Letting out the Worms: Guilty or not? If not then the alternative is terrifying (Kitty Thomas Book 1 Sue Nicholls (best short books to read TXT) 📖

to the station, where she just missed the train she had planned to catch, then stood on the platform for half an hour because the next two were cancelled. Of course, she was late for the musical, and described watching the remainder of the first half, seated on a carpeted step. Lucas, always committed to deadlines, would have been grumpy after such an experience, but Megan seemed relaxed.

‘What might have happened if I’d been on time? I could have been run over or robbed. I always think whatever happens, it must be for the best.’

Lucas found this idea interesting, and potentially helpful.

Megan nibbled a strand of linguine. ‘This is ready,’ she announced.

They ate bowls of the pasta topped with chicken livers in a brandy, cream and garlic sauce. Megan opened a potent red wine and Lucas drank recklessly, relieved that Megan was not in the least flirtatious. She was, in fact, easy company and he found himself relaxing and laughing. ‘I’ll call a taxi, later,’ he said as she topped up his glass.

‘No need,’ Megan said, ‘You can stay the night,’

‘We’ll see,’ was his cautious response.

They took their coffee into a sitting room as ugly as the kitchen. It was the kind of room that in most houses, would have been knocked into what people called a through room. A long lounge-dining-room that looked out on the front garden at one end and the back garden at the other. Megan’s room, though, was still divided from her dining room by folding doors with frosted glass panes. They must have dated back to the 1970s. One day, they would be called ‘original features’, Sam thought, amused.

‘It’s rented. There doesn’t seem much point in spending money on it. Anyway, who wants to decorate and clean? Life’s too short.’ Megan looked up at Lucas, tarrying by the door. ‘Are you OK, Luc?

In his stomach, his linguini had turned to snakes, but his instinctive trust and liking for this girl gave him courage to tell her something he had never told another person. ‘I am a bit nervous. I don’t wish to be presumptuous, but I feel you are attracted to me.’

She nodded; her face concerned.

‘Well, there’s no point. I…’ He swallowed. ‘I can’t… perform.’

She frowned, and Lucas turned away. ‘I should go.’

Megan reared from her cushions. ‘Lucas. Stop.’ She grabbed his wrist. ‘Whatever’s troubling you, it doesn’t matter. I enjoy being with you - with or without sex.’

He hesitated. It was such a relief to have told his secret to this girl and to feel unjudged, but was she telling the truth? He studied her expression; it seemed sincere.

Loosening her grasp on his wrist Megan put her hand in his and gave his arm a pull. ‘Come with me.’

‘Where are we going?’

‘Don’t worry; I won’t try to seduce you.’ She opened the bi-fold doors and led him into the adjoining room. It was not, as he had supposed, a dining-room. Instead of a dining table, Megan had arranged six upright chairs so that they faced a chest of drawers. On the chest, with its back to the wall, stood a slim, white cupboard with the look of a dart board housing. Arranged around this were a pair of candles, a leafy plant and some other pots.

Megan sat on a chair and pointed to another. ‘Sit.’

Baffled, Lucas lowered himself onto the chair nearest the exit. He watched Megan reach up to the cupboard and pull open its doors. Inside, hanging from the back where the dart board should have been, was a scroll inscribed with oriental characters.

‘This is my Gohonzon.’ Megan looked over her shoulder. ‘I’m a Buddhist, a Nichiren Buddhist. That means I don’t go to any church or temple. This is my altar. I chant to it, to connect to my Buddhahood.’

Lucas smiled nervously, hoping he was not being sucked into some religious group like the Moonies? His doubt must have shown on his face because Megan said, ‘I know it sounds strange but all I can say is that this practice has made a vast difference to my life. One day, if you’re still my friend, which I really hope you will be, I’ll tell you more about it.’

She seemed so sincere that Lucas put away his scepticism and took the small card she offered him and read, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

‘You say it: Nam Mio Hoe Ren Gay Kio,’ she explained, and he nodded.

‘I chant those words over and over to my Gohonzon, and it helps me through my difficulties.’ Megan reached for his hand. ‘I’m not about to suggest we leap into bed Luc. Relax. I want to be your friend first, but eventually, we will be lovers. I’m sure of it. Don’t worry how; leave that to the Mystic Law of the Universe.’

‘The mystic law?’

‘When I chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, I become aligned to the Universe. I tell the Gohonzon what I desire, and the rest is down to my determination and its power.’ She gestured at the printed paper in the cupboard, ‘I also tell it what’s worrying or upsetting me, and my inner Buddha reveals the reason for my pain and the best solution.’

It all sounded so implausible, but as she spoke, Megan’s eyes sparkled with what he could only describe as pure joy. So, what if it was rubbish, he had nothing to lose by going along with it for the time being. He was certainly in need of a little help.

Later, on the sofa, Megan lifted Lucas’s arm and draped it across her shoulders. Apprehension seized him and his body tensed. But with an oblivious and contented sigh, Megan laid her head on his chest and murmured, ‘This is nice.’

OK Universe, Lucas thought, give me what you’ve got. He let himself sink into the soft settee and leaned into Megan. It felt