The Guardian and The Garnet

The Guardian and The Garnet

Chapter One

Sally stood on the edge of the runway. Her heart was beating fast. Her breathing was shallow. Her awareness shrank to the expanse of grass ahead and the cool metal javelin in her chalky hand. The other pupils, the shouted encouragements from her schoolmates, all faded away. She shook her long, thin arms. The dream flashed into her mind. Unicorns. A bear. Sally blinked. Her head cleared.

She pushed a strand of shoulder-length light brown hair away from her face. Her heart beat loudly in her ears. She took a deep breath and hefted the javelin above her shoulder. Her heel pumped, then she bounced down the runway. She leapt into the air. A growl tore from her throat as she hurled the javelin. Sally stood, transfixed. The sleek metal spear flew away, stabbing sharply into the soil.

‘Yeeees!’ she shouted. Suddenly, the volume of the world returned. The cheers of her friends reached her once more as Jenny ran towards her up the runway. They hugged tightly.

‘Ohmigod! Sal, that was massive!’ yelled Jenny as they joined arms, jumping in a circle. They watched the field as the officials measured her distance. Sally’s was the last throw of the final. The two girls waited.

A deep male voice boomed over the PA system, ‘Sally Robson, of St Augustine’s High School…… Twenty-six point three metres.’ The two girls leapt around ecstatically. The voice continued, ‘taking Sally Robson into the gold medal position in this year’s northwestern schools javelin final. Now, onto the high jump…..’

Sally beamed with joy as she sauntered home from school, her steps matching Jenny’s in the warm July sun. Still in their sports kits, the girls grinned as they relived every moment of the competition. ‘Everyone was so impressed, Sal,’ said Jenny. Sally had been a hero on the bus back to school. ‘Sa-lly, Sa-lly, Sa-lly’ the others had chanted as she’d come up the steps wearing her gold medal, blushing at the attention. ‘You got the only gold. You pulled us up from bronze from silver!’ She smiled, remembering bending her head down for the medal, a lump forming in her throat.

‘You d..d…d..did well too, Jen. You got two medals, that’s amazing!’ The two thirteen-year-old girls linked arms. One tall and thin with knobbly knees and shoulder-length light brown hair, the other shorter and more muscular with masses of dark curls. They skipped along contentedly, proudly wearing their medals.

The smile froze on Sally’s face. A deep frown fell across her features. She remembered. Despair swept through her body. Her shoulders slumped. Her pace slowed. She sobbed. Jenny glanced at her.

‘God Sal, how can you be moving next week? How can this be happening?’ Jenny whimpered as she held more tightly onto her best friend’s arm.

‘I know it’s so un..un..un..un..unfair!’ raged Sally. ‘Why should I move just because of Dad’s stupid jo..jo..jo..job? Why should I go to Devon? It’s so far from Manchester!’ Her voice rose to a wail. ‘I’ll hardly ever see you anymore!’

Tears spilled over Jenny’s sooty eyelashes as she grabbed on more tightly. ‘How will I manage without you, Sal?’ she whispered. ‘You’ve been my best friend since we were three years old. We do everything together. You’re like my sister.’ Hot tears streaked down Jenny’s face. ‘It’s going to come so quickly, especially as it’s the end of term, too.’

The two girls hugged tightly. Eventually, they let go. They went their separate ways, to their almost identical suburban homes, only two streets away from each other. Sally trudged, head down. She glanced at the rows of red brick and half-timbered houses with matching tarmac drives, before turning into her own cul-de-sac. How can I leave this place? It's been my home forever. I can’t leave Jenny. Tears shone on her eyelashes as she opened her front door, having forgotten about the medal still hanging around her neck.

A mound of cardboard boxes greeted her in the spacious hallway. Bubble wrap, newspaper and what appeared to be hundreds of ornaments, neatly wrapped and ready to be stowed, ready for the move littered the carpet. She could hear her younger brother, Max, scampering around upstairs. Her large, brawny father with hazel-green eyes, freckly skin and short, curly auburn hair walked through from the kitchen with a tray of tea and biscuits. The dream flashed through her mind. She shook her head.

‘Eh up, Munchkin, how are you? Hang on a minute…is that a gold medal I can see?’ He dumped the tray on a hall table and strode over to wrap her in a big bear hug. ‘Well done, Sal! I knew you could do it!’ Sally fought her way out of her father’s embrace and ran upstairs, slammed her bedroom door and threw herself onto her bed, sobbing.

Gripped by wild rage, she felt like she would never stop crying. It’s so unfair - why does Dad have to have a new job anyway and why does it have to be so far away? After a few minutes, she heard Dad’s footsteps outside her room. ‘Go..go..go..go away, Dad!’ Salty tears streamed down her face, making her eyes were hot and sore. Sobs shook her body. The door swung open gently. Dad stood in the doorway with a greying chocolate Labrador thumping her tail. She ambled into the room and hauled her heavy body onto the soft bed, landing with a flop on bony legs. Sally hugged her, breathing in the familiar doggy smell.

