Polly planted a kiss on Langdon’s trunk, and despite her swollen throat making all utterances jolly painful, she continued to talk to her blue, and very dazed, companion.
She then fell silent as she pondered her current Polly crisis. “Perhaps I should turn back and head for home, for at least if I go back to the castle there will be a bed for me, as well as food and water. Yes, we were better off in the castle. So perhaps going home is the wisest thing to do after all!”
No sooner had she spoken than Polly heard a noise. At first it was very faint, but as she strained hard to listen, she quickly determined that she could definitely hear whimpering.
“Shhh! Langdon,” she said, covering his flappy ears with her hand. “Can you hear what I’m hearing?”
The noise appeared to be coming from behind a small group of rocks not far from where Polly was standing. She walked very cautiously over toward the rocks and peered behind them. What she saw next visibly shocked her. For lying on the ground, curled up in a tight ball, lay a young girl with only the threadbare remains of her dress covering up her trembling body. Polly was horrified to see that her hands were bound behind her back, and she had masking tape over her mouth. “Who could have done such a dreadful thing to this poor and very precious little girl?” she pondered, instantly experiencing strong feelings of anger and shock. However, despite feeling very weepy and emotional, Polly took a deep breath to help her regain control of her feelings, and then she knelt down to untie the distraught and terrified little girl. This done, she then very gently attempted to remove the tape that bound the girl’s mouth.
Polly noticed that her feet were bare and bloodied, as were her arms, so they would need bandaging. In an instant she forgot her own pressingly urgent problems as she knelt down and caressed the forehead of this girl who resembled one of the frightened animals that Polly was forever rescuing. The young girl responded by curling up even tighter. Her whole body was shaking and quivering from fear. Polly took her woolly cardigan from out of her schoolbag and placed it gently over her body. She then placed Langdon in the girl’s arms before lying down beside her with an arm over her in her attempt to persuade the little girl that she was now completely safe. Polly instinctively knew that it was best to say nothing, choosing instead to continue stroking her head as she cuddled up close to her.
How much time passed before the little girl opened her mouth and found the courage to speak is not known. Polly had no wristwatch and therefore no way of knowing the time of day. But eventually the little girl opened her eyes and began to communicate.
“Thank you,” she whispered in a voice barely audible through trembling lips.
Polly smiled down at her and then hugged her again. “You don’t have to say anything unless you want to,” said Polly very gently to the little girl whose eyes were filled with terror.
The little girl gave a little smile. “My name is Jessica Julestone, and I think I’m seven years old.”
“Well, Jessica, seven is a wonderful and most magical age to be, for I was once that age, although it seems like a long time ago. Now, let me introduce myself. I am Polly, and my elephant that’s cuddling up to you, well, he is called Langdon. But, whatever you do, don’t call him Lang, for he gets most upset if people shorten his name.”
The little girl gave a faint-hearted smile and nodded her agreement. Young Jessica felt completely safe with Polly. So much so that in no time at all she uncurled and sat up, still clutching the jumper and Langdon to keep warm. Polly realized that Jessica was still shivering, so she encouraged Jessica to let go of Morag’s woolly jumper and put it on. It was much too big for her, but it didn’t matter as it could at least help regulate her body temperature and stay warm. She then took off her shoes and put them on Jessica’s small feet.
“Look, I know they are probably far too big for your small feet, but they will have to do for the moment, Jessica. Do you want to stand up and try to walk?”
Jessica nodded, so Polly helped her get up from the ground, and, still holding her arm to steady her, they clumsily walked a few paces
together before both of them collapsed in a heap on the ground.
“Never mind,” said Polly brightly. “We will have another try later.”
It was not too long before Jessica decided to tell Polly what had happened to her, and how she had come to end up in the desert.
“Polly,” she said quietly with tears welling up in her eyes. “Last night I was fast asleep, safely tucked in my bed, when suddenly these strangers with two savage hounds at their side burst into my room and woke me up. They told me I had to go with them. Oh Polly, I was so frightened.” Jessica began to cry.
Polly gently squeezed her arm in an endeavor to give comfort. “Look, Jessica, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Oh, but I do!” she cried.
Polly squeezed Jessica’s arm for a second time, encouraging her to calm down and take it easy.
“Well, I tried to hide under the bedcovers, but it did not work,” she cried, faltering badly as the words stuck in her throat. “But they dragged me from the bed, and one of them put his hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming. My mummy and daddy were fast asleep in the next room, and I wanted to let them know that something awful was happening to me, but I could not cry for help since my mouth was covered and I could hardly breathe.”
Jessica continued to sob as she spoke. Her words did not come easily, for she was in a bad state of shock. When she did speak, she continuously broke down. Polly understood and let her continue with her story at her own pace. Polly knew only too well that Jessica was so traumatized that she required gentle handling, as well as tons of patience, if she was going to finish pouring out all the terrible details of what had happened to her.
“I want my Mummy,” Jessica cried most piteously, shaking from head to foot.
Polly’s eyes welled up with tears as the strength of those few words uttered by Jessica hit her heart with a massive thump. For those were the precise heart-wrenching and gut-churning, emotionally loaded words that Polly had continuously screamed out from deep inside her being for as many years as she could remember!
