Polly Brown

by Tricia Bennett

  Jessica had been found virtually naked by Polly and curled up in a ball, too terrified to move. Polly felt equally naked and vulnerable as she had constantly faced life’s most cruel elements that sought to mercilessly cuff and buffet her battered, exposed soul. It left her screaming inside for someone—anyone—to come along and rescue her and her brothers, for they were all suffering from broken spirits that would eventually be considered irreparable! She may not have suffered the visible cuts and bruises that Jessica had all over her arms and legs, but inside she felt equally cut to ribbons. She hoped with all her heart that Jessica would quickly be reunited with her mummy and daddy, for she knew that to go through childhood unprotected and without these precious people was to be left in a constant state of grieving.

  Polly felt caught in this permanent state of mourning and had often dreamt that her parents would one day, out of the blue, turn up at the castle door and say there had been some terrible mistake, and they had carelessly mislaid the children while out shopping in the supermarket. They would then take Polly and her brothers away from this horrible place to finally live as a family and be happy ever after. Until that day came, Polly felt like a victim of war, struggling to battle on with large pieces of razor-sharp shrapnel still deeply embedded into her flesh. Yes, a fully paid-up member of the walking wounded, or was it more like the walking dead?

  As she remained in the cave, cradling Jessica’s limp body, she hoped Jessica’s story would, unlike her own, have a happy ending. She knew if it was left up to her, she would do all in her power to make it so. As the hours ticked by and Jessica continued to whimper and pitifully cry, she could only carry on caressing her forehead, whispering soft words of comfort and reassurance in her ear, something no one had ever before done for her.

  Chapter 20

  HOPE IN YOUR HEART HOSPITAL

  SUDDENLY, WHEN ALL hope seemed lost Polly thought she heard a noise coming from outside the cave. She thought she was going crazy, for it sounded like a car. She then told herself that this could not be, for she had never before heard of a car being driven through the desert. She got up from the floor of the cave, telling Jessica to stay where she was, she cautiously made her way to the cave’s entrance.

  As she climbed out of the cave, shielding her eyes from the scorching sun she could hardly believe what she saw, for she hadn’t been imagining things. Parked just a few meters from the cave entrance was a cherry red Mini car with a brightly-colored Union Jack painted on its roof. Leaning against the car were two boys that Polly recognized and knew to be best friends who spent their every waking moment together, for they loved the same recreational activities.

  Polly had always found it most amusing that they shared the first name, with only their surnames being different. The sandy, fair-haired boy was called Justin Kase, and the leaner, darker-haired boy was called Justin Thyme. And as far as Polly was concerned they were indeed just in time, for Jessica needed help, and she needed it now! Polly broke into instant laughter, for she was deliriously happy to see the two of them. She wasted no time at all, racing breathlessly over to where they stood deep in conversation as they poured over a map they had just spread out over the hood of their car.

  “Justin,” she cried out twice over so that both boys were acknowledged. “I cannot imagine what possessed you both to drive out here into the heart of the desert, but I am so glad to see you both!” she squealed as she flung herself into the arms of Justin Kase, who, taken by surprise, lurched backwards in astonishment. She then moved towards Justin Thyme to give him an equally emotional hug. Both boys went a deep shade of purple, feeling very relieved to be in the middle of the desert with no friends around to witness Polly’s seemingly over-the-top display of emotion!

  “It’s good to see you, too, Polly,” declared Justin Thyme as he warmly greeted her. “And to answer your question, we have no idea whatsoever as to how we ended up here!”

  Justin Kase nodded. “Yes, we were actually on our way to a place called Piadora, because we overheard two rather shabby and decidedly stinky men discussing a banquet they were going to at this strange place. And then we heard them say that all the food would be free of charge to anyone who cared to turn up. That’s right, isn’t it, Justin?”

