Shadow Bridge

Nicholas Day-Lewis

Description

Charlie Gray and his wife Pam emigrate from England to South Africa, a country sinking under the scourge of apartheid, to start as an engineer in the gold mines. His life appears on the surface to be charmed, but he lives under the shadow of a terrifying instance of abuse in his childhood. Tragedies occur in his marriage and he is forced to leave. He moves, first to Nauru, then to Australia where his life begins to resemble that of the biblical character Job. Things happen to him, events beyond his control. He is powerless to stop them until he meets Emma, a distant cousin, and in a return to Scotland and the place where the story began he finally throws off the shackles of the past.

Sujets

• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris AU
• Date de parution: 22 septembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669889366
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

SHADOW BRIDGE
 
The life and loves of Charlie Gray
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nicholas Day-Lewis
 
Copyright © 2022 by Nicholas Day-Lewis.
ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6698-8937-3

eBook
978-1-6698-8936-6
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 06/15/2022
 
 
 
Xlibris
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AU Local: [phone] ([phone] from outside Australia)
www.Xlibris.com.au
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CONTENTS
Prologue: Ancestors 1879
PART 1:   IMMIGRANTS 1957 TO 1969
Chapter 1:     First Steps
Chapter 2:     Promotion
Chapter 3:     Cape Holiday
Chapter 4:     Susan
Chapter 5:     Mary
Chapter 6:     Mistrust
Chapter 7:     New Jobs
PART 2:   SOLO TRAVEL 1969 TO 1978
Chapter 8:     Nauru
Chapter 9:     Conchita
Chapter 10:   Melbourne
Chapter 11:   Tamara
Chapter 12:   Losses
Chapter 13:   Grieving
Chapter 14:   Downhill
PART 3:   RESTORATION 1978 TO 1979
Chapter 15:   Recovery
Chapter 16:   New Home
Chapter 17:   Confessions
Chapter 18:   Emma
 
Epilogue: Closure 1979
 
Shadow:
The archetype known as the Shadow represents … the power of repressed feelings. Deep trauma or guilt can fester when exiled to the darkness of the unconscious, and emotions hidden or denied can turn into something monstrous that wants to destroy us.

Christopher Vogler – The Writer’s Journey
 

Bridge:
Two points stand out: the symbolism of passage, and the dangerous nature of this transition, which is that of any ‘journey’ of initiation.

The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols
 

Life:
There is love of course. And then there is life, its enemy.

