by Twist, Jenny
“Just come and sit next to us,” Monica said, her eyes never leaving the wall, “and tell me what you see.”
He came into the room. There didn't seem to be anything unusual to see... unless … there seemed to be a greenish light playing over the wall. He looked back towards the window, thinking there must be a tree casting a shadow, but of course there wasn't. There had never been a tree before, why should there be one now? He looked back at the wall and suddenly the picture snapped into place – a forest, dark and gloomy in a grey-green twilight, the leaves on the trees moving ever so slightly in a breeze he could not feel or hear. Little scuffling movements in the leaf-mould beneath the trees. Something long and thin running up a tree trunk, so fast it was gone before he could grasp what it was.
Stunned, he sat down on the bed next to June.
Monica turned and looked at him. “You can see it, then?” she said. “The wood?”
“Fairyland,” June murmured.
Ben dragged his eyes away from the incredible, impossible picture playing out on the wall and looked at his wife. “Lucy's Fairyland?”
Monica nodded. “That's where she is. June saw her go in.”
“And Mitzy,” June said. “Mitzy went in too.”
Ben drew a long, ragged breath. He felt as if he were teetering on the brink of madness. He didn't want to accept this ridiculous thing. He would almost deny his sanity rather than accept the evidence of his own eyes. But he wanted Lucy more. He wanted Lucy back and if that meant venturing into strange mad places, he would go.
“Good,” Monica said, as if they had had a whole conversation and the matter was settled. “You stay here with June and she'll show you how to open the way and keep it open. I'm going downstairs to get the spare clothes-line.” And she left the room.
June looked away from the wall and the picture vanished with a pop.
“Right, Dad,” she said. “First you have to squinch your eyes sideways like this. Like in those pictures...”
****
Monica went through the kitchen and into the utility room to get the washing-line. As she reached up to the shelf, she heard a rustling noise in the kitchen behind her and her brow creased in a frown of irritation. Bloody fairy! She'd deal with it later, after she'd got Lucy back. She put the washing-line under her arm and, as an afterthought, also picked up a large reel of gardening twine.
In the kitchen, the fairy peeped out from the cupboard beneath the sink and watched her go past. What a dreadful place this was! All hard surfaces and sharp angles, no trees, no food. He had sniffed at dozens of evil-smelling things and tasted some that didn't smell so bad, but none of it was food. His ears drooped in despair.
When Monica came back into the bedroom, both Ben and June were staring at the gateway in the wall. June turned round and smiled. “Dad's really good at it,” she said. “Miles better than me. He did it first time!”
Ben's lips twitched in a smile. “I can do the 3D pictures as well,” he said, then looked up at his wife. The wall snapped back into place the moment he looked away.
Monica looked slightly alarmed. “It's all right,” he said. “I can get it back straight away. Now, what's the plan?”
Monica handed him the reel of twine and began to tie the clothes-line round her waist. “I'm going in to look for Lucy,” she said. “You and June stay here and for Christ's sake keep the door open.”
“Just a minute!” Ben put out his hand. “Shouldn't I go? I'm more likely to be able to handle trouble.”
“Oh, there'll be no trouble,” Monica said between clenched teeth.
Ben looked at her admiringly. Under normal circumstances his wife was a very placid woman, easy-going and slow to anger. The weeping woman of a few hours ago was completely out of character. Monica was practical and organised, not a woman who cried easily. It was, he imagined, the horror of the situation and the feeling of powerlessness which had reduced her to tears. But here was yet another version. Here was the tigress looking for her lost cub, and woe betide anyone who stood in her way.
“OK,” he said, “but take something as a marker.”
Monica looked up from tying the knot at her waist and raised one eyebrow questioningly.
“We don't know what you can see from the other side. You might not be able to find the gate again. You need something bright to mark the place.”
June bounded across to the wardrobe and pulled out a rainbow-coloured scarf. “Will this do?”
