I DO NOT OWN EMMERDALE OR IT'S CHARACTERS. THEY ARE AND ALWAYS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE DAFT ITV 1.
Sometime in the later 19th Century, in a small North Yorkshire industrial town outside Leeds.
Aaron Dingle had been down working down the coal mine allday. From dawn to dusk, just like the other young lads about town.
It was the only source of work around these parts and, although Aaron didn't like it much, it was all he knew and all everyone did, so he did it...to keep the peace.
With his bunch of rowdy fellow works mates, Aaron led the way up the filthy street to the pub where he was his Mum lived in the back room, and his mum worked behind the bar.
Chas Dingle, there she was laughing and joking behind the bar serving up the jugs of ale with a laugh that went straight through you.
His Mum liked the men...and she played on it to get the extra tips, if there was any. She would stoop down and show off that huge cleaverage and tease the leering men around her by ramming them deliberately into their mucky faces.
As Aaron sat at the bar nursing his pint, he brushed a hand over his filthy face, and watched her tease Adam.
"You naughty boy! I know your game sweetheart, I can see you trying to cop yourself an eyeful..."
Aaron stood up from the rickety barstall and came forward, " DO YOU MIND! DO YOU HAVE TO SHOVE THEM THINGS IN EVERYONES FACES ALL THE TIME!"
Chas had her hands full with empty jugs she had been collecting, " AWWWWW HAD A PIG OF A DAY HAVE YAH?" she laughed.
Ryan was then behind him, " Oh come on Aaron, everyone in here knows that your Mum is always up for a quick bunk down the backally!"
Aaron saw red and quickly swerved around to deck him one. But Uncle Cain was stopping him, " That's not a good idea, is it son?"
Aaron glared at him as he was restrainted, " ARE YOU GONNA LET THEM TREAT YOUR SISTER LIKE THAT?!"
Cain laughed at him, he had a certain twinkle in his eye, " She's just trying to earn you and her a crust, that's all...give her a chance soft lad"
Just then, some scanky old man with scraggy hair and no teeth started to roll over to them, "Oh, go on our Cain, bye your old man a drink"
The Fumes of liquer nearly knocked Aaron sideways. This was his grandad Shadrach. And what a state he was in...he seemed to be ALWAYS in. He stood there leering at his son with glazed eyes waiting for another drink to come his way. His poor excuse of clothes stunk to high heaven of stale booze and sweat.
Cain ushered him off with a few coins in his hand, " get outta it you poor excuse of a man! Go and drink yourself to death and do us ALL a favour, yeah"
Aaron glanced around to see his mother serving up Grandad with another ale. Cain nodded his head over to the wreck, " Last thing YOU want lad, is to end up like him"
"What? And be a criminal like you"
Cain laughed at him, " I only rob those who deserve it! And that's anyone who earns a better crust than we do!"
Aaron downed his ale and headed out, "Is that so... I need some air"
Chas was then at her brothers side, " I hope you arn't leading him astray, our Cain...the last thing I want is for him to be like you"
Cain laughed at his sister as he watched her play smile another drunk punter and squeeze back behind the small bar, " He could do worse you know! Or do you want him to be stuck down them mines for ever and a day...but that's all he's gonna do sis...because like the rest of the wasters around here, he can't read nor write...in a word he's got NO future"
For the first time in a while, her put on barmaid smile faded. Aaron had no future. It was better that then becoming a common criminal like his Uncle.
Cain put on his motheaten cap over his greasy hair and winked at his sis, " have a good night" and he was off.
Xxxxx
Outside the air was full of black smoke from the factories all around them. Aaron didn't have much in the way of money, but he did manage to get hold of tabacco from his uncle from time to time and he had one now. Sitting on a beer drum puffing away another day of choking on coal dust.
Chucking the tabacco spliff, he nipped off to the back ally to have a slash. It stuck of urine already, it was one of a number of 'toilets' around town.
After buttoning himself up, he saw Adam fucking some tart around the corner. Girls never interested him, he hated to think of doing things like that to them.
He sniffed and went to the end of the ally and to the main high street where horse and carts trundled by, and more well off folk were window shopping in the light of gas lamps.
He was about to turn back, when he saw that the once unoccupied building opposite was now in use. He looked up at the freshly painted sign...but it ment nothing to him, because he couldn't read.
But he knew what it was. There was a pile of coffins in the side ally...it were undertakers! It made him shudder at the thought of them.
"Jackson! I told you to get shifted all these boxes into the back store in case it rains...can you do that NOW please"
The man was big and burley, and was all dressed up in a neat black suit and ribboned neck tie.
He was soon joined by a younger man, who looked slightly older than Aaron. The younger man was his son. And he was dressed in a white silken shirt and waist coat, " Alright dad! I was just gonna do that! Mum wanted some help inside with moving some stuff...you know what's like, she'll end up breaking everything!"
The older man pointed to the pile of coffins, " Shut it lad, and them it shifted"
As the older man disappeared into the shop, the younger man rolled up his sleeves and hooped a leather apron around himself, then at that instant of tying it around him, he happened to glance up and meet Aaron's glaze.
Aaron gasped. The more well off man hinted a smile at him, and nodded his head.
Aaron reaction was backing away up the ally and doing a runner. The other lad frowned and shook his head to himself and started to shift the coffins onto the cart to ride them around to the back store.
Xxxx
In no time at all, Aaron was back in the pub and was in the back room where the soup was boiling over the fire in a tin pot.
His cousin Belle was stirring it with a wooden ladel, " It's only got potatoes in it...but Mum's cooked up some for all of us"
Aaron couldn't think about food. All he could think about what was stirring inside him. That face he had seen in the subtle gaslight in the street. He was the most beautifulist thing ever! And he had moved here.
But why would a lad of his class ever want to know one of his...unless someone died.
xxxxx
PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! IT MAY START OFF AS THE MARKINGS OF HAPPY LOVESTORY, AND IT DOES, BUT I'M AFRAID IT IS A LOVE TRAGEDY. AND IT MIGHT MAKE YOU CRY...BUT I WANT TO TELL IT, BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT SOMEONE MAKING ANOTHERS LIFE SO MUCH BETTER.