“THE PILLS!” she shouted jumping up so fast she knocked off her glasses.
Her world went fuzzy. Quickly she sat back down and felt around for the frames. Her hand moved faster as the panic of losing her sight took hold. Suddenly something stirred close by.
“Don’t take the pills,” a voice whispered in her ear.
She just turned to face the voice when footsteps raced towards her. She was knocked from her spot onto the gravel below scraping her hands and knees. There was a scramble around her and she crawled away as fast as a blind person could. She’d just reached the grassy edge of the lawn when the voice spoke again.
“Here,” he said, shoving her glasses into her hand.
Then there was a rush towards the bushes behind the house. Violet lay still for a while. When all the commotion stopped she put back on her glasses. The yard was empty. Maybe she was going mad. She turned over her hands, her palms were bloody. Her school tights were torn and her knees were bloody too. She got up from the grass and dusted off her uniform. She had to find her Dad. There was something going on in Perfect and she needed to convince him to leave. She had proof now, bloody knees and palms should be enough to get his attention. She headed off on her third trip of the afternoon and marched back towards the Archers shop.
This time she didn’t stop outside, she turned the polished brass knob and pushed open the door. A bell tingled above to announce her. The shop was empty.
“Mr. Archers,” she called.
There was no reply so she took a look around. The shop amazed her just as it had done the first time. The rich browns and golds shone brighter than anything her mother polished and her mother polished a lot in Perfect.
Violet ran her fingers across the walls as she explored. When they danced over an unusual bump in the smooth cherry wood she stopped for closer inspection. There was a thin break in the wood from ceiling to floor dividing the wall in two. She pushed on one of the panels and the wall gave way to a narrow hall behind. Quickly she slipped through the gap. She heard voices coming from behind a door at the end of the hall and tiptoed towards them. It was the Archers. They were fighting. There was a third voice too and she was sure it was her father’s. The fight sounded ugly, she hated hearing adults fight.
She didn’t want to disturb them so quietly she tiptoed back towards the gap.
“Violet Brown!”
She turned quickly and stood nose to nose with Edward Archer.
“I’m sorry Mr. Archer, I heard voices and I was looking for my Dad. I thought it was him,” she stuttered.
“How did you find that door young lady?” Edward Archer said, nodding behind her.
“Oh I wasn’t snooping. It was an accident I was just looking around the shop and I found it. I thought Dad might be in here.”
“He’s just stepped out Violet. I’m afraid you’ve missed him.”
“But I heard him, he was talking to you in there,” she pointed behind the stout man.
“Mrs. Moody was right, you really are quite the handful,” Edward Archer smiled.
“I em...I’m sorry Mr. Archer,” Violet said, stepping slowly backwards, “I must have imagined it.”
“What happened you Violet?” Edward Archer asked, taking in her untidy appearance.
“Oh I fell. It’s nothing,”
“Violet have you taken your pills dear?”
She stepped back further.
“Your mother told me,” he smiled, as if reading her mind, “It’s a serious condition Violet, it mustn’t go untreated.”
“Did William have it too?” she snapped, suddenly filled with anger.
She clasped her hands to her mouth. Edward Archer glared at her. His ferocious anger made him seem bigger.
“What’s going on here?” George Archer said, stepping into the hallway behind his brother.
“Nothing,” Edward barked, still glaring at Violet, “Violet was looking for her Dad. She’s just leaving.”
“Oh I’m afraid you’ve just missed him dear,” George Archer smiled, walking to his brother’s side.
“Okay thanks,” Violet replied, then quickly turned and ran.
Once outside and a safe distance from the shop, she stopped to breathe. Edward Archer scared her. She shouldn’t have brought up William. She didn’t know what had happened to him. Maybe he’d died, though Edward had looked more angry than sad.
Avoiding home, she walked towards town. The past few hours jumbled in her mind. Maybe she really was going mad, the endless sunny days affecting her mind as well as her sight. First it was her mother and the pills, then her strange change of heart, her glasses, the voice and finally the Archers and their odd behaviour. Worst of all she was certain it was her father’s voice she’d heard in the Archers shop. Why didn’t they tell her the truth? Had they done something terrible to her Dad?
She walked round the old town, head down avoiding the faces of Perfect. She had no friends and now it seemed she was losing her family. Her parents were all she had. They weren’t like normal parents either, not in the way other children’s parents were. They gave out to her if she was bold but usually they were great, more like friends than parents. Perfect had changed all that.
Violet knew she couldn’t go home. If she went home her mother wouldn’t listen. She used to listen. Before they could sit for hours talking about anything but since moving to Perfect things had changed. Her mother didn’t notice her anymore. She didn’t notice anything.
Her Dad wouldn’t listen either. He used to be great fun, always playing tricks. Her Mam said he was a big kid. Violet agreed because most of the time she couldn’t tell the difference between her Dad and the boys in her class. Since moving he was angry a lot. He’d be angry with her now for sneaking around the Archers. He was also strict when it came to manners and Violet hadn’t been at all mannerly to Edward Archer.
