Polly Brown

by Tricia Bennett

  Apparently Aunt Mildred had been unable to rouse either Uncle Boritz or Pitstop, whom she found stretched out on top of her husband. Poor Aunt Mildred had been scared witless at the thought that her dear husband, whom she relied on for everything, may suddenly have departed from this earth. Sadly, she also secretly believed there was every possibility that he had been murdered by a foster child out for revenge, and therefore she could be next! This possibility had frightened her so much that she believed she was in urgent need of protection.

  She therefore was somewhat hysterical as she raced to the phone and demanded that Dr. Glumchops abandon his early morning surgery and get up to the castle immediately. When the doctor arrived on the scene, he was unable to help until he had calmed Aunt Mildred down with the help of an injection into her overtly large rear end. Only after the medication had sufficiently done its work was he able to reassure her that Boritz was not dead, just mysteriously and temporarily incapacitated. Although he did have to admit that until Pitstop was physically removed from on top of his master, he would be unable to give Uncle Boritz a more thorough medical examination. As Pitstop weighed a ton, Dr. Glumchops was left with little choice but to call in the local haulage firm—Bodgit, Dodgit, and Hoppitt—who, with the help of a large and very strong hoist, were happily able to lift the limp body of the beast down from the bed. Then and only then was the doctor able to make a clear medical diagnosis and administer the correct dosage of drugs that were deemed vital to bring her poor, comatose husband back to his senses.

  Many hours later he was still feeling too weak and exhausted to leave his bed, and he was now complaining of a thumping headache that resisted all medication. The condition of Pitstop was equally poor, and as a result neither party were to be seen strolling around the castle for the next few days, giving Polly a much-needed and very welcome break.

  Tuesday arrived in no time at all, and by the time the sun had graced the sky with its appearance Polly was already up and ahead of schedule. This was after all a very important day, and she had much to get on with. After the usual small and very unsatisfying bowl of stale cornflakes, she set off to school as usual, but with one addition to her schoolbag. This was the jar that had been home to Hodgekiss’s caterpillar until it transformed to a butterfly.

  Polly feared the morning lessons would never come to an end. Every time she looked up at the clock face the hands seemed to barely move.

  But finally the various smells of boiled cabbage and chips wafted down the corridors and into the classrooms, alerting the studious pupils’ rumbling tummies to the excellent news that lunch break had almost arrived. The dinner gong eventually boomed, informing all pupils that the morning lessons were over, much to Polly’s great relief.

  She hung back to avoid the inevitable stampede for the cafeteria before picking up her schoolbag and leaving the classroom. After heading down the steps that led to the hallway, she then turned in the opposite direction to avoid the noisy lunchtime queue of hungry pupils anxious to get into the canteen for today’s special. She then quietly slipped out of school to avoid detection, keeping her head down low as she left the premises and headed for home. She had allowed herself plenty of time, in fact, way too much time. But this did not matter to Polly, for it meant she could go on her mission to pick some fresh flowers for Thomas.

  What she was totally unaware of at that moment in time was that Gailey Gobbstopper had followed her, watching her disappear through the school gates, and then headed back into school to report Polly’s truancy to Edwood Batty, the headmaster.

  Gailey was very proud of herself as he opened the absenteeism book to write Polly’s name down, for she knew that after lunch there would be a certain phone call made to the castle, and Uncle Boritz would be fuming. So as she went to join the remainder of the lunch queue, great joy filled her heart and did not leave, even when she discovered that all the specials had been finished, leaving only braised liver with boiled cabbage. Normally this would have deeply upset her, but not today, for today she had witnessed Polly’s deceit and wickedness in disobeying Uncle Boritz. She was extremely excited knowing that she would undoubtedly receive a reward of goodies and sweets, as well as witness Polly’s punishment. After almost falling asleep in the many boring morning lessons, this had unexpectedly turned into a wonderful day for Gailey.

