GARDEN MEMORIES

 Genial stroll round the jungly garden, gone any definition to what had been paths, gone indeed many of the subtler paths themselves.

The view enhanced or hindred by these tall colourful plants come out of nowhere.

Proof of the power of habit and routine: as I come to certain parts along the paths or spots in the property, I often remember with complete clarity which curse or dark spell or oath I was trying to send out.

Very soon after the Theft (let's Capitalise out of respect), I realised from the copies of the photos of my jewelry used in my Will that most of the Chinese designs on the cufflinks were of signs - good health, wealth, happiness, spiritual harmony, physical safety, family power. So the obvious retaliation and self-medicatory thoughts and wishes should be visualising the opposite taking place.

Nothing. Not even a sodding stubbed toe-nail reported from either end, but it was a distraction from the shrieking oaths that went on inside my head as I stumbled around the stonking garden.

I can't remember precisely which bit of jewelry I'd been focusing on that day or which positive symbol I'd been beseeching the heavens to reverse and rain down hideous retribution, but I do recall quitting my farcical antics au jardin and heading up for a  lunchtime drink and meeting my mother and reeling back amazed at her normal appearance, rather than the flesh-peeling thief-thrashing retribution I'd been visualising for the previous three hours.

The same happened another time when one of the cuff-links prompted a marvelous and promising scenario of  picturesque Fast-n-Furious Vin Diesel-style motorway carnage. I gave my imagination free rein - I think my mother had said that her co-thief-cum-Fence was on the road.

I'd got so caught up in images of loose threads from cuff-link'd sleeves snagging at the crucial moment some juggernaut comes trundling round ... I felt an almost ghostly shock at the phone call that reported safe arrival.

SIGNAGE  ~ As I stumbled around with Sam at my heels, I came to the aggressive offensive signs pinned up by the neighbours Pali and it occurred to me that these paper messages were no more than milder Greek versions of what had been going on inside my own head during my 5 years 8 months' squandary of time in 'caregivery'. I think I'll tell my lawyer to just leave everything from now, that enough is enough.