Betsy was tired from walking so far, she wanted to give up, but she knew that it was only 5 miles to the nearest pub in a village at the top of the moor, supposedly the best view of the countryside for miles around, she decided she would reserve judgement until she saw it, only she had already seen some spectacular sights.
Betsy was on a walking holiday in the north Yorkshire moors, and camping under the stars on her own, she was actually enjoying herself, she could pitch tent where ever she felt like and indulge in some soul searching and contemplation, lots of mindfulness meditation and reading books in rain storms, quite peaceful really. she expected the walk to take about 4 days over and under dale, but due to the weather conditions she was likely to be a lot longer, she didn’t mind, being away from the bustle of modern technology was nice and refreshing.
She had been walking along time, 10 miles last time she counted. She decided to rest after puffing and panting up a very big hill, the view was beautiful, here camera phone came out again, and she sat there drinking her hot tea, when she could hear in the distance a steam train along way away. Betsy was sure there were no railway tracks around for a good 50 miles, she got out her map of the Yorkshire dales to check, she was right, there was nothing indicated on the map. She had decided not to use the sat nav on her phone she didn’t want it to use up all the battery, and instead she used a an actual paper map, her father would be proud of her, she was using his compass as-well, and binoculars to see further ahead and glance at the sky for the occasional bird of prey. Since she was in no rush to get to the pub she thought she would investigate the steam train noises that she could still hear.
Betsy followed the noises for 3 miles over rough terrain and moss covered boulders to a massive open air quarry where by the time she had got there the noise had gone, and all she could hear was the birds singing,which ones?, she was feeling disappointed in herself for not knowing what birds were, her father would know.
It was creepy here, very scooby doo, although there under the mud and dust from the quarry walls were remnants of an old rail track that looked over a hundred years old, probably more.
The night was drawing in and she was a fair way off her course to her destination, she decided to pitch camp in the quarry, as she made up the tent there were bits of wood scattered around the place, as if something had been torn apart, there was a letter on one of them, D, danger maybe, she ignored it, her imagination was running wild being out here on her own in the dark.
In the early hours of the morning the weather picked up a gale force wind and a thunderstorm loomed over head, she could hear the whirling of the wind and the rain as it was lashing down, thunder woke her up an then a sound of a steam train getting very close, she stared out to see glaring headlights of a train coming towards her at a rates of knots, she belted out of the tent to see a steam train, larger than life ploughing over her tent, it looked pale or out of focus, she could see the people in the carriages looking out at her in various states of injury, her eyes were wide and all she could do was stare back the wind and rain lashing at her pyjamas and her hair flattened by the rain, the train past and and faded from view, the noises got quieter until they had gone, she took a deep breath and picked up her tent from the mud to stand it up right and moved it a bit to the left before going back to sleep until the morning. The thunderstorm died down quickly and everything was still again and stars in the sky twinkled innocently.
Waking up full of energy at the crack of dawn, less muddy and wet she gathered her stuff and got back on her trail towards the pub, as she kept walking she could hear the train in the background, she ignored it and kept walking forwards, she checked the sodden map again she was further away than she thought, with immense effort she trundled on. A bit further on it was slowly getting dark again and a noise was following her, a snuffling and growling was coming from every bush of heather she past and she was getting slightly panicky, still a few miles to the pub. It was dark now, and the wind had picked up
it was cold and looking up the stars were out, it was stunning, she had never seen that many stars, the sky was completely clear and the moon was at its fullest, she took some photos of the night sky. Checking her focus she took some photos of some bushes and noticed they had eyes glaring at her, not wanting to be savaged she started to run, now she could hear howling coming from behind her and the thumps of running animals were apparent, she never knew she could run so fast, especially in hiking boots and she was desperately trying to avoid falling over in the dark.
She tripped over a small gorse bush, crap she thought, standing up she could feel a scratch to the back of her leg, she wish she hadn’t turned round to see, the eyes again and a claw trying to attach itself to her leg, she kicked out and ran on, the light on the outside of the pub went on as she got closer, the village behind looked dead but at least the pub was still open, she stopped running, straightened up and walked into it breathing as steadily as she could, Betsy bought a beer just before last orders and went up to bed soon after.
Waking up the next morning she felt refreshed, a shower and down to breakfast, as she was tucking in to her second bacon sandwich she couldn’t help but over hear a couple of locals talking about last night
‘did you hear it last night, it were about’
‘Ye, I did, full moon to’ said the second man
‘didn’t think it were true, I just heard the rumours’
‘You know it’s called werewolf moor for a reason don’t you?’
‘What’s in a name, what bugger would be out on moor at that time of night anyway?’
‘A daft one’
listening to them Betsy filled with horror, she had been scratched what would happen to her?, mindfulness breathing wouldn’t get her out of this problem, despite what her life coach says.

