She pauses for a moment. "Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd end up saying to someone."
As the late afternoon sun beats down with relentless heat, Sam pauses for a moment and looks up at the top of the grave. She's spent all afternoon digging the damn thing, but now - as she raises a hand up above her head in order to measure her progress - she realizes that she's finally managed to get six feet down. Standing in the pit, surrounded on all sides by walls of mud and soil, she takes stock of her achievement. Although the edges are rough and there's still some work to do, this is to all intents and purposes a grave. There's room for a coffin to be lowered down, and then for the soil to be thrown back down. For a moment, Sam tries to imagine what it must be like to look up and see a grave being filled in from such a lowly vantage point. She reaches out and touches the muddy walls, thinking about how all her hard work will be undone in a day or two when the coffin is buried. Frowning, she examines her hands and sees that she's already developing some tough callouses thanks to the fact that she's spending twelve hours a day using gardening tools. A year ago, she'd have been horrified by such things; today, she sees them as a welcome sign that she's been knuckling down to some hard work.
Looking up at the top of the grave again, she spots a mouse staring down at her.
"What are you looking at?" she asks, as the mouse scurries away.
"Okay, Mrs. Mayberry," she says, tapping the solid wall, "I think this should do you." A small amount of soil comes loose and drops down to Sam's feet, and she's suddenly overcome by the thought that maybe the walls could collapse and bury her. Deciding it's time to get out, she realizes that she's neglected to leave herself an exit route. With a sigh, she starts digging up some soil from one end of the grave and using it to construct a small step; finally, she's able to haul herself out and sit catching her breath on the edge, with her legs dangling down into the darkness.
After a moment, she realizes there's a noise nearby. Turning, she looks across the cemetery but sees nothing. The gate is open, of course, so visitors are by no means unexpected, even if it seems there are very few people in Rippon who want to come and pay their respects. Sam listens, and soon she hears the noise again: there's someone moving about over by the wall. Figuring that part of her job is to make sure that no-one's doing anything untoward, she gets to her feet, puts her jacket back on over the singlet she's been using while digging the grave, and wanders toward the source of the noise. Eventually, she spots a young woman on her hands and knees, apparently searching for something in the grass.
"Can I help you?" Sam asks.
"Jesus!" the girl shouts, almost jumping out of her skin. She scurries back a few feet.
"It's okay," Sam continues with a smile. "I just wanted to know if I can help you with anything."
"No," the girl replies, wide-eyed. "I'm just... I'm just looking for something. I think I dropped a necklace here the other day."
"Huh," Sam says, grinning as she realizes that this is definitely the same girl whose stilted amorous adventures she overheard last night in the dark. With dyed blonde hair and thick black make-up around her eyes, the girl kind of looks like she should be fierce, yet she has the attitude of a terrified little mouse. "So this thing you're looking for," Sam continues eventually, "would it happen to be a small silver necklace in the shape of an ankh?"
The girl frowns. "What's an ankh?"
"The Ancient Egyptian symbol for life."
The girl stares at her, clearly unsure.
"Like a cross with a loop at the top," Sam explains, drawing the shape in the air with her finger.
"Oh," the girl says. "Yeah. That sounds like it."
"I found it," Sam says. "It was right where you are now. I've got it in the cottage. You wanna come and get it?"
The girl pauses for a moment, and she still seems a little
As the late afternoon sun beats down with relentless heat, Sam pauses for a moment and looks up at the top of the grave. She's spent all afternoon digging the damn thing, but now - as she raises a hand up above her head in order to measure her progress - she realizes that she's finally managed to get six feet down. Standing in the pit, surrounded on all sides by walls of mud and soil, she takes stock of her achievement. Although the edges are rough and there's still some work to do, this is to all intents and purposes a grave. There's room for a coffin to be lowered down, and then for the soil to be thrown back down. For a moment, Sam tries to imagine what it must be like to look up and see a grave being filled in from such a lowly vantage point. She reaches out and touches the muddy walls, thinking about how all her hard work will be undone in a day or two when the coffin is buried. Frowning, she examines her hands and sees that she's already developing some tough callouses thanks to the fact that she's spending twelve hours a day using gardening tools. A year ago, she'd have been horrified by such things; today, she sees them as a welcome sign that she's been knuckling down to some hard work.
Looking up at the top of the grave again, she spots a mouse staring down at her.
"What are you looking at?" she asks, as the mouse scurries away.
"Okay, Mrs. Mayberry," she says, tapping the solid wall, "I think this should do you." A small amount of soil comes loose and drops down to Sam's feet, and she's suddenly overcome by the thought that maybe the walls could collapse and bury her. Deciding it's time to get out, she realizes that she's neglected to leave herself an exit route. With a sigh, she starts digging up some soil from one end of the grave and using it to construct a small step; finally, she's able to haul herself out and sit catching her breath on the edge, with her legs dangling down into the darkness.
After a moment, she realizes there's a noise nearby. Turning, she looks across the cemetery but sees nothing. The gate is open, of course, so visitors are by no means unexpected, even if it seems there are very few people in Rippon who want to come and pay their respects. Sam listens, and soon she hears the noise again: there's someone moving about over by the wall. Figuring that part of her job is to make sure that no-one's doing anything untoward, she gets to her feet, puts her jacket back on over the singlet she's been using while digging the grave, and wanders toward the source of the noise. Eventually, she spots a young woman on her hands and knees, apparently searching for something in the grass.
"Can I help you?" Sam asks.
"Jesus!" the girl shouts, almost jumping out of her skin. She scurries back a few feet.
"It's okay," Sam continues with a smile. "I just wanted to know if I can help you with anything."
"No," the girl replies, wide-eyed. "I'm just... I'm just looking for something. I think I dropped a necklace here the other day."
"Huh," Sam says, grinning as she realizes that this is definitely the same girl whose stilted amorous adventures she overheard last night in the dark. With dyed blonde hair and thick black make-up around her eyes, the girl kind of looks like she should be fierce, yet she has the attitude of a terrified little mouse. "So this thing you're looking for," Sam continues eventually, "would it happen to be a small silver necklace in the shape of an ankh?"
The girl frowns. "What's an ankh?"
"The Ancient Egyptian symbol for life."
The girl stares at her, clearly unsure.
"Like a cross with a loop at the top," Sam explains, drawing the shape in the air with her finger.
"Oh," the girl says. "Yeah. That sounds like it."
"I found it," Sam says. "It was right where you are now. I've got it in the cottage. You wanna come and get it?"
The girl pauses for a moment, and she still seems a little
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