“It’s an old shoe I think,” I said.
“A shoe with hairs on it?” he said, looking at me with wide eyes. I grimaced as he put it back on the shelf.
“The really special things are in here,” I said, taking the wooden egg and opening it up. I showed him the piece of sail. He knew about the Mary Celeste and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he held it. I then showed him the piece from Amundsen’s glove and Amelia Earhart’s handkerchief. By this point he was almost hyperventilating.
“This is unbelievable!” he said, inspecting each object really closely. “These things … they’re … they are priceless. They should be in a museum!”
“It’s good, isn’t it?” I said, grinning. “I really think they must have something to do with me being erased, don’t you?”
Charlie nodded quickly.
“Let me take a look at the egg?” he said. We sat on the floor and placed the open egg in front of us. Charlie studied each petal and read the writing on each side.
“Louis Le Prince,” said Charlie, reading the final section. “Who was he?”
I shrugged. “No idea,” I said. Charlie took a phone out of his back pocket and began to search the name.
“Found him. Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince was a French artist and inventor…”
He turned the phone round and showed me a black-and-white photograph of a man with a long moustache standing with his hand on a top hat. He looked very smart. Charlie scrolled down the page.
“He invented the motion-picture camera apparently. Wow, why have I never heard of him? It says here that he recorded the first piece of film in 1888.”
He kept scrolling and then stopped.
“Hold on, listen to this. On the sixteenth of September 1890, Louis Le Prince boarded a train in France that was bound for Paris. When the train arrived, Le Prince had disappeared. No luggage or body was found on the train or along the railway track. He was never seen again.”
I felt the colour drain from my face.
“That’s four disappearances. Four!” I said. “But it doesn’t help me get back, does it?”
Charlie put his phone away.
“Were you near the egg when it happened?” he said.
“Yes! I was holding it! And I’m certain it made a noise. There’s a musical box inside.”
Charlie looked at the small casing in the middle then gave it a gentle shake. It rattled.
“Sounds like it’s broken. Have you tried fixing it?”
I looked at him. “What do you think?” I said, folding my arms. “I’m useless. I broke the thing in the first place!”
Charlie squinted at the centre of the egg.
“We’ve got to try and open it and see what’s going on inside. There are some tiny gold screws.”
He straightened up again.
“They’re too small for a normal screwdriver,” he said. “You could smash it open?”
“Smash it? But then I might never get back!” I said.
Charlie sighed.
“I’m sorry, Maxwell. I don’t know what to say. You need someone with special tools to help,” he said.
I stared at him and gave him a grin.
“What?” he said.
I quickly put everything back in the egg and clambered up.
“I know exactly who can help!” I said. Come on!”
I ran to the high street, then slowed to a walk. I suddenly realized that the nice man in the shop might recognize me. He might have noticed that a phone case had gone missing and connected it to me. What if he called the police? I really needed his help though. I had to take the risk.
“What’s the rush?” said Charlie, catching me up. “Where are we going?”
“The Fone Place. We need to get there before it shuts,” I said. I told Reg I was walking Charlie home. I didn’t tell him I was taking the egg with me.
Charlie appeared to be in a daze. He wasn’t listening to me.
“Is that really Amelia Earhart’s handkerchief?” he said. “I can’t believe it!”
He looked so happy.
“And that piece of Amundsen’s glove! Wow. Well, that should definitely be shown to an expert. Maybe they could do some tests on it and date it to prove it’s the right age. Don’t you think?”
I had other things on my mind.
“To be honest with you, I don’t really care. I just want to get home and I’m not sure I can. My dog is dead, Charlie. He died because I wasn’t there to save him. I have to get back.”
We came to the Fone Place just as the lights turned off inside.
“Quick, he’s shutting!” I said, pushing open the door. The man was walking across the shop with a big bunch of keys.
“Sorry, lads, I’m closed. I’ll be open at eight a.m. tomorrow morning. Oh, it’s you again,” he said. I stared back at him, holding my breath as I waited for him to say something else. He had a slight smile on his face and I relaxed a little when he didn’t say any more.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I need your help,” I said. “I’ve got this musical egg and I really need to get it working.”
The man pulled his jacket on and did up the zip.
“A musical egg, eh? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but this is a phone shop. You know? Those things you kids stare at all day?”
He chuckled to himself and Charlie took a step forward.
“We just wondered if we could borrow one of your screwdrivers to open it up? It won’t take a second,” he said.
I held the wooden egg in front of me.
“Please?” I said. The man sighed.
“Come on then, put it on the counter,” he said. He went round the side and switched the lights back on, then he got his glasses out of a case.
I placed the egg carefully on the counter. This was my only way of getting home and I really didn’t want it damaged any further.
“Wow, that’s a beauty,” said the man, studying the egg from all sides. “How do you open it?”
I pressed the little knob on the top and the egg opened out. The bits were still inside and I realized then that I probably should have left them back at Reg’s where they’d be safe. I picked them up and stuffed them in my pocket.
“I think this part at the bottom has a musical box inside,” I said.