  The sun was shining brightly; the sky was a perfect azure blue; and the birds of the air were singing praises as they flitted from one treetop to another. All this caused Polly’s tender spirit to feel lifted as she got off the train. She started to walk in the opposite direction from her normal route, for she had a special job to do before attending her brother’s funeral. Polly walked for what felt like miles. After leaving the main road she headed down a long, winding lane and then through a lush, green meadow filled with beautiful flowers that she was unable to name.

  Eventually she stopped by a gate and, looking over the cornfields, she saw what she was after—a field full of wild poppies that she and Thomas had many times walked through together. It was their field, where they shared their highs and lows as well as all their dreams as they lay sucking on long grasses and basking in the warm sun. Today it looked stunningly beautiful, as usual, to Polly. The sun bent down to kiss the golden corn, and the red poppies intertwined and added such rich color as they swayed to and fro in the gentle breeze.

  She climbed over the gate and made her way through the golden cornfields, taking great care not to trample down the corn as she did so, for she knew that if she damaged the corn the farmer would be most unhappy with her. Soon she arrived at her poppy field. As she had plenty of time on her hands, she lay down in the long grass and allowed her thoughts to fill with memories of Thomas.

  Polly smiled as she remembered how Thomas had tried so hard to protect her when they first arrived at the castle. Both of her brothers, as well as she, had been so frightened, and nobody had done anything to allay their fears. There had been no social worker to sit and talk to them about why they had been brought there or how long they would be staying. Nobody in the castle introduced himself or made them feel even the tiniest bit welcome. In fact, Polly got the distinct impression that they were not wanted. Over the years much had happened to both Thomas and herself to prove this to be the case.

  There was one occasion that he had always brought up in their conversations. This event had taken place only days after their arrival at the castle. Polly had been instructed to sit on a chair that had been placed at the top of the staircase. Within seconds, her light golden hair had been mercilessly and forcibly chopped off. Polly had struggled, and Thomas, who happened to walk by, stopped in his tracks, shouting, “Leave my sister alone. Get off her right now!” He had then rushed over to Polly and attempted to remove the scissors from the lady cutting her hair. The result had been a most irregular cut that more resembled a pudding bowl and left poor Polly very upset. She believed she now looked more hideous than ever.

  She had always loved her hair, and it had up until now always been brushed and then braided with ribbons tied on both ends. But now there was no longer the time or a willing pair of hands available to do this seemingly meaningless task. Therefore the decision to chop off her long hair had been deemed most necessary by Aunt Mildred. Polly had burst into tears and hugged Thomas, crying, “Thomas, please help me! Get me out of this place.”

  On witnessing Polly’s distress, Thomas had also begun to cry, at the same time promising he would do all that he could to help her. But he also admitted to Polly that things did look pretty hopeless. She would never forget that day and how touched she had been at Thomas’s efforts to protect her. Polly wished every day for her hair to grow long again, but her guardians refused point blank to allow such frivolous indulgence. She was given no choice but to have short hair with no style whatsoever. This went a long way in making her feel like a hideously ugly monster. Oh, how she missed her braids!

  Thomas had never spoken truer words than he did that day when he told Polly things loo
ked pretty hopeless. It would only be a matter of time before he fell sick and could no longer be of any help to Polly and her younger brother.

  They had only been in the home a matter of weeks before they came to realize that all was not well. The awful truth that they were not wanted began to dawn on them. Unbeknownst to Polly and her brothers at the time, Aunt Mildred had made it perfectly clear to Uncle Boritz that she was finding it hard enough to cope with the ones she already had.

  Uncle Boritz had obviously ignored her pleas and had gone behind her back in agreeing to take them in. Therefore, from the moment of their arrival they were forced to face the awful fact that they were uninvited guests! Aunt Mildred made it quite plain that she could not bear the sight of any of them, or apparently their smell either. When they were in her presence, she distinctly raised her nose in the air and looked away, choosing to ignore them. The other children were also quick to realize that this was indeed their opportunity to gain the favor of their guardians, so they acted likewise. Polly and her brothers were therefore treated like outcasts, and this left them feeling ostracized and, at times, very confused.