‘Could I come and sit on your bed, Sal?’ asked Dad. Sally shrugged. Dad put his arm around her shoulders and said, ‘Oh, Sal, I’m sorry, this is so rubbish for you.’

Still sniffing and gulping, Sally replied ‘No you’re n..n..not, you just want your nnew job, you don’t c..c..c..care how I feel!’ She pushed him away, hugging the warm, hairy dog even tighter.

‘That’s not true, Munchkin, you know that. We are only moving because I’m going to be made redundant. You know what that means, don’t you? I wouldn’t have a job so I wouldn’t be able to pay the mortgage on this house. I wouldn’t uproot you and Max if I didn’t have to. It’s been so tough for all of us since, well, since the accident last year. I really wish this job could have been closer to here. For all of us.’

She looked up at her big, kind dad through tear-soaked eyelashes. She whispered ‘I fe..fe..fe..feel like we are leaving Mum b.behind. I can still feel her here in this house. She won’t be there anymore when we move.’ Sally gulped.

‘Oh, Munchkin.’ He whispered back, pulling her in under his chin. She felt his warm, wet tears drip slowly onto the top of her head.

The end-of-term events at school meant that the days passed at breakneck speed. At the annual prize-giving evening Sally won the best sportswoman for year ten. She had to force herself to smile as all the parents and other pupils cheered for her. After dreaming of this moment ever since last year, when Sophie Morley had beaten her to the top spot, the words of thanks stuck in her throat. She would give the prize straight back if it meant she could stay.

By the end of term, Sally had dark blue shadows under her slanting hazel eyes and her hair hung limply on each side of her slightly spotty face. She was exhausted.

‘I’d like you to stay behind after class.’ It was Mrs. Bush, who taught them French and was also her form tutor. ‘Are you alright? You’re always a quiet girl, but you have hardly said a word these last couple of weeks.’ Mrs. Bush put a comforting hand on her arm as Sally burst into tears.

‘We’re mo..mo..mo..mo..moving to Devon. On Saturday. I start a new school after the s…s…s…summer holidays.’ she managed to get out through her tears.

Mrs. Bush looked at her softly. ‘Oh dear, I wondered if that was it. Your Dad has told the school. Oh, Sally, we’ll all be extremely sorry to see you go. You’ve been a wonderful part of our class and the year group. You’ve shown so much strength this past year. I know it’s been very hard for you, though. This stammer has started since you lost your mum, hasn’t it?’ Sally looked at the floor and nodded, tears dripping down her long nose. ‘Are you worried about starting the new school?’ Sally nodded again with her eyes still downcast. Mrs. Bush squeezed her arm. ‘I just know you are going to do brilliantly. You are a superb sportswoman. Everybody likes you. We all think the world of you. I know that they will too.’ She passed Sally a tissue from the box on her desk. ‘It really is a wonderful opportunity for your family. I grew up very close to where you are going to be living. It’s a very magical place. You might be surprised by a few things. I know you will make the most of it. Go on, I think Jenny is waiting for you outside the door, go and have some lunch.’

The day passed in a blur of racing thoughts until, at last, it was time to take refuge in her warm, safe bed. Sally passed swiftly into the deep, welcoming world of sleep and slept soundly for a time.

Then it happened again. A bright blue dragonfly buzzed in front of her eyes. It led her into the base of an enormous, gnarled oak tree. She passed through a curtain of ivy into the brightest and most beautiful landscape imaginable. Sally found herself embraced by a large, silky brown bear. Adrenaline pumped through her body as she sped through a bright forest on the back of a huge fox, ducking under branches and jumping logs. A group of dazzling unicorns spoke to her. As the lead unicorn touched the tip of his glowing, white and violet tusk to her heart, she startled awake, disorientated and confused.

Sally shook her head. She could still feel the warm sun on her back and see the warm chocolate eyes of the unicorn as it looked deeply into her heart. Then the dream once again slid to the edges of her mind, and she fell back into an exhausted slumber until the alarm jolted her awake.

Chapter Two

It was raining on the day of the move. Heavy drops the size of marbles pelted the window as Sally snuggled further down in her bed. The dream had come again that night. She rubbed her temple, grasping for the memory of the bright sun, the unicorns. Once again, the dream slipped away as she reluctantly woke. I want to stay here in my bed forever. I don’t want today to be happening.

The rest of the household were already moving around. ‘Get up Sal! It’s today, we are moving today!’ Her skinny eleven-year-old brother shouted from her bedroom doorway. Max seemed inexplicably excited by the move, not seeming to care that he was leaving behind almost everything he had ever known. Sally groaned. ‘Get up get up get up,’ sang Max, jumping onto her bed and pulling back the covers. ‘We’re going to Devon! We’re going to live in the countryside! Yeah!’ Max scampered between the boxes stacked around Sally’s otherwise bare, echoing bedroom and out across the landing.

Before she knew it, Dad hustled her into the back seat of the car with Wispa in the boot behind her. ‘Good girl, Brown Bear,’ she whispered, squeezing her compressed hand through the black metal dog guard to stroke Wispa. ‘At least you are coming with me.’ Sally looked deep into Wispa’s calm, amber eyes. The engine fired. She shut her eyes for a moment, a large lump in her throat. Hot tears filled her closed eyes. She breathed deeply to calm herself. Max was already strapped in and talking excitedly with Dad. ‘So, what is the house like?’ asked Max.

