When the Sky Falls

by Phil Earle

  Joseph was hardly going to disagree with her, though he did instantly fret that the words would fall out of his head the second he stopped.

  ‘We should probably find Mrs F,’ she added, pulling them both to their feet. ‘I’m sure she’s got things that need doing.’

  ‘Oh joy,’ said Joseph, deadpan.

  ‘Don’t be like that,’ she tutted. ‘And besides, I think we need to keep an eye on her at the moment.’

  Joseph was confused. ‘I think you’ll find it’s the other way around.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘She’s always watching me.’

  ‘Is there any wonder given what’s gone on? Bert almost got his arms ripped off by a gorilla.’

  ‘Who are you calling a gorilla?’

  But Joseph’s attempts at humour slid by unnoticed. Syd was still thinking of Mrs F.

  ‘She’s definitely not been herself though these last couple of days, has she? You live with her. You must have noticed.’

  He didn’t answer, though he was, unusually, considering what Syd was saying. The truth was, he’d been so wrapped up in his fear of Gryce that he hadn’t noticed much of a change in Mrs F. Her temper was still largely poor, though she had taken to wearing an odd expression whenever he returned from school. You couldn’t quite call it a smile, but her mouth was turning up at each side, like it was being held up by taut, invisible twine.

  Joseph thought of yesterday, and how she’d been with him.

  ‘So, how was your day, then?’ she’d asked, her voice tepid but her face sunny, which was most off-putting.

  ‘Er, fine,’ he’d answered.

  ‘Oh, that’s – that’s good... great. What did you do?’

  ‘You know, the usual.’

  ‘And lessons? Interesting? Tell me something you learned.’

  ‘Stuff,’ he’d replied. ‘Adding. Taking away.’

  She made encouraging noises, then paused, waiting for the question she really wanted to ask.

  ‘And there were no problems still... No arguments, fights?’

  ‘No, it was fine. Easy...’ She looked briefly relieved, before he added, ‘Only three ambulances today.’

  So, was she acting differently to normal? He supposed she was. But in all honesty, to his mind it was an improvement on her usual brusqueness. There’d been no dressing down or telling off. If anything, she seemed interested in him, and this was something that he’d not experienced in such a long time, that he wasn’t sure he wanted to agree with Syd that there was something wrong with her.

  ‘She seems all right,’ he said. ‘Different, maybe, but not bad.’

  ‘Well, I’ve seen a change in her,’ Syd said, standing her ground, ‘even if you haven’t. She looks tired. Exhausted, in fact.’

  ‘We’re all tired. There’s been a raid every night.’

  ‘It’s more than that. She’s not bustling round the zoo like normal. I mean, when was the last time you saw her clean out Adonis’s cage?’

  He didn’t know the answer to that, but she’d definitely been doing it less this week. He’d spotted way more dung in there this afternoon, but hadn’t made a link to Mrs F’s mood.

  ‘She can’t be sleeping,’ Syd went on. ‘Is she sleeping?’

  ‘I don’t bloomin’ know. I’m not in the same room, am I?’

  ‘Well, you still must know. Is she, I don’t know, grumpy every morning? Or short-tempered?’

  ‘If that’s how you measure sleep, then it’s probably thirty years since she closed her eyes.’

  ‘This is no time for joking, Joseph. You might not be bothered, but I am. You watch her now, when we find her. Watch carefully.’

  ‘But what am I looking for?’

  ‘Just trust me.’

  They walked towards the camels’ enclosure. But she wasn’t there. Nor was she with the ponies or wolves. The aviary was empty too, barring the birds, of course.

  ‘Maybe the wolves ate her,’ Joseph said, trying to lighten the look of confusion that had fallen over Syd’s face. As usual, he’d judged his comment badly. The expression on her face told him so.

  Finally, they spotted her through the office window, slumped back in her chair, hands wrapped around a mug of tea.

  ‘Don’t let her see you,’ said Syd, stopping Joseph from moving any closer. ‘Just watch.’

  So he did, though he didn’t know what for. Mrs F didn’t move. Not even bringing her mug to her mouth.

