A TANGLE OF LIGHT

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     So saying, she switched the engine on and moved slowly, but her grandmother sagged to one side, barely breathing. Damien came racing up. He grabbed his wife before she slid to the harsh gravel. "Stop, Adrienne!" he bellowed. "Have you no compassion? Gran is dying, you fool. Call for help NOW!"     Adrienne stopped the vehicle, grabbing her phone, her face white. "Oh my God!" The broken family reached the hospital. Please, no more ambulances, thought Adrienne through her pain.     Then hours passed slowly. There was no news of Ava, her lovely nana.     Damien sat near Belle, his daughter. He placed his arm around her shoulder. Elsie was sitting close to Adrienne. The room was small with various health posters adorning the walls and some old magazines stacked neatly on a small table.     A child's play area with an assorted battered box of toys and colouring books and bright crayons gave a warm t...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT   By Tessa Harvey     "I will send divorce papers," Jack continued. "I am leaving." He repeated the words loudly. He threw a card across to Ava. "My lawyer's contacts. Goodbye. Sorry I ever met you and you certainly took me for a ride. I should have left years ago!" Turning away from four stunned adults, Jack walked to the far door and left. They heard his footsteps receding. It was clear he had packed his bags already. They heard them rolling over the wooden hall floor.     But Ava had heard another sound. A cry of anguish. She leapt up and ran to the door, flying once as she had once raced down a hockey field, a star player as a young adult.     She ran as never before. That desperate cry had rent her heart, flying after her broken granddaughter. Racing into the driveway, passing James, angrily reversing his car, Ava was just in time to see Adrienne grab the car keys from her bag. "No," she cried, "Adee, wait!"  ...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT   By Tessa Harvey     Jack   was not finished. "Your family has ruined my life, and Adrienne should have left you in the gutter where you belonged!" He was glaring at Elsie now, who, to her credit, held his gaze unflinchingly. She sensed there was more to come     "When we married, Annabelle seemed a perfect wife, a hostess fit to grace my business dinners, charming, but you did not tell me she was pregnant with another man's bastard." "So was it your child?" He glared at Damien. "I know what you church men get up to, all high and mighty, but living more sordid lives than the rest of us. Well - I am leaving. "You made sure this house could not become part of my empire. That's not how it should be. In my ancestors' time, all a wife had was her husband's. As it should be. She's worth nothing now to me.

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     Damien knocked quietly on the large imposing front door. Jack himself opened the door, looking tired and ill-kempt. He ushered them quietly inside, indicated a three-seater couch and sank wearily down near Belle. Ava was surprised they were together. Annabelle's eyes were swollen and red. The normally immaculate lounge looked dusty and untidy with books and magazines piled on teetering surfaces. Brown rings stained the beautiful polished wood of the coffee table. Ava longed to tidy and erase the coffee stains with a cloth and polish. She longed more to ease the hearts of her child and spouse.     Jack had been watching her, a sardonic glint in her eye. She flushed slightly, aware he had observed her reaction, knowing her thoughts.  The stale air seemed frowsty, the blinds drawn.     "Well the A's have it this time!" Jack remarked, bitingly. "You can see the mess Annabelle is in. You, Ava are not much better b...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     Then rising high in the black foam-slashed waves, she saw the shore deep gashed with jagged rocks. There were people running around in scattered directions flashing torches, their beams almost swallowed in darkness. The people were all calling "this way, this way" but none were pointing to the real path to reach safety. It was a confusion of tangled light.     Then a still small voice whispered loud in the crashing storm: "Throw down your anchor." At once she saw a heavy steel anchor labelled HOPE.     Struggling, Elsie cast it overboard. The chain clattered, feeding out and then held. The frail craft slewed around.     At once the sea around her stilled. She was in a pool of calm peace. Quickly she called out as she became aware of other boats floundering nearby.     "You need Hope. Let down your anchor." But few heeded, desperately trying to reach the divergent beckoning shore lights.   ...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     The sea was turbulent, awful. She was in a small boat being tossed up and over mountainous hissing waves, then descending down, down with a sick feeling in her stomach.     Each time she fell down those towering steep waves, Elsie felt it would be her last. The fear of her partner, his mental and physical abuse faded in the terror of this storm.     Ascending up yet another wave, lightning flickered so brightly it kept blinding the older woman, searing her sight, the roar of thunder like scores of trees cracking and falling. The sea seemed alive, shaking her as though it were a monstrous devouring predator. Clinging tightly to the small motorboat, she tried to start the engine. It refused even to sputter. Fear gripped her. She was so cold. It was numbing her body and mind. She cried soundlessly in the dream: "I don't want to drown."

