by Jack Broscie
ever to her. It takes him some effort to hold the dog in his arms which he got as a present from his father
Together they run downstairs. Loudly they shout their goodbye to their parents who are talking on the couch. She hardly hears that her mother is calling something to her.
From the shed they take their bikes. Cedric is proudly as a peacock on his little blue bike with the shiny chrome. Ann puts Buddy on a leash and fast and with a lot of rumor they bike to the park.
At the entrance Ann sees that her little brother turns the leash of the dog around his steering wheel when he reads the warning sign. ‘Super cool idea,’ she screams reckless. ‘If you stay here with Buddy, I will get some candy for us.’
On her bike she races over the path through the park to the supermarket. When she looks back, she sees how the big dog runs runs over the field in front of her brother’s bike as if it was a carriage. He is barking wildly.
While she pays for the candy, Maud, her best friend, walks into the supermarket. Together they talk and joke about all kind of things. But then, suddenly, she remembers her brother who is playing in the park with Buddy. At once she runs out of the store, jumps on her bike and hastens back to the park.
She doesn´t see Cedric anywhere. I’m sure he already went home. But her senses say something else. She feels the panic rising while she looks around in sudden despair. She tries to catch her breath and her hands are shaking on the steering wheel while she searches the empty park. Both Cedric and Buddy have been disappeared without a trace. She searches at the old oaks where she and Tim have played often. The Old one stares accusingly to her. It frightens her and she bikes away quickly.
On the bridge she looks around. Her attention is pulled to a small track in the grass of bike wheels and dog paws. Her eyes follow the tracks while her panic raises new heights. Would they- In agony she looks into the dark water. Something white comes slowly up from the black depth. Her screaming, in which the beginning of an endless and despairing misery is closed in, can be heard through the whole neighborhood.
With a heartbreaking sob she jumps up. Her parents are sitting next to her.
‘It was very brave of you to tell us the truth, Ann.’ Her mother cries with no sound and it seems like a burden has slipped of her shoulders.
Her father squeezes his hands and closes his eyes for a moment. When he looks at Ann again, she sees that the hurt in his eyes is replaced by a mix of relieve and compassion. ‘You couldn´t help it, Ann. It was not your responsibility. You yourself were still a child.’ He holds her tight and kisses her forehead.
With teary eyes they hold each other tightly, at last sharing their sadness and pain.
When she blinks her eyes to lose the burning tears, all of a sudden her parents are away and Tim is again sitting next to her. He is just zipping his backpack and then he stands up. His face looks content and serious. ‘So, you have your dream and I have your nightmare.’
Disbelieving she looks at him. ‘What do you mean with: I have my dream?’
‘You will find out later, Ann. And you deserve it. You and your parents suffered enough. Sometimes someone gets a second chance. They, you. And me too. That’s why the price day today is an equal handover. Thanks to him. He stares out of her window to the park with the old oak trees in the middle of it.’
She doesn´t get him, she has no clue what he means. Ann stands up. Confused she looks outside the window. The sun has turned and shimmers yellow-gold on the blue water of the canal. When she turns around, Tim is disappeared. But I didn´t hear the closing of the door.
With a beating heart she is next to her chair in one big step. She grabs her cell phone and clicks on it. The picture of Cedric comes up. She presses the backspace, sees the app of the photo album and she presses again on the backspace. There, she didn´t dream it. There´s the strange ad. She wipes the screen to have a better look at the picture of Tim, double clicking for an enlargement. Loyal brown eyes look at her from under a floppy fringe. Surprised she looks at the photo of Buddy. Did that thing now just jump back again to the photo album? She presses again on the backspace, on refresh, on the backspace again. Whatever she does, her search query is gone, the ad is unfindable and the pictures of Buddy and Cedric are continuously refreshed.
Confused she shakes her head while all kinds of thoughts come up. What´s happening with me? Does the nightmare continue? Is it because of those filthy med, is she imagining things now? Is she getting delusions? She drops on the ground, pathetically, softly crying. Can it even be worse? Did Tim really come by or- Outside she hears a familiar barking. Disbelieving she comes up as fast as she can. When she looks out of the window, she sees a blue bike. The saddle and steering wheel are on maximum height. The chrome isn´t shiny anymore and the blue paint is damaged. From the corner of her eye she just sees the dog with brown hair. A life for a life… but not mine. A tall adolescent comes out of the shed and runs into the house. ‘Mum, dad, sis,’ calls out a voice. ‘I´m home.’
Ann’s heart skips a beat when it slowly gets to her. Her hands clasp so hard that her nails turn pale. Then, screaming with intense joy, she hurries down the steps to squeeze her surprised brother. The couple in the neat living room looks with a smile to their children. They are dancing like wild Indians as if they hadn´t seen each other for years. Buddy is happily barking and jumps around them.
In Ann’s room is the little white box, with the cover open. It’s made of the wood of an Old tree. Empty.
Other books and stories of the author
‘Berserkly’ (English version, in Dutch ‘Iezegrimmig’): three short fantasy stories that competed in several contests. Enigmatic thrillers flavored by fantasy and fable, slightly dressed with some supernatural activities.
The fantasy series 'Chronicles of New Earth’(only in Dutch at the moment, ‘De Kronieken van Nieuwe Aarde’, consisting of ‘De Doembrenger’, ‘Pact der waanzin’, Magische wetenschap’).
‘The cursed gold of Atlantis’ (only in Dutch at the moment, ‘Het vervloekte goud van Atlantis’).
‘Plof!’ (only in Dutch at the moment).
About the Author
Jack Broscie is a Dutch Fantasy Indie writer.
The work of Broscie is characterized by its visual language and evocative writing style. For the eye of the reader the backdrop of the narrative unfolds. Landscapes, climatic conditions, flora and fauna, scents and colors, settlements and their inhabitants unfold before the eye of the reader. Broscie sketches the contours and the reader fills in the details effortlessly.
His main characters consist of both men and women of various ages and positions, while both men and women are equal. Broscie doesn’t write fantasy with Orcs, Elves and Trolls, but with tribes and people on a newly by himself created world. He combines emotional conditions that are contradictory. Thus, societies are described where extremely primitive transportation and advanced communication are commonplace.