  His friend continued nodding before rudely butting into the conversation. “Yes, Polly, we heard them discussing the menu, and I can tell you now it sounds like an awesome event. There will be pizzas galore and pasta and ice cream and hamburgers by the dozen.”

  “With chips. Don’t forget to mention the chips,” interrupted Justin Kase.

  “Yes, you can have chips with everything,” said Justin Thyme, his mouth watering as he spoke. “Well, we couldn’t turn down such an offer, could we? And although we weren’t actually invited,” he said rather sheepishly while winking at his friend, “we discovered a rather tatty old map of Piadora that the men accidentally left behind on the bench, so we decided to invite ourselves to the party.”

  “Yes, crash the event,” interrupted his friend. “We were doing really well, time-wise, until we hit upon a car rally and some bloke called Phil Fastrack invited us to take part in it. Well, I don’t need to tell you, Polly, both of us love a good race.”

  His friend grinned and nodded back most heartily. “So we both signed on the dotted line as we believed a little detour would be OK and we would make up for the lost time later. What made it more tempting was that first prize was a hundred pounds, and as I’m still paying my mum back for this car, we figured we could win the race in record time and then get back on track toward Piadora in time for the grub.”

  Justin Kase continued to stand, arms folded, with a permanent cheeky grin on his face as he nodded his agreement at all his friend had said. “Things were going really well. So much so that we found ourselves well ahead of all the other racing drivers. Then, with the first prize almost in our grasp, we suddenly took a wrong turn. I am still mystified as to how this happened, for Justin here is a first-class map reader.”

  “It was the signpost in the middle of the road that totally threw me,” interrupted Justin Thyme as he tried to justify his actions. “Quite what it was doing in the middle of the road is anyone’s guess, but the signpost definitely directed us to turn right off the beaten track. At first I did question it, for there was no mention of this route on my map, but the sign definitely said “Winning Route, this way.” So I threw caution to the wind and told Justin to turn off and head for the desert. It didn’t take us long to realize that we’d made a terrible mistake, but by then we were well-and-truly lost. So we stopped here at the rocks to take another good look at our map, and hopefully figure out what to do next.”

  Polly inwardly smiled at their story, for she was becoming very familiar with odd things happening that had no rhyme or reason to them. Indeed no earthly explanation whatsoever!

  Polly directed the boys into the cave where Jessica was sitting being watched over by Langdon, and as they walked she told the boys of Jessica’s ordeal. Both of them felt disappointed that they would have to abandon the racing rally, but they were in full agreement that the girls’ need of help was far more important.

  As soon as they both set eyes on Jessica, they appeared very shocked at her bad condition. Justin Kase immediately went back to the car to get his large backpack. He returned a few minutes later and placed it on the ground before squatting down to undo all the zips. Polly watched on in sheer amusement, for there appeared to be nothing that he had not thought to pack for his journey.

  “You’d have thought you were going on a long expedition for at least a year, Justin,” she declared with a sense of amusement. “I have never seen so many items come out of a bag. It’s like watching Mary Poppins! Do you have a standard lamp in there?”

  Polly was correct in her thinking, for Justin produced, not only a sleeping bag, but pen knives, saucepans, a hammer, screwdrivers, notepads, needle and thread, clothes, including smelly socks, hiking boots, torch, and whistles; the list of all he produc
ed was endless and some items were, to say the least, most surprising! At the end of the day Polly would not have been the least surprised if he had pulled out a full sized forklift truck from his bag, such was the extraordinary amount of things he had forced into it.

  “They don’t call me Justin Kase for nothing, Polly. Oh no! I never go anywhere without packing all I need and more, just in case of any emergency,” he beamed.

  Finally he produced the item that he had been looking for: a large, bright-red first-aid kit with a huge white cross on its lid.

  “There you go. I knew it would only be a matter of time before I put my hands on it.” He pulled the first-aid kit out of his backpack and handed it to Polly. “Now if this doesn’t only go to prove that I am right in my way of thinking that we must always consider taking everything that we might possibly need. Yes, my motto from my days in the scouts is ‘Be prepared,’ and therefore I always am!”