  ‘What’s the point in this?’ he said. ‘She’s not doing anything.’

  ‘Exactly. And when did you last see that? She’s always busy. You know what she’s like. She wants this place to be spotless, to have the same standards as when it was open. But this?’ She pointed. ‘This isn’t like her. And it’s not the first time I’ve seen her hiding in there. There’s been other days, too. Last time, she didn’t move for over an hour. I timed her!’

  ‘We should ask her, then,’ Joseph said, straight to the point.

  ‘What sort of a plan is that?’

  ‘An obvious one?’

  ‘Obvious, and rubbish. Do you honestly think she’s going to tell you what’s going on just by asking her?’

  He shrugged.

  ‘You wouldn’t, Joseph. Some mornings it takes me half an hour just to get you to reply to “Good morning.” ’

  ‘All right then, Mrs Detective, you come up with the plan.’

  But at that moment, there was movement inside. Mrs F reached forward slowly and picked up a sheet of paper from the desk. It looked like a letter, but from the response it pulled from her, it was no love note. Her eyes narrowed, lips turning into a snarl that quickly took over her face.

  She didn’t read it for long before screwing it into a ball and throwing it across the room. Then she marched out of the office, sending Joseph and Syd darting into the shadows.

  ‘Where’s she going now?’ Syd said.

  Joseph didn’t care, bolting inside as soon as Mrs F was out of sight.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Syd hissed.

  ‘I thought you wanted to know what was up with her?’

  ‘I do!’

  ‘Well, it’s obviously written on that piece of paper.’ He disappeared inside, leaving Syd lingering in the entrance.

  ‘Get in here, will you?’ Joseph said, head appearing round the doorframe, scaring her half to death.

  ‘I’ll keep lookout.’

  ‘I don’t need a lookout, I need you to read whatever’s written in that letter, don’t I?’ And he dragged Syd inside before retrieving the ball of paper from the floor.

  ‘What does it say?’ he asked, thrusting it into her hand.

  Syd was a good reader. One of the best at school, but for once, she wasn’t fluent enough. Nowhere near.

  ‘What are you two doing in here?’ came a voice from nowhere. They spun around to see Mrs F in the doorway, her face darkening, probably due to the look of guilt on their faces.

  ‘Looking for you,’ said Joseph. Syd said nothing, just moved her hands and the letter behind her back, way too slowly.

  ‘What’s that you’re hiding, Syd?’

  Her mouth flapped open like a fish.

  ‘Nothing,’ Joseph said, answering for her.

  ‘Very impressive,’ said Mrs F, walking forwards. ‘You said that without moving your lips, Syd. Come on, let me have it.’

  Syd did as she was told. Joseph groaned. She could’ve tried to hide it somewhere or slip it to him. He definitely wouldn’t have given it up so easily.

  Mrs F smoothed out the letter’s creases.

  ‘Right,’ she said, lips tight. ‘Been snooping, have we?’

  ‘Not snooping,’ Joseph replied. ‘Syd was worried about you, that’s all.’

  ‘And you thought the answer was written in here, did
you?’ She waved the letter in front of them both.

  ‘It certainly looked like it.’

  She rammed the letter into her pocket. ‘Well, you’re wrong. It’s nothing. Mindless bureaucracy, is all. You’d think people would have better things to do than waste time writing pointless letters.’ She moved away from them, picking up a broom, pushing it one-handed, but fooling no one.

  ‘Mrs F,’ said Syd, suddenly piping up. ‘It’s true what Joseph said. We’ve noti—I’ve noticed, that you’ve been different the last few days. Sad.’

  ‘Sad? I don’t think so.’

  ‘Well, you’ve not been yourself.’

  ‘What absolute non—’

  But Joseph now believed what Syd had been getting at. He’d become so adept over time at telling lies himself that he could see Mrs F’s radiating off her.

  ‘What was it you said to me?’ he reminded her. ‘About letting the truth out. About things festering if they don’t see the light of day?’

  ‘I don’t see what that has to do with me.’