“It's perfect, Sweetness,” Ben said, and hugged his eldest daughter briefly and fiercely. She had become so much more precious in the last few hours.
Monica finished tying the knot and took the scarf. “Right, here we go,” she said, her lips pressed together in a thin line.
All three of them stared at the wall and the gateway instantly appeared. Monica gave a little gasp. “I told you he was good, didn't I, Mum?” June said smugly.
Monica took a deep breath, and paying out the rope behind her, walked into Fairyland.
It was much darker on the other side. She looked up at the canopy overhead. She could see tiny patches of blue sky between the thick foliage. Not night-time, then. Just shadow.
“Lucy!” she called. “Lucy, it's Mum.”
Nothing stirred in the forest.
She turned back to the gateway and there, incongruously, was a patch of her daughters' bedroom, superimposed surreally in a space between the trees. She walked over and tied the lurid scarf to the tree on the left, and stepped back to admire her handiwork. “It looks pretty good,” she said to Ben and June, but they just stared back blankly.
“She's trying to say something,” June said. Ben risked a quick look sideways at her. “Keep it open,” he said. “I'll try phoning.” June dutifully continued to stare at the wall while Ben got his phone out of his pocket, pressed speed dial and put the phone to his ear. “The number you have called,” said a metallic voice, “is unavailable.”
Monica had pulled her own phone out and was staring at the screen. She looked up and shrugged. No signal. Ben shrugged. It had been a long shot anyway. He blew his wife a kiss and she turned back towards the forest.
Without any warning, something pale green shot out into the room and out of the bedroom door. “My God, what was that? Ben cried, turning away from the wall and staring in horror in the direction where the creature had gone.
“Mitzy,” June said, not looking away from the wall. “Concentrate, Dad.”
Ben looked back at the wall. “But it was green.”
“Yes, I know,” said June, “but it was Mitzy just the same.”
Privately Ben thought she must be wrong, but he didn't argue.
“Lucy! Lucy?” Monica was moving further into the wood. She looked behind her. The bedroom was still comfortingly near. “Lucy!”
“Mum?” The voice was very small and far away.
Monica shouted louder. “I'm here, Lucy. It's Mum. I'm here.” She was sobbing with relief.
A few minutes later a bedraggled figure appeared between the trees, then broke into a run and jumped into her mother's arms. “Lucy. Oh, Lucy.” Monica hugged her so tight she was afraid she might break her ribs.
Lucy was sobbing. “I've lost Mitzy, Mum. She ran in here and I can't find her.”
“It's all right, Darling,” Monica said soothingly. “She's gone back in the house. I saw her run past a minute ago. Look!” She turned with the child in her arms and pointed to the brightly-lit patch of bedroom a few yards away.
A moment later they were both safely back in the bedroom. Ben hugged both wife and daughter in a group hug, but June crossed her arms and scowled. “Mum!” she said. “You left my scarf in there.”
Both her parents turned to her and laughed. Then Ben put out an arm and pulled her into the group hug. “I'm going to buy you a whole shopful of scarves, Sweetness,” he said, “but nobody's going back in there.”
He put down his daughters and turned to Monica. “Come on,” he said. “Help me move the wardrobe in
front of the wall. Nobody seemed to notice that Lucy's face had taken on a greenish tinge.
“Hellooo!” came a stentorian voice from the foot of the stairs. “Is anybody home?”
The girls exchanged a look. “Granny McCurdle,” whispered Lucy. A moment later they heard her footsteps coming up the stairs.
The girls appeared at the bedroom door and went down to meet her and Granny McCurdle's face broke into a beaming smile.
“Lucy, Darling. They've found you. Whatever have you done to your face? Is it face paint?”
Lucy looked blank, but June put her hands to her own face in a gesture of horror. “Lucy,” she said, “your face has gone green.”
They said no more because at that moment a terrible screaming noise came from downstairs and all three rushed down to see what was going on.
They arrived at the foot of the stairs at the same moment as a policeman came running in the front door and they all headed towards the kitchen in a confused mass.