A TANGLE OF LIGHT   By Tessa Harvey     Elsie went to bed later one night. Her day had been grey and miserable. Everything seemed to go wrong.     The checkout lady at the grocery store virtually accused her of shoplifting as Elsie had no receipt for a previous purchase. Happily the store was nearby and a shop assistant came with her to verify the purchase. But the incident depleted her new found faith and dignity. At home the walls seemed to be closing in on her. Outside one of the neighbours kept watching her comings and goings. Tasks and demands seemed to pile up. News of the TV was always bleak.     Preparing for bed, she recalled some of God's promises, speaking them aloud. Then she read her Bible and resolved to be grateful for a roof over her head. Elsie realised she could be homeless, sleeping in a car, struggling to find a place just to live, or even have enough to eat.      Then she fell asleep and dreamed.

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     Ava and Elsie had become the best of friends. From tentative beginnings Ava had blossomed over the last month, having another woman to talk to. All grievances, real or imagined gave way before increasing concern for her granddaughter and her parents. A small flat had been found nearby for Elsie. It was warm and sun-lit. On cloudy days, the two women had decorated the bedsit with local bargains from op-shops and second-hand shops from cushions to throws and some lovely paintings and ornaments.     On Thursday evenings Damien and the two ladies met alternately at their respective homes for prayer meetings. Damien and Ava had become so much closer to each other and to the Lord Jesus Christ. Elsie had once gone to Sunday School and had loved it. As she grew, a harsh life had scattered God's beautiful seeds to the winds of bitterness, pain and loss. But God's Word never returned void. With love and a new beginning, joy, love and...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT By Tessa Harvey     Ella and a group of Adrienne's friends were chatting in the student cafeteria. Concern shifted from tutorials and overdue assignments to Adrienne's unexplained absence the last few days from college. There were a wide variety of courses offered. Adrienne and Ella were interested in Health Care work, but knew it was going to be arguably a much greater challenge in these days of the COVID pandemic than formerly.     A tall confident young man approached their table. The guys in the group stiffened, wary. Unconsciously, the girls sat up straighter and stared at him.      Jonathon was older than most students and read their reactions easily, carefully concealing his amusement and disdain.     With affected concern he inquired about Adrienne. Ella was suspicious however. Adrienne had confided in her how pushy Jono was being, not taking no for an anwser. She shrugged and talked about something else. Jonathon st...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     Elsie looked around at the neat, welcoming lounge room. The decor was simple, but welcoming. Cream walls and powder pink ruffled drapes adorned the windows. Despite the encroaching rain, light streamed in and shone on a beautiful floral antique sofa. There were deep blue lounge armchairs and matching three-seater settee. They looked well used, but comfortable.     Despite the lady's outburst, Elsie felt at peace. She had a little money squirrelled away in a secure deposit account under her mother's maiden name. She felt suddenly bruised, old and tired and, not waiting to be asked, sank down in the armchair nearest the window, closing her eyes.     Just a rest, she thought. I don't need to stay. Just a rest.... In seconds Elsie was deeply asleep, the tension and trauma of the last year, the physical and mental abuse overwhelmed this battered precious child of God. Her last coherent thought was why is there so much ...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey          With a small cry of pain, Adrienne raced forward and placed her arms around her grandmother, startling them all. "Nana," she cried, sounding shocked, "what has happened to you? You were great when I saw you on my birthday! Are you ill?" Her tears began to fall. The stress of her parents' strange discordant marriage, the fright she had had in the storm and Jono's increasing dominant presence overwhelmed the young student.     Ava straightened up. The change was remarkable. The absent expression, the hostility were gone. She felt needed again and responded instinctively.     Damien noticed grey clouds approaching, the wind increasing. "We need to get inside," he stated, smiling at the three women. "Come on, Mrs. Hopper, I could use your help and so could my wife, I think!" Ava responded with a nod. "May I lock your car, sweetheart?" Adrienne passed him the keys gratefully. They hurried i...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     Ava's face lit up suddenly as a small green "P" plater car drove on behind Damien's 4WD. "Adrienne's here!" she exclaimed, then her face suddenly fell and she instantly looked older. "A visitor! You didn't warn me, Damien?!" There was a query in her voice. Over and over in their later married life, Ava had become less and less social, insisting on being warned in advance unless the visit was planned. Her mother Annabelle, or Bella was always welcome and even more so her granddaughter, Adrienne.      