‘Ever in the bed?’
‘Every night, at first,’ said Evangeline, quietly. ‘Until the Easter toy came.’
Andrew smiled sympathetically and nodded. ‘What about games?’ he asked.
‘I was sometimes included in games – tea parties. But I never went out of the house, although some of the other toys were taken on outings and on holiday.’
‘Any garden activities?’ said Andrew.
Evangeline shook her head and hoped she wasn’t going to get teary again. She was starting to feel as though she really hadn’t been any kind of proper toy at all.
‘I’ve never been in a garden,’ she said. ‘I’ve never been outside.’
‘So how did you pass your days?’ asked Andrew.
‘Thinking,’ said Evangeline. ‘Looking at the cats on the curtains. Counting things. But mostly I talked to dust balls and sunbeams.’
‘Ah,’ said Andrew. ‘You can learn a lot from a sunbeam, can’t you? I used to like summer breezes, too. They can tell you all about what’s outside. I used to like hearing about the sea.’
‘Oh, yes,’ said Evangeline, sitting up and feeling much better. ‘And sometimes I talked to the birds who would land on the windowsill, if I was lying on the floor near there. Swallows have the most wonderful tales to tell.’
‘Don’t they just!’ said Andrew. He paused and looked at Evangeline for a moment, his face more serious than it had been. ‘It sounds to me as though you are a good listener, Evangeline. Do you think you are?’
‘I don’t know,’ she said, surprised. ‘I’ve never thought about it, but I do really enjoy hearing other people’s stories. Then, when I have nothing to do, I can listen to them again in my head.’
Andrew was beaming at her. He leaned across the table and patted her front foot with his shaggy paw.
‘You might be just the toy I’m looking for,’ he said. ‘I think I have the perfect job for you.’
Evangeline stared at him in amazement. She couldn’t believe her very large ears. A job of her own! It was a dream come true.
‘Really?’ she said, beaming back at him. ‘What do you think I could do?’
‘Aha!’ said Andrew, chuckling. ‘You’ll have to wait and see. There’s a lot to do up here and we’ll have to see where you would fit in best. Of course, everybody works for the Wish Keeper in some way, it’s just a matter of which area will be right for you.’
‘Who is the Wish Keeper?’ asked Evangeline shyly, wondering if she should already know.
Andrew smiled. ‘He’s the one who makes children’s wishes come true. Birthday wishes, Christmas wishes, wishing-well wishes, saying-the-same-thing wishes, new moon wishes and all the rest … There are so many kinds of wishes and someone has to look after them all. That’s what we do up here.’
He leaned across the table again towards her, looking more serious.
‘You can’t leave wishes just floating around unanswered,’ he continued. ‘A wish is a very powerful thing because of all the hope that’s stored in it. So everyone up here helps the Wish Keeper look after all the wishes and keep the hope safe.’
Then he opened a drawer in the table in front of him and took out what looked like a small candle, a box of matches and a large gold ring.
Evangeline watched, fascinated, as he lit a match and held it to the end of the candle. The wax melted into a blob on the bottom of her docket and before it could set hard, Andrew picked up the ring and pressed it into the wax.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked, politely.
‘It’s the Wish Keeper’s official seal,’ said Andrew, holding up the docket so she could see.
The ring had pressed a picture into the wax, which looked like two crossed fingers with a ribbon tied in a bow on the end of one of them.
‘This shows you’ve been approved to work directly for him. Not everyone is, you know …’
He rolled Evangeline’s docket into a neat scroll, tied it up with a piece of red ribbon and handed it to her.
‘See that door over there?’ he said. ‘The one with the shiny brass handle? Go through there and give this to the first person you meet.’
He held out his paw and Evangeline shook it.
‘It’s been lovely meeting you,’ said Andrew.
‘And you,’ said Evangeline and started to walk away, but then she paused and went back.
‘I’m so sorry, I’ve still got your hanky,’ she said, holding it out towards him.
‘Keep it,’ said Andrew. ‘You might need it and I’ll see you again sooner or later. You can give it to me then. Have fun.’