She definitely couldn’t go home. She saw a bench and sat down to get her bearings. She’d been in this street before. On the wall almost directly opposite sat a sign The Birth Place of Messrs George, Edward and William Archer, first sons of Perfect. It rested on the only house in the town that didn’t look quite so clean.
CHAPTER 9
Iris Archer
The house was painted light blue like the sea in pictures of foreign countries. It was in disrepair compared to the other houses on the street.
Violet’s heart skipped suddenly when she saw an old lady watching her from behind one of the murky windows. Quickly she looked away. When she looked back the lady was gone. A few minutes later the door of the house swung open and the old woman took back her place at the window. Was she inviting her in? Maybe the old woman knew something about William. What more could go wrong anyway? She stood up from the bench and walked towards the house.
“Hello,” she called, stopping just outside the door.
There was no response so she stepped into the hall. The house was as worn inside as it was out. The floor was covered in wonky wood that creaked with every step. Dust gathered thickly on everything in sight. The place was lit by the light that seeped through dirty lace curtains making everything look grey. Dust hit Violet’s nostrils and she stifled a sneeze. A door was partially open into the room on her left.
“Hello,” she said, pushing it in a little more.
The old lady was sitting in her spot by the window, a shadow cast across half her body.
“You opened the door,” Violet said, edging further in.
“I did.”
“Are you ok? Do you need some help?”
“No,” the old lady croaked.
She had long white hair that fell thinly to the floor, the bottom of it was browned by dirt. Her dress was worn but looked as if it may have been amazing in another life. The colours now muted were just a memory of a bright past. Barefoot and her thin boney feet poked out from under a frayed hem. Her face was kind though she had sad eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Violet asked.
The old woman didn’t
answer and turned once more to stare out the window. Then it hit Violet.
“You’re not wearing glasses?” she gasped.
“Eyes don’t need glasses to see. They are the window to my soul, I will not curtain them.”
“But...,” Violet stuttered, “how are you not blinded by the sun?”
“It’s the sons that’s robbed me.”
Violet stepped closer.
“Eyes mad,” the old woman snapped, a warning.“Eyes mad. Them sons makes eyes mad. Iris Archer, they all say, that son’s no good. I protected him from Arnold, my William, my apple. Then jealous Ed and Georgie ate him.”
“William Archer?” Violet asked, “is he your son?”
“My son, my moon and my stars,” Iris replied picking her hair from the floor to wipe her tears.
“I’m sorry,” Violet said, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“He’s not here,” Iris continued, “They said he was bold as brass, a divided soul but I knew he had spirit. A child without spirit is the sky without stars. He had stars my William. A world full of stars. Are you in school with him?”
Violet shook her head.
“No. No I don’t go to school with him but my Dad works for George and Edward.”
“George and Edward, Edward and George. They took the light from my eyes. They’ve a streak like their father. All in order, there must be order.”
Violet stepped back towards the main door. The old lady was crazy and she didn’t want to upset her anymore than she already had.
“Em...my Mam has tea on and I have to go,” she mumbled.
“Don’t drink the tea,” Iris snapped, “don’t drink it I tell ya!”
“Em... I won’t, I promise,” Violet said, edging closer to the door.
She was just about to step out into the hallway when the old lady spoke again. This time she didn’t sound so mad.
“You remind me of him Violet. You remind me of my William. There’s spirit inside you. Keep it close.”
“You know my name?”
“The boy told me. He’s watching out for your spirit. You’ve connected with his soul.”
“What boy?”
She hadn’t met any boys in Perfect except for the ones in her class and they definitely weren’t looking out for her. Iris didn’t answer, she had slipped back into her own world. Violet asked once more and with still no luck walked from the house into the perpetual Summer back towards home.
CHAPTER 10
An Urgent Meeting
Her mother was back by the time Violet returned home and full of the joys of Perfect, she just couldn’t stop describing Mrs Bickory’s apple pie.
“The best I have ever tasted Violet. I promise I’ll make it for you. June gave me the recipe. It’s a family secret but she said she would share it with me. Everybody is so nice in this town.”
Violet nodded as she took out her schoolbooks.
“Oh good,” her mother smiled, “those pills are working. I have never seen you so eager to study dear.”
Violet was silent. She wasn’t anymore or less eager to study than she had been before but her mother seemed happy and hopefully that meant no more pills.
“Here dear,” her mother said, dropping a yellow capsule onto the table, “time for your medication.”
“But Mam please I’m fine on the blue ones. I love Perfect,” Violet smiled.
“That’s great Violet I’m delighted you love it here but that’s got nothing to do with your IDDCS. You do want to be cured don’t you dear?”
“Can we wait for Dad to come home? Please.”
“Okay but your Dad agrees with me. We both want you to be rid of this syndrome. It’s holding you back. Think of how much you could achieve without it.”
Violet smiled, turned back to her books and pretended to study while Rose Brown whistled the evening away preparing risotto. Violet had never even heard of risotto before Perfect, now it was her mother’s speciality.
Hours swept by and her Dad had not returned from work. He never missed dinner. In all the years he had been her father and that was all her life, he had never spent an evening away without telling them. She glanced up at the clock as her mother set the table.