Granny McCurdle got there a short head in front of the others. “Oh my goodness,” she cried. “The cat's got something.”
She pounced on Mitzy and snatched away the small green creature. It lay completely still in her hands. Lucy burst into tears. “She's killed a fairy!” she cried.
“No, I don't think so,” said Granny McCurdle, bringing the little man up to her face and putting her ear to his chest. “I think he's fainted.”
She checked him over for injuries and could find none. “Well, would you look at this?” she said. “What a bonny wee man! Whatever is he doing here?”
“It's a fairy.” Both girls spoke at once.
The policeman, convinced he had just walked into a madhouse, backed away and bumped into Ben and Monica, who were just coming in from the hall.
Granny was crooning over the fairy, who had opened his eyes and was looking up at her adoringly.
“Will you be hungry, then?” she said and pulled a handful of beans out of the vegetable basket. The little man grabbed at one, sniffed it and then stuffed it in his mouth.
“There you are, then,” Granny crooned.
“Put that fairy down!” shouted Monica from the doorway.
The policeman pushed past her and went to sit on the front doorstep. It had been a hot day and very stressful. He'd be all right in a minute. He just needed to sit quietly for a bit.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is the product of friendship. It owes its existence to Lynette Sofras, a friend I made very recently on the Internet. She is the author of wonderful romance novels and hugely supportive. She persuaded me I could self-publish and told me how to do it. Find out more about her here:
http://www.lynettesofras.com/
Then there is my granddaughter, Emily, who has been my friend all her life (naturally) and is a great joy to me. She has been working as an editor for some time but has just started editing independently. I am so proud that this little book is her first professional independent edit.
http://emilyevaediting.weebly.com/
The stunning picture, Green Man with Wren, which appears on the cover, was painted by my dear friend, Caroline Ritson, to whom this book is dedicated. We go back a long way, probably longer than either of us would care to admit. We misspent a lot of our youth together. It was fab.
If you would like to see the original painting, go to Caroline's website:
http://www.carolineritson.co.uk/greenmen.htm
And finally, Su Halfwerk, another very new friend, and author of superb horror stories. I didn't realise at first that she is also a highly talented cover designer, amongst other things, under her company name, Novel Prevue. You can find out about her cover art here:
www.novelprevue.com
and her other personae here:
http://www.su-halfwerk.com/
These are the people who contributed directly, but there are many, many others who have been a constant support. Too many to mention. You know who you are. I love all of you.
Jenny Twist – September 2012
About the Author
Jenny Twist was born in York and brought up in the West Yorkshire mill town of Heckmondwike, the eldest grandchild of a huge extended family.
She left school at fifteen and went to work in an asbestos factory. After working in various jobs, including bacon-packer and escapologist’s assistant (she was The Lovely Tanya), she returned to full-time education and did a BA in history at Manchester and post-graduate studies at Oxford.
She stayed in Oxford working as a recruitment consultant for many years and it was there that she met and married her husband, Vic.
In 2001 they retired and moved to Southern Spain where they live with their rather eccentric dog and cat. Besides writing, she enjoys reading, knitting and attempting to do fiendishly difficult logic puzzles.
She has written two novels - Domingo’s Angel – a love story set in Franco’s Spain and harking back to the Spanish Civil War and beyond - and All in the Mind – a contemporary novel about an old woman who mysteriously begins to get younger
She has also written an anthology of short stories - Take One at Bedtime – and co-written the anthology Bedtime Shadows – with the inimitable Tara Fox Hall.
She has contributed short stories to many other anthologies, of which two – Doppelganger and Uncle Vernon have recently been released as short ebooks.
Her first self-published ebook, Away With the Fairies was released in September 2012. Her second,
Mantequero, was originally published in Winter Wonders by Whimsical Publishing and has just been released as a short ebook.
Visit Jenny on her Facebook page. She loves talking to her readers.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-Twist-Author/291166404240446