  Polly thanked him and set about binding Jessica’s wounds from the plentiful bandages that were in his first-aid kit. Justin then produced a large bottle of water for the girls to drink, as well as a bag of stale cakes. Polly thought it best not to ask Justin where he had gotten the cakes from, for she believed she knew the answer to that!

  Finally, both boys helped to carry Jessica to the car before placing her down very gently on the backseat. Polly then picked up all her belongings, including Langdon, and squeezed into the back of the Mini alongside Jessica. The boys got into the front of the car and pinpointed the nearest hospital. Justin Thyme then switched on the ignition and started the car up. Polly had no problem believing he was a natural-born racing driver, as she found herself holding on for dear life to a small looped strap that was in the exterior of the car. As they made the journey, there were times when she thought it would not only be Jessica that required urgent medical attention, but all of them if he did not slow down!

  Polly needn’t have feared, for although Justin Thyme was a fast driver, he was also a very capable and experienced driver as well. Unbeknown to Polly, his father was a racing driver who took him to the racetrack most weekends, so he had taught Justin well.

  Finally they arrived at Hope in Your Heart Hospital, and Jessica was helped out of the car and onto a stretcher by a team of professional nurses and doctors. Polly went with them, for she needed to fill out the many forms that hospitals seem to require. The boys, having done their duty, told Polly that they were most anxious to be on their way, for neither of them liked hospitals. They hoped the girls would fully understand. Polly thanked them for all their help, for she was extremely grateful that they had been so willing to do all they could, but she also felt that they were not being entirely honest and that their keenness to leave had more to do with getting to Piadora and the banquet. It left her feeling slightly anxious as she believed that both boys had such huge appetites that she very much doubted there would be any food left for her by the time she finally got there!

  Although Polly could not fill in all the details, she did her best. She also decided to ask the doctor who had presented her with the forms if she could stay until she knew that Jessica was out of danger. The kind doctor, whose name was Dr. Loveheart, sported a small goatee beard and had smiling eyes. He suggested to Polly that she might like to stay in the guest suite that was used for relatives of sick family members. There she could make herself a cup of hot, sweet tea and have a rest, as Jessica would be in hospital for quite some time.

  As they walked down the highly-polished corridor towards the guest suite, Polly implored Dr. Loveheart to do all he could to find Jessica’s mummy and daddy.

  “I cannot stress enough how important it is to find them,” Polly informed the kind doctor, “so please do all you can,” she pleaded before adding, “I am certain that if she is reunited with them her recovery will be much quicker, so I beg you to ask the receptionist to call the police and get them to help. Promise me you will,” she urged.

  Dr. Loveheart reassured Polly that the police had already been contacted and would be arriving at the hospital very shortly. He also told her that they would probably like to speak to her first, as it was most important for Polly to help paint a picture of where Jessica had been found and the details of her condition at the time of being discovered. Polly agreed it might be helpful and said she would do all she could if it helped to find the perpetrators of this terrible crime.

  As they were talking, Polly noticed a small white feather flutter to the ground and land beside her bare feet. She felt embarrassed, for she had forgotten that she had given Jessica her shoes and therefore was not only barefoot, but barefoot in a hospital where everybody was required to dress properly and for reasons of hygiene, this included shoes.

  “I apologize for coming into your nice, clean hospital barefoot,” she stuttered, at the same time going red in the face, “but I lent mine to Jessica.”

  “I know,” replied Dr. Loveheart with a huge grin. “Don’t worry, Polly, I will bring them with me when I return to report on Jessica’s condition.”

  Polly was grateful, for she knew it would be difficult to continue on her journey without them. Dr. Loveheart led Polly down a number of long corridors and then into the guest suite.