  On the rare occasions when treats such as sweets were handed out, they were often excluded. Birthdays and Christmas were the worst times of all. The other children would whisper to her, “We can see they don’t like you at all,” as they more than happily sneered at the cheap gift that had been Polly’s only present. In both Thomas’s and Polly’s case there had been birthdays when nothing arrived at all!

  On every child’s birthday, Uncle Boritz would always promise a goodie box. This box comprised of small goodie bags, packets of crisps, and a can of coke. Many times Polly witnessed an anxious foster brother or sister spending much time looking for Uncle and their unclaimed and highly desired box. Polly found herself in the same boat when it came to her birthday, playing hide and sneak with the elusive box and sneaking around the castle desperately seeking out Uncle Boritz. Sadly, if he had not been tracked down by the next day, it was considered too late, and there was no longer any entitlement to the box. So the hunt for Uncle Boritz caused great anxiety not only to Polly, but also to the other children as well.

  It was quite different however when it was one of their own children’s birthday celebrations, for then all the stops were pulled out. Nothing was too much trouble. A big cake arrived from the baker, and all the children were expected to produce presents.

  Despite Aunt Mildred’s growing hatred of Polly and her brothers, Polly had the deepest desire to please Aunt Mildred. The sad truth was Polly really did love her and desperately wanted that love returned. Then there came a day when she found the opportunity she had been waiting for—Aunt Mildred’s birthday. Polly knew that to find something special would prove to be extremely difficult, for she had received no pocket money for some weeks as part of her long list of punishments. But she did have in her possession a necklace that she treasured. The diamonds were of course plastic, but to Polly they were the real things. As Polly caressed the necklace between her fingers, she made the very tough decision to give it to Aunt Mildred as her gift.

  Polly had so little in the way of personal possessions, but she felt the sacrifice would be worth it. She made a small tag and wrote £1,000,000 on it, and then tied it securely onto the necklace before wrapping it in brown paper. She could hardly wait to give Aunt Mildred her special gift, for she believed that upon opening and seeing it was Polly’s special diamond necklace, Aunt Mildred would at last realize that Polly cared for her and all their problems would be in the past. Aunt Mildred would then kiss her and tell her how much she really loved her. “The possibilities are indeed endless,” Polly thought most excitedly.

  The children had to wait until after lunch before presenting their gifts, for this was always how it was done for her guardians. No such ceremony took place for any of the other children, Polly always noticed. It was as if none of their celebrations counted. With the tables cleared of all plates and cutlery, Aunt Mildred eventually sat down and all the children fought to be first in the line up to present her with their gift. At last it was Polly’s turn, and with great excitement she rushed forward, thrusting the package into Aunt Mildred’s open hand. The room fell silent. Every eye was on Aunt Mildred as she tore open the little package, causing the plastic diamond necklace to drop on to the table.

  “What on earth is this?” cried Aunt Mildred in disgust as she dangled the necklace for all to see.

  “It’s my special gift to show you that I love you,” stammered Polly.

  Aunt Mildred continued to finger the necklace, and then her eyes met with the small price tag. She burst into hysterical laughter. The children joined in, laughing almost as loudly as Aunt Mildred. Polly began to feel panicky, for she could not understand why Aunt Mildred was laughing so hysterically.

  “One million pounds?” she sneered. “Boritz, come here quickly and take a look at Polly’s hideously ridiculous present to me. This sniveling child thinks I was born yesterday.”

  Uncle Boritz rushed forward to peer through his thick glasses at the price tag before laughing out loud. The necklace was then passed from child to child so that all present could be witness to Polly’s more than pathetic attempt at fraud. They all continued laughing uncontrollably as Aunt Mildred turned on Polly and shouted, “Get out of my sight, you miserable little blighter. You don’t love me. In fact you, my girl, could never love anybody. For you are nothing but a liar and a cheat,” she hissed.

  Within just a matter of seconds, all the children joined in the fun, hissing and booing in Polly’s direction.

