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[Type the document title]

10/8/2009

Faye Oliver

Prologue

The clock that was on the wall above the door was very strange indeed. Instead of numbers around the outer edge it had words and letters, and instead of one clock face it had two faces visible through the protective outer glass. It looked as though it had been carved out of fine wood, and some fine artist had drawn a pair of wings encased in what seemed to be a golden shining halo right in the corner of the clock.

The clock gave a little ping, and the little hand slowly ticked round to where the number elevenshould have been on the left clock face. As opposed to the number eleven, the letter p was written in elegant italic writing and that, was exactly where the big hand was currently now pointing to. On the other clock face, intricate symbols bordered the edge and the big hand was in between the symbol that looked to be a fish with quite a bemused expression on its face squashed up inside a glass, and the symbol of a light bulb shaded black.

To any normal person, the clock would have befuddled them silly trying to work out how the time was supposed to be conveyed, but Mr Sesame wasn’t a normal person and he knew perfectly well how the clock worked and even though there was not a number in sight, Sesame knew exactly how all those letters, words, and symbols told the time in a way that made complete sense.

He leaned back in his comfortable chair and brought his fingers to his nose and with one long finger; he dug deep up his nostrils and extracted a bogey the size of quite a long apple core.

There was a huge jerking snore and a women seated in a desk chair on wheels woke up, sucking the dribble back up off her chin and back into her mouth.

“Don’t do that dear, picking bogies is rather disgusting.” She said, blinking large brown eyes and tidying up her black hair wrapped neatly up in a bun.

Sesame shrugged,

“Sorry.” He said, and with one flick, the bogie went sailing through the air.

They sat for sometime in silence, the man tapping his fingers together as he surveyed the magnificent clock. The woman glanced at the clock and then back at Sesame. She sat back and closed her eyes.

“It’s nearly time you know.” Sesame announced to his wife. The woman sighed,

“It’s been ‘nearly time’ for the past four years, what makes today any different from all the other times?”

“I’m sure of it, Henry.”

“You’ve been ‘sure of it’ for a very long time dear and it always results to nothing and please don’t call me Henry, you know how it gets to me. When we married you said ‘I take thee Henrietta Jane.’ Perfectly well so I know you can say it, it’s just laziness. Henrietta will be just fine in future.”

“I can feel it Henry!” Said Sesame, getting fairly excited, “She’ll be here any day now, Henry, I know it.”

The woman snorted,

“She is not going to be arriving here any day, Sesame, and you know that perfectly well. I don’t know why you choose to be so ignorant, when you are a reasonably clever gentleman. This girl probably doesn’t even exist!”

Sesame grinned and looked at Henrietta.

“Of course she exists! Scarlett Star is a living, breathing girl and she will be the one to remove all our problems!”

“Scarlett Star.” Said Henrietta scornfully. “And just what kind of name is Scarlett Star? Her Mother was just trying to give a child such a ridiculously fancy name. For what? She won’t appreciate it.” And she slapped her knee in self-agreement.

“How do you know that it was her Mother who named her.” Said Sesame, slightly amused.

“Of course it was her Mother who named her!” Cried Henrietta, as though this was on par with being as obvious as the sun rising each day. “Good God Sesame, don’t act so dumb! When our child is born, I’ll be the one dishing out the name.”

Sesame raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Henrietta sniffed at looked at the strange clock on the wall. She really found that clock quite annoying and Sesame was always talking about it as though it was the best thing in the whole of the house. Night and day Sesame sat in front of that clock, observing it as thought the answers to life were circled around the outer edge. Henrietta had enough of an idea to bet that Sesame didn’t have the slightest idea what the clock was for and only sat there looking at it to make himself feel important and to give him something to do. And as for this Scarlett Star, Henrietta betted this was also a figment of Sesame’s fantastic imagination. Even though Sesame truly had gone to town on this one, giving the girl a name, an age, an identity, and saying blatantly that Scarlett Star would be coming to stay soon when Henrietta could not see how this could be possible. Was Sesame saying the truth or was his old age taking him on a crazy ride to the loony town?

“Sesame.” Henrietta began, “Is this Scarlett Star actually a real girl? Does she actually exist?”

Sesame sat for a while, his fingers slowly inching towards his long nose. He seemed to be considering himself if Scarlett Star was indeed a real girl or if he had dreamed her up from the depths of his vast mind. Finally he seemed to conclude that she was a real girl and that his mind hadn’t played a part in her actuality because he gave a little nod to Henrietta.

