What You Wish For by Mark Edwards Read Free Book Online

trustworthy. She would make a good journalist , I thought.
    Sally drained the glass of Coke in one go. I thought she was going to throw it back up. She took a few deep breaths and swallowed .
    ‘I’ve been trying to get pregnant for ages. My boyfriend John and I – we really want kids, you know? I’ve always wanted kids. I had a miscarriage a couple of years ago and since then we’ve been trying . . . We weren’t having any luck and everyone said we were trying too hard, that we should relax and let it happen. I became convinced I was infertile. I was so unhappy. But then, this Easter, I fell pregnant. At last.’ A smile flitted across her face then slipped away. ‘I was so happy, you know? This was what I’d always wanted, and the doctor said that as long as I was careful I’d be all right.’
    She put her empty glass down.
    ‘Go on,’ Marie said gently.
    Tears slid down Sally’s cheeks, thin trails that made me look away, self-conscious. This woman was a stranger, opening wounds and her heart to us. It didn’t feel right.
    She went on quickly, before she lost her nerve. ‘Then it happened. I was in bed. John was asleep. We’d had a bit of an argument. John wanted to make love. I said no because I didn’t want to risk harming the baby.
    ‘I fell asleep and then about an hour later I woke up. It was just after midnight. I closed my eyes to try to get back to sleep and then I had this weird urge to open them again. But along with the urge there was, like, something telling me not to open them. It sounds really weird, I know. Anyway, the urge to open my eyes was stronger, and when I did I saw small grey figures standing at the end of the bed.’
    Andrew leaned forward.
    ‘I didn’t feel scared. I felt . . . calm, like I was detached from myself. I couldn’t really make the figures out properly because it was dark. I wanted to see them better, so I pushed the quilt down and as I did this a beam of light came through the window. It was really bright, white but with a blue edge, and suddenly I felt scared. I nudged John, then shook him, but he wouldn’t wake up. I looked at the figures and said something like, “What do you want?” but they didn’t answer.’
    She wiped the tears from her cheeks with the palm of her hand. ‘Then I felt myself lifting up off of the bed, floating. I screamed John’s name but he still wouldn’t wake up. And then I started floating towards the window. I couldn’t see the figures any more. I had my hands on my belly, like I was instinctively trying to protect my baby . . .’
    Her words tumbled out faster and faster. ‘I actually passed through the window – through the glass. It felt horrible. I can’t describe it. And then I kind of blanked out and when I woke up I was lying on a table in a brightly lit room. It was a metal table, cold on my back. I’d been wearing a nightie in bed but now I was naked. I tried to sit up but I couldn’t. I thought I’d been paralysed. I tried to wiggle my toes and, thank God, I could. I just couldn’t get up. I tried to look around. There was a grey metal door in front of me and a load of, like, controls on the ceiling. You know, switches and stuff. Flashing lights.’
    ‘What happened?’ Andrew said. His glasses had practically steamed up with excitement. I felt angry. I wanted to leave the room, but something compelled me to stay and listen.
    ‘The door slid open,’ Sally said, ‘and these little creatures came in. They were the ones who had been standing at the bottom of my bed. They had huge heads and little dwarfish bodies and great big black eyes. They were wearing what I suppose were uniforms. They scuttled around me and I tried to speak but my throat was so dry nothing would come out. They looked at me with their big eyes . . .’ She started to cry again, covering her face with her hands. Marie put her arm around her and stroked her hair. She offered Sally a tissue.
    ‘Thanks.’ She blew her nose and