He was still standing there, lost in thought, when real yells started. For a moment, he thought they were a part of his memories, but as they got louder he realised the yells were of torment, not joy. He looked up and saw a group of children running up the grassy hill just beyond the block of maisonettes that had been his second home. There were six of them, about seven or eight years old. Five were laughing and dancing around the sixth, who was the one yelling. She had long blonde hair and was wearing shorts, unlike the others who all had jeans. They were obviously teasing her, chanting “Barbie! Barbie!” over and over again and the girl sounded nearly hysterical as she yelled back at them to stop. He ran over and shouted at them and they stopped in shock, obviously not used to discipline. They muttered a bit, and one swore before they all ran off, leaving the now crying girl in a heap on the grass.

“Are you alright?” he asked gently. The girl looked up, still crying, and nodded. She looked wary now and the man moved slowly away, to give her space. He reached into his pocket and offered her a pear drop. She stopped crying and looked interested, but shook her head.

“Mum says I shouldn’t...”

“Take sweets from strangers.” he finished, smiling. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have offered. I used to live here with my grandmother in the school holidays, in that block, when I was your age. Pear drops were my favourite. I bought some this morning at the shops and came through the woods to have a look at the old place.” He stopped. He was rambling to a poor child who was just getting over being teased. “Are you going home now?” She nodded. He thought, then said, “Do you live up the hill or down the hill?”

“Up,” she said, nodding towards the steps that led up to the main road.

“Tell you what,” the man offered. “I’ve got to go that way. I won’t offer to take you, because I know a sensible girl like you would refuse, right? I’ll put this bag of pear drops on the ground, then start walking that way. If you like you can follow me, and I’m sure the other children won’t come back, at least while they can see me. Okay?” The girl smiled and nodded. The man put his bag of precious pear drops on the ground, and walked slowly towards the steps. He heard the rustle of the paper bag, then the sound of the girl following a short way behind.

Return to stories