Rain poured onto Fishamble Street causing gushing Amazons down the curved hill. It was 4.04am, Diarmuid turned his collar up, he was making his way home from a party on Eustace Street. He wondered why he had stayed so late, an hour ago it was dry, why didn’t he leave then? Slipping and sliding and crawling his way up the smooth steep pavement slabs, Diarmuid was hunched like a monk. Town was deserted, the rain, the early hour had combined to conspire to turn the area into a ghost town. He had gotten as far as the cobblestoned lane at the back of Christ Church, it was nearly submerged, only the golden reflection of the street lamp at the other side could be seen in the dark pooling water. Diarmuid, in his half drunken state couldn’t be bothered to walk any further up the hill and made a turn into the lane/black water.
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The Glimmer Man’s Tales Part 4 – Narcissus Marsh
The Glimmer Man’s Tales Part 2 – Billy In The Bowl
The Glimmer Man’s Tales Part 1 – A Pig Faced Woman
As he entered the narrow flooded alleyway, he could see a figure crouched in against the church side door. The figure was rocking back and forth and seemed to be crying. He thought that it was some young one, pissed, trying to get in out of the rain, but as he got near the girl, her anguish seemed genuine and thought he should approach. “Hey, are ya alright? Can I get you a taxi?” he nudged the crying lady. She had dark brown hair, quite pretty defined features with big brown eyes and a small sharp nose, wearing a heavy dark shawl. “No, I’m not alright, how can I be alright?! He just left me, he’s trying to destroy me!” she whimpered. “Who’s trying to destroy you? What are you on about? What’s your name?” Diarmuid slumped into the shelter of the door frame beside the girl and thought there were worse ways to spend time then to talk to this attractive damsel in distress. The girl looked up, her eyes were ringed red with crying, her attractiveness was vivid despite the horrid blur of water and darkness. “My name is Darkey…” she said sombrely.
“I was seeing this guy” she began, “he had a good job, he was able to bring me to the best places, I was treated like a princess, no one ever treated me like I was that special before” she looked sadly into his eyes. “I was brought up tough, you know? We weren’t going together that long, but then it happened, I was late, I told him that it was for him” then she began to sob again, “he didn’t want to know me! He told everyone I was a bleedin witch!” Diarmuid assumed this last comment was figurative and let her continue uninterrupted. “He told people that I had killed our child, no one wanted anything to do with me, they spoke of me as if I was some vile inhuman monster” little droplets streamed down her face, she stared up into his eyes. Diarmuid felt terrible for her, he wondered in this day and age how could anyone be so cruel to someone so sweet?
“Why did he say you killed your child? I mean surely you can’t go around saying that kind of thing without getting the law involved?” Diarmuid asked, “they were involved” she said, “it was horrible they were all so accusing, they had no proof and they all still said that I did it”. “Well you weren’t in the news, so I don’t think the law took it too seriously” Diarmuid nervously joked. Darkey smiled and looked away, staring vacantly, “they took it seriously”. Diarmuid convinced himself she was probably just a little drunk and was exaggerating her tale, it was just too strange. In any case, he resolved to stay with her, till she came to her senses at least… She rested her head against his shoulder as the rain came pouring down on them both, in his head he could hear sustained violins he felt like he was beginning to fall for the stranger.
He held her for a time, her slight hands gently picked up his right hand and placed it on her belly, he could feel the baby moving inside her. Diarmuid suddenly saw a flaw in her story and began to sober up. “Wait, how could he accuse you of deliberately killing the baby when you’re clearly still pregnant?!” Darkey just stared her big brown eyes into his and gently smiled. “I mean just show them you’re still pregnant and they have to believe you that your ex is off his rocker” Diarmuid repeated his point. Her mood began to change, “why should I have to prove it, why am I assumed to be guilty of this nonsense in first place” her tones were heavier, more severe than before. “Well it just seems obvious like, I mean it’s a bit mad being accused of killing a baby while A) you haven’t had the baby yet and B) can proof the baby is still alive!” Diarmuid stated confidently.
“You don’t believe my story either do you Diarmuid?” she said despondently. “Well it’s not that I don’t believe…wait how do you know my name? I never told you my name?!” a confused Diarmuid now tried to unlink his hand from hers but it was caught by some great strength. The baby kicked again, “eh…let me go” a now anxious Diarmuid stammered. She just stared into his eyes “why don’t you believe me? I thought you were different Diarmuid” Darkey spoke sadly. “Let me go!” Diarmuid shouted.
The gentle smile on her face began to change with a growing maliciousness. He could not free his arm from her and now to his horrified shock, the bulge in her belly, it slowly began to grow! Darkey continued her unwavering stare as her smile continued to contort into a frightening grin, she seemed unconcerned about the sinister biological miracle taking place in her womb. “The thing about you men is Diarmuid, you’re only really after one thing, you’ll pretend to be kind but it’s all just a means to an end with you” Darkey spoke in deepening voice. A great dread fell on Diarmuid as he stared into the whites of her eyes, the capillaries started to engorge with blood to the point that they began to drip and yet she just kept staring at him. Now in a complete state of terror, he began to flay his legs in the deepening dark puddle in front of them, like a ship floundering in the ocean waves. He could not free his arm, he was secured there, trapped by this creature.
Darkey’s features had changed radically, her face elongated and became gaunt, the blood that had consumed the colour of her eyes now dripped like tears down her face, the two black orbs still were fixated on Diarmuid. Her belly continued to swell and her eyes where now blood and black. He began to cry with the shock with what was happening “LET ME GO!!! WHAT ARE YOU?!” he screamed at her but there was no escape her arms had anchored him to her slowly morphing body.