“There are some tiny gold screws here and here,” said Charlie, pointing at the box. “Have you got anything that will undo them?”
The man squinted at the screws then looked at us over the rim of his glasses.
“No problem,” he said. “Wait there.” And he went out to the back of the shop.
Charlie looked at me when he was gone.
“I think we should ask him to try and fix it too, don’t you?” he said. “I don’t know how these things work. I think he’s your only hope.”
I felt bad. The man who I’d stolen from was helping me more than anyone had helped me in the world. He came back with a little pouch and a small torch strapped to his forehead.
He grinned at us, then switched the torch on before pointing his head down towards the egg.
“This requires a delicate operation,” he said, removing a tiny screwdriver from the pouch. His tongue stuck out in the corner of his mouth as he twisted the egg around and began to undo the screws.
“We were … erm … we were wondering,” I said. “If you might be able to get it working as well.”
The man breathed out slowly as he removed the tiny gold screw and put it to one side. He began to undo the other one.
“I see,” he said. “You were in my shop the other day, weren’t you?”
He put the screwdriver down and took off his glasses as he stared right at me. He knew. He knew I’d stolen the case. I dropped my eyes and nodded.
The man was quiet.
“I’d normally charge for this kind of thing, but I reckon you’ve kind of paid me already, don’t you?” he said.
“I have?” I said. For a moment I wondered if it was some kind of trick and he
was going to mention me stealing. The man nodded and put his glasses back on as he picked up the dismantled phone and poked at it again with a tiny little screwdriver.
“Yep. You told me about your friend listening to recordings of the sun. When I go home tonight I’m going to look that up and have a listen myself. Let’s call that your payment to me, OK? You’ve taught me something I never knew.”
He gave me a kind smile and then looked back at his screwdriver. I looked at Charlie and he grinned at me. Just then the man removed the other screw and lifted a piece of wood out of the egg. Underneath were the silver workings of the music box. He tipped the egg to one side and a small piece fell out, along with a tiny roll of paper. Charlie reached over and picked it up then slipped it into his trouser pocket. We both looked at each other. Was that piece of paper important?
“Fascinating! Such intricate work,” said the man, peering at the music box. “It’s just the rod that’s come off. I should be able to fix it back on again.”
Charlie and I watched as he reattached the tiny rod using a pair of tweezers. He stood back and closed the egg with a click.
“How does it play?” he asked. I held on to the egg and slowly twisted the little knob at the top. When I let go music played for a few seconds from inside the egg. The man gave me a big grin as he put his tools away.
“Thank you! Thank you so much,” I said.
“No problem at all,” said the man. “Now, I really must close the shop. Off you go now.”
As soon as Charlie and I got out of the shop he took the small piece of paper out of his pocket.
“What is it? Is there anything on it?” I said, desperately trying to see over his shoulder. Charlie unrolled the tiny scroll. I could just make out some elaborate handwriting. He began to read:
“Four precious things,
Four notes to play
To erase yourself
From your very worst day.”
We looked at each other and then Charlie turned the piece of paper over.
“There’s more!” he said. He began to read again.
“Four precious things,
Four notes to play
If you want to return
To that very worst day.”
He looked up at me.
“That’s it?” I said. “The four things and the four notes, that’s all it took to erase me? And that is going to get me back?”
Charlie grinned at me.
“I guess so,” he said. “I reckon you should try it now. To go back?”
“What, here? Now?” I said. Charlie shrugged.
“OK. Well, I guess there’s no time like the present,” I said. We got to a bench and sat down. I opened the egg on my lap and reached in my pocket to take out the things that I’d put away safely. I put them in the middle of the egg and closed it up until it clicked.
“Are you going to watch me then?” I said, feeling awkward. Charlie shrugged again. I twisted the top of the egg and the notes began to play. As the fourth note died I whispered:
“I wish I existed again.”
I closed my eyes and then opened them. Charlie was still there, staring at me.
“Guess it didn’t work,” he said.
“But why? Everything is back as it was, everything.”
“Let me see,” said Charlie, taking the egg from me. He opened it up.
“So you’ve got the Mary Celeste sail, Amelia Earhart’s handkerchief, Amundsen’s glove … where’s the button?”
I stared at him.
“Louis Le Prince’s silver button!” he said. I reached into my pocket to check if it was in there.
“It’s gone!” I said. “Bex must have taken it!”
“I don’t believe it,” I said. “My own sister! Stealing from me right under my nose!” We walked back to Charlie’s house. It must have been her.
“The button was the last thing I showed her and then she acted all weird and suddenly rushed off,” I said. “She must have been planning it all along. She wasn’t interested in the things after all, she just wanted to steal something!”
Charlie was silent for a moment.
“You’ll have to get the button back. There’s no other way around it … if all of those things are together then maybe they have some kind of power that…”
He stopped. Someone was heading towards us and Charlie was staring straight at them.
“Just keep your mouth shut,” he whispered to me. It was Marcus Grundy with his little gang of numbskulls.
