A Single Snowflake

  And as promised each year Henderson and Belle returned to Shenka , but they were able to return together as Lord Ralph took his turn with the Lady Veronica in watching over the children.

  It was June, the warm early summer sun shone gently from the blue sky over Lembury, Joni and George sat next to each other in their primary school classroom, they could hear the sounds of the little ones from the reception class playing outside, every now and then the voice of a teacher would call out 'Stop doing that' or 'Get down from there.'

  Joni and George's teacher, Mrs Moore was droning on, 'So if we have a cake and cut it into four equal parts, what fraction is each part'. George yawned looking up to the ceiling, he was trying to figure out which bright light was Mrs Moore's guardian, he yawned again.

  'George Rose, are you listening to me!' exclaimed Mrs Moore.

  Henderson poked George gently in the arm, George responded to his teachers question, 'Sorry Mrs Moore, did you speak to me.'

  Bruce Evans Jnr who sat immediately behind George, whispered unkindly 'You're in trouble', On hearing the remark Joni turned around and faced the classroom bully, she glared at him and cut her eyes. Bruce whispered again 'Got to get a girl to look after you, mommy's boy.'

  George did not react, his hands shook with temper, he hated school.

  'So George Rose, what fraction is each portion' asked Mrs Moore again.

  'A quarter, Mrs Moore', George replied, although he hadn't been concentrating he still heard the question somewhere in his head, the answer was easy. Everything was easy at school, reading, writing, arithmetic, remembering facts and that was why George was so bored and why he hated school.

  The school bell rang it was at last the end of the day, time to go home; Joni and George picked up their bags, waited for Bruce Evans to go out of the classroom door, waited a little while longer and once George was sure the coast was clear the two friends said good afternoon to their teacher and left the stuffy classroom behind. They walked along the glass walled corridor and towards Mr Lovett's, their Headteacher's study, being the quickest escape route from their daily prison of learning, the outside doors beckoned, it was Friday and no more school for two whole days. As they passed by they could hear familiar voices inside, raised voices, what were their parents doing in that scariest of places.

  'So what are they going to miss, for goodness sake, they are just little kids', Joni heard her father shout.

  'And George so needs a break, we can't afford to go in the summer, this is just plain stupid', moaned George's mother.

  Miss Vincent the school secretary was standing in the corridor outside her own office, standing in wait for the two children, 'Ah there you are' she said sternly as Joni and George approached, 'you are to wait in my office, your parents won't be long.' The children followed the secretary as instructed, she pointed to two adult sized wooden chairs and told them to sit down and to 'be quiet.' Joni sat down, her legs were dangling six inches off the floor, she swung her feet backwards and forwards, staring at the secretary who was reading some report or other. George's eyes scanned the walls, an old school photograph hung from one wall, the children on the front row sat cross legged and arms folded, the taller children behind stood at attention, he screwed up his eyes to read the date on the label below, his lips moved as he read 'Class of 1944.' He looked at the photo again, the children stared back at him, he wondered how many had been orphaned by the war. His eyes were drawn to a boy on the front row, the boy had a slight smile on his face, the more George looked, the more he felt he was looking into a mirror. The boy, save for the greased down hairstyle, looked as if he could be George's twin brother.

  A bright light swirled down from the ceiling and landed on Miss Vincent's desk, it shimmered in the sunlight and took the form of a beautiful Grafflin woman, sitting gracefully on the edge of the secretary's wooden work station. She smiled sweetly and held her finger to her mouth, 'Shssssss, don't say anything out loud, if you think the words in your heads I can hear them.'

  Joni looked wistfully at the the vision in front of her, 'You are very pretty' thought Joni.

  'Thank you my dear' she replied her voice sounding like honey dripping slowly from a golden spoon.

  'I didn't know ladies were Guardian's' thought George.

  'There are a few of us, aren't there Belle' she smiled.

  'Oh yes indeed Geena, there are.' Belle thought.

  'Anyway George, why don't you ask Miss Vincent about the photograph, it was her mother's you know, and she would love to tell you more' asked Geena.

  George sat still and counted to ten in his head, he needed to ask properly, he needed to use the correct words and not sound impertinent. Finally he had the question correctly formed in his mind..

  'Excuse me please Miss Vincent' George said quietly.

  The secretary looked up from her work, she eyed George over the top of her tiny spectacles.

  'Yes George, do you need the toilet' she asked.

  'No thank you, but I just wondered if you could tell me about the children in the photograph, a boy on the front row looks just like me.'

  The question was asked, he sat back for a moment hoping the secretary would not shout or tell him it was none of his business, or think him silly or just a boy with a vivid imagination.

  Miss Vincent stood up and walked across to the photograph, she lifted it off the nail from which it was hung and placed it on her desk.

  'Come show me the boy you are so interested in.'

  George jumped down from his seat and stepped forwards, he pointed silently to the boy on the front row, the one who had him so intrigued, the one who was so like him.

  'He is like you isn't he, maybe he is a relative' said Miss Vincent, 'what do you think Joni.'

  Joni didn't hear, she was too busy looking at Geena, the first female Grafflin to enter her young life.

  'Joni, we are talking to you' called George in a loud voice.

  Belle winked at Geena, 'Oh my lovely Joni is such a daydreamer, but watch this.'

  Belle gave Joni a tiny tickle on her arm, 'What?' asked Joni.

  'George is speaking to you' laughed Belle.

  'Sorry George, did you want me' asked Joni.

  'Yes, that is why I called you, come and look at this photo, there is a boy on here who looks just like me.'

  Joni jumped down from her chair and skipped across the office, 'Let's see then' she demanded.

  'Look' said George pointing to the boy in the photograph, 'this boy, he is like my double I think.'

  Joni bent her head down, her eyes hovered a few centimetres above the black and white image, she turned and looked intently at George, then returned her gaze back.

  'He does look just like you George' she agreed, her next statement was to Miss Vincent, 'is that how children dressed in the olden days?'

  Miss Vincent tried hard not to laugh, the olden days indeed she thought, 'Well Joni, all little boys wore short trousers in those days, I think it was only in America that people wore jeans.'

  'I don't think I would like to wear dresses all the time' sighed Joni, she was about to add more to her reasoning for not liking certain attire when the office door swung open, Mr Lovett strode in, the air around him seemed to swirl as if he was blown in by the wind, Marie and Pete were standing sheepishly by the open doorway.

  'Holiday forms Miss Vincent, we need two' he demanded.

  Miss Vincent didn't reply, instead she opened the second drawer of a grey steel filing cabinet that stood against the wall behind her desk, 'please would be a good word to use' she thought biting her bottom lip, 'miserable man, I don't know why he does this job, he hates children.' She took two forms from the drawer and handed them to the Headteacher, he placed them side by side on Miss Vincent's desk, scanned the questions, muttered to himself, sighed, lifted his head and stared into mid air, sighed again, picked up a black ballpoint pen from the secretary's desk and scribbled his signature on the bottom line of the first form and pushed the form to one side. He
dragged the second form across the desk, looked up and eyed George, shrugged his shoulders, sighed, clicked the ballpoint pen's opening and closing mechanism five times, sighed again, then scribbled his signature on the bottom line.

  'There done, Miss Vincent can help you fill in all the details', he said looking directly at Pete and Marie.

  'Thank you' said Marie, her voice shaking, Mr Lovett didn't hear, he had already brushed past the two parents and was now striding down the corridor, 'bloody parents' he thought.

  Miss Vincent invited Marie and Pete into her office, 'Please come in, so you are going on holiday, how lovely, let's get these forms filled in before he changes his mind.'

