James and the Changing Red

by J W Cotter

  Chapter N9ne:

  A bag of Rice and an Anchor

  James slowly moved underneath the covers of the bed as the sun edged its way inside the room and as his eyes adjusted he soon realised where he was; home. In a flash he sat up straight on the bed and his head spun and his stomach churned, luckily he managed to keep it down, the champagne from last night. He was still dressed in the suit that his grandmother had given him. His thoughts then raced back to the previous night and again his stomach was churning at the showdown between Kitty and Ida. A sideways glance and James spotted a note on the bedside locker. It was quite difficult to read, the handwriting was so very cursive and James’ eyes were so very bloodshot.

  “Good Morning James,

  I take it the champagne from last night has worn off although I imagine it will have left a little token of its presence. Let me be the first to assure you that the effects will soon wear off; perhaps taking a stroll in the fresh air will dull the pain.

  Let me take this quick opportunity to explain what occurred last night when I arrived at your Grandmother’s house (a lovely hospitable woman by the way!) First of all, she is fine and will not remember our visit and a note was left explaining your desire to face home and your life again.

  Your departure for London took us a bit by surprise but nevertheless I felt you needed time to get your head around things, unfortunately there is a darkness looming and you have already seen some of the ramifications. That is why I had to bring you back to Hamlet, I’m afraid time has run out and there is no more chances to run and hide. I truly wish there was.

  The people you saw when you astral projected have arrived on these shores and sadly they are most sought after by those looking to start a most dastardly war, one which we must prevent if your mother’s family and home are to survive. We need to work together now and I sincerely hope that you will be able to put aside some of your issues and help the fight.

  I will send for you later on today,

  Warmest Regards Malyn,

  Ida”

  As soon as he finished reading the letter it began to singe and became nothing more than a little pile of yellow dust upon his duvet. His poor head was spinning faster now and the thoughts of his first kiss and the brilliant night he just had were now replaced with visions of an unholy war and battles with monstrous creatures that belonged in the darkest of horror stories. Speaking of monstrous creatures James suddenly could hear Miriam talking downstairs and then his Dad responded and soon his bedroom door swung open and he was back to his normal life.

  “You’re home then, at least you left your Grandmother a note” his father said as he walked into the room, dressed in his police uniform. Opening the curtains he turned and eyed the yellow dust on the bed. “What’s that then, some glitter thing from your party last night?” he said picking up a little and sprinkling it back down. “I’m off to work now and now that your back under my roof it’s my rules!” he sneered. “Are you listening boy?” James just nodded. “So it’s back to school tomorrow and you can clean the house while we’re working” he added before leaving James sitting in his bed, not sure whether to cry, scream or vomit. He lied back down on the bed and covered the blanket over his head; he wished he could remain there forever.

  Bells loudly rang over the country hamlet and James once again stirred in his bed and his head slowly emerged from the cocoon of blankets he had accumulated. The vicar was calling the villagers to midday mass. Rubbing his head James felt like he only fallen back to sleep for a few minutes, not a few hours and he quickly got up and investigated the house he hadn’t seen in weeks. Downstairs was deserted, they were indeed both gone to work and he breathed a sigh of relief and rambled to the kitchen. It wasn’t the most pleasant sight and yet it wasn’t one that could turn your stomach. A list waited for him on the table, his father’s handwriting scratched across its lines.

  “He’s got to be kidding” James said aloud to himself as he ran down some of the chores that Jack wanted doing before he returned from work. Suddenly his legs felt weaker than his head and so James sat down, but he sat down on a pile of clothes and looking at the list, there they were item number twelve “Iron the clothes”. James hated ironing, but the thought of another fight with his Dad ensured that he would oblige. Laying the paper back down on the kitchen table and clutching his head in his hands James read over the list again, making sure he was right in what he was reading because some of the things seemed impossible.

 

  #1 Take up the ashes (DO NOT USE A PLASTIC BUCKET!)

  #2 Hoover the carpets

  #3 Polish everything

  #4 Scour bathroom and en-suite

  #5 Wash Skirting boards

  #6 Wash hall and kitchen floors

  #7 Clean the cupboards

  #8 Do the recycling

  #9 CLEAN YOUR ROOM

  #10 Defrost the refrigerator

  #11 Do the laundry (SEPERATE!)

  #12 Iron the clothes

  #13 Wash windows (Inside and Outside!)

  #14 Mow the lawns

  #15 Brush the paths

  #16 Pull the weeds (If they come up easily, they’re not weeds!)

  #17 Light the fire