the restaurant and walked the streets for a while,
looking at the shop windows, then we walked down along the
quays to the bus terminus. Joe lived in a different direction
from me and would need to take a different bus; my bus had
just pulled in but wasn't due to go for a few minutes, so we
were happy to sit on the bus together for a while. 'You'd better
go for your bus,' I told Joe.
He got up and said he would be back in a minute. He talked
to the bus conductor and then he sat back down beside me and
said, 'I'm going home with you on the bus. I'll walk you right
up to your house.'
The bus conductor had told him about an unofficial bus that
was not on the timetable which was known as 'the ghost bus'.
It was a scheduled bus on its way out from Dublin to near my
home, but on its return to the garage in the centre of Dublin it
was not meant to pick up any passengers. It did take
passengers, though, and, from then on, whenever we went out
Joe always brought me home and then got the ghost bus back
into town and walked to his own house.
Joe and I didn't tell anyone we were going out with each
other. Other girls my age might have shared the secret with a
girl friend, but I had no friends I confided in like that. Anyway,
as I said, the angels told me that it was important it was kept a
secret, and whenever they tell me this, even now I do as they
say. I don't know if Joe told anyone, I never asked, but I don't
think so.
While we were keeping it secret – and we were very careful
about that – Joe's sense of mischief meant he couldn't resist
teasing me whenever the opportunity arose. He used to call me
'Rambo', when I tried to lift a repaired tyre into a customer's
boot (I'm five-foot-nothing tall) and he would tease me that
the mini-skirt of my uniform was way too short (he was
probably right!).
Whenever I could, I loved to go fishing with my father. It was
something we had done every so often when I was a child, and
it continued when I was working in the garage and going out
with Joe. I didn't always bring my fishing rod, but I loved the
opportunity to be in the quiet by a river, and I liked spending
time with my da. One day, we went fishing in the Wicklow
mountains. We set off early in Da's car and, as always, we
brought a picnic with us. We also had a billy can, so that Da
could light a fire and make tea.
It was a chilly day; we had been fishing for an hour or two
and Da had caught a trout, when it started to rain. Nearby, on
the river bank, there was a cluster of trees with an old
dilapidated house. Da suggested it would be a nice place to
shelter, light a fire and have our tea – we would be out of the
cold. Da walked ahead of me, and as we got closer to the trees
I noticed there was no light of energy around them and that the
place looked very dull.
Angel Michael tapped me on the shoulder. 'This place may
frighten you,' he said. 'We're going to show you something that
is bad. It won't harm you, but it will be aware of you as soon
as you walk into that little house. It will respond to you
angrily, but it won't touch you.'
Until then I had been protected from seeing anything evil.
'Is it a ghost?' I asked.
'No, Lorna, this is a different sort of creature,' Michael
replied.
Da called out to hurry and I looked up. He was some
distance ahead and had climbed up onto a bank in front of the
house. When I turned around to talk to Michael again, he had
disappeared.
I ran and caught up with Da. We walked among the trees
surrounding the house. Everything around the house seemed
dead to me – there were no leaves on the trees, and no grass or
flowers growing nearby. The door to the little house was ajar,
hanging off its hinges with pieces of board missing. Part of the
roof and some of the windows were also gone. Da went in;
there was an old broken wooden table and chairs there. To me
it felt as cold as ice inside, but Da didn't seem to notice: he
went straight to the fireplace.
I stood there, just inside the door. I could
looking at the shop windows, then we walked down along the
quays to the bus terminus. Joe lived in a different direction
from me and would need to take a different bus; my bus had
just pulled in but wasn't due to go for a few minutes, so we
were happy to sit on the bus together for a while. 'You'd better
go for your bus,' I told Joe.
He got up and said he would be back in a minute. He talked
to the bus conductor and then he sat back down beside me and
said, 'I'm going home with you on the bus. I'll walk you right
up to your house.'
The bus conductor had told him about an unofficial bus that
was not on the timetable which was known as 'the ghost bus'.
It was a scheduled bus on its way out from Dublin to near my
home, but on its return to the garage in the centre of Dublin it
was not meant to pick up any passengers. It did take
passengers, though, and, from then on, whenever we went out
Joe always brought me home and then got the ghost bus back
into town and walked to his own house.
Joe and I didn't tell anyone we were going out with each
other. Other girls my age might have shared the secret with a
girl friend, but I had no friends I confided in like that. Anyway,
as I said, the angels told me that it was important it was kept a
secret, and whenever they tell me this, even now I do as they
say. I don't know if Joe told anyone, I never asked, but I don't
think so.
While we were keeping it secret – and we were very careful
about that – Joe's sense of mischief meant he couldn't resist
teasing me whenever the opportunity arose. He used to call me
'Rambo', when I tried to lift a repaired tyre into a customer's
boot (I'm five-foot-nothing tall) and he would tease me that
the mini-skirt of my uniform was way too short (he was
probably right!).
Whenever I could, I loved to go fishing with my father. It was
something we had done every so often when I was a child, and
it continued when I was working in the garage and going out
with Joe. I didn't always bring my fishing rod, but I loved the
opportunity to be in the quiet by a river, and I liked spending
time with my da. One day, we went fishing in the Wicklow
mountains. We set off early in Da's car and, as always, we
brought a picnic with us. We also had a billy can, so that Da
could light a fire and make tea.
It was a chilly day; we had been fishing for an hour or two
and Da had caught a trout, when it started to rain. Nearby, on
the river bank, there was a cluster of trees with an old
dilapidated house. Da suggested it would be a nice place to
shelter, light a fire and have our tea – we would be out of the
cold. Da walked ahead of me, and as we got closer to the trees
I noticed there was no light of energy around them and that the
place looked very dull.
Angel Michael tapped me on the shoulder. 'This place may
frighten you,' he said. 'We're going to show you something that
is bad. It won't harm you, but it will be aware of you as soon
as you walk into that little house. It will respond to you
angrily, but it won't touch you.'
Until then I had been protected from seeing anything evil.
'Is it a ghost?' I asked.
'No, Lorna, this is a different sort of creature,' Michael
replied.
Da called out to hurry and I looked up. He was some
distance ahead and had climbed up onto a bank in front of the
house. When I turned around to talk to Michael again, he had
disappeared.
I ran and caught up with Da. We walked among the trees
surrounding the house. Everything around the house seemed
dead to me – there were no leaves on the trees, and no grass or
flowers growing nearby. The door to the little house was ajar,
hanging off its hinges with pieces of board missing. Part of the
roof and some of the windows were also gone. Da went in;
there was an old broken wooden table and chairs there. To me
it felt as cold as ice inside, but Da didn't seem to notice: he
went straight to the fireplace.
I stood there, just inside the door. I could
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