‘Thank you,’ said Evangeline, smiling and feeling a bit shy because he was so kind.
Then she started walking over to the door he’d pointed her towards, feeling more nervous with every step, worried that she wouldn’t be up to doing whatever it was he’d signed her up for. She really didn’t want to let Andrew down.
When she reached the door she turned back for a final look at the vast room full of toys and saw that Peter the Panda was staring directly at her. And not in a friendly way. He had a deep frown between his eyes.
He was so grumpy and mean, Evangeline almost stuck her tongue out at him but managed to stop herself. She glanced over to Andrew for reassurance and saw he was now talking to a funny looking toy with three arms and little horns on the top of his head, but just as she was about to turn back again, Andrew looked up and waved at her, nodding and smiling encouragingly.
Evangeline waved back, took a deep breath and turned the door handle.
IT didn’t feel as if she’d even pushed the door open, but as soon as she touched the shiny brass handle, Evangeline found she was on the other side, with the door closed firmly behind her.
The light was so bright she had to wait a few moments to get used to it, and when she could see again she gasped. She was standing in the most wonderful garden. There was the sound of tinkling water and the air smelled very sweet.
Outside! thought Evangeline. I’m outside at last!
After so much longing, she could finally see and smell what the dust balls, sunbeams and birds had told her about. She walked forward a few paces, sniffing the flowers, looking left and right, trying to take it all in at once.
The garden was square, surrounded by old brick walls and criss-crossed by paths which led to four big wooden gates, one on each wall. Evangeline looked around more intently, remembering what Andrew had said about giving the docket to the first person she met through the door – but there didn’t seem to be anybody there.
She was making her way to the centre of the garden where all the paths met at a beautiful fountain, which sent water spraying high into the blue sky, when she heard a voice behind her.
‘Oo-oo!’ it was calling, in a sing song way. ‘Hell-oo-oo, young elephant! Over here! Oo-oo!’
Evangeline turned around to see a very small doll wearing a red-and-white striped dress and a blue knitted bobble hat. She wore a pair of round glasses and was trotting along very busily towards Evangeline, taking tiny steps in her little red shoes.
‘Good, good,’ the little doll was saying. ‘You’re new, that’s good. Let me see you.’
She came to a stop in front of Evangeline.
‘Andrew the Anteater told me to give you this,’ said Evangeline, handing her the docket.
‘Yes, yes, docket, good, good,’ said the little doll, unrolling the paper and scrutinising it. ‘Yes, Andrew. The Anteater. Of course. Now, let’s see. Aha! Dainty. Helpful. Kind … hmmm … I wonder …’
The doll looked up at Evangeline again and stared at her hard. It wasn’t an unkind look, but it made Evangeline a bit uncomfortable. She felt as though she needed to pass some kind of test.
‘Says here,’ continued the doll, tapping the paper with one tiny finger, ‘that you are a Good Listener, and I’m inclined to agree. You’ve got a good listening face on you, and you’d be surprised how rare they are. Yes. Very rare.’
The doll put out her han
d.
‘I’m Nancy,’ she said, shaking Evangeline’s front foot firmly. She had a surprisingly strong grip for such a small doll. ‘I’m in charge of New Recruits here in the Wish Keeper’s Garden, and I will be looking after you as you go through your Induction Course today. Any questions?’
‘What’s an Induction?’ asked Evangeline, feeling quite alarmed.
‘Oh, it’s just the chance to meet all the people you’ll be working with and an introduction to the systems we use up here. There’s a lot to take in, so we start with Induction, then we pass through to Recruit Training and if all goes well, in a few days you’ll be fully Integrated and then you can get down to some serious work. We need all the good workers we can get. Oh yes. There are a lot of wishes to process, all year. All year long.’
Evangeline smiled at the idea of the work part and remembered what Andrew had said about having the perfect job for her.
‘That sounds great,’ she said, enthusiastically.
‘Now, first, you need to meet the other New Recruits,’ said Nancy. ‘This way. Quick, quick.’