“And what is so special about her? You act as though the sun can’t shine without her. Do you care about her rather than your own child?” Henrietta’s voice wobbled and her hands curved around her stomach protectively, as though trying to show her child that at least she had one loving parent. Sesame frowned, his dark eyebrows knitting together.

“Of course I care about the child, my own flesh and blood. How could I not? How could you ask such a question Henrietta?”

Henrietta bit her lip, wishing she could bite back her own words; Sesame had to be truly upset if he’d even resulted to using her full name.

“Well,” Said Henrietta, shifting on the chair, her bossy manner returning, “If the girl is indeed coming to stay then you must get the house looking decent Sesame. It’s really not good enough Sesame, now I know your trying your best but I won’t have a stranger come to stay in a pig-sty. I can’t do it obviously....”

A ghost of a smile whispered around Sesame’s lips as he listened to his wife’s moaning. Even though she did drive him crazy, he knew he wouldn’t have her any other way. And then right in the middle of her sentence, the next word right on the tip of her tongue, Henrietta fell into a deep sleep, a long sliver of dribble appearing on her bottom lip. Sesame watched her for a bit and then turned back to studying the weird and wonderful clock that hung in his living room.

Chapter One

The 3 O’clock train drew up to the station, letting out a belch of smoke through the great funnel. The doors opened with a hiss and passengers began to spill out on to the platform, hugging long-lost friends and collecting luggage. Eventually, everyone started to drift towards the open doors of the station until only the bored station master, eating a sandwich, was lw````eft.

Then there was a scuffle and a thump and a small girl fell out of the train, narrowly missing the gap down to the tracks. She stood up shakily, brushing down her odd looking clothes and reached inside the train again, grabbing hold of a small brown battered case. She stepped away from the train, looking around her desperately. She glanced at her watch and then sighed.

She looked quite an odd girl. Dressed in a tartan skirt and bright white jumper, with a felt hat perched precariously on her head underneath long black hair, she looked as though she had just stumbled out of a 60s movie scene. Certainly she looked just dazed, as though she couldn’t quite understand how one minute she had been speeding past bushes and cows in a train and the next she was standing on a London platform, quite alone.

Scarlett sat down on her upturned case and fingered the hem on her jumper. The white thread was un-ravelling and the more she pulled the worse it got and now the whole of the cuff was gone. Scarlett would have to ask these new relatives of hers for a needle so she could fix it.

Relatives. Real live relatives, actual flesh and blood. Finally, people she could write down on the family trees that her teachers set for homework at school. Not that she’d be going to that school anymore, not now she lived with her Uncle and Aunt. It had all been very quick, Elizabeth the Social Worker turning up at Scarlett’s foster Mother’s house and telling Scarlett that after all these years, Scarlett did indeed have living relatives. And to make matters even better, these breathing relatives were over-joyed to hear that they had a niece and agreed instantly to her coming to stay. It had all been decided, letters stamped and signed with official signatures, until all of a sudden it was time for Scarlett to leave. Scarlett had cried when it had been time to leave her foster Mother, the only Mother she had ever had, but visits and letters had been promised and with a banging heart and a dizzy head, Scarlett Star had boarded the train that would take her to her blood family.

And here she was, in St Pancreas Station, sitting on the platform beside a train that had just taken her away from her foster Mother and from a house. Was this where she had meant to have ended up? With the great ticket information desk and the waste paper bins and the crackly voice rising over the intercom. Was this her new life or was it all some big joke?

Scarlett glanced up towards the open doors of the station and saw a bright limo pull up in front of the station steps. A portly man with fuzzy black hair and a brilliant moustache that curled towards his nostrils got out of the limo. He jogged up the steps, the sun glinting off his ludicrous green and pink suit. Scarlett actually winced at the brightness of his outfit. However, for some reason she liked the look of him, the way he looked about him as though nature had put him on a natural high. He strode into the station, this man, and looked about him. Spotting Scarlett he froze, and then a beam broke out onto his broad face and he practically started to run towards Scarlett. Scarlett blinked, startled, wondering whether to run back onto the train or stay where she was and see why this man was grinning at her like she was Santa Claus

“Scarlett? Scarlett Star?” The man seemed to be gasping. Scarlett nodded frantically, getting up. This man, she supposed, was obviously her Uncle and he seemed frighteningly excited to see her. “Oh my! Oh Dear! Oh Goodness gracious me!” He grabbed hold of Scarlett’s suitcase and beckoned her eagerly towards the limo. Scarlett stared at it apprehensively,

“We’re travelling in that?” She said. The man practically convulsed with laughter,

“Well how else are we going to get home? With wings?” And at that, the man looked at her quite seriously and added, “Do you have wings?”

