A World Apart (25 page)

‘What does it say?’ asked Francesca from afar, shouting at the top of her voice, which was way too loud for Pennie’s ears to comprehend as she covered them instantly.

‘It’s blank’ replied Pennie, shortly after composting herself and anticipating another ear piercing reply.

‘What?’ screamed Edward, sounding more high pitch than he had desired.

‘I know, there’s nothing here except for a dirty sign and…. worms’ said Pennie, looking down at the floor to see a healthy worm enjoying the nutritious soil.

‘Worms! Let me see’ said Edward, eagerly making his way to the sign.

‘Edward, there just worms leave them alone’ replied Francesca condescendingly.

‘It’s not the worms, I mean the sign’ said Edward angrily as his voice tailored off in the wind, of which Francesca struggled to hear the last part and remained certain that he had completely lost his mind. Francesca remained a few yards away, now admiring something yellow from a plant nearby, trying to place her mind anywhere but here. Edward arrived at the sign with his usual extensive optimism as he reached for some glasses and began reading the sign, which raised the eyebrows of Pennie as she looked to Francesca for support but found her unaware of what was happening.

‘Edward what on earth are you doing, if this is another joke then I will be very cross. It is getting dark and late and it is hardly the best time to start messing around?’ said Pennie sternly, grabbing the attention of Francesca and Edward, both of them knowing that things must be bad for her to be in a bad mood.

‘What, I’m reading the sign’ replied Edward, making Pennie become even more frustrated.

‘Edward, please stop!’ replied Pennie softly as she held back her anger.

‘No really it says something, I’ll read it to you, it’s in that old English writing we saw before’ added Edward emotionally as he pleaded with her patience.

‘It is blank I have told you, what do you mean you’re reading it’ asked Pennie, now with an ounce of doubt in her voice. Edward began reading the sign to them all as they listened astonishingly.

Lapsing Leeches

Leech o leech, time for a leech,

Waging their way down yonder,

Enduring taunts of fish no speech,

Where you rest comes with thunder,

One alone will take you kite,

A limit of three is the decree.

Time o time,

.emit o emiT

As Edward read each line delicately to the group, they all couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Edward was sometimes joking around and that is what hindered Francesca’s ability to believe the words leaving his mouth. Pennie stared plainly at him and the blank sign as he read it, shocked that he was actually reading something, but there is nothing there she reassured herself.

‘…emit o emiT’ finished Edward, looking to the others for help with solving the contents, only to see their bamboozled faces.

‘Edward, why are you doing this?’ asked Francesca, sounding deeply concerned for his welfare.

‘Doing what?’ replied Edward instantaneously.

‘You know what, you’re starting to scare us please stop it!’ said Francesca, Pennie nodding her head in agreement as Edward look at her for a second opinion.

‘No you’re the one acting strangely, why can’t you see the words that I’m reading on the sign?’ said Edward sticking up for himself for once, fully regretting it though soon after.

‘There’s NOTHING there Edward!!’ screamed Pennie, who had slumped into a seating position on the ground, her head between her legs looking stressed as she combed her hair frantically with her fingers. For a moment there was a pause and Pennie’s mind started relaxing until she opened her eyes and saw Edward and Francesca now whispering closely and arguing about the sign continuously.

‘Why would I make something like this up?’ asked Edward, questioning his own motive to the group as a way to prove what he read, only to be treated with a shrug and no words from the other two.

‘No, it is definitely blank’ said Francesca as she walked back to where Pennie had slumped, placing an arm around her to comfort her.

‘In the last sign it said something about a man leading three, maybe I could be that man’ said Edward making an assumption. The other two didn’t move or seem to acknowledge any of what Edward had just said so he decided to take the documents from Pennie and write down the words he read from the sign and solve on his own.

‘It’s too far now, I’m definitely telling Mr Johnson when we finish the activity’ whispered Pennie to Francesca, which Edward heard but made no effort to react and instead he was filled with a deep cutting sensation of guilt for hurting one of his friends, now becoming tearful as he wrote down the words he recalled earlier.

The crackling cold wind brushed up against the three of them, although because the long grass stretched around twice the height of them they were slightly sheltered. Hoots and toots of owls and birds could be heard, along with child-like cries of foxes. Fluttering flaps of bats were heard as their wings collided with leaves and branches, dipping and diving around tall trees and along the pathway the three had previously walked down. The long grass reached for the moonlight as the wind calmly combed through it, bending the long green strands of healthy earth’s hair. The moon propped high above was now being tickled by the earth’s hair, forming a crisp white smile that filled the sky. Stars twinkled brightly in the distance, occasionally being blinded by thin streaks of cloud, one which looked like a giant feather floating the night sky’s ride, the destination unknown to the cloud, its fate being in the hands of the surrounding darkness.

Edward finally lifted his head from the documents and watched a robin settle on a nearby tree branch as it stood motionless he envied the birds simplistic life and wondered for a moment at what life would be like to be literally as free as a bird. He created images of flying high in the sky, looking down on the views below, not a thought of danger in sight until he flew over a village in the countryside that contained fields after fields of yellow and green, a few houses dotted spontaneously and a small gathering of shops that appeared closed from above. As Edward visualised the bird diving low over one particular field he felt free from any trouble, the wind feeling fresh on his face as it passed him, as he visualised the birds eyes closing and its wings being stretched out in the sky as the bird glided freely. Edward noticed a few people walking in a field below as he looked down to see men in red clothes and hats with dogs and horses running riot. Freely the bird drifted until there was an almighty bang and Edward felt the feeling of unimaginable pain as the bird plummeted. Edward awoke from the daydream to notice an empty branch where the robin stood, making him realise how precious life is and that one small thing can change your life forever. Edward couldn’t believe how the other two could just cast his protests aside regardless of how serious he begged. Edward admired the scenery whilst the other two were talking quietly near the sign and bridge, occasionally peering to see if Edward was listening. He felt distant from the group and started to resent them for how he was being treated, after all he was telling the truth.

