The mysterious man...

Chapter 2

By late afternoon, the road was in a blurred grey straight line in front of my eyes. Hour after hour of traffic jams and road works had delayed them and they were much later than Robbie had planned. I hoped they didn't have much further to go. I felt sick. A greasy breakfast at the roadside diner had been followed by a lunchtime car picnic of chocolates, crisps and icecream. I suspected that Robbie, a gentle, genial man who'd been driving for Sylvan Meadows since he was old enought to earn his licence, and was soon to retire, was under the orders from Matron to give me as many treats as possible. Much my suripise, Matron had been quite tearful when they said goodbye to each other.

"You'll be sorely missed," she'd said, standing ankle deep in snow to give me a hug.

"Really?" I asked disbelievingly. She felt pain in her heart. Sylvan Meadow had its imperfections but it was the only real home she'd ever known. The staff were kind and some off them really cared for her. I have heard horror stories from other girls about 'Oliver Twist' style orphanages, but Sylvan Meadows wasn't one of them If she didn't have big dreams and plans she'd have properly been perfectly fine there.

Matron squeezed my hand. "Hush now. You know Sylvan Meadows won't be the same. You have a spirit about you that's given life to the place"

"Bye Matron, i'll miss you" i says hugging her tight.

"I'll miss you to, Sophie, Goodbye" Matron says.

Now, as every mile carried me closer to my unknown future, I wondered if i was doing the right thing by leaving. Not, i supposed, that i had a choice. You couldn't turn down uncles the way you could turn down wealthy, chihuahua-carriers strangers who just wanted another toy to add to their collection.

I wound her window down a little and looked out at Cornwall. A short while ago we crossed the countries border. The cold wind made my stomach feel better, but her legs started to go numb with the coldness of the wind. I closed it again.

Robbie looked at me. "Nervous?" he asked.

"No" I said, which was partially true because I couldn't decide if I was nervous, excited or both. I kept trying to picture her uncle. I imagined him as taller, broader, older version of my mother. His skin would be a little tanned from the sun and the sea breeze and he'd own a sailboat and live in a converted boathouse with a border collie Scruff. At the weekend, he'd take me on trips secret islands. He'd be a spy, or a round-the-world yachtsman, or a dolphin trainer. A voice in my head reminded her. or he might be a one-eyed monster, but I quickly stop thinking about that idea.

In the ordinary situations, social services would have insisted that I met my uncle at least once before moving in with him, but the with them living far away from each other made this impossible. The thing had been going on for months. Just when it seemed that nothing was never going to happen and I would be at Sylvan Meadows for years to come, social services had received great things about my uncle. This made them decided that there was no better person than to provide a home for me than him. After that, me and my uncle had independently said that we would happy to live together, the deal was sealed.

"..... smugglers, druggies, gunman, gangs and ghosts," Robbie was saying.

"What?" I said, coming out from deep within my thoughts.

"I was just saying that, not that long ago, we'd have been taken our lives in our hands crossing that bridge that we just pasted it was full with scary folk." Robbie took one hand off the steering wheel. "Even now, you wouldn't want to be alone out here after dark."

I stared at the world outside her window. All I could see was the black sky of an oncoming storm, but I  could still see the outline of the moon and the twisted trees and sheep in the fields. The air was gloomy and misty. I found this kinda scary. The storm moved in soon after woods. Within minutes, the rain had made driving seem like mission impossible. The wind shook the car.

To me, the last hour of their journey seemed to take forever. i feel asleep through some of it. When i woke up and saw a sign for St Ives, i wasn't sure if i was dreaming. Shortly afterwards, we went round a bend and I  saw the town for the first time - twinkling lights lined across a harbour and their was a lighthouse at the end of the pier.

Robbie guided the car down a steep hill, through twisting streets lined with fishmen's cottages, bakeries advertising Cornish pasties and shops selling beach stuff. There is no sign of life. The storm has driving everyone but the seagulls inside.

When we reached a walled garden, Robbie accelerated up a hill. Higher and higher the car went., rattling over the cobblestones. At the top they turned a corner to see a row of Victorian houses. On the slope to the right sprawled a cemetery. Below that, the oily black sea seethed in the gale. Silvery waves steamrollered up the shore and onto the beach.

Robbie parked outside number 28. Aside from a gleam of light on the rectangle of glass at the top of the heavy wooden door, the house was filled with darkness. The front garden was overgrown, the path checked with weeds. i opened my door and the salty, rainy sea air and roar of waves blasted in. I climbed out of the car and looked up. There was something about the house that makes it feel like its was alive..

Robbie set my suitcase on the wet pavement and followed her gaze upward. "Hope you don't scare easily" and then adding "This can't be right!" In the light of the street lamp, he checked the address, "How odd. This does seem to be right: 28 Ocean View Terrace. Let's Hope you are expected."

I followed him up the steps, rotting leaves squelching beneath my shoes. The doorknocker was a snarling tiger. Robbie lifted its head and rapped hard. From the bowels of the house came a loud bark that seemed to come out the slit beneath the door and slam into my chest. Some more barks followed after that.

i grabbed Robbie's sleeve. 'Let's go,' i said. 'I've changed my mind. I want to come back with you. Matron will understand. She can call and apologise. If you take me back I'll be a new person, you'll see. No more unrealistic exceptions.'

Robbie looked at me. 'Sophie, this your family. You can't change you mind. You belong here.'

You belong here. Those words, I  had been waiting nearly all my life to hear those words but I  truly didn't think she belong here. The barking grew more louder. From the other side of the door came a shouted "Shit!" and the sound of claws skittering across the floor. There was a snuffling and a growl at the crack.

Terror ran through me"Please Robbie! i begged. "Take me home!"

A key scraped in the lock and the door screeched on its hinges. The figure of a man stood framed against the yellow light with a dog at his side. The slope of his shoulder and his muscles tensed in his arm as he grabs the dog by its collar.

The smile left Robbie's face and he stepped forward. 'Sophie,' he said. 'Meet your uncle.'

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hey so ive just started writing this and i have alot of ideas for the fanfic, i do have another fanfic called head over heels, i would be so greatful if you checked that one out too, thanks you.

beth!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx