Quite a crowd had gathered outside the bakery to witness the joy filled return of Harry to his mum.
Of course they didn't know the reality of this return. No, to the casual public onlooker it just looked like they had witnessed a cruel teenage prank, the victim of which was an unfortunate young mother.
Harry could already hear the mutterings spread throughout crowd – "I saw her answer the phone, then she collapsed, completely hysterical she was."
"That's her son, some girl rang her and said he'd been murdered, that's pure evil!"
"She said it was Gwen Carter, that's the weird gothy girl that works in the book shop; I hope they sack the sick bitch..."
...The searing sound of the ambulance sirens cut through their gossiping whispers. But there was one thing for sure; Gwen Carter was being well and truly vilified by the locals on the street.
###
In the ambulance Harry's mum couldn't let go of her son's arm. The ambulance man struggled to get the blood pressure cuff on her arm, "Look love, just let go of him for a minute, he won't run away," he said, softly.
Her blood pressure reading was sky high, but even before the ambulance man took it, he recognized the symptoms of severe shock in Harry's mum. Her agitation, extremely pale pallor, confusion and chest pain were all-symptomatic of acute shock. The ambulance man made the decision to take Harry's mum to the hospital, to be checked over.
###
Gwen Carter and Ian had been sat on the park bench for well over an hour and a half when Gwen felt a sudden tingle in her ear and instinctively stuck her finger in to scratch it.
"Are your ears itching?" Asked Ian; even though his face was sinking in, Gwen could still see the concern in it.
"Yes," she said, attacking the sudden itch in her other ear.
Ian looked skywards and sighed, "That's because they're probably all talking about you," he said, knowingly.
Gwen shot him a sarcastic look, "Thanks for the positive support," she said, continuing to relieve her tingling ears.
Ian moved closer, "I'm being realistic Gwen, you know what they're like around here, they love to gossip and demonize people." He paused, thinking about how to phrase what he wanted to say next, without causing Gwen any hurt, "Especially people who they consider different to them," he said.
Gwen knew where he was coming from, "You mean weirdo's like me, girls who don't conform to their idea of pretty or normal," she said.
Ian nodded, "That's exactly what I mean," he said, with sunken and sad eyes.
Gwen inhaled deeply and stood up; in her eyes Ian saw a steely determination. With a leopard like leap, she printed back towards the woods. Ian took off after her, struggling to keep up with her able bodied athleticism, "What you doing?" He shouted.
"Going back to take a photo of Harry's corpse, I'll show them the truth," she said, picking up speed.
###
At the hospital they gave Harry's mum a calming sedative and continued to monitor her blood pressure. Meanwhile, Harry went to the bathroom, not for a biology break, but for a vanity induced self-appraisal in the mirror.
Harry was positively startled by his reflection.
His skin was so clear and glowing. The dark circles around his eyes, that continually made him look tired, were no more. The blue/green of his eye color seemed intensified in the clear sparkling canvas of their whites. He peered in closer and saw that his lashes had grown and curled upwards, creating a frame that emphasized the symmetrical, colorful beauty of his eyes.