“Er, no.”

“Well that’s okay then! Come along now, Jovy’s waiting!” And with that the man grabbed Scarlett by the hand and strode with her purposely towards the gleaming limo.

“Oh, oh! But...” Gasped Scarlett, quite disconcerted by it all. She didn’t even know her Uncle’s name.

This strange man seemed to grasp this as he suddenly came to a standstill and smiled very kindly at Scarlett. Scarlett swallowed and blinked quite a few times.

“I’m very sorry Scarlett, I suppose this is all happening rather quickly isn’t it and I’m not exactly helping matters, my wife does tell me I rush off on things and ought to slow down but quite frankly I can’t.” He gave a rueful smile, “Well anyways, I’m your Uncle Sesame and I am your Mother’s Brother which makes you my niece as you are her daughter! I can’t tell you how surprised I was when this assertive woman phoned me the day after I managed to get the telephone fixed and told me I had a niece!” They started to walk again, “Well I told my wife, your Aunt, and she didn’t even believe me at first, said I was making it up! Well she will be very surprised when we get back home and she sees you.”

A small old man with squinty brown eyes, an incredibly long beard and pale wizened skin like a much wrinkled walnut stood at the passenger door of the limo. He opened the door for Sesame to get inside and only when Scarlett got close enough did she see that the old man had managed to twist and wind his beard into the shape of a very neat grey tie. Scarlett thought this very clever indeed.

Sesame settled himself very comfortably into the limo and poured himself a mug of tea and handed a glass of lemonade to his niece. The car rumbled and the only notion that Scarlett had that the car was moving was the very gentle swaying motion.

“Our house isn’t far from here; I would have arrived at the train station a lot quicker if there hadn’t been so much traffic around Daisy Park. I think there’s a fair going on there... maybe we could go later, I do love fairs.” Said Sesame. Scarlett smiled in response. She loved fairs too, especially back home on the Farmers field. The excitement of going to school in the morning and spotting the little caravans and tents setting up there little stalls ready for the evening was enough to make kids go crazy at school for the rest of the day.

Scarlett sighed. It wasn’t to be called ‘back home’ anymore. Before, when she used to live there, she could kid herself that that was where she had always meant to be and that her Foster Mother was actually her Mother....

But now she was here she couldn’t think like a child anymore, she wasn’t, and had never been, related to her foster Mother, and now that her Foster Mother had signed documents handing over responsibility, it felt like Scarlett and her foster Mother had just gone back to being strangers.

And even though the park was full with children and cars littered the streets almost as much as the rubbish and the tall big houses, housing even more Londoners, stood at the side of the pavement and the London eye, in the distance, was holding a load of un-comfortable people squashed up inside cramped pods, and she was sat in the limo with her uncle and the driver just centimetres away, Scarlett felt as though she was completely on her own.

Eventually the traffic started to crawl less like a dying snail and more like the speed of an average walker, and soon Jovy was turning down a side street and driving straight until the limo stopped with a lurch and Sesame said, “We’re here!”

The house was tall and white and the first thing that popped into Scarlett’s mind was that it looked like one of those freaky houses you get in fairs where everything inside looks luridly wrong.

“You just go on ahead; I just need to have a word with Jovy. Just look inside for my wife.” Called Sesame.

Scarlett looked around for some courage to enter the house. She was quite apprehensive about meeting her Aunt, especially as Sesame had noted that his wife hadn’t even believed that Scarlett even existed! Scarlett groaned desperately and entered the house, her brown case slipping between her sweaty palms.

“Sesame? Is that you?” Barked the voice of a woman. Scarlett swallowed and looked round the door to the living room. A woman with big brown eyes and black neat hair was looking sleepily at the door.

“Oh!” She said, her hand coming to her mouth, “And just who are you? Have you broken in? You have haven’t you! Oh my Lord! Where’s Sesame? Well you won’t find anything here, I can assure you! Stay there, I’m calling the police!”