  Joni and George were oblivious to the conversation, they had taken no notice of their Headteacher whilst he had been in their presence, they didn't even notice their parents enter Miss Vincent's office, they were too occupied with the photograph, looking at each face that stared back at them, there was something exciting about this particular image, George felt his heart racing, Joni was looking intently at a girl who was standing on the back row, the girl had short hair fastened back with a large hair slide, the girl appeared stronger than the other children, she was the one in charge.

  'Look at those two, they haven't even noticed we are here' said Marie.

  'Well they obviously have good concentration' said Miss Vincent.

  'Joni, George, do you know where we are going tomorrow' laughed Pete.

  George raised his eyes towards Pete and his mother, 'Oh sorry didn't see you, did you ask me something.'

  'Joni are you with us' called Pete, who was getting a little frustrated.

  'Oh sorry Dad, did you say something' said Joni who was still staring at the photograph.

  'What are you looking at that is so interesting' asked Marie.

  'This photo, look Mom, this boy looks just like me' replied George.

  Marie moved a few short steps and stood behind Joni and George and peered at the photo, her heart missed a beat as she saw whom she thought was her Grandfather looking back at her, she knew he had been evacuated to Lembury during the war, but she wanted to know for sure.

  'Miss Vincent do you by any chance have a list of names of these children, because I am sure the boy who George is so fascinated by, is my Grandfather.'

  'What I do know is that the girl on the back row is my mother, and two boys came to stay as evacuees during the war, I remember her telling me that the boy's names were George and Peter, but I am sorry I cannot remember much else, but let's see if there are any names on the back of the photo itself.'

  The secretary then reached across her desk, grasped hold of the framed photo and turned it over, the backing was stuck down with ageing brown paper tape, she slowly and carefully peeled the tape away and lifted off the brown card that held the photo in place. The back of the photo was ivory white, nothing there apart from a small gold coloured sticker with the name of the photographer 'Mr William Evans - Photographer' printed in green ink, in the top right hand corner. She was about to replace the card when Joni noticed a small envelope stuck to the back of it,

  'Look, what's that' she said excitedly, pointing to the yellowing envelope.

  'I hadn't noticed it, thanks Joni, you are such a clever girl' smiled Miss Vincent.

  By now Pete had joined the little crowd gathered around the desk,

  'Quite a mystery, eh' wonder what's inside.

  The envelope wasn't sealed, Miss Vincent removed a folded sheet of notepaper from it's insides and read aloud the handwritten contents.

  Dear Reader

  Please forgive me for hiding this letter away from prying eyes, I am not sure why I have done such a thing, but last night I had a dream, in the dream I saw a man, his voice was soft and his face was kind; he told me that one day this letter would be found and that a boy and girl would be present at it's discovery. I don't know who the man was, but I have read lot's of books from Sunday School of children having strange dreams and I don't want to upset God. The man told me to tell the boy and girl about the photograph, so I will.

  My name is Judith, that is me on the back row on the far left hand side, the other children are all at my school. We have been at war with Germany for five years, it has been very hard for the people in the cities, their homes have been bombed and the men are all abroad fighting. There are two boys in the middle of the front row who are evacuees, and they are living with us at our house, their names are George Dale and Peter Rawlings, Peter is the little boy with blonde hair and on his right is George, it is so sad for Peter he is only six but George who is nearly nine looks after him as if he was his big brother. I like the boys living with us because my big brother is away fighting and I miss him very much, my father is too old to go to war, and I thank God for that each day, some of the fathers have been killed and that makes me very sad.

  George and Peter are very brave and no longer cry at night for their mothers, I wish this war was over, but my heart is torn because when the war ends the boys will go home and I shall miss them so very much.

  yours sincerely

  Judith Craven

  PS. The day this photograph was taken there were only a few of us at school all the other children were at home with influenza, we haven't caught it, but Miss Burton, our teacher, said that we should be home too as we could be carriers; I don't know what carriers means and hope it isn't serious. Poor little Alice Jenkins died but she is with Jesus now, and Raymond Jenkins has lost the use of his legs, we prayed for him at Sunday School and I have added him to my prayers before I go to sleep.

