“I’ll shut-up if you promise you’ll leave Melody alone, and that goes for donkey-boy and Lucy.”
“I promise,” he whispered.
“I can’t hear you!” I shouted.
“
I promise!”
he cried.
“I think at last we’ve come to an understanding, and we got there without the use of any violence. A first for you, I suspect,” I said dryly. “Now get out of here!”
Ray turned and fled up the shore, donkey-boy and Lucy following him.
“Isidor, you did it,” Melody said in amazement. “You’ve got him off my back.”
“I hope so,” I replied wistfully. “I’m not sure, though.”
“How come?”
“Ray has problems, serious problems with his dad. I just hope I haven’t gone and made them a whole lot worse,” I said, as I stood and watched him and his friends disappear into the distance.
Melody collected her bonnet from where it lay in the sand. She tucked her hair beneath it and retied the strings. Taking her in my arms, I released my wings and carried her up into the sky. It was getting dark as we raced silently through the clouds together.
We hovered momentarily above her home, then I swooped her down out of the sky. I helped Melody back through her bedroom window.
“When will I see you again?” she asked me. But before I’d the chance to answer, she placed a finger against my lips and said, “Just be at the town swimming pool, in three days’ time.”
“Why?” I asked with a frown, floating just outside her window.
“There is going to be a swimming tournament,” she explained. “It’s to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of my school and they are throwing this big swimming gala for the town. I’m doing something special. I doubt I’ll be very good.”
“So why do you want me to be there?” I asked.
“Just be there,” she said and closed the window.
Chapter Nineteen
Isidor
I returned to The Hollows and spent the next three days there. I didn’t go out once. I spent the days and most of the nights writing. I couldn’t stop. My head was full of so many stories. Some were better than others, but most of them, I guessed, were dreadful. My mother didn’t seem too concerned that I spent so much of my time alone. I think she was just pleased I had come home.
At night, as I lay on my bed, I thought of Melody. However much I tried, I just couldn’t stop thinking about her. Eyes open or shut, I could see her. The more I thought about her, the more I knew that I couldn’t leave her alone above ground. To think of her living with her mother, spending her life imprisoned behind that long dress, apron, and bonnet made me sad. Even if Ray kept his promise and left her alone from now on, there would be others who would be quick to ridicule and hurt her.
Maybe I could bring her to The Hollows? I wondered. Maybe she would be happy here? Would my mother really object, if it meant me staying in The Hollows, instead of staying above ground? I made up my mind that I would tell Melody everything about me and the world that I came from and ask her to come back with me. Once my decision had been made, I felt as if a weight had been taken from me, and I slept easier. But I knew in my heart that I didn’t just want Melody to come back to The Hollows so I could save her; the real reason was, I didn’t want to be apart from her.
On the third day, I waited for my mother to head off to work in the caves, and I once again snuck above ground. I made my way through the woods and followed the road in to the town of Lake Lure. The town seemed busier than usual, and I found the swimming pool without too much trouble. It was a building that had been decorated with flags, and a car park full of school buses. Keeping my head down, I lost myself amongst the other spectators who had come to see the swimming gala.
Rows of chairs had been placed around the edge of the swimming pool and I took a seat at the back. A raised platform had been erected and this had been put in place for school staff and the town mayor to sit on. I also noticed a guy with a big camera who wore a badge that read:
PRESS
.
As the headmaster stood on the raised platform and welcomed the parents and the mayor, I glanced around the swimming pool and saw Ray and his friends sitting close to the water. They obviously weren’t taking part, as they were dressed in their school uniforms. Once the headmaster had finished his speech, the gala began.
It was made up of several races, each winner being presented with a small trophy. In between each race there was swimming performed to music. At the end of each demonstration, the crowd erupted into applause and the classes, which had been represented, cheered for their classmates. The only pupil I hadn’t seen was Melody. As the gala came to its end, the headmaster stood and spoke to the school and all the spectators once again.