Jean Anouilh (1910–1987)
PROLOGUE Ancestors 1879
The Rainbow Bridge
Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay!
I hope that God will protect all passengers
By night and by day,
And that no accident will befall them while crossing
The Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay,
For that would be most awful to be seen
Near by Dundee and the Magdalen Green.
William McGonagall
Henry Haig was in love. It had taken him months of soul-searching to decide that Emma was the woman with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life, but at last he was sure. Quite sure. He was ready to commit himself. As 1879 approached its close Henry knew it had been a good year. Fortune had favoured him and he felt confident of the future. He had taken the train down to Leuchars especially to see her. Today he would ask her to marry him. With their betrothal the year, and his life, would be complete.
Emma’s father, the Reverend Peter Muir, ministered at the local Presbyterian Church. Henry had joined the family – Emma, her mother and her younger brother, Donald – at morning service and had returned to the manse for luncheon. The meal seemed to take an interminable time and Henry had quite lost his appetite. But eventually the ladies retired and he was able to speak to Emma’s father, to ask for her hand in marriage. The Reverend Muir listened to him gravely and then, to Henry’s profound relief, he smiled benignly, clasping Henry’s hand warmly.
‘I thought you would never ask, never ask,’ he said. The minister had the liturgical habit of repeating words. No doubt he thought his congregation would fail to take in his pearls the first time, but it did make his sermons a trifle tedious. ‘Of course you may, of course, and I hope she’s not such a fool as to say “no”. You have my blessing. Yes, she would be a fool to say “no”.’With heart pounding Henry went in search of Emma. He had carefully rehearsed his proposal, and he thought that on the whole it should be sufficiently persuasive. Finding her alone in the drawing room he sank to his knees and launched straight into his speech. He described his prospects in the firm of accountants for which he worked, and the likelihood of a junior partnership in two years’ time. He emphasised his loyalty and undying devotion to her no matter what should befall them, and finally he asked her to be his wife, a step that would make him the happiest man in all Scotland. He was so taken up with what he was saying that he failed to notice Emma’s increasing agitation. When it finally came, her reply was brief, utterly painful to them both, and totally unexpected.
‘Henry dear,’ she said at last, after turning away to hide her blushes and her unhappiness. ‘I am very fond of you, Henry, but …’
‘What is it, dearest?’
‘… but I can’t marry you. Well, not yet anyway. Oh Henry, this is too sudden. I’m sorry,’ and she had fled the room in tears.
Three hours later they were all sitting silently in the drawing room over their afternoon tea. Outside it was already dark. A sudden squall rattled the window, a sound that somehow emphasised the melancholy that pervaded the room. The grandfather clock in the hall struck the half-hour and Henry lifted the fob watch from his waistcoat pocket to check its accuracy. Immediately he placed his teacup on the table before him and rose to his feet.
‘I really must be on my way,’ he said.
‘So soon?’ queried Mrs Muir.
‘My train leaves in half an hour,’ said Henry. ‘I mustn’t miss it; it’s the last one back to Dundee tonight.’
‘Quite so, quite so,’ said the Reverend Peter Muir. ‘But you must visit us again,’ he added, holding out his hand. ‘Visit us soon, very soon, won’t you, Henry?’
‘You are most kind, sir. Thank you both for a lovely day, and may I take this opportunity of wishing you all a very prosperous year ahead.’
‘Thank you, Henry,’ said Mrs Muir. ‘See Henry to the door, Emma.’
Emma, who had remained silent and preoccupied over tea, rose uncertainly.
‘Yes, Mama,’ she said.
Henry followed Emma out into the hall. There was an awkward silence as she helped him into his coat, broken only by the slow ticking of the clock. When Emma eventually spoke, she did so hesitantly.
‘Henry dear, I know I disappointed you today and I’m sorry. Perhaps I just need more time; I’m not ready for marriage.’
He took her hand in his and looked steadily into her eyes. He had never seen her so sad, or confused.
‘Yes, I am disappointed,’ he said, with rather less bitterness than he felt, ‘but I shall not give up.’ He paused, then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. ‘I love you, dearest Emma. I shall always love you.’
With that Henry opened the door and strode out into the storm. After the bright interior of the manse, the road outside seemed all the darker. The few gas-lit street lamps had been blown out and the only light came from the windows of surrounding houses. Henry was surprised by the savagery of the storm, for the morning had been calm. The west wind which had come up during the afternoon was now gusting strongly and teeming rain lashed the ground with a roar like a waterfall. As he turned his steps towards Leuchars station Henry had to keep his head down for the rain was driving into his face, stinging his eyes with its ferocity. He leant into the wind as he struggled along the road, clutching a little square box in his coat pocket, an emerald engagement ring to set off Emma’s rich chestnut hair, a gift and a promise so cruelly refused.
Henry’s mind was so occupied with these sombre thoughts that he missed the turning to the station. His reverie ended abruptly when he walked into the shelter of a tall building and, looking up through dripping eyelashes, he realised he’d strayed into a part of the town he didn’t recognise. Quickly he retraced his steps. As he hurried back he thought he heard a train whistle but the sound was torn away by the wind. Running the last fifty yards he reached the station and burst onto the platform. It was deserted. He looked up the line and saw the three red tail-lights of the receding train as it disappeared into the storm
Henry was racked by indecision and annoyance. On balance he felt that the circumstances of his parting from Emma precluded him from returning to the manse for the night and so he resolved to stay at the station. The stationmaster was busy locking up, but seeing Henry’s predicament he left the light burning in the Gentlemen’s Waiting Room and added some coal to the dying embers in the fireplace. Henry thanked him profusely.
‘You’ll be taking the first train out in the morning, then?’ said the good Samaritan. ‘I’ll be going off now, sir, and I wish you a good night.’
Henry stripped off his w