“Wake up Thomas, we’re here!”
It was Mum’s voice. We must have arrived at Great Aunt Flora’s house. It had been a long drive and I had tried desperately to stay awake for the whole journey but somehow, just before we made it to the city, I dozed off.
Despite Mum’s announcement I didn’t feel like waking yet so I pulled my jacket over my head and immediately started to drift back to sleep. Blissful numbness started to waft over me. I was just about to nod off when I felt another tug at my arm. It was Mum again.
“Thomas, wake up! Did you hear me? We’re at Great Aunt Flora’s!”
I slowly opened one eye. It was dark outside and looked like it had been raining.
There were droplets of water on all the car windows. Gazing out I could see that we were parked in a driveway with a house next to us. It seemed like an old house to me. It was two storeys high with a long, winding veranda at the front. I even spied the silhouette of a chimney. A light was on inside the house and it reflected onto the windscreen, making the tiny droplets of water on the glass look like shiny transparent marbles.
Mum had told us that this was going to be our home now. She decided that it was better for us to live with Great Aunt Flora since Dad wasn’t alive any more. Mum said that she needed the help and couldn’t be expected to raise two children on her own in a small country town. This was going to be a big change to our lives.
“Would you please get up Thomas!”
This time there was a slight sharpness to her voice. “I need help with these bags!”
Reluctantly, I unbuckled my seat belt and slowly climbed out of the car. It was a bit cold so I pulled my favourite blue jacket on and stood waiting for instructions. As Mum fossicked around our belongings in the back of the car, my thoughts drifted back to this morning when we said goodbye to our home. I wondered how Rusty, my dog was faring. He was now going to live at our old neighbour’s home, the Freeman’s. A small tinge of sadness began to well up in me as I thought about Rusty being without me. I hoped he wasn’t lonely.
I was jolted from my thoughts by a large bag being thrust into my arms. “Thomas take this, and this, and this …”
My arms were soon full of bags, coats and toys. I felt like a human hat stand with all these belongings, however our journey had been long, and at this moment I was way too tired to care.
It was only then that I realised that I hadn’t seen my sister Millicent. She was not in the car and I couldn’t see her anywhere. Millicent has long brown hair that is always pulled back from her face with some kind of girly pink bow near her forehead. She is into pink, which is her favourite colour, and is fond of wearing pink almost every day of the week. Millicent is younger than me. She is only ten years old and on most occasions finds it very difficult to be still. The first I saw of Millicent was a flash of pink appearing out of the darkness running towards us.
“Mum, are you sure this is it? Where is Great Aunt Flora?” Millicent has a very loud voice.
“Yes this is definitely it,” said Mum briefly stopping with the unloading, “Maybe your Great Aunt just hasn’t heard that we have arrived.”
As far as I could remember, I hadn’t met Great Aunt Flora before. She hadn’t come to Dad’s funeral. Mum said that she had been overseas at the time and we couldn’t reach her. I didn’t know what to expect and as such, I was a little nervous about meeting her. None of my friends back home had Great Aunts. I checked with each and every one of them before we left. Even the word ‘Great Aunt’ was scary and
conjured up all kinds of images in my mind. For instance, would Great Aunt Flora be really old? Would she be fat, or incredibly thin and spindly? Would her hair be tied back in a bun so tight that it pulled back the skin on her face? Or would her hair hang limp around her nose and mouth so that it caught in her teeth when she chewed?
And what kind of clothes would she wear? Tight, clingy, knitted black dresses that went from her neck to her knees, or would she hang around in a white nightie and dressing gown all day because she spent most of her time in bed? These were the questions I pondered. To be honest, I really wasn’t sure what Great Aunt Flora would look like and that made meeting her, and the thought of living here, all the more daunting.
As if on cue, the front door opened and a tall, older lady with white, curly hair wearing a red checked shirt, blue jeans and sneakers stood in the doorway.
Was this Great Aunt Flora? Did Great Aunts wear jeans? Surely not!
“You have made it here at last! Welcome! Welcome!” said this lady. Mum pulled her head out of back of the car and smiled.
“Hi Flora. I’m sorry we are a little later than I had anticipated.”
From Mum’s response it was obvious that the lady at the doorway was actually Great Aunt Flora, though she looked nothing like I had expected. On the contrary, she seemed quite modern and not really scary at all.
“I’m sorry Susan,” she said walking towards us, “I just didn’t hear your car.
George is just not the guard dog that he used to be.”
Following our Great Aunt out of the house was the largest and most peculiar looking dog that I had ever seen. It was nearly as big as Millicent and had a long black woolly coat that covered its body. Long draggly bits of curly fur hung from its chest and head, so much so that it reminded me of a big, black hairy lion. Curly strands of woolly fur also covered its face, giving the impression this dog had no eyes! I wondered how the monster dog could ever see!