The older woman turned and saw guilt on her husband's face. "I meant to tell you," he insisted. "When I saw the ambulance I completely forgot..." His voice tailed off.     "You don't care, do you?" Ava's composure completely deserted her. All the pent-up resentment of the last several years suddenly burst out like a devastating flood...     Adrienne and her companio...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey          Damien pulled into the semi-circular driveway of he and his wife's three bedroom home. It was a modest home with its own small grounds behind and to either side. His wife was standing with her hand resting on the mailbox, staring towards her neighbour's home. Following his gaze, Damien saw an ambulance parked.     The man who lived there was being carefully placed by masked attendants into the vehicle.     "It's Covid," his wife Ava remarked. "Do you think that's what is wrong with Bella?" Relieved, his wife seemed to be talking to him. He put his arm round her shoulders.  "Shall we go inside and pray for Ian and - and our family?" Ava looked at him. "Will it really help? Ian phoned me. We have been neighbours a long time. He said he wanted us to pray. The woman next door has had four vaccinations and was afraid to help him. I said I would wear a mask and come, but he wouldn't let me. ...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     At that moment Adrienne was talking to Damien in a warm recess of the hospital corridor, explaining about her new friend. "She's homeless, Gramps - you have a big house. Gran always looked after homeless people. Can't she help?" Suddenly she let out a loud wail.      Someone had gripped her painfully from behind, twisting her arm. Trying to turn awkwardly, Adrienne glimpsed angry eyes, glinting at her over his mask. For a moment Adrienne felt afraid and then annoyed. "Jono! Let go! What's with you?"  "You were meant to have coffee with me, A.D. I had to chase around trying to find you." "You don't own me, Jono. I didn't agree. Now get lost!" She turned and walked away, feeling angry eyes boring into her back. Her grandfather chuckled. "That's my girl. Do not ever get into an abusive relationship, sweetheart. He will apologise and promise the moon - until the next time something u...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT   By Tessa Harvey     Jack stood by his garden gate, waiting for the postman. The man came roaring down the street and the bike stuttered to a halt, engine noise staccato in the quiet morning. Jack took the mail handed to him with a cursory thanks. The postman roard off up the street, yellow top and trousers reflecting the rising sun.     As Jack scanned the letters and circulars and bills, leaflets urging one to vote, each candidate promising great things, deriding those of the other party, he turned to go inside.     Jack Hobson decided his wife and daughter needed to be more accountable. Adrienne was not taking her studies seriously enough, wandering the streets at night rushing off on foolish errands visiting down and outs.      As for that young man, Jonathon, he needed to be persuaded to find someone else. He was not ruining his daughter's chances. As for Annabelle, she could come and help him with his business ac...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT   By Tessa Harvey         The time flew by for Adrienne. Later she realised how much she had missed talking to her mother.     It had been different once when she was a child. The three of them had such fun together going to shining beaches,  climbing local rugged hills, getting deeply involved in local sport. She missed the voices of the children racing round the grassy games areas, floodlights bathing them all in light as darkness fell  and the sea glinted in the distance, reflecting the setting sun.     "What happened?" Elsie's voice broke into Adrienne's thoughts and she jumped a little, almost knocking over a half-filled water beaker.     "I...er," a cheerful rattle of trolley wheels, a knock and a friendly voice was offering them a choice of beverages, clinking the white cups and saucers, handing out biscuits and other delicious-looking snacks.     Both women drank their tea in compan...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT   By Tessa Harvey     Adrienne walked confidently through the labyrinth of hospital corridors. Nurses and care workers hurried along, doctors strode by, male and female, stethoscopes worn like a necklace, swinging. Visitors hovered around lifts, checking directions. Adrienne almost bumped into an older lady carrying a bunch of multi-coloured freesias. The lady smiled at her with bright eyes above her mask. How much a smile can mean, the young woman thought.     Suddenly she came to a small room. It was the number she had been given. Hesitantly, Adrienne rapped on the open door. There was no response so she walked inside, noticing the lowered bed and the recumbent form under the white sheet. Finding her voice, Adrienne ventured a quiet "hello."     