Watcha looking at? emily turned her head and from her upside down perspective saw ray emerging through the tress at the top of the bank. She was laid spread eagled on her back staring up into the billious clouds above and into the deep azure blue. 'oh nothing much' she called to him but didnt or rather couldnt move a muscle, so lost in her thouhts it was as if the greatest sleep had encompassed her.
rays face eventually appeared directly above her own sillouted against the deep bue. Emily blinked and rolled onto her side. 'hiya what you been upto then?' she asked him back. Ray slumped down beside her with one leg outsretched, the other tucked up underneath him and started pulling clumps of yellowed wispy grass from the dusty soil. 'oh just hellpin dad with the cars again, you know fetchin stuff and - oh i helped do an oil change yesterday', ray enthused but emily didnt think that sounded particularly exciting.
'do you think anyone else knows about our tunnel' she asked suddenly looking ray straight in the eyes. ray stared back and was momentarily startled by the intensity of emilies blue stare and golden hair lit like a halo around her pale face. it made her - well angel-like. 'eh nope - well maybe - heck i dunno', ray finished somewhat grumpily he then promptly got up and strode over to the secret entrance behind the curtain of ivy.
'whats up with you mr angry? emily shouted after him and stuck out her tongue a bit but then wished she hadnt and immediately felt bad as she really liked ray, even if he could be moody. So far the summer was proving to be a long hot one and with beccy away, emily was grateful she had found ray and his hidden tunnel. Emily hadnt quite plucked up the courage to take him up on his offer to walk the entire length of it all the way back uphill to the start of crystal palace station. It was exciting, tempting and rigidly scary, all at the same time. Ray popped his head out through the curtain, 'are you comin in or what?\ and promptly disappeared from sight.
Emily lay back down and stretched in her best ballet way, pointing her toes and raising her arms above her head elbows locked, she could feel every part of her growing and elongating. She let out a sigh and then sat startright up to follow ray into the tunnel. All the time ray had been watching her, without her knowing, he was starting to find her interesting. As emily approached the dark tunnel he quickly turned and flung himself onto the pile of old boxes and mattresses away from the entrance and tried to pretend he was occupied with digging in the dirt with a twig.

'tell me more then ray' , emily sat on a box with her back to the tunnels darkest side. She liked to keep one eye on the silvery stripes that filtered through the curtain, just to be sure she was safe. although with ray there she knew shed be okay but even so there was something omnious about the silent darkness around her. 'Tell me more about spirit walking?' Ray sat up looking more interested in her now and stared intently towards the dark archway. 'well were did i get to last time', he muttered, \oh yeah we talked about the relaxation didnt we and how theres a silken thread that joins us and oh did i tell you about the travellin in moments just fleeting seconds like it happened all at once and yet all at a different time?' 'yes yes' emily dug her heel into the floor imaptiently digging a little mound of earth with it, but i want some more details' 'it doesnt all make sense, i mean if lucy sleep walks while shes asleep, i mean when shes still lying down, oh you know what i mean' she implored ray, ' well she must surely remember that shes been off places seeing things musnt she?' Emily coudnt quite grasp this idea of visiting places while you were asleep.