Scarlett stood there with her mouth open, watching the woman fumble for her phone.

“9...”

“9....

“Wait!” Said Scarlett, startling the woman so much that she dropped her phone, “I mean hold on. I’m Scarlett, Scarlett Star, didn’t Uncle Sesame tell you about me?”

“No! He certainly didn’t tell me someone would be strolling into my house in the middle of the afternoon. For Goodness sake, the audacity of that man sometimes I really can’t....”

The woman’s voice tailed away and she looked sharply at Scarlett.

“What did you say your name was?” She whispered.

Scarlett gulped so loudly it was audible,

“Scarlett Star.”

The woman stared at Scarlett dumbly, and then she threw back her head and gave a belch of laughter.

“Come on, I’ll show you your room,” Whispered Sesame, appearing at the door and motioning with his hands up the stairs.

****************************************

Henrietta Sesame could not stop laughing. Even when the tears came running down her face and her sides ached so much it was as though she had been punched, she could still not stop. Even when Sesame came back downstairs and told her to stop before she made herself ill, Henrietta just batted him away, laughing weakly.

“Come on dear,” Sesame said, “I know it’s good to have a laugh once in a while but most people do actually stop at one point.”

“Oh he he he.... Sesame don’t you understand how funny it is? he he he.....all this time you were.... ha ha ha.....telling the truth! And I ......ha ha ha....didn’t even believe you.....he he he.....” And with that, Henrietta fell off her chair, giddy with laughter, clutching her stomach, her pretty face screwed up until her brown eyes were little currants in the creases of her face.

Scarlett didn’t think they would end up going to the fair because Uncle Sesame really worried about Henrietta. It 5 O’clock, an hour and half ago since Scarlett had met Sesame’s wife, and Henrietta was still laughing.

Scarlett was sat in her bedroom, staring sadly at the door. She knew that Sesame was really concerned about his wife and even though Scarlett hadn’t actually said anything, she couldn’t help feeling as though it was all her fault.

“You’ve obviously had a very happy effect on my wife,” Sesame had said with a feeble smile, obviously trying to reassure her.

Scarlett wondered anxiously if Sesame regretted his decision on taking her in to his family. Maybe he was on the phone right now, asking Elizabeth to please take this child away from his family. Her fists clenched. Maybe he was booking train tickets so she could go back on the train and go back to....where?

Scarlett got up abruptly and walked across her room and looked out the window. It was a pretty room Sesame had given her. Terracotta walls and a big double bed with orange and white flowers spread out on the duvet. She had the view of the road and she could see one of the big fair tents if she stretched right up.

There was a knock at the door, it opened and Sesame stepped into the room.

“Hallo,” He said, “How are you?”

Scarlett shrugged and kept her back turned to the window.

“Well I just came up to see if you’re okay and if you wanted anything to eat.” Sesame said. Scarlett was turned away from him so she didn’t catch the smile but she heard it in his voice, gentle and soft. She didn’t answer. Uncle Sesame came up behind her and put a heavy reassuring hand on her shoulder. Scarlett turned her head instinctively and Sesame saw the tears on her face.

“Hmm, you shouldn’t get upset you know.” He said, “None of it’s your fault. My wife just likes to get over excited sometimes. Please don’t worry; especially on your first night here, it wouldn’t do at all.”

Scarlett nodded. Sesame put two fingers at each end of her lips and gently tweaked her mouth into a smile. Scarlett laughed.

“Now how about I take you to the fair?” Said Sesame, “I did say I would.”

“But what about.....”

“She’ll be fine; she’s having a rest at the moment. All that laughing has exhausted her.” Said Sesame. Scarlett bowed her head forlornly.

“Now now,” Said Sesame firmly, wagging a finger, “Don’t go getting all miserable again. Come on get your shoes on!”

Scarlett slipped her shoes back on and grabbed her coat from downstairs. They both stepped out into the evening and immediately, Scarlett could hear the sounds of the fair. They walked briskly down the road, Scarlett’s excitement mounting.

“When I’m older, I’m going to have a stall to set up on the fair and I’ll travel around with the fair every day!” Scarlett announced as they turned into the park. Sesame laughed, his face illuminated by the flashing lights. He reached into the inside of his jacket and drew out a fat wallet and opened it by the clasp. Money sprang out, showering the grass.

