The Spellfull Sixties

Chapter One: Through the Bushes

Ted Tonks was as ordinary as any other eleven-year-old boy. He liked music. He liked playing football in the local park. He even loved sweets, especially lemon heads. Though there were some things he had seen...or done that didn't feel normal. Like once, he got annoyed by fat Tony from down the street and moments later a branch from Mrs James' back garden tree fell onto the pavement and landed splat on his head. Or when he was younger he'd gotten annoyed at his teacher for scolding him after having dirty hands from playing at break and suddenly the blackboard flipped over, spinning widely as the woman looked about frantically for the source of such chaos . His teacher, Miss Everham, was a very superstitious woman, and that break time his entire class was told to recall how the 'ghost' had terrorised her in the lesson as she wept in the corner, being assured by the dashing caretaker.

Yet, on one particular day in the Spring of 63', Ted felt as normal as ever. He sat in the town park as younger children played on the swings, resting his school shoes on the top of a football as two girls from his school sat on either side of him yammering into his ears. He could see Fat Tony and his gang of nitwits glaring at him from the side of the metal climbing frame. Though he didn't really understand why. To be honest he would have much preferred it if the girls would have left him alone. Though the elder sister was rather pretty. She looked a bit like Brigitte Bardot. His dad fancied her. Though Ted was too busy trying to listen to his pocket radio as it jumped from song to song to care what she looked like for very long. He didn't really know any of the names of the artists or anything, but he would recognise any familiar tune and begin to hum it beneath his breath as the sun beat down on his bare legs. "Are you gonna' come to the murder fields with us.... Ted?", asked one of the girls, "That is your name- right?".

"...Yeah", he returned slowly, "Though my dad will tell you it's 'Edward' ".

"Where are you from Ted- I like your accent".

"Wales", he replied plainly , snatching the radio closer to his ear. He had no interest in going to 'The murder fields'. It was just a big collection of fields kids would go and visit. There wasn't anything interesting there, except for the legend that a murderer once lived in the field and buried all of his victims under the ground- that was why no crops grew there. "-And I don't really feel like going-".

"Ah, come on Ted", nudged one of the girls, "You seem nice- and it's my Mary's first time going". She nodded to the rather young girl sitting on the other side of Ted. She had a rather large-toothed grin and thick fringe that carried on in a bowl-shaped cut of hair around her small head. "She'll need a friend- Tony said that you would be too scared to come- but I said you look quite brave".

Ted lowered the radio. "Of course I'm brave", he returned, watching as Tony whispered to one of his friends. He had suspected that the boys had been talking about him, but now he knew why. So he stood, turning off the radio before slipping it into the pocket of his shorts. "-Are you going to the fields, Tony?!".

"What's it to you?", the boy took a big inhale, almost like a snort, "It's not like you are brave enough to come along". Tony and his posse of putrid pubescents strolled slowly towards the young boy- all wearing a similar brutish look on their faces.

"Of course I am", returned Ted, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets.

"I said he looked brave", chuckled the elder girl, encouraging Mary to stand with her, "You walk with my sister Ted". She encouraged the pair of them together, though Ted made every effort to get away from her. There was something about the girl that unnerved him.

Tony sneered at the boy, before seeming to look over his shoulder. Ted then slightly turned trying to see what the boy had spotted. Though he saw nothing. "Well come on then- we're losing daylight". The elder boys turned about, all giving Tonks a funny look, before strolling towards the gate of the park. They then stepped out onto the pavement and began to walk down the road, passing by women who un-strung their washing lines or nattered in the street with little girls or boys sitting in front of them in steel tubs, cooling from the heat. It had been rather warm that week. Actually, it had been extremely hot. Though it was even hotter that day. Ted could feel sweat pooling on his forehead as he plodded along. This was made even worse as Mary then came to hold onto his arm, which sent a slight shudder up his spine. Though he didn't pull away, thinking that it would seem incredibly rude. She was in the same class as him, and didn't want her spreading any rumours that he was terribly mean or anything.