82 Ticky Tacky

The Little Red Haired Girl

82 Ticky Tacky

Seeing as the Little Red Haired Girl was keen to talk to Spirit at the moment, Spirit decided to keep recalling its own instinctive and intuitive memories and ask her gently without worrying her, what some of her own memories were that were buried too deep for the Adult Body to recall? It maybe that her young brain may reveal something of the past. Why ‘they’ felt this undercurrent of malevolence that only now Spirit was acknowledging, may have always existed, and that ‘they’ were resigned to its presence like a shadow. A shadow only appears if there is enough light and maybe Spirit had ignored it in the past. Maybe the shadows presence had become ‘their’ norm.

The imprisonment in this disused dark Pumphouse meant that the shadows could only be seen in the moonlight as and when the clouds allowed, so Spirit was isolated and blind to a certain extent and there were no clues from people or places, no timescale, no beginning or end. Spirit decided that talking with the Little Red Haired Girl might enlighten the past. So, just like the child had said about the Daisy chains and starting anywhere as there were so many, Spirit did just that and started anywhere.

“Did you ever try to count how many Daisy’s were on the lawn?” Spirit called.
“Once. But my eyes went misty and my numbers weren’t big enough. Miss says my numbers will get better. She makes me learn them coz I will need them when I’m growed up.”
“Very wise ” agreed Spirit.

“Mummy says that things get better when you keep an eye on them, so I laid down on my tummy to get my eye on them and then the Daisy’s were like trees. They was so big! It didn’t make it better at all!”

“Oh dear” laughed Spirit “So what did you do?”
“I walked amongst them and saw monsters.”
“What do you mean?”
Monster Ants and huge things with lots of legs.”
“Was it frightening?”
“No. They was busy eating and carrying stuff. I only got scared when it got dark and Mummy called me in for tea.”

“Does the dark scare you?” Spirit called.
“Not always. Sometimes it’s fun. Like sleeping in Aunties car when we was going to the beach. We had to get up early and it was still dark, but fun to be going to the seaside.”
“Did you go to the seaside much?”
“No. Just at special times. We went once on a special time to see an old lady that lived a long way off. Daddy said she lived in a shoe! It was dark then as Daddy put us in the car.”

“Oh did all of you go?”
“Yes but Daddy was cross. He did not want to go but was driving. Mummy said it had to be done.”
“What had to be done?”

“I dunno, but she took me and sister with her into the ladies house. It wasn’t a shoe at all! It was a stinky house with lots of cats, all different colours and sizes. She said I could play with them. She said I could call her Mrs G and she had very red hair.”
“Like yours?”

“No it was like her hair was on fire and Daddy didn’t like her. I didn’t like her. I was hot and prickly.”
“Oh how do you know Daddy didn’t like her?”

“Coz he said he would wait in the car with brother and smiley baby.”
“Is that unusual? for Daddy to wait in the car?”

“Yes he likes to get out of the car when he has done a long drive. He gets tired and cross with the other cars and we have to be quiet for the longest time. Sometimes he puts on the radio and lets us sing along. He says it makes us better. Sometimes we play I spy with my little eye.”

“So he didn’t go inside the house?”
“No he didn’t want to and was cross. Mummy said he was grumpy.”
“So what happened inside the house? Was she friendly? What did she say to you?”

“Mummy and sister was talking a lot so I just played with the cats. Then she asked me to put my orange juice glass back on the table to make sure nobody trod on it. There was a lot of cards on the table and she had to make space for my glass. Card with pretty pictures on them full of stars and moons and pretty ladies. she said I could sit and look at them.”

“Oh that’s nice. Was it a card game?”
“No But she said I would always be one of three. That there would always be someone in the way and not to get fat. It didn’t sound like sums Miss tells us at school.”
“No it doesn’t. Did she say anything else?”
“Lots. But I did not know what she was saying she was using big words. Big words I did not learn yet. So I played with the cats again, They were friendly.”

“So it was ok then?”

“Yes but I was feeling poorly and wanted to go home.”
“All of a sudden? You were feeling poorly?”

“Yes. Mummy said it was coz of the car drive. It was a long drive so she paid her some money and we left to go home, but it wasn’t a shop for it had nothing to buy! I just wanted to go home.”

“I see” called Spirit “Did you start to feel better?”

“Yes as soon as we was in the car and Daddy let us sing on the way home.”

“That was nice then. Do you remember what you sang?”

“Little boxes made of ticky tacky.”

“I don’t know that song” called Spirit.

So the Little Red Haired Girl sang it. Note for note, word for word, as if it were yesterday.