He was looking forward to his gap year. Alan was preparing for his holiday to New Zealand, last minute packing and checking his ticket. That’s Gatwick to Auckland then re fuelling at Hong Kong, 20 plus hours on an aeroplane, he will be mostly sleeping and reading, fingers crossed he doesn’t have to sit next to someone snoring.
After the usual goodbyes with his family and friends he adventured into the airport, there were flyers all around the place for a huge comic con in China, great he thought, he hoped he wouldn’t have to bump into them when in Hong Kong airport, that’s the last thing he needed, lots of people in funny costumes pushing past him.
Boarding went fine and on schedule and he got a window seat near the back, luckily the plane wasn’t busy and he didn’t have anyone sitting next to him which was a bonus for the long haul flight.
After they had left the ground he started to drift away staring out of the window, thinking of how much fun he was going to have, he already had a friend waiting for him at the other end to show him round, and they were going to drive around the country in a motor home, he was told not many people drove between islands new Zealand, they were much more laid back when it came to things like round about s and straight roads. He was looking forward to doing some semi dangerous things, sky dive, bungee jump and anything else that took their fancy, and of course the obligatory lord of the rings tours.
Alan put in his earphones and his music started, 80’s classics, as he stared out of the window while George Michael was singing faith was an unusual sight, he tried blinking a few times, it didn’t work, but he thought he saw a rocket parallel to them and something, no, someone was straddling it, Jane Fonda?, after a few seconds she and the rocket had gone, OK now was the time to ask for a drink, he knew it was early but he didn’t care, Bloody Mary please, he asked the air hostess, he had heard the noise on the aircraft would enhance the flavour.
After a respite of reading he looked out of the window again, slowly he lifted the blind to see Valcor the flying luck dragon, he wasn’t reading the never-ending story, baffled he tried to sleep it off, he pulled down the blind again and put his sleep mask on. After about half an hour he could hear what sounded like cries of pain from outside the aircraft, he tentatively lifted the blind to see what looked like a pteranodon squawking, and fighting mid air with a turkey vulture, the pteranodon was winning. Alan shook his head, took another sip of his drink and went back to sleep, after a while and a bathroom break he opened his blind again, nothing there, bliss back to normality all of a sudden a light shone straight up to the heavens through the clouds, at first he saw the hammer, then the person holding it, Thor?, he was in full uniform with the red cape, for a second they caught each others gaze and he could have sworn Thor winked at him before disappearing straight up into the clouds. That’s it Alan thought he was going crackers, headphones back on sleep mask on, no-one and nothing was waking him now.
Eventually he was shaken awake by the stewardess telling him he had arrived in Hong Kong and they had to vacate the plane while it was being refuelled. He got his bag and followed her off the plane to the departure gate where everyone else was already stretching their legs.
Having a wonder he noticed a familiar figure walking towards him with some storm troopers, Darthvader was walking towards him with 4 of them behind him, but only when he saw Dumbledor talking to Gandalf did he remember about the comic con, at one point the Rock walked past him in the corridor and got surrounded by families wanting autographs, Alan remembered that wrestle-mania was part of the comic con and went back to his book, although he would’ve liked to have gotten his autograph himself, he had seen him in a few films, he could act and was funny, but Alan decided not, bit geeky maybe?.
Back on the plane he had some food and was back listening to his play list, more 80’s tracks, looking out of the window as the Eurythmics was playing sweet dreams what looked like a load of Disney characters flew past, headed by Mary Poppins, quickly followed by tinker bell, peter pan, Wendy, Aladdin on a flying carpet and a witch on a broomstick, that’s it he thought the weirdest flight he has ever been on, something in the air, drink, plane?.
OK earphones in, sleep mask back on blind down and lights off, he drifted off to ‘here comes the rain again’ and didn’t wake up again until they were almost there, relieved and very awake he looked around, everyone else was coming too as well, lights were coming on and tray tables were going up, he tried slowly putting up the blind on the window to see the New Zealand outline and small white fluffy clouds, He was here, thank god and no more fantasies in the sky.
In the airport there were no storm troopers or wizards, it was over, Alan’s friend was there waiting for him
‘Alan over here’ a voice yelled
‘Hi mate’ Alan said as he embraced his friend Steven
‘How was the flight?’
‘Weird, very weird, every time I looked out of the window there was something flying past, at one point I could have sworn I saw Valcor and Mary Poppins’
‘Together?’
‘No you foul, separately’, ‘does it matter?’ Alan said smiling
‘Well I know that there are rumours about that long haul flight, other peoples dreams coming to life, personally I think it’s bullshit but you never know’
‘But who would dream of Barberella straddling a rocket?’
‘A horny teenager?’
They both walked off laughing together carrying Alan’s bags ready for an unforgettable holiday and yet the plane journey was unforgettable in its self.

