Lily Alone (21 page)

He even took his funny little underpants off, running along totally naked apart from his trainers, taking great leaps and whooping at the top of his voice. We three girls shrieked with laughter at him. Then of course Pixie started tugging at her own clothes and had to do her own totally bare prancing. Baxter and Pixie wanted Bliss and me to strip off too, but we felt too bashful – which was just as well, because a whole bunch of serious runners suddenly thudded past. Their faces were grim with effort but they all cracked up when they saw my brother and little sister.

‘Put your clothes back
on
. We'd better stay away from the road,' I commanded.

‘Aren't we nearly there
yet
?' said Baxter. ‘My feet hurt.'

‘Mine do too,' said Bliss, who was in a far worse state.

‘And mine,' said Pixie, which was monstrous, because I'd carried her most of the way.

‘I'm not sure I really like it here without any cars or people,' Bliss said.

‘Yes you do. It's great fun,' I said, trying to wrestle Pixie back into her clothes. ‘
You're
having fun, aren't you, Pixie?'

‘You bet,' said Pixie, charging off with her jeans inside out and one arm still not properly in her T-shirt.

‘And you're having fun too, aren't you, Baxter?' I said, as he whirled around, still naked.

‘Not really, not any more,' said Baxter. He sat down and put his pants on his head.

‘Oh ha ha,' I said. ‘You're not really funny doing that, chum.'

Pixie found him hilarious, however, squealing with laughter and pointing at him.

‘His pants, his pants!' she shouted.

Baxter smirked at her.

‘I
am
funny,' he said.

‘The joke's on you, Baxter, putting your smelly pants on your head.'

Baxter's smile faded.

‘Then I'll put them on
your
head,' he said, trying to cram them on my hair.

‘Get off, you moron,' I said, struggling with him. My fist shot out and somehow connected with his nose.

‘Ow! You hit me!' Baxter yelled, punching and kicking me.

‘Stop it! Put your wretched pants
on
. And the rest of your clothes.'

‘I don't have to do what you say. You're not Mum,' said Baxter, rubbing his red nose.

‘Yes, she is, Lily's like our mum now,' said Bliss.

‘She's just a kid, like us. She doesn't know anything. She's scared because she's a stupid girl.
And
she's got us lost!' said Baxter, stepping into his underpants and jeans.

‘No I haven't!' I said.

‘Yes, you haven't got a clue where we are, admit it,' said Baxter.

‘I do know. I'm sure we're quite near our tree. And anyway, even if we're not, it might be fun to sleep in this soft ferny part. We could make another camp here,' I said. I lay down there and then.

‘Oh, it feels lovely,' I said, making little purring noises of appreciation, as if I'd just got into a big comfy bed.

I didn't fool any of them, not even Pixie. They stood staring down at me as if I'd gone mad.

‘Come and join me, Bliss,' I said.

She hopped from one foot to another.

‘We're not really going to sleep there, are we?' she whispered. ‘What about Headless? I can't sleep without him.'

‘Well, you're maybe going to
have
to,' I snapped, sitting up. ‘Because all right, I don't have a clue where our wretched tree and all our stuff is.'

They looked shocked, even Baxter.

‘I want my buggy,' Pixie howled, though she always struggled to get out of it.

‘I want my brand-new fork-lift truck,' Baxter snarled.

‘I want Headless,' said Bliss, and she crumpled up.

‘OK, OK, I was only kidding. Of course I know where the tree is,' I said, staggering to my feet and brushing myself down. ‘Come on, it's this way, I think.'

We blundered on. I carried Pixie, and then for a while I got Baxter to give her a piggyback while I carried Bliss on one hip because she was limping so badly now. She kept making little gulping noises, trying hard not to cry. I felt so bad, wondering why I'd dragged the kids into this huge park instead of keeping them safe at home. I kept looking desperately for familiar landmarks, but all the park seemed strange and alien now.

‘We're lost, aren't we?' said Bliss, in a tiny voice.

‘No, we're not lost,' I said. ‘Well, maybe just a little bit. But we'll find our way. If we get to the park gates we'll know we've gone
past
our tree and we'll simply have to turn round and go back the way we came. Now think, Bliss. You were the one who found our tree, when you ran away from that dog. Keep your eyes peeled and maybe you'll find the tree for us all over again.'

Bliss obediently opened her eyes wide and swivelled her head, looking all around.

‘Maybe – maybe it's that one!' she said – but when we ran over to it, it wasn't hollow at all. We tried another and another and another, peering at every large tree we saw, without any luck at all.

‘Headless will be so lonely without me,' Bliss mumbled. ‘I think he's crying.'

‘How can he cry if he hasn't got his eyes any more?' I said.

‘He just cries inside himself, in his tummy. I can always tell when he's doing it,' said Bliss.

‘You're bonkers,' said Baxter, screwing his finger into the side of his head. ‘You're all totally bonkers. I wish I didn't have bonkers sisters and a bonkers mum. I wish I had a brother and a proper dad. All you girls are useless.'

‘Buggy!' said Pixie. ‘
Buggy!
'

‘Yeah, useless, whingeing on about your stupid buggy and your stupid headless bear,' Baxter sneered.

‘BUGGY!' Pixie shouted, scrambling to her feet and then charging down the hill.

‘Pixie! Careful, you'll trip and fall! Watch out! Where are you
going
?' I yelled, dumping Bliss and running after her.

Then I suddenly realized. Pixie had spotted a metal handle glinting in the sunlight. She'd seen her own red buggy partially hidden in the ferns. She'd found our hiding place!

