Stepping In The Salad (8)

STEPPING IN THE SALAD (8)

'As he hung on the gorse I, too, felt some remorse. After all, it was he who had saved me. 

'So what was I doing considering death? It was he who had given me life when bereft. It was he who had shown me where happiness lay. (And, it was after all, such a beautiful day . . . )

'I said, "why not let go of that tree?".'

'Did he?' asked the Priestess.

'Yes.

'And, then as we sat on the cliff and ate lunch I put to him what, in effect, was a hunch. I said, "all would be well if we just kept on walking; just doing our thing" (which is moving and talking) . . .

"Consider the facts and, then, let's make a pact. There's no need for this Deep Misery. The joy we have found is both hallowed and sound; let's keep going, just you and just me".'

'As we did,' mused the old hag.

'Somewhat different, I think,' I replied.

Mapping The Territory (8)

MAPPING THE TERRITORY (8)

'Don't look sore, my dear, there is nothing to fear.'

It appeared Mother Courage was back; sucking hard on a tube from her sack.

'Really, nothing's the matter. . . '

(As I coveted her catheter; a rather nice blue plastic Camelbak bladder.)

'You see,' she piped up:

'The sun has gone down and the moon has come up. The evening star's moved into place. Orion's upstanding, the Great Bear's reclining; such a comfort to stare into space.

'So what if one planet's out of place?'

I said:

'You're deluded,' then concluded (in a bid to be clear) 'you cannot ignore facts just to assuage your fears. You cannot turn your cheek to ensure a good view. Bad luck will endure, never mind what you do.'

Mapping The Territory (7)

MAPPING THE TERRITORY (7)

The sky turned red, and the moon came up. (The Priestess imbibed a preprandial sup.)

'My child, do you see (I'm convinced it's not me) that one sun's gone but one still remains? You know, I've been wracking my brains. What on earth could it mean? (You accept what we've seen?)

I was tired of her endless refrain.

So, I said:

'Well, it's clear to me, I'm surprised you can't see that the end of the world is now nigh. Take stock of your life; say goodbye.'

The Priestess looked up, then drank deep from her cup; she'd procured a good whisky, I saw.

'Are you kidding, my child? You will drive me quite wild if you say that the world is no more.'

I was shocked, and tried to look sore.