“I’m sure you’ll all agree that this has been a wonderful event today. It goes to illustrate the school’s team spirit and love of sports. But ladies and gentlemen, the day is not over yet. We now have something very special for you. We are very proud of this young athlete. I understand she has been working tirelessly for some weeks to put on a spectacular finale. It is with great pleasure that I now introduce, Melody Rose.”
Melody appeared from the changing room, and with her head bowed low, she made her way over to the ladder that led to the diving board, which towered above the swimming pool. She was dressed in a white swimming robe that trailed behind her. Her hair was covered with a swimming cap. So was this why she had often gone missing? I wondered. Had Melody secretly been practising a spectacular dive? Why hadn’t she mentioned it? Was this why she had asked me to come today – so I could see what it was that she really wanted to do with her life? I scanned the faces of the spectators gathered around the pool, but couldn’t see her mother. Maybe she didn’t know. Perhaps if her mother had found out, it would have been something else she would have stopped Melody from doing. I could understand why she had kept it a secret.
I watched from the back row as Melody passed the rows of her fellow pupils, teachers, town mayor and the guy from the press. She only looked up once and that was at me. We made eye contact and she winked. It was only then that I sensed something was up, that she had something planned.
I watched Melody climb the ladder to the diving board. As she reached the top, the room fell into silence. I glanced around at the wall of people, and all of them had their heads tilted back on their necks, as they looked up at my friend, my best friend.
Melody stood on the end of the diving board, motionless. She seemed to stand there forever. Then without warning, she pulled off the robe and the swimming cap that she was wearing. There was an audible gasp from the crowd as they stared up in complete shock. Even I let out the faintest of gasps, and sat with mouth open, my jaw almost touching my chest, as I stared up at Melody.
She stood tall and proud, her back as straight as a ruler, her arms swinging by her hips. Around the pool, it was perfectly still and silent. I blinked in complete surprise and shock, and then an uncontrollable smile spread across my face.
Oh, Melody,
I thought to myself as I looked at her standing up there naked, her hair now bright pink. But in a way, she didn’t look naked – not really. She was covered in so many tattoos that she looked as if she were wearing a brightly decorated body stocking. The roses started at her ankles and spread across her entire body. Each tattooed rose was attached to a vine, which snaked its way from her feet, up her legs, over her thighs, across her buttocks, the flat of her tummy, back, breasts, and neck.
So that’s where she disappeared to
, I smiled to myself.
But there was one rose which was brighter than the rest, and it had been tattooed over her heart. It was then I realised all of the other roses, apart from this one, were closed. The one over her left breast was open, and shards of bright white light had been tattooed streaming from it. To look at that open rose, I knew that Melody was flowering, too.
Then, as I watched her, she looked down at me and shouted, “For one day, Isidor, I just want to be me.”
Melody then tumbled over and over through the air, as if in slow motion. Her descent seemed to last an eternity. The entire audience had their eyes transfixed on Melody as she flipped, rotated, and spun towards the pool. She hit the water with an almighty
‘splosh!’
and disappeared from view. As if by magic, the sound of her hitting the water tore the rest of us from our trance.
Melody popped her head up from beneath the water, and immediately looked at me with the biggest smile I had ever seen spread across anyone’s face. With that, every pupil in attendance jumped out of their seats and the sounds of their cheers was deafening.
Seeing this, Melody dove back under the water, kicking her legs in the air as she disappeared like an exotic mermaid. She resurfaced within moments and started punching the air with her fist. The other pupils just went berserk. They were whistling, cheering, screaming, and slapping each other on the back. I looked all around me, and to my surprise and secret delight, I spotted Ray in the crowd, and even he was up on his feet cheering and punching the air with his fist. The atmosphere was electric. It was as if Melody had triggered something in all of them. Any resentment or frustration, pent-up dislike for the school, their parents, or society seemed to explode from within all of them. To watch the humans like this was the most exhilarating feeling I had ever had.
