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A Wonderful Day
'It looks like it is going to be a wonderful day Sammy' Said old Stan Patterson, 'It looks as if it is going to be a real scorcher.'
'Well I will soon see how hot it is Granddad, I am going to go out in a minute, said I would go over to Betty's new place and give her a hand tidying the place up.' As Sammy said this she was in the process of getting herself ready to go out.
Stan said, 'Remember to pop in to the market on your way back and get some of them nice biscuits I like, you know the type don't ya?'
'Yes Granddad I know the type.' Said Sammy smiling to herself at the fact that he always asks her to bring back biscuits, always the same type too so there is no way should would forget to bring them or bring the wrong type.
As the door slamed shut signaling the departure of his Granddaughter Stan looked out of the window to watch her leave. As he looked at her walking away from the house he thought to himself, 'Getting more an more like her mother everyday.'
Sammy was nineteen years old, slim, and had the good fortune to be blessed with her mother's good looks and that beautiful golden hair that everybody seemed to love. After her parents died, Stan insisted that she came to live with him even though he was kinda old to be looking after a young fifteen year old, but he insisted to the authorities that he was more than able to look after her. After an assessment from the social services they decided that he would indeed be able to look after her and seeing that he was her only living relative that was left, they granted him full custody of the child.
With four years behind them living as a family Stan has saw many changes in that little girl, she was once a little shy and some would say rather timid. Now she was a headstrong young woman that knew exactly what she wanted from life, and there was no way that she would not get what she wanted.
Her friend Betty had just bought a house in a little town called Willow Creek, this is where Sammy is heading as she takes a shortcut through Scraper Watson's fields. He is called 'Scrapper' Watson due to the amount of scrap cars and old household appliances that is scattered across his back yard. Scrapper Watson is aware of what people call him but does not mind the nickname as he thinks it gives him some sort of status, he thinks that if everyone knows him then everyone must like him.
Sammy arrived at Betty's new house, it was much bigger than what she thought it would be and was standing on the path that led up to the front door when it opened. Betty waved a hand in greeting as she said, 'Hey Sammy, I was wondering when you were going to show up, how do you like the place then?'
Sammy said, 'Wow this is a great house Betty, I wish I lived in a house as nice as this.'
'Come inside and I will put the kettle on for a cup of tea, then I will show you all the rooms.' Betty said this as she motioned for Sammy to follow her into the house, once inside they made their way to the kitchen.
With cups of tea in their hands Betty led Sammy through the house, as she passed doors she would say, 'This is the dinning room, this is the bedroom, etc.etc.etc.'
'This is my favorite one Sammy' Said Betty, 'I just love the view from this room, it always takes my breath away.'
As soon as Sammy walked into the room she could see why Betty liked it that much, the window was much bigger than a normal sized window which let the person who was looking out of it see a magnificent view of Willow Creek.
Sammy gasped in amazement as she looked out of it, she was able to see the mountains in the distance, she was also able to see her grandfathers house which did look really small but she was able to tell that it was his house. She was able to see the church that was situated right on the edge of Willow Creek, she was also able to see a house which would of been invisible to passers by as it was surrounded by trees, the house looked shabby and in need of repair; from here it looked like the roof was partly missing and the chimney stack appeared to be leaning at an impossible angle, Sammy wondered how it was able to stay upright.
'It is wonderful isn't it Sammy?'
Sammy said, 'Oh Betty, I love it here too, this house is just perfect; if I lived here I would make this room my room.'
'That's exactly what I am going to do Sammy, I am going to make this room my bedroom so that I can see this perfect view every morning when I awake.'
'You are so lucky Betty.' Said Sammy, 'To find such a wonderful house like this available for purchase must surely be classed as lucky.'
As Sammy gazed out of the window again she felt herself being drawn to the secluded house that was surrounded by trees. She noticed that at the back of the house there was a high white wall. This wall seemed to be very bright in relation to everything else that was nearby, she turned to look at Betty then said, 'Who lives in that house Betty?'
Betty followed the direction that Sammy's finger was pointing to and said, 'I do not know, I never even saw it before you pointed it out.'
'Come on, I will show you the garden.' Said Betty, 'I am sure you will love the garden too.'
Sure enough Sammy loved the garden which was decently laid out with flower beds and a lawn that was so green Sammy thought that it must of been painted.
For the rest of the day Betty kept telling Sammy how wonderful her house was and by the time Sammy said her good-byes and left she was sick of hearing about it.
As she walked home she could not stop thinking about that house she saw, she did not know why she would think so deeply about a house that she had never seen before but the curiosity that was building inside of her, was increasing with every step that she took.