‘Oh it’s grand! It needs a bit of updating, so it’s a bit of a change from our old house. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but we’ll have it lovely in no time!’ Sally sighed despairingly. Old house. we haven’t even driven out of our road and already it’s called the “old house.”

‘It’s a big old farmhouse,’ continued Dad, ‘next to a little stream along a really quiet lane with a big woodland nearby.’

‘Cool, we can go den building!’ enthused Max.

‘Haha, yep, we certainly can little man, we absolutely can! It’s going to be so good, such a change for all three of us. I grew up in the country, although north of here, and its great fun,’ Dad spoke encouragingly. Sally sighed loudly again. How can they be so excited, It’s the second worst thing ever to happen. She put in her headphones to drown out the conversation and took in all the familiar sights for the very last time.

After what felt like endless hours of travelling through pelting rain, the sky finally brightened as they left the motorway. They drove through a small market town as a rainbow arced across the sky, the rays of the sun glimmering through the thinning clouds.

Sally looked around. Steep, spinach-green, grassy hills reared up out of quiet, wooded valleys. Through the window, she caught glimpses of sparkling streams winding between the trees. The rain-soaked landscape now glistened in the late afternoon sunlight. Above them loomed Exmoor, a huge grey-green mass of land. As they travelled, they saw occasional flashes of bright turquoise as the sea briefly came into view. Despite herself, Sally’s spirits began to lift. Enormous black and white cows with huge swinging udders grazed in almost every field. Sally wrinkled her nose at the unfamiliar smell.

‘This is it! The new Robson residence! Also known as The Long House!’ Dad exclaimed proudly, the tyres crunching on the gravelly road. They turned through a wooden gateway in front of a large, crumbly-looking stone house. ‘It’s grand, isn’t it!’

Sally huffed as she clambered out of the car.

Chapter Three

Sally stepped through a narrow gateway with a small, rusting metal gate hanging off its hinges. Max hared off ahead, racing around the back of the house on a mission of exploration. Sally continued at a steadier pace along a steppingstone path through the wildly overgrown front garden, thorns snagging at her jeans. Roses seemed to grow everywhere! The smell of the flowers was heady and sweet, she breathed deeply and felt a crack in her determination to hate the place.

Sally fought her way through a patch of brambles that had completely grown over the path. She reached the hulking oak front door, almost as wide as it was tall. Sally ran her hand over the black metal studs covering the wood. Woah, that’s a really cool front door! No! I’m not going to like this place! Its just a rubbish falling-down old house! She took in the long, low stone building painted white, with a grey slate roof.

‘Try the door, Munchkin!’ shouted Dad, throwing two large iron keys connected with a single plain metal keyring. Sally caught them with one hand in mid-air. She undid the stiff creaking lock with some difficulty and then turned the heavy black metal ring to the right. A latch lifted on the other side, she pushed again, hard. The huge, heavy door caught on the uneven stone floor of the hallway.

‘Go on, Sal! Put your back into it!’ Dad shouted. She pushed her shoulder against the door and heaved. ‘Oh!’ she exclaimed, stepping inside, Wispa ambling in behind her.

The house was completely silent. She took in a whiff of the cool, musty air and a deep sense of peace embraced her. Dust hung in a shaft of sunlight that shone straight at her, through a large grimy window, halfway up the stairs. She barely took in the dark wood panelling covering the walls, the rough grey flagstones underfoot, and the three heavy wooden doors with black metal latches. She stepped towards the window, her feet moving of their own accord.

‘Come on Sal, let’s explore!’ cried Max as he careered in through the front door, grabbing his sister’s hand and yanking her through the door to the left. They found themselves in a large room with the same rough, stone flagstones on the floor as the hallway. The ceiling was low and split down the middle by a huge, misshapen wooden beam. An enormous stone fireplace with another massive beam above it took up most of one wall.

‘Come on!’ Max grabbed Sally’s hand again and dragged her across the hallway into a vast kitchen. Before Max pulled her away, Sally noticed a green Aga, a large pine table with 12 chairs and a chipped enamel sink.

At the top of the stairs, a large area with a worn red and blue patterned carpet over wonky floorboards awaited them. Five heavy oak doors led off the landing. Sally, dragged by Max, entered each of the four large oak-beamed bedrooms. The last door took them into a vast, dusty bathroom with faded lino on the floor. The room had an old enamel bath, a rusty towel rail, a stained sink, and a Victorian toilet.

Max suddenly let go of her hand, ran down the stairs and out of the front door shouting ‘Dad, upstairs is really cool!’

Sally had a sense that the house had been sleeping and was glad to be woken up at last. Descending the stairs, the dusty window magnetically pulled her in. She rested her chin on the smooth wooden sill. Beyond the window lay a jungle of a garden with glimpses of formal brick paths peeking through the tufts. A grassy paddock lay behind the garden, with a frothy stream and an enormous oak tree, gnarled like a granny’s hand.