What You Wish For Read Free Page A

the tents and brought out a litre bottle of Napoleon brandy and some paper cups. He poured a small measure into each cup and passed them round. The liquid was fiery in my throat; warmth spread through my body.
    ‘That’s better.’ I had an urge to talk. All this silence was depressing me. ‘I must apologise for my colleague Simon. He was very rude to you earlier.’
    Andrew shrugged. ‘We’re used to it.’
    I swirled the brandy around the bottom of my paper cup. ‘I’m puzzled. Are you part of some larger organisation or group? How do you know each other?’
    ‘We don’t have an organisation,’ said Andrew. He spat the last word like it tasted foul. ‘It’s too dangerous. It would be so easy for the government to monitor us.’
    ‘The Government?’
    ‘Yes, they—’
    ‘Richard might think we’re a little paranoid,’ Marie interjected.
    ‘Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.’
    My joke sputtered and died in the night air.
    Marie said, ‘We met online.’
    ‘That’s how I know these guys,’ said Pete. ‘There’s a huge network of believers all over the world.’
    I said, ‘And you came all the way from . . .’
    ‘Portland.’
    ‘You came all the way from Oregon for this?’
    ‘Oh no. I was in Europe anyway, staying with other people that I’d met online, in France. There have been a couple of really interesting sightings in Normandy. When I heard about the Hastings lights I thought I’d take a look and caught the Eurostar over. It’s what I do. I travel all over the world. Chasing UFOs.’
    ‘And how many have you seen?’
    ‘Um . . . none yet.’
    ‘ None? ’
    He laughed. ‘People call me The Jinx. I’ve been everywhere – Roswell, South America, Japan, all over Europe . . . Not a single sighting. People say that if there was ever a threat of hostile alien invasion they’d just have to stand me on top of a mountain and the aliens wouldn’t show.’ He scratched his beard. ‘Not that that would happen, of course. Hostile aliens. That’s a crazy idea. But I know they’re out there. One day I’m going to make contact.’
    ‘I would have given up by now. What about you two?’ I said, addressing Marie and Andrew. They looked sheepish. ‘What, you’ve never seen a UFO either?’
    ‘Well . . . no,’ Andrew.
    ‘But how can you believe in something you’ve never seen or had any experience of?’
    Marie said, ‘Millions of people believe in an entity they’ve never seen. They call it God.’
    ‘I know, but . . .’
    ‘You either believe or you don’t,’ Andrew said tersely. ‘And besides, we’ve spoken to them. Now let’s just watch, shall we?’
    I drank some more brandy. I felt a little sorry for them. They were so desperate. And I could imagine how jealous they must have been of Fraser who, ironically, looked like seeing a UFO was the last thing he’d ever wanted. After downing half the bottle of brandy, Fraser had crawled into his tent and fallen asleep. I could hear him snoring.
    Pete fell asleep too, sitting upright in his chair, mouth hanging open.
    Marie stayed awake, looking upwards calmly, while Andrew peered intently at the sky, his jaw muscles clenched. I could sense him willing the heavens to produce something inexplicable. I found myself wishing for it too, if only for his and Marie’s sake.
    We were disappointed.
    As the sun rose, the sky turning violet then blue, we packed up. We rolled up the tents and Andrew and Pete loaded their rucksacks. I helped them carry their equipment down the hill.
    ‘I’m sorry we didn’t see anything,’ Andrew said. He seemed chastened by the aliens’ no-show. ‘But thank you for joining us.’
    ‘Maybe you’ll have more luck next time. Are you going to try again tonight?’
    Andrew shook his head. ‘Fraser’s going to keep a lookout while he’s working. If there are any more sightings he’ll let us know.’
    They headed off in the opposite direction to me, along