PART TWO
Jac Naylor felt cold and clammy as she considered what the old Lady had said. Chills ran through her neck and spine; she couldn't believe it. This was farfetched. That old lady was like something out of a fairytale; she appeared real yet she felt out of this world. Her voice was strangely soothing but it cut through Jac's soul like a knife.
"What do you mean I never existed?" Jac asked, her eyes flashing desperately at the old Lady.
"You were never born. It's what you wanted," the old Lady replied with a twee smile. Jac shook her head. This was ludicrous, she thought. She had wished it, that much was true, but it was just one of those thoughts you sometimes had...You never truly believed it could be done. The cold night air bit at Jac's exposed face; the icy wind lashing around her as she shivered. "Take my hand," said the old Lady, reaching out towards Jac. "I need to show you something," she continued warmly. Jac found herself taking this peculiar woman's hand without a moment's hesitation.
"Who are you?" she asked in a tone most unlike Jac Naylor.
"Grace. Yes, that was my name," she said in a slow whisper. Jac frowned quizzically. Grace seemed not to notice as she motioned for Jac to walk down the road with her. "Come on Jac, there is much you must see."
"But I don't understand what you mean," Jac said, her voice rising shrilly. "Where are we going?"
"To show you the truth," replied Grace with a prolonged gaze at Jac. Without another word she continued to lead Jac into the dark, dead of night. A strange silence descended broken only by the whistling of the wind
Jac stared in disbelief at the garishly pink Rolls Royce that now lay before her eyes. She looked at Grace and then back to the Rolls. It was as if she had stepped from her life into the world of a puppet kids show. This had to be some kind of peculiar joke.
"You have got to be kidding me," she said incredulously.
"Please get in," Grace instructed firmly. Jac sighed.
"Pink is so not my colour," she said as she climbed reluctantly onto the back seat.
"I must apologise for the colour, I asked for silver but you know what it's like...you order one thing and get another," Grace was saying as she climbed in after her. Jac said nothing. Her response was simply the raise of an eyebrow. The door slammed shut suddenly. Grace clapped her hands together enthusiastically. "Driver!" The Rolls lurched into life with a low rumble and began to move away. The first thing Jac noticed was that it was now mysteriously daylight. Feeling slightly bewildered, Jac chose to ignore it; this is just a dream, she told herself.
"Where are we going?" Jac asked again.
"You will see," said Grace. The scenery flashing past the Rolls began to change, it seemed familiar to Jac but she couldn't quite place it; everything was a blur in her mind. Then it dawned on her, the trees, the hedges, the rush of ambulances across the soulless tarmac of the ground and...
"Hang on a moment...this is-"
"Holby City, yes. Where you have devoted the last seven years of your life," Grace interrupted simply.
"But this is different. It feels so different," Jac murmured uncertainly.
"The year is 2006. It is the 24th of October," Grace answered. Jac's face whitened. That date was terrifyingly familiar to her. "You know what I refer to, don't you?" Jac said nothing. The Rolls came to a sudden halt, its tyres screeching as though they were in pain. "Come on," Grace continued, "there is much you must see." She pushed open the door and clambered out into the murky sunshine. Jac followed awkwardly, her lips trembling.
Away from them they could make out a group of people stood by the entrance to the hospital as a body was wheeled out in front of them. Their mood was sombre and silent save for the uncontrollable tears of some.
"What's happening?" Jac asked as she stared at the collection of those grieving. There was something ugly about it all, something that Jac could not place. She felt cold and detached; it was as if she was part of the events yet not. In-between. Unnoticed.
"Take a closer look," Grace instructed. As they moved closer towards the hospital, Jac began to recognise some of the people fighting back their tears. Then she saw him. A person she never thought she would ever see again.
"It can't be!" Jac cried out but to her surprise no one acknowledged her. At the front, he stood. Lord Charles Byrne. He was crying, his left hand gripping the shaking right hand of his wife. Both Byrnes were trembling, their faces twisted by shock. A horrible thought crossed Jac's mind and without stopping to think about what she was doing, she started to run towards the ambulance where the unknown body was now being loaded into. Grace stood rooted to the spot, merely watching her. There was an expression of sorrow etched across her ancient features.
"And now you will see." Jac skidded on the damp grassy verge beside the ambulance. The doors were beginning to close but Jac managed to get a glimpse of the body, the handsome face exposed in the black body bag. Her worst fears were confirmed. It was Joseph. Jac sank to her knees, ringing her hands through her hair in despair. Memories long pushed to the back of her mind flooded back to her. She could see him, hear his voice, even remember the scent of his skin. Jac closed her eyes tightly.
"I love you," she whispered under her breath.
"I love you too," came the reply in her head. The memories and reminisces were flooding in now. Jac screwed up her eyes, she was trying her hardest to banish them as she had done before.
"So it begins."
"This is not real. This is not real. This isn't happening," Jac said over and over again as she leant forlornly over the Rolls. She stared over her shoulder, watching as Lord Byrne and Lady Byrne comforted each other in distress. But this was wrong, Jac thought desperately. Joseph didn't die. He was saved...
"I'm sorry." Grace took hold of Jac's hand and squeezed it gently. "Do you understand?"
"Understand what?" Jac snapped back at her. "What is this?"
"You remember this day?"
"Of course I do," Jac replied instantaneously. "This was the day I-" she stopped abruptly, covering her mouth in horror.
"This was the day you saved Joseph Byrne from an overdose," Grace finished for her solemnly.
"So why is he dead?" Jac shrieked!
"Because you were never born," Grace replied sympathetically.
"Stop saying that!" Jac said, tears streaming out of her eyes.
"You were never there to be a friend to him; you were never there to protect him. Simply put, when the pressure became too much for young Joseph, no one was there to help him. He died in agonising pain, wretched and forgotten. It was hours before they found him," Grace sighed as though she were carrying a huge weight upon her shoulders. Jac said nothing; she had no words to say. "And now it is time for us to move on." Jac shook her bedraggled hair out of her tear-strewn eyes but did not move. "Jac, we must go."
"I can't..."
"There's nothing you can do here. You don't exist." Jac looked over at the Byrnes once more; she saw their love for each other solidified by the loss of their son. Yet it didn't feel right. This was not meant to be.
"I have to fix this," Jac resolved.
TO BE CONTINUED