  “Polly, put the kettle on and make us both a nice cup of tea,” he said, a little tongue-in-cheek as he ushered her through the open door. “The kettle is just over there. I just need to have a word with my colleague Dr. Heartthrob, and then I will come back for that cup. I do hope you know how to make a decent brew?”

  Polly flashed him a smile and assured him that she did. “I was always making mugs of tea for men who stopped by at the orphanage, and to date none of them have ever complained,” she said, wide-eyed and innocently.

  “Well, Polly, that’s good to hear. So I will see you shortly, and we can talk further.”

  The doctor was about to leave the room when Polly suddenly had a thought, “Dr. Loveheart, please can you give this to Jessica,” she said as she handed over her most prized possession. The doctor took the little blue elephant from Polly. “And tell her that she can borrow him until her parents are found, for he will do much to comfort her,” she added as an afterthought.

  Dr. Loveheart bade Polly farewell and left to go in search of Dr. Heartthrob to sound out his professional opinion concerning Jessica and medication, leaving Polly to make herself at home in the guest suite. Polly busied herself making a large pot of tea and decided to have a cup while she waited for Dr. Loveheart to reappear. She then made herself comfortable on the large sofa and, having drained her cup, promptly fell into a fitful sleep.

  She awoke some time later to find an officious-looking police constable standing over her. She sat up quickly, for she was instantly filled with dread. Had her past finally caught up with her? Did the police believe that Polly was behind Jessica’s kidnapping? If so, were they here to arrest her? Panic spread through her body as she believed her worst fears were about to be realized. All this and more raced through her imagination, causing her heart to beat faster than ever.

  She had met a lot of policemen in the past when they visited the castle to have cups of tea with her guardians, and she had always been very worried that they were going to lock her away for the crimes she had committed. Yes, crimes like the poem she had written and other such heinous acts that had caused Aunt Mildred and Uncle Boritz such distress. In truth, they had told her on many occasions that she was so wicked that it was only a matter of time before she would find herself locked away behind prison bars, and her crimes were of such magnitude that the keys to her cell would almost certainly be thrown away for good.

  Polly therefore felt most uneasy and, if she were honest, guilty. For as crazy as it might seem, she had always been made to feel guilty concerning things she had done, or had omitted to do, or was otherwise preparing to do! It seemed that even the thought was enough evidence to find her guilty and therefore deserving of a stiff sentence, if not the maximum sentence afforded to such hardened criminals such as the li
kes of young Polly Brown.

  The policeman, whose name was Bob Locke, could see that Polly was not at all comfortable with his presence in the room, and this did much to puzzle him. After all, she was a hero. Yes, a very brave girl, who at the very least deserved an award for bravery. He even thought it would be very nice if Polly joined the British constabulary when she was old enough, as she was just the sort of young lady they would like to have on their force. So as he unfastened the bright gold button on his breast pocket to pull out his thick incident book and record the details, he gave her a warm smile and patted her on the shoulder, saying, “Well done, miss.”

  Even this seemingly friendly interaction served to confuse Polly even more. Why would an officer of the law be so nice and kind? For it made no sense to her way of thinking, and not only did it make her feel uncomfortable and a trifle embarrassed but it heightened her suspicious leanings as well.

  As Polly chatted away to the very nice constable with the bell-shaped hard-topped hat, completed by a silver badge on the front, she felt all her nervousness and mistrust melt away. That is, once she had established in her mind that she was not in any sort of trouble with the law. She quickly decided that Bob Locke was a very nice man after all, and therefore she had nothing to fear.

  She was also very surprised to hear from Officer Locke that the police were considering awarding her a medal for her charitable act in saving Jessica. Polly made it perfectly clear that she did not want any sort of award, for she had only done what anyone else would have done. Bob Locke disagreed but chose not to tell her so. He smiled to himself as he thought that Polly would make a most excellent and caring officer on his task force. He had almost finished interviewing Polly when Dr. Loveheart knocked on the door and poked his head around the corner.