Phoenix by Raine Anthony Read Free Book Online Page B

of
potatoes.
    “Oh my. This is a turn up for the books,” she says, eyes wide in
astonishment.
    I purposely don’t tell her about him coming to my house for dinner
earlier in the week. I think she might have a heart attack with that explosive
piece of information.
    All of a sudden, Margaret’s expression turns more serious. “Has he mentioned
anything of his history to you, Eve?” she asks.
    “Um, no,” I answer. “He did say that he’s lived here for about ten years.
Nothing much else. Why do you ask?”
    “Well,” she begins, looking to Thomas whose face seems to communicate
that he doesn’t think his wife should be gossiping about people. Nonetheless,
she continues, “I’ve been told a bit about him. But you must promise not to
divulge this information to anyone. It is quite a sad story, the poor man. It
wouldn’t be fair to have the whole town talking about him. That’s why I’ve
never told anyone other than my Thomas here.”
    I’m intrigued and want to know what she has to tell. “I promise I won’t breathe
a word,” I say.
    “Oh, I know you’re not the kind of girl to go spreading gossip,” she says
with a trusting smile. “Well, this is what I know. A few years back a niece of
mine was admitted to the psychiatric ward at the hospital in the next town over.
Went a bit off the rails after miscarrying her baby. Myself and Thomas used to
visit every other week or so, and one day I got talking to a nurse there.
    “Well, she says to me, “ You live over in Grahamstown, don’t you ?” “ Yes,
lived there all my life ,” I said to her. “ Thomas and I have a nice cottage
down Hammond lane. We like it there. Very peaceful.”
    “When I mentioned where we lived I saw her eyes light up in recognition
for a moment. And then she asked, “ Hammond lane, you say? You wouldn’t
happen to have a neighbour by the name of Phoenix Smith, would you?” “Why yes ,”
I said. “ Phoenix lives only down the road from us. A quiet man, doesn’t
socialise much. ” She didn’t venture further, so I asked, “ How do you
know him?” She answers, “ Well, I can’t really say. Patient
confidentiality and all that .”
    “Do you mean he used to be a patient here?” I asked. She didn’t
respond, but I could tell she really wanted to. Some women just can’t keep it
to themselves when they know secrets about a person.”
    “Yes, you should know all about that,” interrupts Thomas sarcastically.
    “Oh, be quiet,” Margaret scolds him. I try to hold in my laughter.
    “Anyway, as I was saying, the nurse couldn’t keep it to herself and
eventually I managed to get her to spill the beans.”
    “What did she say?” I ask.
    “Apparently, just over ten years ago Phoenix was found lying unconscious in
the forests just south of town. He was sporting a bullet wound to the shoulder.
I presume he must have only been in his early twenties at the time. He also had
a very bad concussion to the head. Nobody knows what happened to him before he
was found, but it’s speculated that for some reason he was kidnapped,
assaulted, and then left for dead in that forest. After his injuries were
treated he was unresponsive mentally, so it was decided he would be transferred
to the psychiatric ward.
    “The nurse said it was like he was speaking in tongues. Nobody at the hospital
could understand him. It seems he suffered memory loss from whatever kind of
attack he endured. He was extremely aggressive, even beat up one of the
orderlies, and they had to keep him in a padded cell for a good few days before
he calmed down.”
    I don’t exactly know how to take the information Margaret is telling me.
A huge sorrow swells in my chest for Phoenix.
    “Did he ever remember what happened to him?” I ask.
    “Apparently not. When he finally began to speak the only thing he could
remember was that his name was Phoenix. I assume he took on the surname “Smith”
just so as to have one. He could remember nothing else. He had no