Mrs Balinsky
THUD! Her head smashed against the wall. "This is it," she thought, "they're certain to kill me. Stupid, stupid, stupid. They told me what they'd do if I told anyone and still I ran to the teachers. When will I learn?" The children circled her like vultures, each menacing over her small body, cowering in the corner. Ever since the fire, Kim had been able to think of nothing else but the terrible crime she had witnessed. She'd always known Chris and his group of followers ahd hated the school, and she'd laughed with the others at the many threats they'd made against it, but never in her wildest dreams had she expected them to actually go ahead with it. She was greatful that Chris wasn't there at the moment – she supposed that Mr. Marsh had held him behind school. THUD!Another stone hit the back of her head. She waited for the next…
It didn't come. Removing her hands from her ears, she waited for the cruel taunting and laughter of the children. Silence. Cautiously, she opened her eyes and looked up. She saw no-one. After mentally assessing her battered body for any serious damage, she picked herself up off the ground and stood, her legs shaking, alone in courtyard of the old council estate.
"Are you alright, dear?". Kim's eyes darted about nervously in the gathering gloom, looking for the owner of the mysterious voice. Eventually they fell upon the figure of a withered old lady, her hair a soft, tangled grey mess, her red lips a frightening contrast to the ghastly pale skin. Perhaps most disturbing where her eyes. They sparkled with innocence, a pure blue, and seemed to look straight past her, somehow seeing both nothing and everything all at once. Kim let out a gasp,and slid back down to the ground, as she recognised the woman as old Mrs. Balinsky, known to the children as "Blind Balinsky". The hundreds of frightening stories about this strange old lady came flooding back to her. As she remebered the tales of how Mrs Balinsky had been thrown out of her home country, Russia, for committing terrible crimes, such as eating children, burying her murdered husband under the floorboards, keeping killer-bats in the cellar, and just about every other story imaginable, thought up by over-imaginitve children, a wrinkled hand reached down a couple of yards to her left. She shrank away, desperately searching for an escape.
"Don't be afraid, I just want to help you. I know what those children say about me. I may be blind, but I'm not stupid. It's all silliness. Please, let me help you."
Slowly, Kim grasped the withered old hand and pulled herself up, surprised at the strength of the woman. "Th….thank you,"she stammered, "I…err….I should go now." She let go of the hand and walked slowly past the old woman and round the corner, breaking into a run as soon as she was out of sight. Behind you, "Blind Balinsky" let out a deep sigh, as she felt her way towards the wall, and made her way slowly back into her mouldy old flat, her home.
THUD! Her head smashed against the wall. "This is it," she thought, "they're certain to kill me. Stupid, stupid, stupid. They told me what they'd do if I told anyone and still I ran to the teachers. When will I learn?" The children circled her like vultures, each menacing over her small body, cowering in the corner. Ever since the fire, Kim had been able to think of nothing else but the terrible crime she had witnessed. She'd always known Chris and his group of followers ahd hated the school, and she'd laughed with the others at the many threats they'd made against it, but never in her wildest dreams had she expected them to actually go ahead with it. She was greatful that Chris wasn't there at the moment – she supposed that Mr. Marsh had held him behind school. THUD!Another stone hit the back of her head. She waited for the next…
It didn't come. Removing her hands from her ears, she waited for the cruel taunting and laughter of the children. Silence. Cautiously, she opened her eyes and looked up. She saw no-one. After mentally assessing her battered body for any serious damage, she picked herself up off the ground and stood, her legs shaking, alone in courtyard of the old council estate.
"Are you alright, dear?". Kim's eyes darted about nervously in the gathering gloom, looking for the owner of the mysterious voice. Eventually they fell upon the figure of a withered old lady, her hair a soft, tangled grey mess, her red lips a frightening contrast to the ghastly pale skin. Perhaps most disturbing where her eyes. They sparkled with innocence, a pure blue, and seemed to look straight past her, somehow seeing both nothing and everything all at once. Kim let out a gasp,and slid back down to the ground, as she recognised the woman as old Mrs. Balinsky, known to the children as "Blind Balinsky". The hundreds of frightening stories about this strange old lady came flooding back to her. As she remebered the tales of how Mrs Balinsky had been thrown out of her home country, Russia, for committing terrible crimes, such as eating children, burying her murdered husband under the floorboards, keeping killer-bats in the cellar, and just about every other story imaginable, thought up by over-imaginitve children, a wrinkled hand reached down a couple of yards to her left. She shrank away, desperately searching for an escape.
"Don't be afraid, I just want to help you. I know what those children say about me. I may be blind, but I'm not stupid. It's all silliness. Please, let me help you."
Slowly, Kim grasped the withered old hand and pulled herself up, surprised at the strength of the woman. "Th….thank you,"she stammered, "I…err….I should go now." She let go of the hand and walked slowly past the old woman and round the corner, breaking into a run as soon as she was out of sight. Behind you, "Blind Balinsky" let out a deep sigh, as she felt her way towards the wall, and made her way slowly back into her mouldy old flat, her home.