The great dog lumbered behind Great Aunt Flora and as it came closer, I came to the conclusion that this dog was so big, and its jaws were probably so powerful, that it could possibly eat both Millicent and me if it had half a chance. After all, I quickly reasoned, it would probably be hard to keep a dog of that size well fed. Maybe it was hungry right now?
Not wanting to take any chances with its appetite, I slowly put the belongings in my arms onto the ground and slowly moved towards Mum. I think Millicent was thinking exactly the same thing because as soon as the enormous dog trundled onto the driveway, Millicent began moving in the same direction as me.
“Hey, it’s okay,” said Great Aunt Flora seeing our reaction, “This is George.”
I knew who George was. He didn’t need any introductions. I just wasn’t aware that George was so big! In fact, the main reason I couldn’t bring Rusty to the city was because of George and as a result, I had decided before coming here that I didn’t like him at all. After seeing that George was awfully large (and probably had equally large teeth) it now made my decision to dislike him that little bit easier!
George didn’t seem to mind that both Millicent and I were a bit scared of him though. He continued ambling towards us in spite of our obvious nervousness.
“Hello George,” said Mum, calling him over to her.
George went straight over to Mum for at pat. His long, shaggy tail started to wag. He knew he had found a friend.
Great Aunt Flora then walked down the steps and hugged Mum. It was a long hug – the kind that says I haven’t seen you in ages and I missed you.
“It has been too long Susan and I am so sorry for what happened to Peter,” said Great Aunt Flora.
Even though it was dark, I could see that Great Aunt Flora had a tear in her eye.
“Yes, a lot has happened since we last met,” Mum replied. I guess Mum meant that Dad was no longer with us.
Once they finished hugging, Great Aunt Flora walked over to Millicent and I.
“And you must be Thomas and Millicent,” she said enthusiastically.
Since this was the first time I had met Great Aunt Flora, I thought it was important that we made a good impression. When Dad was alive he had told us that when you meet someone for the first time you should always shake hands with him or her. I was a bit unsure of Great Aunt Flora and her gigantic dog, however remembering Dad’s words, I pushed my fringe out of my eyes, straightened up and extended my hand.
“It is very nice to meet you Great Aunt Flora.”
Great Aunt Flora seemed startled by my greeting. She stared back at me. In fact, she didn’t move at all. Maybe I had said something wrong? What had I done?
Suddenly, she started to laugh and took hold of my hand.
“You are just like your father!” she exclaimed, “He gave me the same welcome when he came here on holidays years ago.”
Great Aunt Flora then broke into a big smile. I couldn’t help but like her. She seemed so welcoming.
“And there is no need to call me Great Aunt,”she added, “Gosh, it makes me sound like an old hag doesn’t it?”
Thinking back to how I thought Great Aunt Flora might have looked like, I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed.
“Ahh … ahh … no … no it doesn’t,” I spluttered, trying to think of something to say.
“Well, just call me Flora please,” she insisted.
Flora then shook Millicent’s hand. I thought that perhaps Flora would have preferred a kiss or at least a hug from us instead of a handshake, but I wasn’t into giving hugs. I was always a little shy and didn’t feel that I could hug anyone I had just met.
“I was so glad when your mother took up my offer to come and live with me,” she said excitedly, “I just know that you will both love it here.”
I hoped that Flora was right. At that moment, I still wasn’t too sure.
“Now,” said Flora heading for the car and our belongings, “How about we go inside? I gather you are all very tired from your trip down here.”
Flora took a few bags from Mum and from the pile near me, and then made her way into the house with George lumbering behind her. Mum, Millicent and I followed with the rest of the bags. We followed Flora into the kitchen, as did George who then proceeded to curl up in a corner of the room. I took a seat at the kitchen table making sure that I was as far away from the large dog as possible.
“Am I right in guessing that everyone would like hot chocolate?” asked Flora, heading straight for the kitchen cupboards.
Three heads nodded in agreement. “That would be lovely Flora,” said Mum.
As I sat there thinking about hot chocolate, I felt one of those sneezes starting to build inside my head. These horrible sneezes had started after Dad died and they appeared whenever they liked. The worst part about them was that when they started building, I could do little to stop them. This sneeze was just like the others. It came from nowhere and before I knew what was happening, it was building and building and then … AAATISHOOOOO!”
My sneeze rang out, echoing around the kitchen. Mum, Millicent and Flora all jumped. George stood up in his basket and looked around.
“I have never heard anyone sneeze as loud as you, Thomas Bradley!” said Millicent pulling her hands away from her ears.
“I’m sorry. It was just like the others. It just came out of nowhere.”
Mum turned to Flora.
“It is the strangest thing. Thomas has started this really loud sneezing thing since Peter died. I keep thinking he might be on the verge of a cold or, maybe he is allergic to something.”
“Mum,” I replied, as I wiped my nose with my sleeve, “I am not allergic to anything. It is just a sneeze. It is nothing more than that.”