Last time she had visited ray at the tunnel, he had confided in her about his dads ideas about spirit walking. it was fascinating as it seemed similar to her grandads epic story about the land of lost thoughts and so had gripped her very being with an overwhelming curiosity. It was all she could think about recently. Ray had told her that only a few people were able to do it and yet everyone had the ability to spiritwalk. 'Dad says when we're asleep we kind off get out of our body, in a spirit form and we are joined by a special silver thread that keeps you attached to your life form. Dad says you can wander or float anywhere you like and see anything but as your life body starts to wake you are pulled back towards it' Emily contemplated this for a while, 'what if youre not ready to go back?' she mused with a frown across her brow and was thoughtfully twisting her hair around her fingers. ray watched her for a bit fascinated by the twiddling hair. 'dunno hes not told me that bit, i guess hes always wanted to get back - i mean if you dont - doesnt that mean you might die or something' he looked excited now, and suddenly sat up, 'maybe that's what people mean when they say they go towards a great light in a tunnel and then they get pulled back, oh you know these people on the telly whove had near death experiences?' Ray was funny when he got excited emily thought, it was as if a light had switched on inside his head and was bursting to escape, he twitched his whole body, jumping his seat up and down on his mattress flaying his arms around. Emily thought he looked like a little boy at these times and she liked him all the more for it.
Apparantly Rays dad had discovoured his ability after hed had an operation on his knee. rays dad had spent many an hour just lying in bed relaxing and had let his mind wander, He had found that although seemingly awake he could imagine being a place and it was as if he was really there. The more he had done this the more he had realised that he was listening in on converstaions and seeing things happening at any time or place in the world. Of course at first he had put it down to the strong painkillers for his operation but his heart always tugged in the direction of the fanciful. Rays dad told ray about it one afternoon when they were on their way home from the garage.
'fancy stopping for fishnchips ray?' his dad asked him,'year sure dad' they pulled up the old blue transit outside their local chippy and joined the friday night queue. They stood there smelling the pungent sickly aroma of the lemon tree plant which grew in the shop window, mingled with the grease and fish smells as they slowly inched their way forward in a little snake to get to the counter. One by the one the other people were served and they too finally had their cod and chips. Back in the van ray shoved his chips hungrily down and took a swig of the diet coke hed bought. 'you know ray theres some things you cant explain in life and theres some what you can' Rays dad turned to ray and nodded at him. Ray kept eating but waited for the eyeopener his dad was about to divulge. His dad wiped at his oil stained hand where a small bit of ketchup had landed as he opened the paper wrapped around the chips, ' theres the things we think we know and theres them what we dont - but should' Ray had no idea where this was leading. his dad often would go off on a tangent, ray guesed maybe it was meant to be mantoman talk like father and son bonding or something. his dad continued, 'you see ray when a man is injured or has a great tradegy or such like in his life, he has to step back and take stock of his life'. Rays dad shoved another ketchupy chip into his mouth and chewed thougtfully for a moment or two. 'I found when i was laid up that i believe theres more to life than this one we're in right now'. 'oh really dad?', ray wasnt sure wether to be interested or not as he already new his dad had some unusual ideas on these matters, so he contimued to pull the batter off his fish.
Now rays dad was a fairly religous man, that is to say although not greatly educated (he left school at 14 years old to help bring an income into his mothers house) he was a pensive man and was very well read. He attended his local church every weekend and studied his bible on sundays hoping something would grab him from those pages that may explain to him why his beloved wife sarah had been taken from him. He had been brought up a good catholic boy and believed there must be a good god-given reason for that tragedy. Ray's father had brought ray up single handedly trying to teach the boy everything he knew, so he had decided to confide in ray his philosophy about spirit walking. 'you know that woman i took you to see when yous a nipper ray? the one who did the stage thing where she could see them whats passed over and pass on messages to the livin for em? Ray nodded, he had been about nine when his dad had decided that the advert for faith healers and an audience with a medium up at the library would be good for rays dodgy hearing and maybe a spot educational too for them both.
And so they had trudged off in the rain that friday night and queued with all the other 'believers' hoping the faith healers would cure rays hearing trouble. Ray remembered a couple of very old wizened blokes put their warmed hands on his head and ears and start muttering prayers for what seemed an eternity while he sat ridgid trying to not let his mind wander to the footie that was going to be on the telly the next day. Afterwards theyd had some tea and biscuits made by a gaggle of very nice old ladies who had alarge urn setup on a tressel table in the corner of the room. Then Rays dad had taken him to sit three rows from the stage to await the medium.

She had walked out on stage to a hushed audience and immediately started talking. 'Yes whats that?' she turned to her side as if someone was beside her, 'yes yes ill tell them" 'anne is there an anne here?' she looked towards rays dad. Ray felt nervous and the colour drained from his face but a woman behind him put up her hand. 'ah do you have a david you miss dear?' the medium didnt leave her spot but turned her head again as if listening to someone else. "i do my brother' the woman answered sorrowfully. 'dont be sad dear hes right here standing next to me', the medium gestured to her left and ray felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.'he wants you to know dear, hes fine and he wants you to be happy now' with that the medium moved to the other side of the stage and called to someone else. Ray was now fairly rigid with fear and desperately hoped his dad would get bored and so take them home. but it wasnt to be it would get worse yet.
'George?' she suddenly called, 'George', she called louder and more impatiently. 'George youre here why dont you speak?.' the audience was hushed and ray turned his eyes slowly as he realised his dad was raising his hand timidly. 'er yees thats me, im george'. he half stood up with hand still raised. The medium came across the stage towards them,' now dont be afraid dear i sense you have a great sorrow, let me see - someone very dear to you - to you both' she gestured towards ray' the medium looked out at the crowd with wide eyes and starting swaying a little from side to side her old ladies patterned nylon skirt swishing to and fro. Ray studied her slightly wrinkled tights and strange slipper-like shoes and wondered why all old ladies dressed like this, he watched as she turned from side to side in apparent conversations with several people. She called out a few more names and got reponses from the audience.'i have several people hear who want to send you a message' she called out to the awestruck throng. 'George, sarah wants to tell you shes happy and she watches after you both', 'yes sarah?' she turned again and appeared to listen, 'sarah says george that you can spirit walk to her george, she needs to see you again', ray gulped the fear back down and looked up at his sweating dad whose eyes were bulging with tears that he would not shed in pubic. ' 'can she see me now? he whispered back at the medium, ' why yes george shes standing right here beside me' ' but wait theres someone else here, dont be shy come forward, wait dont go - you can talk to me'. The old lady turned towards the back of the stage but whomever she had heard or seen was no longer there for she returned to stage centre. ' well ladies and gentlemen im afarid my connection has gone for this evening, there will be a tin passed round for anyone wishing to make a charitable contribution, thank you all for coming and may god be with you' with that she smiled benevolently on the stunned crowd and hobbled off the stage.

'yes i remember her dad', ray put down his supper, suddenly losing his appetite for the soggy vinegared fish. Rays dad then proceeded to explain how that message from rays mum had given him the will to carry on and he had decided to do alittle digging around to find out more about the so-called spirit walking the old lady had mentioned. hed got books out of the library and had become quite conversant in most things of a psychic nature. He told ray about his spirit walking while he was laid up. 'you seen her then da?' ray asked soberly not daring to look his father in the eye. A heavy silence fell between them then came the hushed answer. 'no son, no not yet'.