  Miss Vincent placed the letter on her desk, her hands were shaking and tears rolled down her face, 'My mother, it was my own mother that wrote this letter, she hardly told me about the war, only that some boys stayed with them, it says so much, doesn't it.'

  Marie stepped behind Miss Vincent and put her arms around her, 'It's my Granddad, the boy called George, no wonder my own George was so enthralled, I never realised how alike they are until now, I wonder what happened to Peter.'

  Pete scratched his head, how strange he thought, a boy so intrinsically linked by name to himself but still a total stranger and how utterly weird was the letter, and what had his daughter to do with all of this, but something nagged at him from the very dark places in his mind.

  *

  Lord Albion lay sleeping in his soft white bed, at his side Bertie and Rupert sat silently, watching over him, they hadn't moved for two days, afraid to leave him, knowing all too well that in the next few weeks his spirit would leave his Grafflin body and become another tiny star in their heavenly sky. He stirred and slowly opened his weakening eyes,

  'Is that Julian I hear?' he whispered.

  'Yes I am here my Lord' spoke Julian as he entered the bedchamber.

  'Have you spoken to Geena?'

  'Yes my Lord, she knows all' confirmed Julian.

  'Thank you Julian, now I must sleep' sighed Lord Albion closing his eyes.

  *

  Ralph sat in his office chambers, on his desk was an open notebook, the book had been found that very morning in the grand archives. It had been hidden behind a tall bookcase and wouldn't have been found at all if one of the librarians hadn't have sneezed so hard that he fell into to bookcase pushing it several feet along the floor. Most of the pages were blank, some had small sketches still to be examined, but it was the centrefold pages that held Ralph's attention. Two pages of words from an unknown author.

  The time is getting close for our two Earth children to complete their first task.

  Sometimes things are hidden away until the time is right.

  Dreams are not all they seem, they let us communicate with each other.

  Only believers will act on those dreams.

  Only believers will follow the course.

  Guide the school secretary to hang the photograph on the wall

  Guide her to discover her Mother's letter.

  Guide the children to be curious.

  Guide
the girl to ask about the mother's brother.

  None of this will happen,

  If the parents do not stand strong,

  They must take that cottage by the sea,

  The time is now, do not hesitate.

  If you do, all will be lost, it will be too late.

  Ralph did not hesitate, he rushed out of his office and hurried to the Shenkan bridge, he stood there and called Julian in his mind; within minutes Julian was by his side. Julian in turn made speed back to Lord Albion, who despite his bodily weakness found the strength to sit up in his bed and listen intently.

  'Tell Geena, instruct her carefully, she must not fail us' sighed Lord Albion.

  'I will go now, do not fear, she will succeed, I will help her' said Julian with such confidence that all fear left Lord Albion.

  'And Julian, one more thing, I know your heart is torn, do not worry I do not expect you to remain in Grafflin when I am gone, I give you the right to your own freedom.'

  'My Lord, I ..'

  Lord Albion interrupted 'Go now, all I ever wanted was for you to find happiness, do not forget I know all and Julian it is about time you changed your appearance, there is no need to keep to the Grafflin dress code, try something a little more casual, more Earth and Shenkan like.'

  'I will, you are right, I always fancied myself in jeans and t-shirts' grinned Julian, 'I will do that straight away.'

  *

  It was only because of the rain that prevented Louise Vincent to tend her garden, the sun had shone all day whilst she had been at work in the school office, but now she was back home the skies had deposited a heavy pouring of rain all over her vegetable patch. She knew she had to sort out the trunk of her mother's belongings, that had been returned to her from the nursing home, but she hadn't found the energy to do so. The trunk had laid in the spare bedroom for over six months waiting to be opened, waiting for loving hands to stroke it's treasures. She picked up the television control and flicked through the programme guide, nothing took her interest, she had finished her library book, completed the crossword in her favourite newspaper and had eaten her tea.

  A voice called in her head 'Sort out the trunk, do it now, what are you waiting for.'