Elle

Elle

She lay sprawled across her soft white bed, drawing another sketch of the meadow she dreamed of living in one day. The rest of the land was grey and dark, with no sign of life. The meadow was beautiful; lush green grass that grew long and soft. Gorgeous exotic flowers of many different colours bloomed everywhere, making it difficult not to tread on them. Tall thin trees watched over the meadow from the wood nearby, and an old, twisted willow tree hid a small pond where fish swam and frogs sat. The gnarled branches barely touched the rippling water, and if you went through the willow tree and through a small wood, there was an amazing waterfall that gushed out water into the plunge pool and a thin windy river that lead you to a large hole in the ground.

This was going to be Elle’s secret den, of course. There would be everything a person needed: a basic kitchen, a bedroom, and a living room.

When Elle grew up, she wanted to become an inventor or an artist. A designer, maybe. She had never considered the fact that one day could change the rest of her entire life. She would grow up, find a man worthy of her time and maybe have one or two children who could carry on her work after she died. Elle would grow old with the love of her life, and be buried next to her beloved in the meadow.

For a girl of four-teen years of age, she was organized and had everything planned out. With fluffy blonde hair that fell past her shoulders, twinkling blue eyes and a mischievous grin, Elle Taylor had a bright future. She was clever and optimistic, well-mannered and kind.

“Hello baby girl, dinner’s almost ready. Would you be a dear and take this mail we got to the house next to the house next door? The post man keeps mixing us up.” Elle’s Mother asked, peering round her door. “Oh, that’s lovely darling. But why must you draw the same thing over and over again? Maybe it would be nice for a change.” She looked around the room at all of the pictures on Elle’s wall, some small and some very big. Some were paintings of the waterfall, or designs of the den.

“Yes, Mummy. Should I go now?” Elle’s voice was small and soft, making her appear even more fragile than she looked already. Her Mother nodded.

“Yes please. I just needed to straighten my hair; Daddy and I are going out to meet up with some old friends. Will you be okay with Joe and Rose?” Her Mother asked, not really expecting an answer. Elle nodded in response and tried not to look disappointed.

Joe and Rose were Elle’s baby sitters who didn’t care much for Elle at all. They came to Elle’s house pretending to be all happy and still in love with each other, when Elle knew they hated each other’s guts. They were just staying in the same flat because they needed to work together to pay rent.

Elle’s Mother didn’t notice anything odd about the couple, but the only reason they came to the house to baby sit was to drink all of the alcohol, watch television and get money for it in the end. Jane, Elle’s Mother, had only hired them because they were the only baby sitters available.

“Well, alright then. Off you go, they’ll get here once you’ve had dinner. Daddy and I are having dinner there, okay?” Elle nodded again.

“Yes Mummy.”

~

“Hello Mrs Jenkins, I have your mail. It was delivered to us by mistake,” Elle said, handing over the letters.

“Belle, darling. Lovely to see you, really it is. How old are you now, nine, ten?” Mrs Jenkins peered into Elle’s face, pushing her glasses further up her crooked nose.

“It’s Elle, Ma’am. I was four-teen in July.” Elle replied.

“Good Heavens! I’ve missed your birthday, haven’t I? One second, I hope this will make up for it,” Mrs Jenkins held a bony finger up and went inside her house, and Elle could hear her scuffling about in her slippers. “Here you go. Some raisins. I used to love raisins when I was your age. Do you like raisins?”

Elle nodded politely. “Yes. Lovely, thank you, Mrs Jenkins. I really must be getting home now-”

“Oh, but you haven’t had a birthday song, child! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” Mrs Jenkins started to shut the door, and when it was fully closed, Elle could still hear a muffled ‘Happy birthday to Belle, happy birthday to you! Hip, hip…”

Years ago, Elle had decided that she was as mad as a box of frogs. But lovely all the same. She meant well with the raisins, didn’t she?

As Elle was walking down the path, she heard a muffled scream coming from a few yards away. Debating whether or not it was coming from hers or Mrs Jenkins’ house, she ran home anyway. Her mouth dropped to the ground when she saw the house was ablaze with fire, engulfing the entire house and taking her family with it.

How could this happen?

More importantly, were her parents okay?

The door was still left open a crack, and Elle rushed inside to find her parents. Finding the telephone in the living room, she dialled 999.

“Hello, this is the operator. What is your emergency?”

“Help! My name is Elle, there’s a fire at my house and my parents and I are inside. I haven’t seen my parents…” This made Elle stop and look around the room frantically. No one was in here.

“I need to go now! Come quick! Please!” Elle yelled into the phone.

“Elle, please stay on the line for me…” Elle hung up and ran, covering her nose with the top of her dress.

Where would her Mother and Father be? Smoke blurred her vision, grabbing onto her arms and legs, pulling her to the floor.

“Mummy! Daddy! Where are you?” The smoke made its way into her mouth, making her cough heavily. She was running out of breath, but a sharp intake only made more smoke go in. Elle was dying, but she made it just in time to see her Mother lying dead on the floor, her straighteners on fire. She must have left them on.

“Mummy! Please, no, wake up! Wake up, please! I promise I’ll be good!” Elle was on her knees, coughing up a warm red liquid on her hands, spattering onto the carpet.

I’ll be good. I’ll be good. I’ll be good…