Authors: Paul Day

Tags: #coming of age, #first love, #classic adventure, #adveneture mystery

Kipp The Kid (9 page)

BOOK: Kipp The Kid

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Near the end of the corridor, they were greeted by an
elderly chap, who though he had a cane, clearly did not need it. He
purposely and politely bowed and greeted Jane by her full name.

“Janine, Andrea Prescott, Come in, come in, we’ve
been expecting you. She’s here, waiting for you.”

Jane began to wonder what her mother looked like now.
How long had it been? For Jane it had seemed like a lifetime. But
here, time seemed somehow irrelevant. In her head, as the
anticipation started to build, something was happening. She could
feel it. Am I meant to feel pain here? She thought. The Angel swung
around suddenly, as if it could read her thoughts.

“Oh no. Too soon. It’s simply too soon. A mistake.
You’re not ready. Quick, quick.”

There was something like panic in the Angel’s voice.
What were deliberate, slow movements now seemed rushed.
What’s
happening
, Jane thought.

“We’re losing you, a voice next to her said.”

“Losing me? But how, why?”

“Come, come, got to move quickly. She’s waiting. You
don’t want to be disappointed. You don’t want to disappoint your
mother.”

Through another door, a beautiful woman stood looking
out of a large window out across at a vast and wondrous vista.
Giant birds flew majestically past the window and Jane could see,
not two, but three suns in the sky, all setting over the horizon at
once.

“They’re calling her back,” the Angel said to someone
who looked important. “We haven’t got much time.”

The woman at the window turned to face Jane. For the
first time she recognized her.

“Mother?” Jane wanted to run to her, but running did
not seem to be something people did a lot of here. Walking quickly
yes, but not running.

“My darling Jane. How I’ve missed you terribly.”

Her mother knelt down elegantly and caressed Jane.
Jane felt so warm and safe and she could hear the steady rhythm of
her mother’s heart beating so strong it seemed as if it were that
of a horse. Strange how I hear a heartbeat in Heaven, thought Jane
and then the pain in the back of her head returned.

“There isn’t much time dear,” her mother said and
then a tear formed in her otherwise flawless eyes. Jane was
suddenly filled with sadness, replacing the sense of almost
overwhelming joy she had felt up till then. “They’re calling you
dear. They’re calling your name. Go to them my love. Go to him my
darling. He is your champion. He will protect you. He was made for
you and you for him. I will wait as I have done so long. We will
see each other again.”

As she said this she turned to face the window again,
as if she had never left it. But this time, she was joined by a man
Jane recognized and another woman she did not. Then the Angel
turned to Jane and knelt down.

“I’m sorry, but you have to go. You cannot stay here
any longer. Now close your eyes. No time to go back the way you
came. Close your eyes and feel your heart. Listen to the sounds in
your head, calling your name. Jane, Jane…Jane.”

“Jane? Jane? Can you hear me?”

Through a hazy whiteness, Jane started to see again
the familiar world she so desperately wanted to leave, but
couldn’t. Faces, some familiar, some not. All saying her name. Some
crying. When her eyes returned to her she looked up into the
beaming face of Kipp.

“Jane? It’s me Kipp. You’re alright. You’re ok.
You’re safe.”

“Kipp? I saw her, Kipp, I saw them. They were all
there.”

“Who Jane. Who did you see?”

Darkness, interspersed with light. Somewhere in the
in-between worlds, Jane heard the last echo of her name being
called from the Heavens. Then the dream faded, replaced instead by
the less vague and more real world she had almost left. When she
regained all consciousness and her normal thoughts returned
completely, she realized how close she had come and was grateful at
last that she was still with the living.

Kipp had kept a vigil beside her bed for the days she
was unconscious. Now that she was able to speak coherently, he
asked her what she meant by “them”. But like a fading dream soon
after being awoken, the memory of it all was too foreign. But just
when Kipp was becoming disappointed, her memory came back to
her.

“I think I saw your mother, Kipp.”

Epilogue

The First Adventure

“Kipp is you…isn’t he?” the girl asked.