She trotted off again taking her tiny little steps and Evangeline followed, quickly realising she would have to be careful not to overtake her. Now she had the chance to use them, Evangeline was discovering she could go rather fast on her long legs. Perhaps she’d be able to use that skill in the job they were going to give her, she thought excitedly.
Nancy led her to the big fountain in the centre of the garden and Evangeline was surprised to see that there was a crowd of other toys and dolls now gathered round it.
She was sure she’d been alone when she’d first arrived in the garden, yet here they all were, some sitting on the stone edge of the pond, dipping their paws in the water and making boats out of leaves, while others were running round and round it, playing tag.
It wasn’t until she was right by the fountain that Evangeline spotted Robert. He saw her at the same time and rushed over.
‘Evangeline,’ he said, giving her a big hug.
‘Brilliant to see you. Isn’t Upstairs great?’
‘Well, it seems very nice so far,’ said Evangeline, happily. ‘And I’m so pleased to see you, too. I missed you so much when you left the bedroom. Is this where you disappeared to all that time ago?’
Robert nodded.
‘Yes, I’ve been back up here for a while now. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye, but it was all very sudden. I think it always is when you come Upstairs, but you’re going to love it here, Evangeline – and wait till you meet all the other guys on our team. We’ve got a great gang.’
He leaned in close to Evangeline and whispered in one of her ears.
‘And you’re very lucky. I didn’t get to come in here the first time I came Upstairs,’ he said. ‘Being invited into the Wish Keeper’s Garden is a very big honour, only for the most special toys …’
Evangeline opened her eyes wide in surprise and was just about to ask him more about it when Nancy spoke.
‘Quiet, please,’ she said in her bossy voice, and they all immediately stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
‘Right,’ said Nancy. ‘You’re all here now, so we’re ready to start your Induction. It will be a full and busy programme, so I need everybody to pay careful attention. Sit down and make yourselves comfortable, we have a lot to get through.’
Evangeline sat with Robert at a spot well to the back of the group. She settled her dress neatly on her crossed legs and glanced around to get a better look at all the other Recruits.
Robert introduced her to two teddy bears, a really small one called Tiny Ted and a big one called Senior Bear. Then she turned to see who was on the other side and was surprised to notice one toy walking away.
It was hard to make out who or what the toy was, as it had already gone to the far side of the fountain, but Evangeline could see it was quite tall and had black-and-white fur. Perhaps it was Peter the Panda, who had been so grumpy to her when she’d first arrived Upstairs. He’d probably been there to give Nancy some important paperwork, she thought. The little doll was leafing through a pile of papers, so that must have been it. Anyway, Evangeline was glad he seemed to be leaving now. One meeting with him had been quite enough.
Nancy folded the papers and put them in her pocket, then clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention again.
‘Now,’ she said, pacing up and down in front of them in her tiny red shoes. ‘You may be wondering why you’re here. Well, you nine New Recruits have been specially chosen out of the entire intake to Upstairs this year because you are all particularly good, kind toys. Only the select few ever get to come where we’re standing now in the Wish Keeper’s Garden. Well, I’m standing, you’re all sitting down.’
A small dog near Evangeline giggled, but Nancy fixed him with a pointed look and he stopped immediately.
‘First things first. First,’ she continued, ‘do you all know what a wish is?’
The toys mumbled that they did.
‘That’s good, but who is going to tell me? You …’ she said, pointing at Evangeline. ‘Tell us what a wish is. Properly.’
Evangeline felt her grey cheeks turn pink. She felt hot all over and much too shy to answer, but then she remembered how kind Andrew the Anteater had been to her and how he had told her she could possibly work for the Wish Keeper himself, and she didn’t want to let him down.
‘A wish is when somebody wants something and they ask for it,’ she stammered. ‘Nicely. And then, if they’re good, they might get it. But they mustn’t tell anyone what it is or they won’t.’
Evangeline felt herself blush even more. What a terrible explanation. But Nancy didn’t seem bothered.