“At any rate, young man,” said Mum, “It could still very well be a cold, so it might be better for you to skip the hot chocolate and go straight to bed.”
Usually I’d protest, especially when hot chocolate was on offer, but it had been such a long day that I didn’t feel like arguing.
“Your bedroom is upstairs,” said Flora.
She walked towards the kitchen door and pointed to a set of wooden stairs. “Once you are up the stairs, keep walking up the hallway and you will find your room at the very end.
Flora then looked at Millicent.
“Yours is there too,” she said encouraging my sister to join me.
Millicent quickly jumped up from the table, probably happy that she didn’t have to sit still any longer.
“Go and check them out!” said Flora eagerly, “I’ve done them up a bit to make you feel at home. I hope you like them!”
Flora seemed quite keen for us to have a look at our new rooms. I counted the stairs as I traipsed up to my new room with my backpack. One, two, three, four, five, six. I looked up in front of me. There were plenty more stairs in front of me – wooden stairs that seemed to go on forever. I kept going – eight, nine, ten …
“Hurry up lazy bones! I want to see my new room!”
Millicent was tailing behind me and was getting frustrated. She was always in a hurry. I couldn’t let my little sister beat me up the stairs so I picked up the pace – eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen and the last one, fifteen. I made it!
As I walked to the end of the corridor, Millicent ran past me to find her room. As soon as she entered it I heard her cooing and aahing. I stopped outside her door to find her running from one end of new room to the other.
“This is the bedroom I have always wanted!” she cried.
Millicent’s room was pink – girly pink with a pink wooden chest in one corner. The quilt was pink and next to her bed was a pink bed lamp, with a matching pink mat on the floor. The only thing that wasn’t pink was the colourful mobile hanging from the ceiling. As far as I was concerned, there was way too much pink in her bedroom. It was most definitely a girl’s room.
“Wow!” shrieked Millicent with delight, “I just love it!”
Seeing how Millicent was so impressed with her room, I thought that I had better “check out” mine. I became a little excited as I wondered what it might be like. I imagined an army bedroom in camouflage khaki. Or maybe it would be red, resembling a fire station with a fire fighter’s hat at the end of the bed and pictures of fire fighters saving people on the wall? Now that I had thought about it a little, I just couldn’t wait to see what it looked like!
I grasped the handle of the door. The tension was mounting. As I pushed down on the handle, the door opened and I switched on the light.
I was instantly disappointed.
Instead of any of the bedrooms I had pictured in my mind, I was confronted by a purple room (yes, purple!). The walls were purple, the quilt was purple, the mirror’s border was purple and even the lamp was purple.
“Great,” I whispered to myself, “I can’t stand purple!”
I walked over to my bed and closely inspected the quilt. The border of the quilt had tiny mirrors on it, which sparkled in the light from the purple bedside lamp, and in the middle of the quilt was a picture of a wizard. Looking closer at the wizard’s face, I quickly decided that he was definitely one of the strangest looking individuals that I had ever seen. He had a long silver and black beard and weird eyebrows that flared outwards with a curl at the end of each one. He was very, very odd indeed! I think the weirdest thing about him was his eyes – they stared outwards with great intensity, as if he was concentrating hard on something. In a strange eerie way, those eyes almost seemed to be looking back at me. How was I going to live here with this weird wizard looking at me all the time?
“I hope you like the quilt,” asked Flora appearing behind me. “I found this large banner in the attic and thought it would look lovely as a quilt for your bed. I think your Dad may have won it at a fair or something like that when when he came here on holiday’s years ago.”
I didn’t want to tell Flora that I wasn’t particularly fond of purple, or that I really didn’t like the quilt (the wizard was weird!). It would hurt her feelings and she had gone to so much trouble for us.
“I love it Flora,” I beamed falsely, “I really, really love it!”
Flora smiled back at me. She seemed delighted that I liked my new bedroom. “Oh I am so glad!” she said rather relieved, “Your father was always reading about magic and wizards when he was your age, so I thought you might have the same interest.”
Unfortunately I had never thought about magic and wizards. I wasn’t interested in that kind of thing at all.
Flora then left me to have a chat to Millicent.
I stood in the middle of the room and dropped my backpack to the floor. This was going to be my new room in my new home.
I turned around in one full circle eyeing off the contents again – purple walls, purple lamp, purple-edged mirror and a purple quilt with a strange looking wizard on it. I suppose I could get used to it – maybe? I looked over at the quilt again. The wizard’s eyes were still staring at me.
“Enough of that!” I shouted out loud. I then pulled my blue jacket off and flung it over the quilt so that I could no longer see the wizard and his staring eyes.
I climbed on top of the bed and gazed up at the ceiling. I felt like this was the start of something – a new phase in my little life. I began thinking about the day’s events, but before I could think about them for too long, I was fast asleep and dreaming about what life in this house would bring.