“We can’t wait any longer Violet dear,” her mother sighed, “this apple pie will go soggy.”
“But what about Dad?”
“Don’t worry about your father, he can have my pie another day.”
“I’m not worried about your pie Mam! Where is Dad? It’s not like him to come home late. What if something’s happened?”
“In Perfect Violet!” her mother laughed, “Of course nothing has happened to Dad. He’s just caught up in his work. He has the best job in the world working with the Archer brothers.”
“But Mam,” Violet pleaded, “I thought you didn’t like the Archers. The first night we came here you said they gave you the...”
“Violet!” her mother snapped running for the pill bottle, “stop being so disruptive, I know it’s the syndrome dear but it is getting out of hand. I have never nor will I ever speak of the Archers in such a way.”
Quickly she spilled more yellow tablets onto the table. Violet looked at the pills then back at her mother.
“Now!” her mother snapped.
Slowly Violet picked up two canary capsules and placed them under her tongue. Her mother filled a glass with water and handed it to her.
“Swallow,” she barked.
Violet did as she was told. Her mother smiled, cleaned up the remaining tablets and resumed dishing out dinner. When her back was turned Violet quickly spat out the pills and shoved them in her pocket.
“Now,” her mother smiled a little later, while tucking into her risotto, “I bet you feel better already.”
Violet nodded. If she spoke she wouldn’t be able to hide the teary tremble in her voice. Oblivious, her Mam chatted about her day right through dinner and dessert.
By late that night her father still hadn’t returned and Violet’s stomach climbed right into her neck. She felt sick thinking about her visit to the Archers shop. She’d definitely heard her father’s voice. Why didn’t she question the Archers more? Why did she walk away? Something had to be wrong. Her father was in trouble. Guilt took over as she climbed the stairs to bed.
Just as she reached the top step, the phone rang. She paused. Moving closer to the banisters she sat down and listened.
“Hello,” her mother said, in her phone voice.
“Oh Mr. Archer. How can I help you?”
“Yes I thought as much, Violet here was worried.”
“She was? Oh really she didn’t tell me that.”
“I apologise if she upset you Mr. Archer, as I’m sure you’ve heard she’s been diagnosed with IDDCS.”
“Yes she’s taking the pills. I watched her myself this evening.”
“Oh of course Mr. Archer I know how children can be. I’ll personally see to it myself.”
“Thank you for letting me know about Eugene Mr. Archer. I hope he’s helping your research?”
“That’s great to hear. How long will he be away?”
“That’s great. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Yes I’ll tell her. Goodnight Mr. Archer.”
Why had the Archers rung to tell them her Dad was away? Surely her Dad could pick up the phone? Why couldn’t he ring them?
“Violet!” her mother snapped, pulling her daughter from her thoughts, “were you eavesdropping?”
“Oh no I was...I just wanted to hear if it was Dad.”
“It was Edward Archer,” her mother smiled, “Your father’s going to be away for a few days. He’s gone to an optician’s conference. Very important apparently.”
“Don’t you think he would have told us that himself?” Violet said, her voice louder than she’d intended.
“Violet please you are giving me a headache. Edward Archer rang and kindly kept us informed. Your father had to leave quickly. It was urgent.”
“An urgent o
ptician’s conference?!”
“Violet! This condition is really getting the better of you. It’s exhausting dear. Edward Archer was kind enough to enquire after your health. Everyone in this town is being so helpful and you repay them by being ungrateful. I know you were in the Archers shop today.”
“I was looking for Dad.” Violet snapped.
“You were snooping around in places you shouldn’t be. Edward Archer was very good to tell me and he said he wouldn’t get the police involved.”
“The police?” Violet protested, “but I didn’t...”
“Violet,” her mother sighed, “enough is enough, just be glad the Archers are so understanding. I’m sure your Dad won’t be when he comes home.”
Violet didn’t respond. There was no point. No matter what she said it would get twisted. She rose from her spot, turned and walked down the carpeted hallway to her room. She locked the door and collapsed onto her bed.
Her world was crashing down around her. Her mother didn’t listen and her father had disappeared. She’d been more than mean to him over the last few weeks and now she’d never see him again. She cried until she had no tears left.
She knew the Archers were behind everything, but even if she could prove it no one would listen. It was as if everyone in Perfect was under a spell. Exhausted she crawled in under her duvet and hoped that sleep would find her.
CHAPTER 11
Boy
That night, no matter what, Violet couldn’t sleep. There was a strange lump in her bed. After hours of tossing and turning she got up to investigate.
On close inspection she found a thin tear along the top of her mattress. It was about the length of her arm from her elbow to her wrist. She poked her fingers inside, finding there was enough room for her hand she squeezed it through until her fingers brushed off something solid. She pulled the mysterious object from it’s hiding place.
The small, flat box fit neatly in her hand. It was dark blue and covered in a bendy ladder like pattern. As she turned the box over the ladders caught the light giving off a silvery sheen. There was a faded stamp on the cover with the words “Optical Prescriptions”. The box was closed on one side by a small magnet and rusted hinges held firm the other. Slowly she prised it open. The prettiest pair of glasses sat proud on dark blue velvet interior.
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