I never thought that life could be so difficult. Its all so thrilling, adventurous, amazing and boring.
My life so far I suppose has been boring- my school years were nothing to write home about and my college years were as disjointed as you could get, going from one subject to another and yet I feel ‘unlearned’, that life could still be so much more even at the age which I am rapidly getting nearer to, the big 40.
I look back at myself , writing ghost stories in my bedroom, or stealing a game of tennis with my father somewhere where we shouldn’t.
My life was going to be a grand affair, I would be part of film making, writing a novel, having children and marry someone who I could give my heart, body and soul too. Needless to say I am not doing gruesome make-up on a film, writing a book or have a husband or child to dote on, as much as now I wish I could be married to a gorgeous movie star, and have babies (Tom Hiddleston or Chris Hemsworth) and have a family I love.
No, I’m in a retail position in an OK company and dreaming of another life. Dreaming has it’s moments, living on your own you can dream to your hearts content, but it’s not reality, for that it’s the repetition of everyday life, opening and closing a shop, false smiles and juggling the personal life at the same time.
Friends pick and choose when they want to see you, even if you are not in the mood, mothers push dating websites your way and hope you luck out with an amazing date that might lead to love, as much as I would love that, the dating game is a fickle one, people lie, making themselves sound and look amazing, when they are not what they seem.
Looking to this new year though I have hope, I will keep going on the hunt for the perfect relationship, friends and lovers.
The most exciting thing this year is the possibilities of a future, even at my age, I never went to university when I was younger, now I have an opportunity to fulfil a reality not a dream, I will understand my body and identity. Losing weight the ultimate new years resolution, I can always eat well its the exercise I’m lacking, I keep thinking I need better motivation but maybe I already have it and I just need to find it within my self – I get that is a cliché and is what motivation is, but clarification is always useful, some people need help to understand themselves sometimes. Like so many people I just need to knuckle down and do it, life is short and there’s so much out there left to do.

