The Swallow and the Sun

The Swallow and The Sun

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Prologue:

The swallow was the first thing I saw. It seemed to dart gracefully through the pastel-blue sky, like a ballroom dancer on a dance floor. The bright colours of the under wings seemed pure and peaceful, and the recognisable silhouette against the sun stirred memories of the child in me. It made no sound, yet it was all I could hear.

I didn’t know where I was.

I didn’t know how I had got there. All I knew is that I wanted to stay there, under the swallow and the sun. They felt strangely protective, as if they were trying to comfort me in this eccentric world. The irony of the whole thing was that they were too late.

*                              *                           *                                 *                           *

Ceri told me it was good to write things down. To help to keep memories, and all of that. She gave me a blank book bound with sea grass, covered with shells. My only material thing in this new world.

I remember when she gave it to me, shortly after my arrival. I was still in shock and having something to clutch consoled my confused mind. When I asked for a pen, she just laughed. I loved it when Ceri laughed. Her beaded braids jangled and her eyes lit up like the lights on a Christmas tree.

“You have a lot to learn Laura. At least we have all the time in this world.”

Glancing at my baffled expression, she opened the book.

“Hold the book open, place your hand on the page and just think of what you want to write. The words will appear on the page.”

As she said this, the words: ‘I fancy a chocolate biscuit’ appeared on the page in black scrawl.

“To erase stuff, wipe your hand across the page in a cleaning motion.”

I looked on, as the words vanished.

“Wow” I almost whispered. Ceri smiled and gave the book back.

“It’s as if it’s magic” I told her, as I held the notebook to my chest.

Ceri let her smile fall.

“One thing you need to learn kid. Magic doesn’t exist, in this world or any other. What happens is real. You just need to understand that things may appear differently to what you originally thought.”

She passed me by and dissolved into the air.

*                      *                               *                               *                          *

I think I’d better start at the beginning. You’re probably wondering how a book that needs no pen and vanishing people fit into my story. To be honest, they don’t. At least, not into my old story. I guess they’re my new life now: my blank page. Anyway, I’m Laura Ashcroft, a forever 23 year old. Loves to party, have a couple of drinks, hang out with my friends. Normal, that’s what they call me. What they called me. I lived in flat 13, Caulberry Towers, North London. The rent may have been sky-high, but I loved it there. It was my own little world.