“All right, Charlie?” said Marcus. “What you up to?” He looked at me and a sneer creased his top lip.
“All right, Marcus,” said Charlie. “Nothing much. Just going home.”
Marcus stared at me. “You’re that loser from school, aren’t you? The one who thought it was funny to shout lies about me across the playground.”
I smirked at him. “They weren’t lies though, were they, Marcus? Would you like me to remind you what happened?”
He tried to stare me out for a bit but gave up.
“Right, well. We’ve got somewhere to be. Haven’t we?” The boys around him did a group grunt and then he pointed a finger at Charlie’s face.
“You might wanna have a think about who you hang around with, mate,” he said, and they all sloped off.
Charlie put his head down and walked on.
“I don’t know why you’re mates with him,” I said. “He’s really not your kind of friend at all.”
“Look, just shut up, OK?” said Charlie. “You don’t know anything about who my kind of friend is, or my life, or anything.”
I stumbled a bit as I tried to keep up with him.
“Oh yeah? Well I do know you are a lot happier in my world. You’re not trying to be someone you’re not. You’re not one of the cool kids, Charlie. And the sooner you realize that the better!”
Charlie stopped and faced me.
“Look. I don’t care who you are, or whether you get home to your make-believe world or wherever it is you crawled from. But don’t start telling me how to live my life. It’s none of your business.”
I couldn’t believe it. I was losing him!
“What? I thought we were friends?” I said.
Charlie shook his head.
“Don’t be stupid. I don’t ever want to see you again, all right? Got that into your thick head have you? Has it sunk in?”
He tapped me on the head like he was checking I had a brain.
“But … what about my dog? I need to get back or Monster will be dead. You’ve got to help me!”
Charlie laughed.
“There is no dog! I can’t believe I fell for your stupid lies. Just go away and leave me alone.”
I let him walk on a bit and then I caught him up for one last try.
“Please, Charlie! You’ve got to help me get home,” I pleaded. But my old friend turned his back on me and walked away.
I walked slowly back to Reg’s. I’d got so close to having my friend back and now I’d lost him all over again. And my sister was a liar and a thief who couldn’t be trusted. I had to get that button back. I got to the bungalow and opened the kitchen door and went in.
“Is that you, Maxwell?” called Reg from the front room. I’d only been gone a little while so it was easy for him to remember me this time. I went into the lounge and Reg was sitting in his armchair beside the gas fire. His smile dropped when he saw me.
“Whatever is the matter?” he said.
I sank on to the sofa and stared at the orange glow of the fire.
“I’ve … I’ve lost everybody,” I said. “I’ve lost my family. My best friend. My dog… I’ve got nobody here. No one at all.”
Reg looked at me and slowly nodded. “Ah. I see … I see.”
“I don’t know what to do, Reg. I don’t know how to get back to them. I miss them all so much,” I said.
Reg’s eyes looked all watery. “I’m so sorry, Maxwell,” he said. “It’s hard when you lose someone you love.”
>
I looked at the kind old man who was sitting in the chair beside me.
“Have you got a family, Reg?” I said. I’d never wondered if he had anybody in his life before. He opened his mouth but then he closed it again. I kept silent, waiting for him to carry on.
“My wife was called Emily,” he said. “We were so happy and we loved each other very much.”
He swallowed and then blinked a few times as he stared ahead at nothing.
“We did everything together. We had such a happy life.”
I kept quiet. I hadn’t thought much about Reg’s life outside of his bungalow. I’d never seen him go anywhere.
“We took a trip to Italy once. That was a wonderful holiday,” he said with a smile. “Emily’s sister, Alice, and her husband Jack came too. We were the best of friends, the four of us, and we travelled around for a whole month. It was wonderful. What a beautiful country. Have you ever been?”
I shook my head. Reg was smiling but his eyes were sad. He went to take a sip of his tea but changed his mind and put the mug down.
“Did … did something happen to Emily?” I asked.
Reg cleared his throat and blinked towards the other side of the room for a while.
“Emily got sick. Very sick. It was right before her thirty-second birthday.”
I gripped my hands in my lap.
“The doctor knew something was wrong right away,” continued Reg. “She sent her straight to hospital and they did lots of tests and … the news wasn’t good.”
I could see he was very close to crying. I wasn’t sure what to do if a grown-up cried. When Mum cried she usually went into the bathroom and I never really had to do anything.
“I’m sorry,” I said. That was all I could think of to say.
Reg looked over at me. He suddenly looked very, very old. My stomach churned and I swallowed away a sick feeling that I had in my throat. I didn’t want to hear any more but at the same time I wanted to know what happened. A tear trickled down his cheek. He didn’t wipe it away and I watched it reach his chin and then drop down on to his shirt making a little grey circle.
“The doctors tried everything. They gave her lots of different drugs, but some of the medicines were so strong that they began to make her ill as well.” His voice cracked and he wiped at his cheek. I got up and knelt on the floor beside him, reaching over to pat his hand.
The Day I Was Erased Page 15