The Garden God

The garden looked imposing up close, it looked daunting enough from afar. It was an overgrown mess at the back of her new flat, lots of brambles, a few trees, and what looked like a tumble down shed right at the back.
Tess had just moved to Cardiff looking for work in the big city. She had grown up in villages and towns, and this was the next big step, she had found a one bedroom flat close to town, and had its own parking, mainly for when relatives came to visit.
After getting used to the area and starting with her new job for a few weeks,(she managed to get a shop job in town) she decided to venture out into the wilderness of the garden, armed with pruning shears, heavy duty gloves and comfortable shoes, she went in.
she had picked a good weather day, a beautiful Sunday, the sun was shining off the odd flower that were scattered around and peeking through thorns and stinging nettles, it was nice and warm and despite being on a main road it was lovely and calm, surprisingly serene.
The butterflies and bees were out in abundance, and Tess enjoyed looking at the spiders in their webs. She started hacking away at the long brambles trying to make a path to the tree, she could see apples, big ones, and she was picking at the blackberries as she went along, nice and sweet, there were lots of them.
After battling through to the tree she picked one of the apples, it was a baking apple, that was OK, she could still cook with them. Behind the tree was a little bit more ‘garden’ and a shed with a corrugated iron roof and hiding behind bushes of holly, thinking there might be something interesting inside the shed she carefully chopped away at the holly ( that would be useful come Christmas she thought). Poking her head through the door apart from spiders webs and dust she found a perfect oval of dust on the floor, as if someone had removed something that had been there for a long time, as she turned to leave there was a slight movement from the corner of the room, she turned quickly back to see nothing, just her imagination.
As Tess started to walk back past the tree ducking the lower branches she could hear birds singing and rustling in the bushes, she had seen cats in the garden before out of her bedroom window so assumed that was what it was, then loads of things happened at once, the rustling stopped, the birds went quiet and it was like a bubble had encapsulated that moment, no noise could be heard, it actually felt amazing, then she heard something, very faint, and sounded like a small child whispering.
‘Please help us’ it said, and constantly on repeat
Tess completely confused as to what just happened asked
‘Who, how, why?’
‘ We are the residents of the garden, we need help, we can’t survive long if we are without our god’
‘What, who is your god?’
‘ It was taken from us, from the house, we need it’
Tess was thinking of the oval of dust in the shed, ‘I’ll see what I can find out’ she said thinking what else can she do;
‘What does your god look like?’ otherwise she wasn’t going to get very far at all
‘Our god is old, and can feed us with life, by showering down nectar from the heavens’
‘Right OK’ Tess said hesitantly trying to think what it could be.
Then just as soon as it happened, it un happened, the bubble was lifted and she could hear cars in the background, birds singing and a butterfly flew across her path.
Dazed and confused Tess went back inside her flat carrying a few apples and she picked some blackberries to settle her nerves.
What could have made that shape in the dust?
As the weeks went by she gave up trying to work it out and concentrated on other things. Looking out of the bedroom one day she noticed the garden was not as blooming as once it was, with all the rain they had had recently the garden wasn’t more overgrown, nothing had grown in weeks. She went outside to have a look, and on closer inspection Tess found the chop marks from before, the path that she had made was unchanged, the apples that had fallen from the tree were not decaying, there was no sounds coming from the overgrown bushes and no wasps,bees or butterflies fluting around it was all quite creepy and eerie really.
She headed towards the shed again to see if the empty void was still there, it was.
Looking around more she could see tidy footprints and scuff marks in the dust, she thought about taking a photo, but then decided that if she did show someone she would sound mad, that would be a great first impression to her new friends.
As she walked back along the overgrown path she noticed off to the side was an old rusty wheelbarrow upturned, very carefully she moved it ever so slightly and out came a funny looking creature of bark looking like a bigger version of a moth but with legs and massive wings standing up straight, it looked up at her, it snarled barked and ran of into the nettles. Tess was losing it, although it did make her think of what the made that void again, she was due to see her landlord today so she decided to ask him what could have made that mark.
‘Hi Tess’
‘Hi Ed, how’s it going’
‘Fine thanks, how can I help you are you settling in well?’
‘yes thanks, just a couple of things, any chance someone could fix my oven hob, I’m having trouble lighting it and my light bulb strip above the kitchen is flickering, and I don’t know how to change it?’
‘That’s fine, I can get my electrician to call you at the end of the week if that’s OK?’
‘That’s great thanks’
‘Oh really random quick question since your here, has anything been taken from the shed out the back as there’s a void in the dust?’
‘Oh yeah, I needed a watering can and I remembered where I had one’
‘Oh, that makes sense, thanks, sorry weird question’
‘That’s al-right, I’m popping back at the weekend to see the upstairs tenants, see you later’
‘Thanks bye’
Now he said it, it made sense, the showering remark that the whisper mentioned, she decided to go to a hardware store in town and bye a cheap new stainless steel one, for resilience and longevity.
That evening she dropped in her stuff, put on old trainers/jeans and carried the new watering can to the shed, she matched up the void with the watering can and walked away, half way back through the bramble path it went quiet again, it was that bubble again, all she heard was a low whisper of thank you. Back to reality in a second and she found herself hemmed in by the nettles, the ones that haven’t been growing for weeks and all of a sudden appeared, so much for her path, lots of scraps and scratches later she got to the concrete backyard to find a basket made of branches with apples and blackberries in it, she smiled, looking back she could see the tree looked more beautiful and everything had more colour and a fresh feeling about it, she could also swear that the bark on the big tree was moving, but maybe it was just her imagination.