‘We had better get some sleep otherwise we shall be tired for a full day of activity, so were going to have to build a shelter of some sort, just for tonight’ said Francesca around twenty-five minutes of discussing Edward’s state of mind and the affect he was having on the morale of the others. Pennie knew that this was a good idea and rose slowly to assist Francesca. They both turned to find Edward who was nowhere to be found.

‘Oh no, where has he gone now’ said Pennie jokingly.

‘No idea, he was there earlier. I hope I haven’t hurt his feelings, it’s just how can you say there is something there when it’s not’ answered Francesca, thinking logically. They searched the area for clues to where Edward might be, but to their disappointment their efforts remained unfulfilled, them both becoming concerned for his safety. Francesca and Pennie were shocked as the deep darkness faded into a greyish dim light that allowed Pennie and Francesca to see clearly. The light flashed as if there was a technical fault and then resorted to darkness again, confusing both of the young girls totally, staring at each other intently. Grey clouds filled the sky that looked like they were ready to burst and cry on the people below.

‘What just happened?’ said Pennie with concern.

‘No idea, maybe there’s a storm coming’ replied Francesca as she wrapped herself tightly in her jacket and surveyed the heavens above. Tiny droplets trickled down onto her jacket, bouncing off with a healthy splash. Pennie and Francesca had put their search for Edward off for the time being and decided to take shelter under a rather large tree they spotted around a quarter of a mile away from where Edward was earlier. Arriving at the wrinkly worm infested tree, the bark running down horizontally down the tree giving an old complexion that felt warming to them both. The two took rest in a cave-like coving within the tree that Pennie found around the other side. The width of the tree was about four times the size of both of the girls and towered above the rest of the forestry, scrapping the skies as the wind blew. The rain fell from above like they had never seen before, forming puddles around the tree’s edge and next to the grass edge, creating a muddy divide. As the thudding gradually got louder and louder they shuffled further into the alcove to keep dry. Pennie looked up at the tree to see an array of leaves and branches spread out like a spider’s web, squirrels and bats swapping from branch to branch. The minutes turned to hours, which before they realised it started to turn into morning, birds and bees wide awake in the fresh open air that filled the lungs of Pennie as she breathed softly, eventually awaking to see the rain had evaporated in the early sun’s rays. Pennie stretched and lifted herself from the shelter, deciding to walk around for a while in the warm breeze as Francesca lay in a light sleep.

‘Hey, you’re awake, it’s stopped raining’ said Pennie, discovering that Francesca was up and rummaging around just as she came back from her brief walk and spotted her kneeling on the ground.

‘Any sign of Edward?’ said Francesca urgently.

‘No, we should move on really he may have gone back to class’ replied Pennie trying to get them both up and moving to make the most of the clear skies while they could. They walked along further heading for the class as they lifted their arm in symmetry to block the sun’s rays. Francesca turned around curiously as she walked, hearing a noise as they halted near an old bench that appeared to have been a place of rest for someone last night.

‘You ok?’ said Pennie caringly.

‘Yeah I just thought I heard something’ replied Francesca whose eyes were on the look-out in every direction possible. Francesca ignored the sound and what it may have been in a flash and decided to press on with more important issues. The legs wore thin after around another ten minutes of walking, Pennie moaning and groaning with every step.

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‘Finally, I’m back’ said Edward relieving a vast amount of air from his mouth as he exhaled whilst speaking to himself aloud. He half expected the others to hear him but as he looked around he saw that they were nowhere to be found. A faint squeaky voice could be heard coming from under the bridge, so Edward headed down the embankment to investigate. His shoes squelching and slapping against the thick soft mud with every step and by the time he reached a dry pane of soil which ran underneath the bridge. Edward had become so muddy by this point so he made an attempt to clean himself, giving up after he came close to falling into the river. Edward heard the noise again only this time it bounced off the walls and was almost understandable. There was no-one to be found as Edward reluctantly searched the bridge up and down, he began to think he was hearing things hearing it again and again, each time getting the sound getting louder and louder until it stopped dead.

‘First you lost your way, now you’re losing your mind’ said a soft voice close to Edward’s feet. Edward couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked down, seeing a leech stretched out on a pebble that had washed ashore. The creature seemed to have tiny arms that were placed inwards against its body, giving a concerned complexion to Edward.

‘Are you…a-actually sp-eaking to me’ said Edward, the words eventually stumbling out his mouth like a blade of grass that is warmed by the afternoon sun.

‘Yes, and for your information young man its sir’ snapped the leech, his voice was even squeakier which made Edward smile to the astonishment of the leech as he watched.

‘The name’s Lionel, I look after the gateways and crossings along this river, if there’s anyone going in or out, they always come passed me’ said the small black blob which Edward struggled to see.

‘Put your glasses on boy! There in your left pocket’ exclaimed Lionel the leech, noticing Edward straining his eyes.

‘Hold on, how did you know that?’ replied Edward, retracting the glasses from his left pocket.

‘E-rm…luck I guess, anyway I need to tell you something’ said the leech nervously, shuffling around on the pebble as if to acquire a better position.

‘I think I must be going mad talking to a leech’ said Edward under his breath.

‘I find that highly offensive!’ said Lionel the leech, looking up and taking Edward by surprise.