  But Aunt Mildred wasn’t finished yet. “Here take back your cheap, miserable present,” she yelled, “for I want nothing from you or your pathetic brothers.”

  Venom continued to pour from her mouth as she tossed the precious piece of jewelry into the air. The necklace dropped to the floor and broke, scattering the artificial diamonds everywhere.

  Polly fell to her knees, hot tears burning her cheeks, as she attempted to pick up all the diamonds from the floor. Her futile attempt to gather them up was somewhat hampered as the children standing around started a game of football by kicking the diamonds across the room to each other. As Polly continued to grovel around on the floor, desperately attempting to retrieve them, she was kicked numerous times in the head and on her body. Eventually she was forced to give up and make a hasty retreat from the room.

  Nobody spoke to Polly for days after that incident, and Polly kept well clear of Aunt Mildred and Uncle Boritz. She felt so humiliated. Much of the time she stayed under the bedclothes with only Langdon and Eton as her companions. She played events of that terrible day over and over in her head as she tried hard to understand and come to terms with what had taken place.

  Thomas had, on too numerous occasions to mention, been subjected to similar treatment. Polly remembered back to one specific time when it was Mother’s Day, and the children were again queuing up to present their gifts. Thomas was rarely given his pocket money, for they found every reason under the sun to withhold it from him. Polly had tried to help out by giving him all she had, and that was a bright, shiny penny. Thomas was very grateful and spent the penny buying something for Aunt Mildred. He bought her a penny chew, and then, because the gift was so small, he had the bright idea of wrapping it up a number of times. This made his gift look far more substantial. He waited at the end of the long line of children, eager to be called forward to present his gift. Again silence fell as all eyes were on Aunt Mildred as she unraveled layer after layer of paper. When the final wrapping had been discarded, she held the penny chew high in the air and screeched, “And what do you call this?” before throwing the penny chew to the floor in disgust. She then pulled out her hanky and started to cry. Uncle Boritz was fuming. He ordered Thomas to go back to his seat immediately.

  All the children present on that most special of occasions started to cry, for Aunt Mildred’s special day had been totally hijacked and destroyed by the loony. And if her
day was wrecked, then their day was ruined as well. They believed that Thomas was therefore a wicked and very cruel person who deserved the beating he was about to get. Thomas curled up in a ball to stave off the blows and punches from the children who, like a pack of wolves, surrounded him, baying for blood. It was right for them to be granted permission to mete out their own brand of justice. So it was many blows later before Thomas was finally able to flee from the room and find a place to hide away. Such was the venom of those who sought his blood.

  These events were typical in Thomas’s short life. Needless to say, when his birthday came around, Uncle Boritz had the perfect opportunity for revenge. And as he was never a man to miss an opportunity, he called the children to gather around the table before placing one tiny little present by Thomas’s dinner plate. As Thomas had no other relatives, this was all he received. All the children suspected they were in for some kind of amusement, for it was unheard of to gather all the children around the table on the birthday of a foster child, and the lowliest of them all at that! Something worth watching was surely about to happen! Polly watched their glee-filled faces as they waited with eager anticipation to witness the hurt this gift was more than likely to bring. Thomas dutifully tore open the package, unwrapping layer after layer of paper, until the gift tumbled out. It was a small plastic pencil sharpener.

  All the children roared with laughter, with the exception of Polly, who instantly felt beside herself on Thomas’s behalf. She stood for a few moments feeling his intense pain. The children began to jeer and mock Thomas as they got immense satisfaction from witnessing his disappointment at the paltry gift. Uncle Boritz and Aunt Mildred joined in the party, for it was turning into a most successful and fun event. They laughed until Uncle Boritz could hardly keep upright, clutching his belly as he continued to crease up. This encouraged the children to laugh even louder. If Polly could have done something, anything, to prevent her brother’s terrible ordeal, she would have. But sadly she felt as powerless as ever. Polly just watched in horror, her heart pounding in almost as frenzied a fashion as their laughter.