Oxford Spring

Twas brillig in Oxford on a sunny day

The eagle and child was all cheerful and gay

In spring the universities over flowed

and tourists bustled and were wrapped up for the cold

Tolkien and Harry potter were the reasons they came

For they were the subject of their day

and now it is fore told that many authors will come to stay, write, be happy and play

Oxford University

The morning is fresh from the spring summer breeze

The students that studied were calm and at ease

Families and tourists alike would come to see, the history and culture of the university

Some to take stock of their future choices, and some to gawp at the filming locations and the founders voices

Everywhere around are beautiful buildings, cloisters and trees

Everyone was happy at peace enjoying in the potential of all these

the Cove

Relaxing on the boat afterwards she could barely believe she’d done it.

Looking down she could see white bubble curls on the surface of the turquoise water and people in black wet suits with a luminous strip down the sides.

The cove they were in was idyllic really, the other busy boats had gone, it was just them and one other boat.

She could hear an array of bird calls, Turkish music and gas escaping from somewhere. She liked being down here in the open cabin, all the sun-seekers and regulars were up top basking in what was left of the suns rays.

Her mum had texted her earlier asking for more photos on facebook, she thought about putting a photo of the cove on then hesitated, save that for tomorrow, they’d see the DVD later.

For a new experience , forgetting the one earlier in the week, this one was awesome. Getting on the gear and learning how to breath etc…was great fun, breathing through the mouth only, keep your lips over the mouth piece to stop breathing in water, press to expel any, to equalise pop your ears and to get water out of your mask tip head back and blow through your nose. All good advice.

Going under the water felt surreal, like a really big bath there was no sound. With the guidance from her diver she was swimming feet first into a sea of fish she couldn’t see far but she did see an array of fish, lots of coral and a noted highlight was seeing a sea turtle in it’s natural habitat,.

kneeling on the sandy floor of the sea bed was so peaceful, and feeding the fish with bread was just surreal.

But the best bit was too imagine, even in the coldest place she’d ever been was the possibility of what was in the wide open sea, at one point she was there, right at the brink of it, nothing but blue, it reminded her of finding nemo where they have the same experience, anything could be beyond the reef.

And the question, can you hide from a shark?

paradise

She felt like getting on the boat was a challenge in itself, her trousers were too long and got soaked with sea salt, great, she would have to do more than just rinse them later.

Despite the choppiness of the boat she felt OK, it was only small so all movement was large and she felt the waves bounce as much as the boat.

The trip was a boat tour with a few coves, lunch and a lot of swimming involved , good job she loved swimming, regular water baby.

The first cove was beautiful , busy, a lot of people but the water was warm and not very deep, she just floated on her back holding onto a foam stick, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

Back on the boat on the boat they went round to the next bay, she’d forgotten the name of it but the minute she started swimming she remembered, cold water bay, still great swimming but bloody hell it was cold, she aimed for the sunny bits and enjoyed some warm moments.

The next bay was the best, aquarium bay, the views were stunning from the boat, even better from a swimming point of view.

The water was warm and looking down she could almost see the bottom, she wished she’d remembered her goggles to go fish hunting, her friend had a mask and was hunting already but she preferred to stay near to the boat just in case it left without them.

She enjoyed watching the other people from the boat jumping in and the kiddies being dropped or jumping from the edge of the gang plank, they looked like they were enjoying it.

On the way round to the next one she was starting to feel unwell, lunch was a nice distraction once they docked, chicken and salad, perfect.

