The sun shines lazily down on the pier, this microcosm of life. Little gusts
of wind blow the smell of the brine under the noses of the people leaning
over the barriers. The sound of the water slapping at the pillars, little
white caps breaking gently over the rocks with a foamy spongy gurgle.
The muted noises of the city & traffic intrude only from distance on the
peaceful somnolence of this setting. At the end of the pier on the concrete
bench sits a little old lady. Her eyes closed, her hands resting gently in
her lap. In a yoga-like pose she seems at one with the universe. Those
walking past her smile gently to themselves at this old dear who has fallen
asleep in the sun, some a little concerned that she might be ill advance
closer, but perhaps recognizing her impenetrability, none actually disturb
her. Shame let her sleep.
But she is not asleep. Her thoughts have slipped past the bounds of age and
pain, escaping from her sub-conscious they latch onto and intrude upon the
conversations of others. For brief milliseconds she becomes one with them,
absorbing and acting out their little melodramas. Extracting and adapting
their thoughts and feelings to feed her longing for things long past. She
becomes the harassed young mother trying to prevent her brood from climbing
on top of the barrier. She feels the excitement and identifies with the
intensity of the young couple in love, who oblivious to the world around
them are wrapped in each other’s arms. She senses the worry of the young
businessman who with tie loosened and jacket slung over one shoulder is
gazing sightlessly out over the horizon.
She is a gleaner of the thoughts of others and as the sun starts to set and
the chill edges into her bones, she stores her thought-treasures in her mind
and makes her way slowly back to her lonely little room. Here in the early
morning hours when her aches and pains have chased away sleep and she feels
her aloneness the most, she can recall these gems and use them to escape
from the realities of her existence.
Helios is an award winning novel about a brilliant inventor of new technology, a fallen CEO seeking redemption, and an idealistic youth who comes of age in corporate America.
Determined to confront the hazy memories of his troubled youth, Oliver Matthews, a retired detective and confirmed bachelor, returns to the picturesque town of Henley-on-Thames for the first time in years.
