be sinking down there in his place.

  One of Affleck’s informants was the girl Clara, no doubt. Adam wanted to thank her in person for the gift of the stones, but was only able to wave up to the bedroom window of her cottage where she and Alice were playing some game that looked too much fun to interrupt.

  With Affleck he was able to have a further brief exchange, not so much out of a desire for sharing his story but he felt the man who had saved their lives deserved the opportunity to ask him more if he wished.

  ‘I saw a doorway,’ Adam said to the warden before leaving, but he only shrugged. Satisfied that all lives were accounted for, Affleck had not pried at all into what they had been through, or expressed any interest.

  ‘Guess you found a lot more going on in these mountains than meets the eye,’ he replied. ‘Well there’s times they’ve been like that, but other times they’re all your own and I’m not one for thinking anything spooky should ruin our enjoyment of them.’

  ‘Perhaps we’ll return when things have quietened down.’

  ‘I sure hope so. There’s many folk here that’ll welcome you once they realise what you’ve done.’

  So an end to Adam’s expedition had been achievable after all and achieved without perishing along the way. It had begun under the disguise of a scientific mission but had really been a personal one all along, though it would be neglectful to exit without some closing thoughts on certain matters. Adam does, after all, claim to have been witness to secrets that might never have been intended for mankind’s eyes. Living through such experiences must impact greatly upon one’s worldview and ability to appreciate existence in the same plain of thought as our contemporaries.

  Nevertheless I am pleased to report that Adam has avoided the straitjacket, thus far at least, though in times of stress especially he dreams of looking out upon that lilac sky once more and wondering what more far-off worlds each door leads to. Above all his heart yearns to see the Lady again and it stings not knowing which part of the night sky to look to in order to picture her and the cave. Despite this he insists no ambitions remain to seek out that dimension, though I find myself wondering if serious tragedy ever struck his life that I might find one-legged badgers have given up on him and he has become a missing person. While in times when the affairs of planet Earth weigh me down: whether because of the failings of personal life; the latest reasons for which humans about the world are killing each other; the inability of the general public to elect a half-decent government; or the constant dilemma over whether it is OK to grow old without a wife or child, I have imagined taking my own journey to Ben Macdui. There is no such peace to be found on Earth during that we call a life. So far I have resisted, however, and knowing what I know I for one am grateful of the deterrent that is the Fear Liath Mòr.

  As regards the Grey Man, the story brings u
s no closer to knowing whether that doorway will be opened again in this decade, or indeed in this century, but no doubt there will come a day when some lone walker hears that infamous footfall pursuing them through the snow.

  That only leaves M Theory and the many cat-out-of-the-bag possibilities this tale has for the science versus religion debate. I think it clear from these pages that Adam believes his initial theories to have been correct, but there is nothing else to add for those who might wish to take the issue further. Unlike in these pages, science manuals need to maintain an illusion of accuracy until a more advanced work arrives to render them dated.

  Of course, for those readers who prefer to think on romance, there is the matter of unrequited love between Adam and Becky. Having taken their leave of Affleck and Clyde, both of whom Becky surprised with an embrace that would later cause Jim great jealousy, the nature of their relationship would seem to be the outstanding matter of all the strange events I have related. Certainly the very subject had been on Becky’s mind before Stevens appeared through the Cairngorm mist and, still knowing nothing about Old Hag syndrome, her doubt and confusion remained. Of this, had anyone who knew them beheld the start of their departure from Aviemore, had they seen him put his arm around her and she reciprocate, they would have concluded that many of her questions had been answered without a single word being said.

  No discussion of the road ahead had taken place, but Adam fancied they would pass by Loch Lomond. It seemed the right time to do so, though Loch Gynak would probably be avoided, while he also harboured a wish to look upon his grandfather’s home and a view of the Western Isles before any plans were made for returning to work – damn that I should end with such an ugly thought.