“There were three of them; two men and one lady, and some dogs that growled all the time and had huge, sharp teeth. Oh Polly, they looked as though they were going to gobble me up. I was dragged down the stairs and then bundled out of the front door and into the back of a car that then drove off very fast. Oh Polly, I was so afraid,” she sobbed as she looked deep into Polly’s eyes in the hope that she might understand the terror she had faced.
She was not disappointed. She could see clearly that Polly really understood the depth of what she had been through, for her eyes held nothing but the deepest compassion for her. Jessica felt deeply relieved that it had been Polly and not someone else who had found her.
“I bet you were absolutely petrified, Jessica,” Polly said comfortingly as she continued to stroke Jessica’s matted hair.
Jessica nodded and went back to her story. “Well, as I lay curled up and shaking on the backseat, the lady who was in the back of the car with me took out some rope and bound my hands behind my back, and then tied a scarf around my eyes so that I could no longer see.” Jessica broke down again at this point, and Polly could do little but hug her tightly. “I could hear them discussing what to do with me. And I remember the lady had a funny name like Sookie, or Spooky, or something like that,” she wailed. “I tried not to listen, because they talked about selling me to people who buy children, and they also said something about throwing me in the river to drown, or giving me to their dogs for their lunch. Polly, I was so afraid, so frightened,” she whimpered. “I had no idea why they wanted me. Eventually they stopped the car, and I was ordered to get out. I could not see anything, so the lady pushed me out of the car, and then she got out herself and dragged me back up on my feet. Then the three of them got back into the car, and I could hear plenty of shouting, arguing, and barking, for their voices were s
o angry. The men wanted to keep me alive and get some money for my safe return.”
“That’s called ransom money, Jessica,” Polly interjected.
“And I could hear the lady say she wanted to hand me over to her friend, Van something. I can’t remember the name, but luckily for me she must have changed her mind.”
Jessica started to tremble and shake so badly that Polly wrapped her arms even tighter around her, just as she used to do to calm Thomas down.
“Suddenly everything went silent,” Jessica sniffed as she brushed away the tears that had been flowing steadily down her cheeks. “They stopped arguing, and that moment was the worst, Polly, for I had no idea what they were planning. Jessica coughed and sputtered, still struggling to get the words out. “While I stood there trembling from head to toe, I started to pray for help, for I had no one else to turn to. I said a little prayer that my mummy always says with me at bedtime, and just thinking of Mummy’s soft skin and sweet-smelling hair helped me to not feel so afraid. It must have worked because suddenly, without any warning, they just sped off, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the desert.”
“Oh, dear sweet Jessica, this must have been most terrible for you. But thank goodness they left you alive, and how amazing that your simple prayer was answered in your real hour of need. I think that is both precious and wonderful. But I think it would be wise to leave the rest of your story until later, for you are very weak and tired. So now it is very important for you to rest.”
Jessica closed her eyes and allowed Polly to stroke her forehead until finally she fell asleep still cradled in Polly’s lap. Polly felt very worried for her, but there was nothing she could do except hold Jessica tightly and pray a similar prayer to that of Jessica’s for help to come, and quickly. For Polly knew that they needed to get out of the desert as soon as possible. Jessica urgently needed to get to a hospital so that her wounds could be cleaned and bandaged up before they attempted to fix her heart. She believed that if Jessica was to survive this most terrible ordeal, then she needed the help of people who knew what to do in such extreme cases. Knowing all this and being able to do nothing but wait and hope made Polly feel very frustrated and thoroughly powerless. All she could hope was for something out of the ordinary—possibly miraculous—to happen; yes, something unforeseen to get them out of this terrible mess.
Polly was really glad that she had been there to help Jessica. What would have happened to this most precious and frightened little girl if she had been left alone in the desert with no one to help her? Polly shuddered at such a thought. She knew that Jessica’s ordeal would not end once help came. She could be taken to a hospital and all the wounds on her arms and legs would in time heal, but the restoration of her heart, well, that could take much longer, possibly years!
It was some hours later before Jessica awoke, and Polly noticed that she began to tremble again. “Polly, I miss my mummy and daddy so much,” she cried. “The thought that I might never see them again is so awful.” Jessica began to bawl loudly, her cries echoing through the cave most disturbingly. Polly felt so helpless that she began to cry as well, for in truth their plight seemed completely overwhelming and hopeless.
Finally they both ran out of tears and just lay exhausted in each other’s arms for comfort.
Jessica went on some hours later to tell Polly how she had stumbled through the desert with her hands behind her back. Blindfolded and with sticky tape covering her mouth, she had stumbled over rocks that cut her hands and feet to ribbons. She had ripped her nightdress on the same obstacles, and that’s how it had come to be in shreds. Eventually, the scarf had slipped down from her eyes and Jessica had been just as afraid without the blindfold, for she felt very panicky when she realized she had no clue as to where she was. As she walked on, many people had gone past her, some sitting high up on camels, their saddlebags bulging with spices and beans as well as pots and pans that clunked and clanged with every step the camels took. Strange-looking men followed behind the camels with brightly colored turbans on their heads as they walked through the sand. Others remained in front as they led their heavily-laden camels over the sandy dustbowl toward their destination.
