Strands Of Time Read online

he heard someone say to him, he turned quickly towards the voice but he regretted the sudden movement.

  Donnchadh walked down the street and joined the other men who were standing between house number 5 and 6, two men said good morning, the others merely nodded towards him, most looked the same as how he felt.

  The men of the island had met at the same spot, every morning, 6 days a week, since as far back as anyone could remember. This was the Parliament, this was where they decided what had to be done that day, but today there was nothing to do, it felt like the Sabbath but there would be no church to go to this morning, today the villagers would join each other on HMS Harebell, to sail off for a new promised land.

  Donnchadh turned round when he heard his name; he nodded towards John as he slowly approached, “today is the day.”

  One of the men said something and pointed out over the sea; the others turned and watch a ship come into view. One by one the men left the sanctuary of others and went back to their homes.

  “You ready?” asked John.

  Donnchadh nodded before he turned towards the church and its graveyard, “I need to say goodbye to my parents again, one last time,” he eventually added.

  “I better check and see if Grandfather is ready, you know how my Mother worries about him,” replied John, he turned towards a small group of children, “Marsail,” he shouted over towards his little sister, she turned away from the group she was with and ran towards her big brother. “I’ll see you at the pier Donnchadh.”

  “Don’t leave without me Seathan,” he replied in Gaelic.

  “You ready Marsail?” John asked his little sister as she reached him.

  She quickly glanced back at the small group of friend she had just left, “I think so,” she replied hesitantly.

  John put his arm on her shoulder, “don’t worry we will all be together when we get to our new homes.”

  Marsail glanced back at her friends and when she turned back there was a smile on her face, “I’m glad,” she then looked at her big brother, she bit her bottom lip before asking. “Are you scared?”

  John looked around before leaning forward to her, “a wee bit, but don’t tell anyone.”

  She shook her head, “I won’t tell anyone,” she looked around to make sure there was no one around before adding in a lower voice, “I’m scared too.”

  4

  It was 7.30 am and the pier was frantic with activity, locals gathered together in small huddles, whispering in hushed tones about their new lives, whilst tourists ran about trying not to miss the last opportunity to get letters posted from St Kilda.

  It was probably the busiest the small pier had ever been; never again would it be so frantic with locals. A few heads turned as they looked at their old homes one last time, the unlocked doors open for visitors who would never arrive, the open bible left behind for no one to read.

  A blast from the ships horn indicated that it was time to leave; the locals took their final steps on Hirta and boarded the small boats that would take them to HMS Harebell which was anchored in the bay.

  When the last St Kildian took his final step off the pier it ended hundreds of years of life on Scotland’s wild frontier.

  Once everyone was on board, the Harebell set sail, the men huddled in a group in the middle of the deck, whilst the women stood at the back of the ship and waved white handkerchiefs at their former home until it faded into the mist, and was all but a distant memory.

  Ceann-Uidhe

  1

  He glanced at his watch, she wasn’t late it was just; it was Anna, after all these years, Anna.

  He took a sip of his pint of Caley 80 and looked about the bar, or rather the outdoor beer garden he was sitting in enjoying the early evening sunshine. He smiled at the huge St Andrews flag that was proudly adorning a wall before quickly turning to look as the sound of laughter came from the entrance, he scanned at the faces but he didn’t see her. He picked up a beer mat and tapped it lightly on the table, keeping his hand busy so he didn’t look at his watch again.

  Anna. They had known each other since before they could walk; he had been told that his first word was, “Anna.” They had grown up living next door to each other and were inseparable. People often thought they were brother and sister as they were always together. On their first day of school they sat next to each other and did so for the rest of the year and the years that followed. If Anna had a new T-shirt, Robbie had to have the same one. When Robbie fell of his bike and had his leg in plaster, the only way to keep Anna happy was to put a bandage on her leg.

  “Robbie,” he looked up as he heard his name and smiled at her, she was no longer the little girl who he had grown up with and had broken his heart when her family moved away when they were 12 years old.