The last bay, butterfly bay was to choppy even for her, she tried to swim but the waves were too big and after a mouthful of sea water she got back on the boat and had a lie down on the top deck, half in the shade, half in the sun, anything to help her not feel sick. The boat was rocking, bucking and jarring, when she was a kid she would have loved it, her realisation of turning into her mother was not appealing. The boat felt like it was doing a dance on the way home, a samba mixed with a salsa, it could have won strictly come dancing.

After getting back onto dry land a drink was definitely needed, she felt like she would have boat head for a few days. She did feel better though as her friend and her drank ice cocktails on the beach.

But the question is still unanswered, could you hide from a shark?

Blue lagoon

Sitting on the shingle beach on the blue lagoon she thought it was too ducking hot.

The occasional breeze made it bearable, she had too many clothes on from burning the day before and big globules of sweat were working their way down her back, it was definitely too hot.

So much for having a day of massage and swimming at the hotel, next time no massage with oil which unknown to her would make her burn to buggery.

She enjoyed people watching, her friend next to her was attempting to make her back browner, she was trying to get an all over tan, she only had small strap marks due to her bikini top, she how ever had a swim suit and her marks were big and thick like a complicated stick of rock. She had had enough of the sun already and had decided not to bother burning more , besides she fancied having a decent nights sleep, last night was painful.

The people she was watching on this beach were mostly wearing either something very skimpy or less, kids were wearing outfits of that stuff that was sun and waterproof, they were clearly British.

In that picturesque scenery she could contemplate life the universe and everything.

There were lots of people swimming nearby, mostly kids in water-wings and splashing a lot, very little actual swimming, and just to set the scene, para gliders at all different heights and different colours gliding down from the sky, like storks carrying babies on their backs.

She was enjoying a cold glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and sitting in the shade of a canteen on the beach, she wondered why there was a fish tank with fish in murky under the shade where people were eating.

She imagined if someone did say shark loudly it would be a massacre, the kids would be the first out and the shark or sharks would probably end up attacking and deflating the inflatable kids park around the corner, or getting trapped by a sadistic parent in the pedalows.

But the question is can you hide from a shark?

She approached with an heir of trepidation, had she been wise to take his directions or was it a good idea to ask a clown with a limp the way to the woods.
She girded her loins and went in. She did wonder what was it she was hoping to achieve going in there, why was she putting herself through this, then she decided no, everyone had a right to k now the truth, at least that’s what she was told, he said it was a big secret and a privalage to paint this amazing experience.
Abbie was weary but she pushed past the bushes and carefully skirted the holly, making it easier for her to enter the woods.
All she had with her was her brushes, a watercolour pad, pencils and few colours. She was determined to paint the truth.

She followed the windy path through the trees until she came to the glade where ‘it’ happened, she had no idea what she would find or what would manifest in front of her. She set up her painting set and waited.
Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. While she waited she started sketching her surroundings, a few bushes, lots of trees and a babbling brook going through the centre of the glade, as scenes go it was nice,calming and relaxing, and yet nothing else was happening.

It felt like ages at which point Abbie was considering abandoning this ‘ wonder of nature’. Then she was reminded that she was getting paid to paint this wonder at the behest of someone with more money than sense, so she stayed.
Abbie was just wondering whether this was going to be worth it when a doe entered the clearing, not what she expected, but it would do for her sketch pad. She thought that whatever it was that was supposed to be exciting and enthralling was not just a doe in a woodland clearing.
After a couple of minutes drawing and admiring the solitary creature she started to hear a low deep thumping, like something was walking towards her but from underground, except the trees were shaking and the birds were fleeing the high branches.
The noise just kept getting closer and Abbie was now panicking. She assumed this was what she was here for and stayed firm, but there was no harm in hiding behind a tree just in case, she felt if worse comes to worse she could just take a photo and leg it, as in paint it later and run now, if it was big and dangerous it was definately preferable.