‘Yes,’ she said, nodding. ‘That covers it. But when do they ask? Can anyone tell me that?’
Robert put his paw up.
‘My little girl …’ he glanced at Evangeline and smiled. ‘Our little girl got a wish when she blew out all her birthday cake candles in one go,’ he said. ‘She had to take a very big breath.’
‘Excellent,’ said Nancy. ‘That’s a classic wish scenario, the birthday candles. Thank you, Robert. Any other suggestions?’
There was a funny noise from the front of the group. Evangeline leaned forward, round Senior Bear, and saw the peculiar looking toy who had begun his interview with Andrew after her.
He was bright green, with a blue nose, big round eyes and a very wide mouth with a row of funny little pointed teeth poking out of it. He was holding up one of his three arms and gurgling.
‘Yes,’ said Nancy. ‘The alien at the back. Which wish do you know?’
‘My name is Sprocket,’ he said, in a voice which sounded like water going down a drain. ‘And my little boy used to take me outside at night to look at the stars, so I could tell him which one was my planet, and once we saw a falling star and his mum said he could make a wish on it.’
‘Very good,’ said Nancy. ‘Wishing on a falling star – or a shooting star – are very good examples. You can also make a wish on a new moon – that’s the kind that looks like a sliver of lemon peel – but you must see it outside, not through glass, or the wish won’t count.’
As Nancy was talking, Evangeline could hear some squeaking noises coming from her right. She looked over to see the small brown and white dog, who had giggled earlier, jumping up and down.
‘I’ve got one! I’ve got one!’ he was saying, with little squeaky woofs escaping between the words.
‘All right, calm down, Derek Doggy,’ said Nancy. ‘What is your wish?’
‘Once my little girl took me with her on an outing and her grandma was there and we went on a very long drive to this special place and there was a tea garden and it was a lovely day very pleasant for the time of year her grandma said and we all sat outside and had scones and jam and cream and the grown-ups had tea and my little girl had lemonade and she gave me some and my nose got all wet and it’s been a bit sticky ever since and then she had ice cream and
she was going to give me some of that too but her mum said No! stop that! And I didn’t …’
Nancy raised a hand. ‘What about the wish?’
‘Oh,’ said Derek, looking a bit surprised. ‘Oh yes! When we were leaving the tea garden there was a wishing well and my little girl’s grandma gave her twenty cents and she dropped it in and made a wish and then we went to the shop and …’
‘Thank you, Derek,’ said Nancy, quickly, before he could get going on another story. ‘The wishing well is also a classic. There are also fountains that humans drop a coin into and make a wish. Anything else?’
A tiny little toy pushed her way to the front of the group and put her hand up. Evangeline had never seen anyone like her before. She had a doll’s face, but was wearing a white suit with bunny ears and a pretty little frill around her waist.
‘Yes, Twinkle?’ said Nancy.
‘My little girl always used to wish on her first mince pie at Christmas,’ she said in a tiny little voice.
‘Yes,’ said Nancy. ‘That’s a good one, too. And you can wish on your first mango of the summer, or your first apple in autumn and when you stir up the Christmas pudding. Those are all nice wishes. Any more?’
A giraffe sitting right at the front raised a hoof in the air.
‘I once went with my little boy to visit his mum in a hospital,’ she said quietly. ‘Outside the hospital was a statue of a wild boar and you could rub his snout and make a wish that someone would get better. The wild boar’s nose was all shiny where people had rubbed it. My little boy rubbed that snout very, very hard.’
Nancy nodded and smiled broadly.
‘Thank you, Geraldine, that was a really good wish story and those were all excellent wishing scenarios,’ she said. ‘There are a lot more you will learn, but that’s a great start. I just wanted to get you all thinking about wishes.’
She paused for a moment and looked at the ground.
‘I’m afraid there are some other things about wishes I have to tell you,’ she said, a little frown gathering behind her specs. ‘Something that isn’t so nice. Not nice at all. You see, the hope that a child puts into a wish is a very special thing.’
Evangeline Wish Keeper's Helper Page 2