The person on the bed turned, pulling herself more upright with a struggle. Resisting the urge to help someone she barely knew, Adrienne glanced at the face turned questioningly toward her. ...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     Annabelle lay awake staring into the darkness. Her room was comforting with warm pale pink cream walls, beautiful floral chintz curtains and a small matching sofa. Their presence, unseen, still comforted her, making the night hours more palatable. She even thought how fortunate she was to have a home. A few years ago she had been on a committee helping the destitute. But that was then....     The woman drifted into an uneasy sleep. The dream was unusually vivid with strong colours of sky and sea awash with lovely changing hues of blue and teal.     Then abruptly she found herself in a forest. Many of the trees were deciduous, a kaleidoscope of warm browns, red, orange, yellow leaves, some still tinged with green, drifting as they fell. She saw herself as a young girl, laughing, throwing up the leaves, twirling with them as they fell with their rich evocative scent. They crunched joyfully underfoot. But then a mist...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT  By Tessa Harvey     Anabelle stared at the dark outside. With the inside lights off, she could just make out her gorgeous red dahlias being tossed and trampled by the heavy rain and increasing wind. She couldn't remember such a storm. Part of her mind struggled with the problem of the garden, but was soon swamped by the concerns for her husband and daughter out in such a tempest.      Perhaps Jack would talk a little with her tonight. Perhaps her daughter would have time....Headlights flashed through the slash of rain and she went to greet them at the side kitchen door, grateful for the drive-in garage with the internal entry to the house.     As soon as the awkward meal was over, Adrienne scuttled to her room and texted her friends. Responses were varied, ranging from "Seriously? Is this for real?" from Ella, then "So what?" from Jono, her current boyfriend. Adrienne was a little surprised. She had thought he would be more symp...

 A TANGLE OF LIGHT By Tessa Harvey         The road was awash with a seething mass of foam-flecked water. The ambulance lights stabbed through the darkness tinging the turgid flow with blue, red and gold.  Two paramedics slid out, fighting to keep their balance in the strong swirling torrent. With commendable efficiency, despite the appalling conditions, they checked the elderly lady, ascertained her condition and agreed she could be safely moved.     There wasn't much choice. To linger was impossible. They slid the stretcher bearing the unresponsive woman into the ambulance. The designated driver scrambled into the driver's seat, already drenched, shoes soaked. His partner, a woman, pulled Adrienne into the ambulance. She was in no condition to protest. Shocked and pale, trembling violently, she half-fell into a seat. The doors were hastily closed.     Easing some of the sodden clothes from her patient, the older health worker made the ...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT By Tessa Harvey     Adrienne felt numb with shock. Huddled in the meagre shelter of a very dark doorway, her heart raced. Oh, and she thought, not another stupid panic attack. She reached for her phone, the lurid pink cover barely registering in the almost unbroken blanket of night.     It was a rough area. She was a fool to have taken this shortcut! Rain flung its slicing into her small area. Huddling even further back against a derelict shop doorway she phoned home. The male voice answering was as cold as Adrienne felt. "Adrienne! About time. What the hell are you doing out? Where are you?" The tone was demanding. "Dad, there's been an accident. A woman fell down. She's not moving. She needs help." Her voice sounded shaky and childish even to her own ears. "I don't know what to do."     The answering voice sounded a little less angry. "Well, call an ambulance. You can do that, can't you?" The sarcasm helped her...

A TANGLE OF LIGHT By Tessa Harvey     Elsie Hopper scurried homewards along the grey, shabby street. Startled by the early increasing darkness she glanced skywards and saw the coming storm. She paused, breathing heavily, leaning against a dirty brick wall, half-broken and crumbling. This is how I feel, Elsie thought, suddenly clutching close her ragged coat. The clouds darkened ominously and the first cold drops of rain tangled in her hair.     Not able to judge the time by the dying sun, she felt fear tremble inside, clogging her chest. It felt as though a hand was pushing her, driving her against the sharp brick edges. More afraid of the violent storm gathering at home than of the one breaking all around her in the now complete darkness.     Elsie struggled on, pulling herself along the crumbling masonry. An old unseen grating caught the heel of her worn-out shoes. Above the wind's howl, she heard the crack of her broken shoe.     Terror overwhe...