The Towers of Silence

The Towers of Silence  is the story of an MP who, condemned by the media, his party and his constituency for a speech about race and society, goes on to commit suicide: Book 1 is written in the moments of his dying, taking his own life after the murder of his wife and children. Book 2 is the Media story with Book 3 ‘The Speech’ (with an audio version).

 

Chapter Extract:

“THE TOWERS OF SILENCE”  Extract

“The whirlpool of golden amber liquid in the crystal glass he was holding in his hand began to slow as the unthinking movement of his wrist died of inattention. Once more stillness descended into the gloam surrounding him, melding with his inner silence. Everything in the room seemed to be waiting for the arrival of the other companions emergent in his little group: oblivion, forgetfulness, and, inevitably, tears.

Like a dental patient after having a tooth removed, his emotions explored the hole in his being; he missed her. But, he thought, that he had reached a point where there was nothing; the point of nothingness.

There was no feeling anymore. “How can that be?” dulled cells wondered from a place far off in the outer reaches of his dying brain. Hadn’t he read somewhere that amputees could still feel pain in a limb after it had been taken? Yet here, with his friends remaining in the bottle waiting to join him, there was only a sense of loss; a loss that stretched unendingly before him, making it unendurable. No, he thought, not loss, that is not it. What he felt was not so much that something had been taken away, it was more a feeling that it had all been an illusion; that perhaps nothing of value had ever been.

“Fuck it – stop thinking”, the small part of his mind that remained reluctant to die, cried out to him. “It hurts too much to think. Hmm,” he half laughed out loud, as another sip from the glass brought forward memories dulled by pain and scotch……