“Oh Bother!” Frowned Sesame. Scarlett bent down to pick them up and when she had a handful, she realised that they certainly weren’t English money. The coins were bright red and were more chubbier then the English Pound and on one side there was a pair of wings encased in what seemed to be a halo, and on the other side, normally where the Queen’s face should have been Uncle Sesame’s face stood out, his moustache still visible and his hair as curly as springs.

Scarlett looked up at her Uncle wordlessly, letting the money fall back into the wallet with a tinkle.

“You certainly won’t be able to spend that type of money here!” Said Sesame with a wink.

Scarlett was given twenty five pounds (English money) to use as she pleased and she dragged Sesame around every single stall in the fair. She had a go at a game where you had to race to be the first one to shovel their way through soft blocks and climb up the ladder and ring the brass bell at the top.

“On your marks. Get set. Go!”

Scarlett ran through the blocks as though they were no more than thin air and she scrabbled up the ladder like an acrobat, ringing the brass bell proudly when she reached the top. The other kids hadn’t stood a chance.

“I won I won!” She shouted delightedly to Sesame, brandishing the soft snake toy she had received as a prize.

“Well done my dear!” Said Sesame, picking her up and whirling her through night.

*

They seemed so perfectly joyful, he was going to take great relish in destroying their happiness. What would dear Henrietta say when she realised Sesame and the girl were dead.

*

The night grew on and Scarlett was having the time of her life. She played game after game, visited every stall, brought x amount of candyfloss and toffee apples and still Sesame didn’t tell her it was time to go.

“When you’re ready dear.” Was all he said.

Sesame won a fair few prizes too, especially on the hammer bang. Sesame slammed the hammer down so hard, the ball shot out the meter and rocketed out into the sky.

“Pick your prize.” Said the bemused stall keeper. Scarlett laughed gleefully.

But then the scene before her eyes started to slow down. She watched Sesame carefully choosing a prize, the pink and white striped tiger or the big gorilla, but it was all in slow motion. The glimmering lights that winked off the stalls seemed to blind Scarlett and she wanted to scream but even her voice had gone, and her words started to slip and drip out of her mouth like oozing honey. Her wide eyes looked at Sesame in fear as he slowly turned around and saw that something was desperately wrong. Falling to the ground seemed to take an eternity and Scarlett saw herself in one of the mirrors in the House of Mirror. She reached out and her finger seemed to touch the smooth clear glass of the mirror until Scarlett was falling through the mirror all too quick and the only thing she was thought of was what would happen when she hit the ground.

*

Scarlett opened her eyes and looked right up at the sky. She watched the sky flash different colours. Red, orange, pink, green, blue.

She sat up and looked around her. She didn’t recognise where she was but she was still in the fair because the sounds and sights were the same. She concluded that she was in a different part of the fair and got up to see if she could find her way back to Sesame.

Scarlett stumbled through the crowds peering anxiously at the stalls to see if these were any that she had won prizes from. The stall names whizzed past her, Rubber Duck Chase, Put the Fire Out! , Pop Pop POP!

But she didn’t recognise anything. Scarlett ran round and round in circles. She ran to a stall she thought she hadn’t been to before and read the name hopefully.

Put the fire out!

Scarlett wanted to shriek with frustration.

“Excuse me do you need help? Are you lost?”

Scarlett turned around thankfully. Her mouth fell open. Scarlett stared un-believingly through violet eyes into the same violet eyes of the stranger. This stranger also had a white jumper and tartan skirt on and their long black hair sat under a small felt hat the same as Scarlett’s.

The stranger sneered, “Hello, you seem lost, do you need any help.”

Fear left Scarlett speechless. The stranger’s eyes jeered at her.

“Hello, my name’s Scarlett, I’ll take you with me.”

Scarlett screamed and ran. Questions raced through her brain almost as fast as the pounding of her feet. Who was this person that looked identical to her? Why couldn’t she found her way out of this part of the fair? Where was Uncle Sesame? Would she find herself out of here alive? And as she ran, the sound of the stranger’s laughter rose over her overwhelming her until she couldn’t even breath. She threw her head from side to side, frantically searching out something to remember.

The House Of Mirrors.

Scarlett lunged towards the mirror, until she was surrounded by mirrors, engulfed in their sooth clearness....