THE SENTINEL
AWAY WITH WORDS 

By Tessa Harvey

    "If they are nice to me, then I may stay. But Sylvia does not think I should exist at all. I am a Jew, not worthy of life. Perhaps these old ones are different. May I see them now?"
    Esmay escorted the boy to matron's office adjoining the sick bay. She was politely asked to wait outside as young Sally needed a diabetic injection. Her friends kept giving her sweets, lollies, and Hazel had confronted them. "Do you want to kill Sally?" They looked horrified.
    Quietly she had explained about diabetes. Now as Sally scuttled to her class as shy yet rebellious, as always, Esmay asked if they had time to talk to Theodor.
    "You do know you are in the UK now, not o n your plateau."
    The boy looked down. "I want to go back so much I imagine I am there." His voice shook. "But I am afraid of my dad."
    The three ladies - Polly, Esmay and Hazel sat down near Theodor. "Perhaps we should call Mr. Jacobs on the internal phone.?" queried Esmay. "I will see if he is free."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FLOOD  By Tessa Harvey     Ian was trying to do exactly as his twin brother - to keep still. The teacher was watching them. He was on playground duty. Eric knew why he was watching them - he was trying to figure out which one was which. "Keep still, Ian!" he hissed. But Ian could not do that.     After a few minutes he was tapping his fingers or his toes in time with an internal metronome. For the very first time in his eleven years, Ian prayed God help me have music . Just then Mr. Jacobs came over. "Ian, would you like to join a music group? Eric is welcome also.     Eric scowled. Even the other kids just called them "the McKenzie brothers." He was very annoyed this dumb teacher had figured them out.     Then he saw the look of longing on his brother's face, and his heart melted. Time to grow up, he thought, a trifle sadly.     "Is there a chess club, sir?" he asked instead. "Ian can do music if he likes." He shrugged nonchalantl...
Read more
THE SENTINEL AWAY WITH WORDS  By Tessa Harvey     Polly Stanton leaned back against the wide oak tree and closed her eyes for a few moments, feeling exhausted. The young lad at the bus stop when she queried where the school was sited had smiled down at her. "Nowt but a lar walk," he had said.     She remembered the lovely Cumbrian accent and how it had cheered her all those years ago returning from London on the overnight bus. Just a wee walk then.      So she had set off walking the narrow lane which had meandered and curved. Imagining herself again a student, the time had seemed to fly by. Then her years had caught up with her. Old age, she thought, remembering how an older woman had once said "never get old, dearie!" Polly had thought that funny. "Move ominously," another person had said, "life is a......" - which it could be, she thought, ruefully.     Sinking down among the slowly falling leaves, she wondered at the impuise to seek ...
Read more
THE SENTINEL (continued)   By Tessa Harvey     "So," Eliza finally said with embarrassment, "I took drugs and drank and I think your father is a man called John Dixon. We were engaged to be married but he went away to do some hard training in the police force and do specialised work and, well....."     Sylvia was livid with rage. "You couldn't wait?" she queried, her voice rising.  "We got carried away," her mum began.     "NOT THAT! Why didn't you wait for him? What's wrong with you mum??!!"     "I didn't know I was pregnant." Her mother Eliza was getting angry too, "and ayour stepdad, Karl was so nice. He had a way with words...." the older woman said, dreamily. But Sylvia was glaring at her harshly. With a sudden pang, Eliza remembered how much she had despised her parents as a teen. 'The sins of the parents,' she thought. Is it always a cycle that will never end.      Sylvia thundered out,...
Read more