I looked back at Melody again as she swam back and forth, occasionally stopping to wave at the crowd. She was rolling her head back and laughing and I don’t think I had ever seen her so happy. She looked at me again and made a circle with her thumb and forefinger. I was so proud of her, that I thought my heart was going to burst from my chest.
It was then that I looked towards the stage where the staff and mayor were seated, and they were obviously not sharing in the pupils’ delight. Most of the teachers looked as if they were just about to have heart attacks and the Mayor looked as if someone had just shown him conclusive proof that he had been secretly sleeping with whores for the last twenty years! The press guy was having a great time as he was busily snapping away.
The headmaster was on his feet and his head looked like a swollen tomato as he gestured furiously at the swimming pool and barked orders at some of the teachers. One of the teachers dived into the water, without removing his jacket, shooting beneath the water towards Melody.
Melody was now backstroking her way around the pool in a lap of honour, basking in her newfound glory. I tried to shout a warning to her, but my cries were drowned out by the bedlam that surrounded me. The teacher circled her like a shark, then darted towards Melody with lightning speed and dragged her under the water. Seeing this, the crowd began to turn hostile. The school kids started to boo and heckle as the teacher wrestled Melody out of the water.
With the help of two other teachers who were waiting by the edge of the pool, they dragged Melody towards the changing room door. Even though Melody continued to squirm in their arms, she still managed to find me in the crowd and smile. I smiled back. Then, she was gone, hurried away into the changing rooms and out of view.
As the headmaster tried to restore some order to the proceedings, I snuck from the hall and headed for the lake.
Chapter Twenty
Isidor
Desperate to see Melody again, I waited for her. I wanted to know that she was okay. I prayed that her mum hadn’t made her suffer for what she had done at school. When Melody arrived, I would tell her that she didn’t have to return home, that she could come to The Hollows with me. I waited at the bush for hours, and just when I thought she would never show, I saw a figure heading along the shore towards me. With my heart leaping in my chest, I raced towards her. But as I drew closer, I knew it wasn’t her. It was Ray, and I prepared myself for some childish taunts.
“Isidor, I need to speak to you!” he shouted, hurrying towards me.
“I’m not in the mood, Ray. Have you forgotten our agreement?” I hissed at him.
“It’s about Melody. I’ve got some news about Melody,” he persisted.
I stopped in my tracks, turned, and eyed him suspiciously. “This better not be the build-up to some kinda sick joke, because if it is…”
“No, no, it’s not, I promise,” he pushed, sounding out of breath.
“Okay,” I said. “What do you know?”
“Melody’s mum is sending her away!”
“Sending her where?”
“Dunno. I just know that after that incident at the pool, her mum has decided to send her away.”
“How do you know all this,” I quizzed, still suspicious that what he was telling me was a lie.
“My mum goes to the same prayer group as Melody’s mum. Apparently, they’ve all been talking and praying about it. They say she’s evil and must be sent way!”
My stomach somersaulted at hearing this and I began to panic. “When’s she going? Do you know when?” I pleaded.
“Right now,” Ray gasped, still drawing breath.
I turned on my heels and began to set off, then looking back at Ray I said, “Why would you help me like this? You hate me and Melody.”
“I’ve kinda been thinking a lot lately, especially since Melody did her thing at the pool today. She ain’t all bad, I guess. I was hoping we could put all that other stuff behind us - if you wanted to, that is?”
“You surprise me, Ray,” I said, genuinely shocked. “I thought you were a dumbass, but maybe I was wrong about you, too. Thanks for your help. I owe you one.”
“No, you don’t. I think that makes us even. Now get out of here, before you miss your friend.”
I ran as fast as I could to Melody’s house.
I turned into the road that led to her home and nearly got mowed down by Melody’s mother as she sped towards me in her car. I pressed myself against the bushes, and as she passed, I caught a glimpse of Melody sitting motionlessly in the backseat. Her face was grey and I could see that her long, pink hair had all been shaved off. Melody had no hair left; she looked like a prisoner of war. The car slowed as it neared the bottom of the track and I ran alongside it, banging on the window to get Melody’s attention.