A slight departure from what I usually write; the following is an extract from a story I have been commissioned to write, based on my clients childhood in care Comments/critiques most welcome BLEAK HOUSE The traffic was moving at a snails pace. Typical! my one day off and here I was stuck in some random towns high street. Why hadnt I stuck to the motorway or an A road at least. Lunch with my former colleague was gonna turn into supper at this rate. I pulled up my handbrake, for the thousandth time and looked in the windows of the shops, either side of me, on the narrow high street. Some nice antiques caught my eye, as my car inched forward I was soon alongside an Estate agents and next door to it, a cafe. Even better, right outside the estate agents was a parking space. I realised how hungry, thirsty and dying to pee, I was. Sorry Susie, I mumbled to myself as I navigated my car expertly into the space, well have that catch up next week...When there isnt a Brass band convention going on in your hometown, but right now, Im going to peel myself out of this tin can Ive been stuck in for the last three hours and have a much needed brew. The window of the estate agents was filled with pictures of Mansions and A second home in the country cottages. Far too many zeros for my bank balance. Yet still, I felt compelled to go inside. A quick look at how the other half live, I thought to myself and then a nice pot of tea and a slice of the homemade cake, featured on the pavement chalkboard. The door made its expected ding-dong as I entered. The agent must be in the back, I thought finding myself alone in the shop. Pictures of the properties for sale, adorned the walls. Nothing under a million. What the heck was I doing in here? Suddenly I heard a discreet cough behind me. When I turned around a short little man with glasses and a shiny bald head beamed a friendly smile, almost like he was expecting me for a pre arranged appointment. I felt a little weird. Was I in the shop that Mr benn, the cartoon character of my childhood, frequented? Oh shut up you daft woman, I thought to myself. Id better get out of here and have that cuppa. The sugar will do me good! Hello madam said the agent Found anything you like? Yeah, loads I replied Unfortunately my bank balance doesnt coincide with my taste Im afraid these are all out of my league. Id love to live in an area like this but I dont suppose you get many dirt cheap fixer uppers on your books Well its funny you should say that replied the smiling man. This just came on the Market this morning. I was just about to put the picture in the window. I think this would be right up your street; he giggled at his estate agent in joke Here, have a look I found myself looking at a gothic dark stone building. There were words to accompany the pic but they didnt matter. The building itself seemed to be calling me to come to it. Nothing mattered, neither price nor condition. I had to see it. Would madam like to view the property Bloomin eck could he read minds. His verbal intrusion made me jump. No need to be afraid dear. It cant hurt you. Here are the keys and directions Erm, I think I passed the road its on, on my way here...sounds very familiar, but dont you have to come with me? Oh no dear. We dont do all that big city stuff here. I can trust you. Just bring the key back by 5 Why wasnt I thinking all this was strange? Why was I now heading back to my car with a set of keys for a house, far too large for me? Why was a complete stranger happy to trust me with keys to a mansion? Oh well, it couldnt hurt to look and I wasnt in need of somewhere to squat- unlike my situation years ago. Id bring the keys back ...and anyway, it was a nice feeling to be trusted. It hadnt always been like that.... You wouldnt have thought I just spent the previous 3 hours getting hopelessly lost. The route to the house seemed incredibly easy. I hadnt even looked at the driving directions. I just seemed to know where to go. Common sense butted in and told me You scanned the directions when you first read them This was not the Twilight Zone! I knew as I rounded the next corner, that the gated entrance would be there, and I also knew which of the keys on the bunch opened it. Again common sense told me, a gate key is entirely different to a door key. A short drive up a winding graveled drive, and there is was. Bleak House - A name that suited it entirely. Dark, almost black stone for its construction, with small windows dotted randomly about its frontage...and just as I knew there would be- god knows how! - A dogs kennel, I could almost hear the bark of a dog. I glanced at my watch, 2pm, plenty of time to look around before heading back to the estate agents. I put my hand on the door handle...it wasnt there! I could hear a clock chiming from somewhere, NINE times! I looked up. The house looked bigger and darker than it was a minute ago and there WAS a dog barking... The car door opened and a large hand took my tiny one...Come on Rose said a voice attached to the hand. Its only for a while, just til your Mummy gets better. Come and meet the other children .....
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 18:36:06 +0000