Nell
had no idea what was happening to her.. Things were becoming very
strange. Almost unreal..
She
thought she was hearing voices. Not exactly voices, whispers,
maybe.. just low enough to be indistinguishable to her ears, sort
of like a radio which wasn`t quite on the station, and was playing
sad music in the background.
It
was really starting to annoy her. She would catch herself straining
so hard to make out the whispers and hear what was being said,
that she would develop a blinding headache.
As
the whispers became more frequent, she was losing pace with her
everyday life. Nell could hardly concentrate on what she was doing.
To carry on a conversation with anyone was almost impossible.
Television was out of the question entirely and listening to the
radio was also impossible as the whispering became overpowering.
Nights
were the worst. The whispers continued on and on, every night.
Nell feared she must be losing her hearing.. or her mind. She
decided to see her doctor.
Dr.
Morgan listened very carefully to her story, and then checked
her ears. When he could find nothing wrong with them, he suggested
a mild tranquillizer. He was told that the voices were accompanied
by very low music and even though she could not hear them clearly,
they seemed to be very familiar. He then ssured her that he believed
the tranquilizers would help.
Nell
went dutifully, and hopefully to the drugstore to fill her prescription,
all the while trying to ignore the whispery low voices. She could
almost make out what they were saying..
Several
months passed, and it was clear the medicine wasn`t helping at
all. There was a pained look on her hollow-eyed face constantly.
Her clothes hung on her small frame as she had lost weight. Actually,
Nell was looking like a ghost of her former self.
Finally
the day came when an ambulance had to be called to her home. Poor
Nell was pronounced dead..
At
the funeral home, Nell`s family and friends stood around her casket,
talking in low whispery, respectful voices. They were all so shocked
that she had died, at such a young age, so suddenly, of such a
mystery illness. Their voices blended with the background music
as they comforted one another.
Nell
lay there, peaceful and still, in her satin-lined casket, looking
as pretty as she once had, thanks to the skillful mortician. She
could hear sad music, muted, and low whispery voices.
Nell
could almost make out what they were saying. She was sure she
had heard it all before...