Jessica had tried to scream out for help, but was prevented from doing so as her mouth was still taped. She still tried hard to get their attention by kicking up as much sand as she could in her futile attempt to make them aware of her existence, but all her attempts were in vain, for they had sadly failed to notice her because they were so caught up in their own concerns of getting to the marketplace. Other strangers had also passed by her, chatting incessantly as they walked in groups, but none had stopped to give her assistance. As Jessica still had tape around her mouth and her hands were bound with rope behind her back, she had at one point fallen to her knees in desperation in front of a large crowd of tourists, who had just disembarked from a coach to stretch their legs. Yet still no one came to her rescue, for they were all caught up with taking group photos and snapshots of lone palm trees and clusters of camels. Unbelievably, many of the tourists had simply walked over her limp body as they strived to get a better picture. One man even angrily kicked her to one side as he took a snapshot, for he most certainly didn’t want this strange-looking object included in the family picture. Indeed, he felt she was most inconsiderate to be lying there at all, obstructing his path.
Jessica therefore had little choice but to pull herself up from the ground and with painful, bleeding legs and feet she staggered on, stumbling continuously and falling into razor-sharp briar bushes that ripped further into her flesh. Her face had become cracked and shriveled as she walked in the blazing heat of the day, and her eyes had become swollen and filled with sand, which she had no way of removing. She had braved the most terrible weather conditions, ranging from ice snowstorms to searing hot sand blizzards, which made her feel as though she were being stung by millions of bees.
Still she continued to stagger and stumble on through the desert, desperate for help. She had collapsed too many times to count from the intense sweltering heat of the scorching sun that beat down upon her. And her only protection had been the remains of her nightdress that still partially clung to her body. At one point she had become so dehydrated and delusional that she imagined she had seen water, so she made one final attempt to walk toward it before falling down to finally pass out behind the rocks, near to where Polly had found her. Yes, the poor darling had amazingly survived the most terrifying ordeal imaginable, but she was not out of the woods yet! For if help didn’t arrive soon, Polly knew there was no hope of Jessica making it home, except in a body bag.
Polly continued to silently pray for help to come as she carried on stroking Jessica’s tangled and matted blonde hair, lying closer than ever to her so that her heat would help to keep Jessica’s body temperature from plummeting. Polly noted that Jessica was becoming worse by the minute, her breathing at times very shallow and her skin cold and clammy.
Polly wrapped her arms around her even tighter as she prayed for a miracle. She also used the time to reflect back on her life, and her thoughts turned to a similar trauma that had happened to her. It was a deeply painful memory, but lying in a cave in the middle of the desert with Jessica hanging onto life by a thread she could not help but turn her thoughts back to the terrible day when she and her siblings had first arrived at the castle.
She remembered so vividly the day they were forced to leave the children’s home they had grown up in to be taken without warning to live at the castle. It was a bitterly cold December evening and Polly, who was just five years old at the time, had been ordered to go into the sitting room by one of the two extremely well-proportioned middle-aged sisters named Molly and Maisie Brimstone that ran this no-nonsense children’s home with military precision. At the time Polly had no idea as to why they needed to speak to her. She therefore happily obliged. When she opened the door to enter, she found her two brothers were already there standing in the middle of the room, awaiting further instruction
s. Polly walked over and joined them. They stood in complete silence, most innocent and unsuspecting of the fate that was about to befall them.
It was not too long a wait before both ladies marched in, accompanied by the most portly gentleman they had ever set eyes upon. The man was shown to a comfortable chair, and once seated he was handed a cup of hot tea, followed by a nice thick slice of Victoria sponge, which Polly duly noted he polished off in no time at all. Polly had always wondered why it was called Victoria sponge cake. I mean, did it belong to Victoria, and if so, was that Victoria the very famous queen who had reigned over England so many years ago? If it turned out that this cake was indeed Queen Victoria’s, then how come she was still making them all these years later when she was supposed to have died many years ago? And more to the point, how come everyone she knew, without exception, was allowed to eat a piece? She had never met the most hospitable Queen Victoria, but hoped that one day she might actually catch her alive and well in the kitchen, popping some of her sponge cakes into the oven. Then she would tell her how wonderfully delicious and oh-so-light her cakes were. Perhaps she might be able to persuade her majesty to give her a copy of her secret recipe!
Polly’s wishful thinking was brought to an abrupt end when she and her two brothers were beckoned by Molly Brimstone to come forward and stand in a straight line in front of the still-seated gentleman. There was to be no introduction whatsoever. As the children stood, heads hung low, he finally pulled himself up from the chair, circling and looking them up and down as he did so. Polly felt very uncomfortable. Having come full circle, he then came to stand facing them directly, staring them up and down as he continued to deliberate whether he wanted these sad- and sorry-looking creatures. Polly felt as though they were slaves being purchased at some market, the only difference being the absence of chains around their hands and feet.
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