The old man was staring into nothing, completely lost
in his thoughts. The passing of his many years had not taken from
him the very fond memories, nor had they stolen the stories in his
heart.

“Who love?”

“Kipp, the boy in the story. It’s you. You’re Kipp
and Jane was your wife. Remember?”

“Oh yes. Yes Janine. Your great grandmother. Yes, she
was my wife and over the years, especially the early years, we had
many fine adventures, she and I.”

“Wow!” Our grandmother almost died?

“Yes, almost, but not for a long while afterwards.
Not for a very long while.”

The boy had disappeared inside and had returned
sporting a cowboy hat and carrying a torch. He had put on a red wig
he’d flogged from the wardrobe and stood proudly on the porch.

“Do you know who I am Great granddad?”

“Oh I wouldn’t like to guess, but, umm, let me see.
You have red hair, you have a torch and a hat. Do you have a dog
called Nip?”

The lad disappeared again and returned in a moment
with a small toy dog. He sat the toy on the deck and stood proudly
again.

“Now I do. Come on Nip. We’ve got exploring to
do.”

At this point the girl joined her brother and very
proudly declared, “And I am Jane. But you needn’t think I’m going
to kiss you on the lips.” Their great granddad laughed and
applauded them both.

“Well done children, oh well done.”

Then the boy, remembering the words of Kipp at the
very beginning of the story, recounted as accurately as he could
the poem Kipp said, adding his own ending.

“Wherever I go, whenever I go,

It’s me and Jane and Nip.

No stragglers and nobody else,

Forever we three, joined at the hip.”

Jane’s song

In gardens wet with due of night,

Where Moon tempts smallest moth to flight.

When in the early summer morn,

Do I sit waiting for the dawn.

Where Spring’s romance has called my name,

As butterflies dance in the rain.

Where bees so happy do entreat,

The honey flower with nectar sweet.

On beaches where you once had walked,

Your soul imprinted on the sand.

I search the vast white ocean skirt,

As I write your name with careful hand.

So sweetly do the Angels sing,

Your name in Heaven’s choir.

So softly is the sound I hear,

As Angels play upon their Lyre.

Oh that mercy granted me this hour,

To hear your voice again.

As I look across the ocean vast,

And see once more you sailing then.

And not a moment sooner too,

Your vessel of my once small hope.

As it breaches far horizon,

Before Summer with his Spring elopes.

On bare feet I, the pebbles feel,

So round and smooth beneath my feet.

As I lift my eyes to see your face,

Your smile my heart’s beseech.

So softly do the Angels play,

The strings upon their Lyre.

So sweetly do I hear the sound,

As Angels sing in Heaven’s choir.

glossary of australian terms

Pasty: A pastry folded over meat and vegetables.
Cornish pasties are the most famous variety.

Perving: Looking at someone in a desiring manner.

Aussie: Shortened version of Australian.

Reckon: To guess.

Sheila: A girl or woman.

Damper: A kind of dough cooked over an open fire that
forms a crusty partly burnt bread that you can fill with
anything.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul G Day is an experienced writer
and Author of dozens of books and thousands of poems. He has been
writing for many years, specializing in poetry and stories for
young readers. He is a qualified school teacher with two degrees.
Paul was born one of 9 children and has two grown children of his
own and has been happily married to his lovely wife Jennifer for 25
years. Paul loves to write stories which engages his readers with
wonderful characters they can easily identify with. He loves to
write stories about personal growth in the context of a broader,
complex and sometimes unforgiving world. When writing about his
characters, Paul draws on real life experiences, capturing the
spirit of adventure, loyalty and courage in every unique
story.

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTOR

Paul G Day has written a number of Young Adult Novels
as well as Children’s Books. Here is his collection so far.

YA Novels

Kipp The Kid

(International Edition)

Kipp The Copper Crest Kid

(Australian Edition)

The Black Fairy and the Dragonfly

Escape From The Dark Queen

(Book 2 of The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly)

Star Child: The Cosmic Birth

Children’s Book Series