God Whispers

I drifted in and out of sleep all day, still feeling sick and light-headed. In the afternoon the giggling of girls wafted in from the garden where they plucked snails from the hibiscus shrubs. The snails – intended as food for Japanese soldiers during the war – had reached plague proportions and provided one of the daily chores for the girls.                            The hill at the back of the school. Ocean in the distance. Peter called from the doorway while he was on duty organising the girls. “Feeling any better, Jeanette?” “A bit, thanks.” “It’s nearly five o’clock,” he continued. “Are you ready for Miss Marchment to come over?” So she had told him about dinner. She really was bringing FOOD. So kind of her but ... I still felt sick. How on earth would I get it down? “Okay Peter, I’ll get ready now.” I hauled myself out of bed and shivered under a freezing shower. Hot water would have been nice but we

                                                                                                                                  Photo of classrooms at Madina Girls High School, PNG 1973 God, help! Send someone! I prayed. I’d been healthy nearly all the time I taught in New Ireland. But that morning I woke to waves of burning heat, tiredness and nausea. The room seemed to reel around me. No way could I get up and teach that day. In fact, I felt so sick I didn’t know how to contact Miss Marchment (aka Mrs Barrington, the headmistress in my novel Lantern Light). I was too weak to walk and there were no phones in our houses. The high-pitched sound of girls giggling floated across from the oval where they were  assembling. Where I should be.  Soon their voices would soar in four-part harmony, singing the PNG national anthem. Life – exotic island life – was resuming for the day outside. And I lay there feeling miserable. I groped my way a few steps across t

Sunday night many years ago. Burleigh Heads. "Have you set your alarm?" my well-meaning mother asked. "You'll need a good sleep tonight. But you mustn't sleep in!" "It's fine," I replied, "I've set it for seven. I want to get as much sleep as possible." I pushed away the fears that plagued me as I faced a new teaching job. I was still very tired after a long illness. The next day I would start work – the first job I'd had for many long months. Though still tired and unwell, I wanted to work. So . . . I was having an early night and planned to get up as late as possible. A nice long sleep would definitely help.   I turned off my bed lamp, trying to ignore my feelings of apprehension. I slept deeply. Photo by Pam Bishop I woke early.  The air was electric with the Presence of God. Dim light from the first rays of sunshine lit my room. I looked at the silent alarm clock. A quarter to six, not seve