New Year’s Day 2036
“Once upon a time...”
A phrase that encapsulates the mood of one of the most magical forms of narrative ever imagined: the fairytale.
A mystical adventure where the life journey of the main character is invariably depicted by the endless trials and tribulations they face and the accompanying grief they have to cope with, all packaged within a heartrending spiral of ups and downs that pull you in and wrap you up in a shared rollercoaster ride of lost hopes and shattered dreams.
And then, just when our protagonist hits rock bottom and you think things can’t possibly get any worse, an even greater catastrophe rears its ugly sister of a head from which there seems to be no hope of salvation.
No hope, that is, except for the intervention of a guardian angel, that special someone who steps in at the last moment to perform a miracle or a simple act of kindness that protects our hero or heroine and allows them to emerge from their nightmare and live happily ever after with the true love of their heart.
Though exasperated on a regular basis by the antics of her son, Samantha Drake was a firm believer in fairytales.
Awoken at sunrise on this dawn of a New Year by Joshua – as he used his bed yet again to trampoline sweet slumber away – she lay listening to the audible evidence of his ceaseless energy, channeled into its usual boisterous outlet: Noise, noise, and more noise!
Even so, reflecting on her very own fairytale ending of not so long ago – of that fateful day when her dynamo of a little boy was saved at the last possible moment by a real life guardian angel – made her sit up and smile. Yup! There’s no doubt about it, miracles can and do happen.
As a mother, Samantha couldn’t care less that Joshua had been the first of those to be publicly rescued by the Guardians, as his welfare was far more valuable to her than any accolade or side note in the annals of history. Neither was it significant that subsequent inquiries by British officials with the Lord Conciliator’s office had proved Joshua’s mysterious benefactor to be none other than their Overlord himself. Can you believe that? The freaking Overlord!
No. She was more relieved that someone – indeed, anyone – had been there, at the right time and in the right place, to save her precious child. Though I must admit, if this Overlord had the power to keep the little monster quiet for a change, especially in the mornings? Well, then I’d be impressed.
Samantha pondered the planned activities for later that afternoon and her mood soured. Instead of the quiet day she had yearned for with her family, recovering from the celebrations of the night before, she would be party to a major media event; an event where both she and her son would be thrust into the limelight once more as they met the man himself. I suppose I shouldn’t complain. He did save Joshua’s life, after all, and it isn’t every day you get to meet a real life fairy godfather in the flesh.
From what Samantha had been led to believe, all sorts of other dignitaries and VIPs were due to attend, people who wouldn’t be there to support her so much, as they would be to put Exeter on the map the day before the most important referendum in human history.
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She wasn’t happy about that, as she was aware they would probably have to run a gauntlet of Anti-Guardian protesters, something that would make her anxiety at being held up to public scrutiny even more acute than it already was.
Fortunately, the new BBC correspondent she liked, Cathy West, would also be on hand to interview them both about the rescue. Samantha was hoping the journalist’s presence would remove some of the pressure she felt and give her someone to chat with afterward.
But waiting for it to actually happen? Aaargh!
Squeezing her head between both hands, Samantha wished fervently that she could skip the next twenty-four hours and plan a weekend break somewhere far away, where nobody knew her. Goodness only knows what Joshua will do in front of the cameras…unless he’s heavily sedated, gagged, and tied in a sack of course?
The scenario such a thought painted in her mind proved more tempting the longer she lingered on it. She let her imagination run free for a moment, and suddenly realized Joshua was unusually quiet. Oh for heaven’s sake! What’s he up to now?
Rising swiftly, she went to investigate.
Pausing for a moment outside Joshua’s door, Samantha checked for any indications of movement or sound, and thought she heard two people laughing softly.
She entered, immediately, and was surprised to find Joshua sitting alone on his bed, holding what looked like a glass orb between his little fingers. Fixated on the bands of rainbow colored iridescence that curled in lazy spirals from within the globe’s structure, his face had taken on an almost cherubic quality. Whenever the streamers touched his exposed skin, he giggled quietly to himself as if the lights gave him pleasure.
One of the tendrils flowed toward the top of his head, where it flared into a golden halo of blinding intensity, adorned with royal blue and silver-white starbursts.
“Joshua, what have you got there?” she asked tentatively.
“It’s my present for being a good boy and being very special,” he announced proudly without even glancing away from his prize.
“Special? Present? Who gave it to you, Joshua?”
Still consumed by the luminescent paradox before him, Joshua replied, “My friend. He said I can have another one if I’m good today.”
“Friend? What friend?”
Gazing up at his mother as if she were unusually stupid, Joshua let go of the orb and sent it floating gently on its way until it settled on his bedside cabinet. “He’s gone now, silly, but we’ll see him again later. I like him; he’s funny and has shiny eyes.”
And with that, he scuttled back under the covers and fell almost instantly still.
Whoa! Bloody miracle?
Samantha was too stunned to say or do anything, and remained there for a few minutes staring backward and forward between the glassy ball and her soundly sleeping son, as if she expected one of them to move again at any moment.
Then she noticed the bottom of the bed. A clear outline remained of where someone much larger and heavier had been sitting.
A tingle ran the length her spine as she made the connection. Whispering, she declared, “Aah, I see. Well, I hope this new friend can arrange for a spot of peace and quiet every morning, I could do with waking up like a normal person for a change.”
No promises, Samantha, a voice echoed in her mind: but I’ll see what I can do!
The hairs on the back of her neck sprang to instant attention as she received the fleeting impression of luminous grey eyes set within a smiling face.
“No way!” she gasped, peering about an otherwise empty room.
Picking up the orb, she placed it next to the slumbering child, whereupon it bloomed to life again, its mere presence bringing a smile to his little face.
Backing carefully out onto the landing, Samantha stood there wondering what to do next, when she was brought back down to earth with a resounding thump. The unmistakable sound of her hung-over boyfriend stirring rang out like nails on glass.
“Saaam? Oh God, I’ll never drink again. Sam, where are you? Sam? I need something strong, black sweet and hot. Now…please.”
I knew it wouldn’t last!
Plodding downstairs to the kitchen, Samantha looked out of the window at the frost covered yard and the sky above. Billowing clouds had started to form overhead, dark and foreboding, blotting out the Sun and causing an unexpected chill to pervade the entire house.
Shivering at the eerie silence that seemed to come with it, Samantha thought, Knowing my luck, everything will probably go downhill from here!