166 Flow
Brain had a good rest after a good nights sleep after taking half a sleeping tablet. Spirits calling about a particular female member of the family (whom Heart still did not want to forsake) was far too painful. None of it could be proven anyway it was just Spirits own intuition.
The musing of Body about the past visit to Coimbra Police station and handing their phone in to record all the texts between herself and the builder for the court case evidence, had blown all Brains synapses and needed to be thought about with more clarity. How could this be done?
“Remember our talks with our best friend from the U.K? Body asked “she always said when important decision has to be made or deciphered to do a flow chart. See what flows from the next decisions that are available, and work out each decision and see where it ends up.”
“I have tried that” countered Brain “but it leads to no destinations at the moment there is no decision to be made. We don’t have all the information to make one.”
“Perhaps it’s not a linear flow” sighed Soul “try a circle instead?”
“I’m not going back to the circular walls of the Pumphouse” answered Body. “It was way too dark.”
“I agree” sighed Soul “but Brain could maybe do a flow chart and see where it leads. Instead of making it of one path in linear form, let’s consider all the paths of others too.”
“Hang on” Body answered “that would mean we end up writing a book!”
“Not necessarily, let us consider one aspect” sighed Soul.
“Facts. Facts are simpler” Brain agreed “and a diagram/flow chart would be easier, more visual than all these jumbled thoughts.”
“Ok” called Spirit “Go for it.”
So Brain set to work. At first the flow chart did not flow, but Brain persisted. Brain started at the top of the page and ending up running out of space on the page depending of the direction. So Brain started at the bottom of the page and met the same problem at the top of it.
“Start in the middle so the Spirograph can move where it needs to go, but make sure you have a sharp pencil” the Little Red Haired Girl suggested “otherwise the cogs will not turn at all.”
As Body watched the child say this, she realised how much the child had grown. She was changing not just in appearance but also in wisdom.
Brain followed the child’s suggestion and started in the middle of the page and worked outwards from the past to present day. The exact formation was only clear to Brain and would not have been readable or even legible to anyone else and it became an almost complete spiders web culminating in a very distinct break or gap. There were good guide lines within it and bad. There were distinct bad areas and flurry of activity usually involving a house move, career and a change of partner/husband. There were distinct financial and emotional periods of loss and Brain also made it show who Body had been involved with at the time with Family and Friends.
All had culminated to the break in the web, these most recent times where everything in all areas of Body’s life had broken at the same time which in itself was unusual but more so that everybody, every person had disappeared. It had been meant to break Body, it nearly did, and was ongoing even now except for her salvation through Big voice and her own self worth. This would have broken anyone in her position, all for legs on their table had gone yet she picked herself up and Brain now had a new found respect for Body’s strength. Thus far, the flow chart had been exhausting for Brain and was all related to the past so it was put away for consideration about their future plans at a later time, if Brain could reread it and make some sense of it again.
“You’re not using the same holes in the cogs to make the right patterns” the Little Red Haired Girl stated “and it would be clearer if you used different colours so you can see it better.”
“She has a point” called Spirit.
“Yes, I can see it” Brain answered “and I will attempt it again tomorrow.”
“Your sounding like me” Body laughed “putting things off till tomorrow.”
“I know, but at this time I am just exhausted by considering all
our movements from the past.”
“Can I see it?” the child asked. “The cobweb?”
“No” Brain was emphatic. “It’s a mess and I don’t want anyone to see it yet till I have a proper format.”
“Don’t be such a perfectionist” called Spirit “we are friends here, let us see.”
“No.” Brain was exhausted and shut down.
“Is Brain cross with us? the child asked.
“No. But I suspect Brain does not like the patterns it has seen from our past” Spirit called.
“Why?” was the obvious question the child put forward.
“Because our choices, chances and changes are not just according to other peoples behaviour but our own too. It takes a lot of courage to look at oneself truly.” Spirit called.
“Like being seen in the shop window?”
“Errr I guess so” cried Heart
“I know that one coz it gave me a sore head.”
“What do you mean child?” Heart cried.
“I was looking at my new dress I was wearing as we went past the shop window. I saw my reflection in it.”
“Oh and how did that give you a sore head.”
“Mummy said it served me right coz I should’ve been looking where I was going.”
“The sore head?”
“I walked into a lamp post and made my head really sore. Mummy had to take me home to have a lie down. But she said I was lucky, I could have ended up in hospital so I needed to stop crying and be grateful to be home.”
“We all need to be more grateful child whether our head is sore or not” sighed Soul.
© 2025 Jennifer Harris. Free And Alive 555