“I won’t let them hurt me this time” Darkey whispered in gravelly voice While holding Diarmuid still with one arm, she produced a worn down fish knife from under her shawl, it was curved silver and sharp as broken glass. “I won’t be hurt this time”, her voice became despondent, ethereal, as the rain crashed down on the demonic scene.
Suddenly, the alleyway lit up a large figure was running at pace towards them, Darkey broke her eye contact and shielded her eyes momentarily. Diarmuid too was temporarily blinded by this character now entering the Frey. She released her grip on Diarmuid, who immediately leapt forward falling in the puddle in front of him. The figure was now on top of them, a large rotund man sporting a grey cap holding a candle the burned brighter than most floodlights. Darkey screamed, the light shined on her as her belly began to deflate, she lashed at the man with her fish knife, slicing his upper brow with ease, yet he bled not a drop. The man now bearing his open skull wound, throw the candle he was holding at Darkey, the fire spread all over her in seconds, she stood there like one giant kerosene soaked wick. Diarmuid now face up in the puddle screamed at the violent horror show in front of him, he quickly clamoured to the small wall facing the entrance, where only a short time before, he sat falling for this lit up monster. He covered his eyes unable to watch what was happening. Millions of embers formed from Darkey’s body she became one with the flame before vanishing in a thick plume of smoke, her dying screams echoing in the soaked lane.
“It’s ok, she’s gone” Diarmuid heard a tired voice say, he opened his eyes and saw the old man stare down on him a gaping bloodless wound bearing the bone of his skull. “Your head! We need to get you an ambulance!” Diarmuid stuttered back, “it doesn’t matter, it really isn’t going to change anything” man replied grumply. “What was that? Who are you? What the #### is going on?” Diarmuid visibly shaken managed to say. “That was Darkey Kelly, I don’t like the rain, I never liked the rain, it keeps putting out my candles, can we go somewhere away from the rain?” Old man replied half smiling. “My flat is just on Oliver Bond Street, we can go there”, the old man helped Diarmuid up and helped him out of the alleyway, it was clear that he was still completely in shock. They stumbled through the puddles as they made it to the flat on Oliver Bond Street, the mornings light was beginning to break, as they went in. The old man produced a hip flask and begin to drink from it greedily, while Diarmuid sat there staring into space before finally, asking “who are you?”.
“I am the Glimmer man, a lamplighter. I travel the streets of Dublin banishing the ancient horrors of the dark with the light on my candlestick. I witness the eerie moments after day and before night, when Dublin’s ghosts wander. I have seen more years than any here has seen days. But the question you really want answered is, who was she?” Diarmuid bade him to continue. “That rare beauty is Darkey Kelly. Darkey was a brothel owner on Copper Alley, over two hundred years ago…” Diarmuid interrupted the Glimmer Man “did you say two hundred years ago? What’s going on here?” The Glimmer Man took another large swig of his flask, the hole in his head seemed smaller now. “Calm lad” he said gently, “The dead have not all left you, let me tell you her story.” Diarmuid was still visibly shaken but allowed the Glimmer Man to carry on.
“Darkey fell in love with a sheriff of Dublin by the name of Lutherall, though he did not fall for her. He used her like most men used women of her profession but she thought him different, she fell in love with him. Darkey became pregnant with the sheriff’s baby, what happened to that child no one will know (it was not uncommon for pregnant women to miscarry during the time) but what is known is the scoundrel Lutherall accused her of witchcraft and infanticide of the child. In those times, a man of his standing could accuse any lowly person of anything and it was acted on. She was brought to Baggot Street, which was then a place of execution, once there she was hanged until half dead then set a flame as a witch.”
“That’s appalling no wonder she hates men!” Diarmuid was more involved in the story now then remembering his own experience with the lady in question. The Glimmer Man had just finished another sup from his flask, the hole in his head now nearly vanished, “not so fast my lad, life is seldom so straight forward. Lutherall was an evil mind but Darkey was not better but worse, though the woman was burnt falsely as a witch, she too had blood on her hands. Perhaps, she felt as a brothel owner, she had seen the darker side of the opposite sex, and allowed her reason to be killed by bitterness but before, she had even met Lutherall Darkey was a secret slaughter of men. They would come to her brothel, she would pretend to be meek and delicate and just as they succumbed to her charm, she showed them her true nature with her fish knife, she killed 5 in total. You see lad, you don’t judge people by their gender, where they’re from or the colour of their skin, the only way to know a person is by how they act…”.
Diarmuid looked at the Glimmer Man who was now completely healed of a wound that should have killed him out right. He now had grown to trust the old man sitting across from him and felt brave enough to ask something that had been troubling him since they met, “what are you then Glimmer Man?” The Glimmer Man stared at him, he was bemused, “they never believe me when I tell them, they think I’m senile old man, I’m a man from a long long time ago who is paying off a debt for a great crime”. Diarmuid interjected “what did you do? You seem like a wise kindly auldfella.” The Glimmer Man rose sharply “experience makes you wise lad and I wasn’t always kind” he smiled and tipped his cap, opened the door and ventured into the morning light. Diarmuid quickly followed to the door to see where the old man was going but as soon as he looked out on to the street, there was no one there.
Related Stories:
The Glimmer Man’s Tales Part 6 – The Acre’s Resurrection
The Glimmer Man’s Tales Part 5 – Lord Norbury (The Hanging Judge & The Cabra Hound)
The Glimmer Man’s Tales Part 4 – Narcissus Marsh
The Glimmer Man’s Tales Part 2 – Billy In The Bowl
The Glimmer Man’s Tales Part 1 – A Pig Faced Woman
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