She was at the corner of Barrack Street that led down to Portland Road, she guessed that if she went to the end of Portland Road then she would be very near to where she saw the house. Everything looked different when viewed from above but she was quite sure that this would lead her to it. She did not know why she wanted to see the house so badly, it was just something inside of her that would not let her let go of the idea.
With her mind made up she headed off down Portland Road and did not realize herself that she was actually walking quicker than what she normally would have, something seemed to be pulling her closer to her destination, if she realized that this was happening then perhaps she would not have bothered going to see the house, she did not know that this was happening so she continued to walk with speed towards the house.
The trees surrounding the house looked a lot bigger when viewed from about five feet away, this is the distance that Sammy was from them; she felt a shiver run down her spine as she peered through the branches trying to view the house that lay beyond the foliage.
Strangely, there did not appear to be a path as such that led to the house, only places where footsteps had created smooth tracks through the leaf covered grass. Sammy thought to herself, 'Perhaps I should just turn around and go home, what am I doing here anyway? That IS a good question, what am I doing here?'
Sammy did not know why she was here, she only knew that there was a deep feeling of wanting to see the house for herself, a feeling so strong that it could not be ignored.
'Stop being silly Sammy, go on, it is only a house you know.' The voice inside Sammy's head appeared to win the debate and Sammy walked slowly through the bushy path.
'See there is nothing there.' Said the voice from within, 'You are just being a big kid Sammy, imaging being scared of an old house.'
Sammy said out loud, 'Right, here goes.'
As she said this she quickened her pace and was soon face to face with the house. Standing on the lawn in front of the house was a little scary, due to the trees that surrounded the place the light was somewhat restricted, Sammy found herself wishing that she never bothered coming here at all.
Close up, the house was in more need of repair than what it seemed from the window of Betty's 'bedroom', nearly all the visible windows were broken, (Probably smashed by the youth of Willow Creek who were always on the lookout for adventure on the long summer nights)
the roof was as she had seen before in need of serious repair; that leaning chimney that she saw was a miracle, there was no other word for it, Sammy could not see any reason why it did not just fall over, it must be some flaw on the laws of gravity as to why it did not just topple over.
Sammy stayed in front of the house for a few minutes then slowly made her way to the rear of the house, she felt that before she would go home she had to see that white wall, she thought to herself, 'That white wall looked brighter than any other white wall that I had ever seen before, why would that wall be so bright when everything else around here is broken and dirty?'
Sammy did not know the answer to her own question nor did she know why she would be asking such a question anyway, (hell, who in their right mind would walk into a strangers garden, look over their house then go round the back of the house just to look at their wall?)
Sammy smiled to herself with this last thought, she was still smiling as she came round from the other side of the house and faced the white wall.
As soon as she saw it she stopped, oh yes this wall was white, so white in fact that Sammy thought 'if anybody could bottle that whiteness then they would make a fortune selling it.'
Sammy walked up to the wall, she held out a trembling hand, (She did not know why her hand was trembling but it was) and touched the wall.
She ran her fingers over the smooth surface, this wall was smoother than a window pane, Sammy could not believe how smooth it was, she put her other hand on it and with both hands she began to slide them over the smooth white surface.
If she did not hear the sound then she would of stayed there for hours probably but she did hear the sound.
'Crying, yes, that's what it is, crying.'
Sammy spoke these words out, she heard crying from somewhere.
'There it is again, christ, stop speaking to yourself Sammy, if someone heard you they would think that you were mad.'
Sammy looked around as she tried to see where or who the crying was coming from.
The crying continued, small sobs that sounded as though they might be coming from a young child.
'Is anybody there?' Called out Sammy, no response came.
'Hello' Sammy knew that she heard and still did hear someone crying.
Sammy cocked her head to the side as she tried to pinpoint the place where she heard the crying, she concentrated on the sound and came to the conclusion that it was coming from the other side of the wall.
Sammy tried to jump up and look over the wall but she was not tall enough to see. She then tried climbing the wall but the smooth surface was much to smooth to hold on to.
She looked around the garden and spied a waste bin sitting beside the wall of the house. She went over to the bin and dragged it to the wall.
Standing on the bin, she guessed that if she were to jump from it then she might be able to grab the top of the wall then pull herself over.
She was right, after mentally counting down from three to one then jumping, she grabbed the top of the wall. With all of her might she pulled herself up so that she was able to sit astride the wall.
When she was sitting on it she nearly fell off again for what she saw beyond the white wall went against all that her mind told her about the world that she lived in.
Strange as it was, when Sammy sat on the wall, the crying stopped.
John Mcleod
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