  ‘Yes, you do. You know exactly what I mean because you’re doing the same thing yourself. Which makes you as bad as me. In fact, it makes you worse. Makes you a hypocrite.’

  Mrs F was not a woman who was easily shamed, nor did she often deviate from a path once she’d embarked on it. But there was something in what Joseph said that made her stop, take a deep breath and retrieve the piece of paper from her pocket.

  With a shaking hand, she held it out to the two of them, paper still quivering as Syd took it from her and read silently. ‘It’s from the local authority,’ she said.

  ‘But what does it say?’ asked Joseph impatiently.

  ‘It’s about Adonis,’ she said, breathless despite standing stock-still. ‘There’s been a complaint.’

  ‘From Bert’s dad?’

  ‘Doesn’t say, but it must be. It says that Adonis is dangerous. That he endangered someone’s life.’

  ‘Wasn’t his fault though, was it?’ Joseph said. ‘Bert shouldn’t have been here!’

  ‘Powers that be don’t know that,’ replied Syd sadly. ‘All they know is that there was an incident.’ She underlined a sentence with her finger. ‘That a boy could’ve died.’

  ‘So, what are they going to do?’

  ‘They’renot going to do anything. Not yet. Says here it’s up to Mrs F to find an alternative home for him. Another zoo.’

  Joseph looked to Mrs F. No wonder she was looking distressed.

  ‘How long have they given you? To find somewhere?’ he asked her.

  ‘Two weeks,’ she replied, sadly.

  ‘Or what?’

  No answer.

  ‘Or what happens?’ he asked, louder.

  ‘They’ll shoot him,’ Mrs F said.

  Syd was the first to cry. ‘They can’t do that, can they?’

  ‘Seems they can do whatever they want,’ Mrs F said, her voice tense. ‘I tried to speak to them, but they weren’t interested in a conversation about a gorilla when there’s all this other madness going on.’

  ‘All the more reason to leave him alone!’ Syd cried.

  ‘All the more reason for them to do something about it,’ Mrs F replied. ‘This is probably one of the only things they can do something about. So, they will.’

  Joseph couldn’t quite believe this was happening. It all felt so final. And more importantly, unjust.

  ‘What are you going to do about it?’

  ‘Everything I can, though I doubt for a second any zoo will take him on. I’ll be lucky to even get any responses before the authorities come knocking.’

  ‘Well you have to go see them, then,’ Joseph said. ‘The other zoo people. Twist their arms. Tell them they have to.’ Why was he having to gee her up? Where had her fight gone? It was almost as unbelievable as the fact that he was now protecting the ape.

  ‘Joseph, the other zoos are hundreds of miles away and there’s barely any ruddy trains running. So how am I meant to get there? Walk? Stroll up to the gate with Adonis on a lead and a suitcase tucked under his arm? Life doesn’t work like that.’

  ‘But you can’t give up. If they take him, then what have you got left? Couple of wretched wolves aren’t going to entertain anyone when the war ends, are they?’

  If Joseph’s intention was to rouse Mrs F into action, then it seemed to work.

  ‘Do you think I don’t know that? Of course I do. And so I’ll tell you something, if they do come rattling the gates, then they’ll have to deal with me first. Because I’ll be ready for them. They can bring every gun they want; they can bring a tank, if they have to. But if they want to put a bullet in this one here? Well, it’ll have to pass through me first.’

  For once Joseph was in agreement with her. He felt his fingers tighten into a fist and his lips curl into a small smile. If it was a fight they were after, then he was more than happy to stand beside her and trade blows.

  31

  ‘How many times do I have to tell you?’ the old woman yelled at Joseph. ‘The answer is no. Do you honestly think I can spare you any veg?’

  But Joseph would not stand down. ‘Please, Missus. It’s not even for me, or my family. It’s for my gorilla.’

  That was enough to turn the woman’s brush into a deadly weapon, and she shooed both Joseph and Syd away from the front door of her shop.

  ‘How many is that now, who’ve said no?’ Syd asked as they slumped away.

  ‘Too many.’

  ‘I think you’ll find the answer is everybody. Every shop in walking distance, anyway. Can we please go home now?’

