Sid

This is one of the main characters, Sid Thompson, a young man of 19.  He’s given up his cold rented room to sleep [unnoticed] in Richmond’s studio in St. Paul’s Cathedral where he works. Unfortunately the nightmares follow where ever he goes:

Sleep came in spurts the rest of the night and when the sun hit his face Sid wanted nothing more than to roll over and throw the blanket over his head.  But he knew that was impossible.  He lay still for a moment, letting the silence of the cathedral seep into his body.  He loved being here when no one else was around, when there were no workers banging and yelling in their cockney accents.  It was in this silence he could sense the real beauty of St. Paul’s, feel its age and wisdom envelope him, caress him and keep him safe.  Some nights he thought he heard whispers, sounds of a distant past rumbling somewhere deep within its belly.  He never ventured down to find out the source.  He wasn’t that brave. But most of all when he was here alone he felt at one with her, felt like he belonged somehow to this beautiful structure.