The creature entered the glade on it’s hind legs and she froze where she stood, OMG, a fucking dinosaur, and it’s a T-Rex, if it was going to be a dinosaur why couldn’t it be a herbivore.
Staying calm and remembering not to move and stay still she started to draw, Abbie figured the quicker she drew the better, taking notes on colour and posture, she knew better than to take a photo, she had seen Jurassic park and if it knew she was there she would be lunch.
The T-Rex was more curious about the doe and bent down to sniff at the girl, who was happily contented munching on a bush.
In one moment the doe was there and the next it wasn’t, the T-Rex had eaten it in one gulp.
Abbie was horrified and shaking behind her tree not daring to move, all she could hear was the heavy breathing of the dinosaur.
After a few seconds and some deep breaths Abbie dared to look again, and the dinosaur had gone.

Still dubious about big scary monsters leaping out at her she emerged from her tree, seeing nothing there she exhaled a Hugh sigh of relief, what were her benefactors thinkings sending her in this forest to paint a dinosaur, it could have eaten her, although being eaten by a dinosaur, cool death or what?.
Either way she was now glad not to be a dinosaurs lunch. Abbie picked up her stuff still a bit shakily and started to walk back the way she had come, she would be having words with her money man when she got back. She caught sight of the road with cars on it and people on the pavement that were laughing and kissing, civilisation, bliss.
Abbie walked into the sunshine onto the hot tarmacked pavement and breathed a sigh of relief

Looking around she noticed the clown on a bench nearby that she had talked to earlier, he was smoking an e-cigarette and drinking something from a plain paper bag. She sat down next to him.

‘Did you find what you were looking for?’ he said in a low gruff voice.

‘Yes thanks’ Abbie said, taking a sip of warm water.

‘Not too scary for you, there are far more monsters out there than you think, it’s not a good idea to go looking for them, you might not like what you find or you’ll end up in the belly of them’

‘ Thanks for the tip’ Abbie said standing and walking away.

She got back to the art studio where her benefactors were based, they were going to have a piece of her mind, she hadn’t finished the painting yet but she was so cross at not knowing or expecting what she actually had to paint that she stormed into the studio and made the people inside jump as the doorbell went off. She recognised the boss

‘ Mr Thomas may I have a word, NOW, please’ she said the last bit as sweetly as she could and battered her eye lids.

‘Certainly Miss Wright’ he said with confidence and a smile ‘ Have you done my painting?’ he asked after walking her into his office

‘ I have sketches ready for painting’ she said, her blood boiling at the sight of this smarmy American with his perfectly white teeth and cheesy smile

‘Good, anything else you wanted?’

‘ Yes, what the hell were you thinking sending me out there on my own, you do know what I had to paint don’t you?’

‘I have an idea, a dinosaur if I’m right, I needed a painting rather than a photo, you see if someone tried that, well it being a dinosaur they probably would have been eaten, painters can get closer, you see my logic, plus I need a new centre piece for my wall’ he said pointing to the empty wall behind his desk.
He was standing next to her as his hand was moving over her bottom.
Abbie took a step back and slapped him across his handsome face,

‘ And I thought I saw a monster earlier, it was nothing to the monster in here’
she turned to leave and tore up the dinosaur sketch in front of him and walked out, never mind about the money she thought, good luck to him finding another mug to go into that forest, especially if they see a clown first.

Enid was ready for bed, she had had her warm milk and been tucked into bed by her parents, they were both going back downstairs to a party.

Her mum was wearing a hula skirt and her dad a flower boa and a straw hat, she wondered what the theme was of this party. Her mum turned off the light as they went out of the room, blowing her a kiss goodnight.

It was dark and she was sleepy, she closed her eyes and started to dream, but then she started to twist and turn, too many films going round in her head, she awoke with a start and sat bolt upright. Looking round the room her eyes picked out the fireplace and thought she saw a hand emerging from the grate stretching out into the room, wide eyed she lied back down on her bed and shut her eyes tight. She started to hear scratching, Enid looked around the room again, nothing, looking down the side of her mattress a family of big black spiders with huge legs were marching towards her at the head of the bed, she acted instinctively and almost jumped out of bed, she climbed out of her bunk bed and ran out of the room to find her parents.

The distraction of bright colours and funny clothes almost put her off her stride, eventually she did find them, they were huddled round the log burner in the kitchen drinking brightly coloured drinks with umbrellas and had half swapped costumes. They put her back to bed after checking for hands and spiders, tucking her in and told her to have happy dreams, and that is what she did.