  “Anna,” he replied as he stood up, a huge smile on his face as he looked at her, they struggled in how to greet each other before they silently decided that they would hug each other, “can I get you a drink?” he asked as she sat down across from him.

  She looked at his drink and then picked it up and took a sip, she licked her lips as she tasted the malty sweetness, “one of those,” she replied as she placed his glass back on the table.

  Robbie came back from the bar and placed Anna’s pint in front of her, he shook his head slightly as he watched her pick up the glass and take a sip, “you hungry?” he asked as he handed over a menu.

  She took the menu and looked at what was on offer, she gazed up at him, “I am now,” she replied with a grin.

  “I can’t believe you are here, we are sitting across from each other after all these years, you’ve not changed,” said Robbie.

  Anna looked at him, her eyebrows letting him know how daft he was sounding, “Robbie, we were 12 years old last time we saw each other,” she lowered her voice, “that was 25 years ago.”

  “Yeah ok, daft thing to say, I will go and order the food,” he looked at her, waiting to see what she wanted to eat.

  She smiled at him, “it’s got to be the haggis, neaps and tatties, that’s sort of what brought us here.”

  Robbie came back from ordering the food, “so how long have you been back in Toronto?”

  She grimaced slightly, reaching for her drink as if to delay the answer. “Four months.”

  He looked at her, looked into her eyes, “and I take it you are not ready to tell me why?”

  The grimace turned into a smile. “Not yet. So what about you, what’s been happening the last 25 years?”

  “Well I left school,” he started to reply before she cut him off.

  “Apart from the obvious, smart arse,” she stuck her tongue out at him.

  He took a sip of his beer before continuing. “Had a few dead end jobs, then back in 05, I opened a book shop over in Cabbagetown, been there ever since.”

  She looked at him. “Married?” she asked almost hesitantly.

  “Was,” he replied, he paused for a few moments before continuing. “The divorce was finalised last year.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged his shoulders and turned towards the sound coming from a table to his left, Anna and most of the others in the bar had now turned their attention towards the table as well and were watching in silence as a woman stood up and practically started to dance on the spot, then she stared saying yes in a helium balloon sucking way, all the while the man opposite her grinned and watched her with a ring still clasped between his thumb and forefinger. All around them people started to applaud them. Robbie turned towards Anna, “they may be the lucky ones,” he said nodding towards the happy couple.

  “I’ll drink to that,” replied Anna raising her glass.

  “What about you?” he asked. “That you want to tell me anyway,” he casually added.

  She briefly looked down at her left hand, “graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Ph.D. in Biology.”

  “You always were a brainy one,” interrupted Robbie.

  She smiled at him, “after I grad
uated I moved to Northern Alberta and worked for Wildlife Federation, which was until about 4 months ago.”

  “Married?”

  Anna’s eyes widen, “long story,” she looked relieved when a waitress came over with their food, “perfect timing,” Anna said to her as she placed the plates down.

  “Looks good,” said Robbie taking the hint and leading the conversation away for the question of marriage.

  They were silent for a few minutes as they enjoyed the food. “I can’t believe you still remembered our code.”

  Robbie shook his head, “I couldn’t believe it when I saw the note, I mean, Anna, after all these years, it took me back to my childhood,” he took another forkful of Haggis, “I can’t believe you remembered where the grave was never mind the date.”

  Anna put down her cutlery and looked at Robbie with a serious look on her face, “the happiest time in my life was living next door to you and both of us listening to your great-grandfathers stories about his childhood. Whenever life gets me down I remember those times, I can escape. His stories were so vivid, so alive.” She smiled at a memory. “He was a great man. Plus, we moved the day after his funeral, so it’s easy to remember the date; it’s the date my life started to turn to shit.” She held up her hand to stop Robbie asking the most obvious question. “Not tonight.”

  Robbie nodded understandingly and had to stifle a grin because she indicated there could be a next time. “So where are you working now? I don’t suppose there is much call wildlife jobs in downtown Toronto.”

  She