  ‘No!’ he replied.

  ‘Well if you’re going to insist on keeping me out here against my will, then the least you can do is practise your reading as you walk.’ She pulled Joseph’s book from her coat, though he had no idea how it got there. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘From the beginning, go!’

  He did as he was told, though it was unusual for Syd to threaten to quit anything, and besides, Joseph had one more idea. He knew Syd wouldn’t like or approve of it, though, so he told her very little until they arrived at the allotments. Until recently these had been a football pitch. The goals still stood, rusting, between rows of furrowed mud.

  ‘Why are we here?’ Syd asked.

  ‘Isn’t it obvious?’

  ‘Well, yes, but you’re not going to get anything out of the owners today, are you? You’ve nothing to barter with.’

  But Joseph wasn’t interested in such a technicality. He was already swinging his leg over the wall.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked, pulling at his coat.

  ‘It’s all right, there’s no one here, is there? It’s bloomin’ freezing. No one’s gardening today.’

  ‘That’s not the point, Joseph. You can’t go over there, stealing people’s food.’

  ‘But this is public land, isn’t it? The footie pitch there, anyone could play on it, right?’

  Syd nodded hesitantly.

  ‘So, whatever grows on it belongs to all of us, really. All I’m going to do is take my share. For Adonis.’

  Syd didn’t know what to do with her face. But she did know there was no way she was going to change Joseph’s mind.

  ‘Do it quickly, then,’ she whispered theatrically, keeping watch for any hardy gardeners who weren’t already in front of their fires. At least the light was fading, she thought to herself. It would offer Joseph a bit of cover, as long as he was quick.

  But he wasn’t. In fact, he seemed to be in there for ages, only returning after a good five minutes, the front of his jumper so swollen it looked like he was going to give birth to a marrow.

  ‘What on earth have you got in there?’ she gasped.

  ‘Anything I could find,’ he replied. ‘Hardly growing season, is it? Couldn’t find any carrots at all that wer
e worth him eating.’

  ‘Do you not think people will miss all that?’

  ‘Nah, I trod all the mud back down, didn’t I? And don’t worry, I didn’t leave any footprints, Detective.’

  ‘You don’t have to be a detective to know you’ve been stealing. Look at you.’

  ‘Best help me, then,’ he replied, emptying half of his jumper into every pocket she owned. There were cauliflowers and broccoli heads, leeks and swede, some in better states than others.

  ‘Do you think he’ll eat any of this?’ she sighed, feeling more guilty than she ever had in her life.

  ‘God knows. Got to be better than grass, hasn’t it?’

  There was no answer to that, so they scampered away furtively from the allotments, to the relative warmth of their homes.

  Mrs F looked at the veg with a quizzical expression.

  ‘Are you really telling me a grocer gave you all of this for free?’ she asked.

  Joseph nodded, wanting to keep his lies to a minimum.

  ‘Then they could do with you in government,’ she said. ‘Mr Churchill needs negotiators from what I hear.’

  Whether Mrs F actually believed him was a matter for debate, but she didn’t quiz him any further. ‘The lad in that cage will think it’s Christmas,’ she said, before leaving Joseph to it.

  He no longer needed prompting to feed Adonis. He made it his priority, though he never took it for granted or got lax in his approach. The sight of Bert pinned against the bars was seared into his brain.

  He walked slowly to the bars, but now he didn’t feel nervous. All he could hear was his own, slow breathing, mirrored by Adonis’s, as the ape waited for his arrival at the bars.

  They grunted and scratched, impersonating each other, all the rituals repeated almost identically. Joseph’s favourite moment was always the same one: when the food passed from him to Adonis. There had never been physical contact between them, though, as usually the ape would impatiently rip the vegetables from Joseph’s hand.

  Today was different, for as Joseph crouched on his haunches facing Adonis, he felt the ape’s fingers brush his. Joseph swallowed a gasp as a jolt of electricity ripped through him. It was thrilling. He couldn’t believe it had happened, that the gap between them had disappeared entirely, even if only for a second.