We joined hands and danced round and round our tree, celebrating. Then we sat down amongst the ferns, Pixie in her buggy like a queen on a throne, and had a feast of biscuits and Dairylea and cornflakes and Lilt and Coke. We passed the strawberry jam round too, each of us scooping out a handful. Pixie got especially sticky but I spat on a T-shirt and scrubbed her as best I could.

Then I got out our fairy-tale book and read aloud
Babes in the Wood
,
Hansel and Gretel
and
Little Red Riding Hood
, all stories we could imagine happening in the trees around us. Bliss imagined all too vividly, and hung on tight to Headless while phantom wicked stepmothers and witches and wolves crept up on her. I had to read all the way through her favourite
Cinderella
to calm her down. Baxter chuntered a little, but settled to listen, absent-mindedly spinning the wheels of his fork-lift truck. Pixie started rubbing her eyes and sucking her thumb.

I supervised a little trip behind a bush and then lifted her up into our tree, sitting her on top of a pillow, with another for her head. She looked so cute and cosy that Bliss begged to join her, and Baxter agreed happily enough when I suggested it might be his bedtime too.

I tucked them all up and then fiddled around for a while, packing up all our food (not that there was much left now) and folding the buggy back beneath the ferns. I circled the tree several times, trying to think of some way of marking it which wouldn't look too obvious to anyone else. In the end I ruined my yellow felt-tip pen by rubbing it up and down the bark. It made the tree look distinctive, but naturally so, as if lichen had started growing on it.

Then I crouched down at the bottom of the tree, perching on the roots, guarding my sisters and brother. I watched the sun slide downwards in the sky, turning it orange, scarlet, crimson. I'd seen sunsets before, of course, but never out in the open like this. I felt tears pricking my eyes as the sky faded to pinky-purple. Then I climbed up into the tree to go to sleep too.

There was really only just enough room for the three children curled round each other. I had to burrow down underneath them and they moaned at me crossly. Pixie was particularly difficult, forever thrashing about. She had the smallest arms and legs but they seemed to be everywhere.

I wondered about climbing out again and curling up at the base of the tree, but they had all the pillows and blankets inside. I stuck it out, crammed in a corner with all three kids burrowing into me – and surprisingly fell fast asleep.

I woke with a start. We all did. Something was thumping our tree hard, again and again, attacking us. Pixie started crying and I put my hand over her mouth.

‘Shh, shh, don't make a sound!'

‘But what
is
it?' Bliss whispered, shivering.

‘I don't know!' I was shivering too.

‘I'll jump out and hit it with my stick,' said Baxter bravely.

There was another whack against the tree trunk, and then strange chomping noises.

‘It's an ogre, I just know it's an ogre!' Bliss whimpered.

‘Don't be silly,' I said – but it sounded horribly
like
an ogre. I hung on hard to Baxter. It wasn't his job to protect us. I was the eldest. I took a deep breath and pushed the tablecloth aside so I could see out. But I couldn't see anything at all. The park was terrifyingly dark, a thick deep black everywhere, so I couldn't see a thing. But I could certainly still hear: there was that awful rustling and chomping, and then another massive thump against the tree. Was the ogre attacking us with his bare fists, or did he have a stick?

My eyes were adjusting to the darkness. I saw the shadowy shapes of
two
sticks, somehow joined onto a great head. No, not sticks,
antlers
! It was a stag, banging his antlers against the bark of our tree, and then nibbling at the leaves within its reach.

‘It's OK, it's only a deer!' I said, laughing shakily.

‘Let's see, let's see!' said Baxter. ‘I could fight him like a bull!'

‘No, he's a lovely deer, we don't want to
hurt
him,' I said.

‘He's a lovely deer, but he might want to hurt
us
,' said Bliss. ‘Please make him go away, Lily.'

‘Well, I'll try,' I said. I stood up and poked my head right out of the tablecloth. ‘Stop now,' I said firmly.

The deer paused, obviously startled.

‘That's right, off you go. Join the rest of your herd,' I said.

He had one last little chomp of leaves and then ambled away.

‘He's gone!' said Bliss. ‘Wow! You're like an animal trainer, Lily.'

‘It's easy-peasy bossing a deer about,' said Baxter. ‘You were so
stupid
, Bliss, scared of a silly old deer. I wasn't a bit scared, was I, Lily?'

‘No, you were very brave. We
all
were,' I said.

‘Is it time to get up now?' Pixie asked.

‘No, silly, it's pitch black,' I said.

‘It's too dark,' said Bliss. ‘Headless doesn't like it.'

‘How can Headless tell whether it's dark or light?' said Baxter.

‘He
knows
things,' said Bliss. ‘Doesn't he, Lily?'

‘Yes, old Headless knows more than anyone,' I said. ‘Stop wriggling, Pixie.'

‘I think I want to do a wee,' said Pixie.

I was dreading she'd say that.

‘Can't you wait till morning?' I asked.

‘I don't think I can wait at all,' said Pixie.

I sighed. ‘Come on, then.'

It was terrifying climbing out of the tree into total darkness. I wondered if the deer would come back and mistake my legs for a juicy bunch of leaves. I hauled Pixie out after me. She curled up as small as she could.

‘Put your feet down, Pixie.'

‘No, I don't like it.'

‘How can you do a wee hovering in mid-air?'

‘I don't need to go now.'

‘Oh yes you do. In fact I do too. I'll go first, shall I?'

‘Yes, then the deer can eat your bottom and not mine,' said Pixie.

I felt my way through the ferns, Pixie stumbling beside me.

‘You won't wee on my buggy, will you?' Pixie asked anxiously.

‘I'll try not to wee on the cornflakes and biscuits either,' I said, squatting down beside a tree.

It was quite difficult going, and when it was Pixie's turn I had to hold her up and help her. When we found our way back to our hiding tree, Bliss and Baxter decided they needed to go too.