Chapter 1 - The Little Boy who lost his Friend

It was the first day of the summer holidays. Sean bounded down the stairs in joyous state he had so often felt, since he had found Rachel almost exactly a year ago. Nothing pleased him more than to fix her breakfast before his parents rose.

He retrieved the soaked meusli from the fridge and began mashing into the pulp that Rachel could manage. He then made his way to the garage.

She had been in the garage since the beginning of June, when his mother had discovered him with doll's clothes he had bought for Rachel. Since the age of three, he had longed for a female doll. This was something that had worried his mother into an aggressive repression of any signs of effeminacy in Sean. Sean wasn't an especially effeminate boy; all he had wanted was something to physical to hang a kind of imaginary older sister on. A being he had held in his imagination to fill a deficit of intimacy he felt with his mother. Her mother had died just before his birth hard on the heals of his elder brother. The combination of an unwanted second child and inconsolable grief had led to an emotional rejection of the newborn baby. Sean did not know this, but he felt it deeply.

Somehow Rachel had managed to remain hidden during the jack-booted purge of his private bedroom realm. When the dust settled Sean decided Rachel should have another hiding place. He found the perfect place for summer. Behind a bookshelf in the garage was an old rabbit hutch. In time it could be made into an increasingly comfortable home. Books hid the hutch well, and Rachel could open and close the door and climb in and out quite easily. Window behind the hutch provided light during the day.

Carrying Rachel's breakfast, Sean entered through the inside garage door and switched on the light. Nothing could match the desolation that was to greet him. It took several minutes for the desolate absurdity of the scene to sink in. No bookshelf, no rabbit hutch, no Rachel. He called and called her searching frantically through the detritus of family life piled and littered around the floors and walls. As his distress mounted he began throwing things and shouting, his nine-year-old mind unable to assimilate his sense of loss.

It wasn't long before his father crashed through the door and dragged him by an ear into the hall way of the house.

"You were always a nutter, can't you control yourself? What the hell do you think were doing?" The words seemed meaningless to Sean, the physical pain, the humiliation and the loss of his companion were all too much and fell limp into waves of sobs. "No boy of mine cries! What are you, some kind of girl? Up to your room" More desolation as he was dragged painfully to his room and the door locked behind him. All there was to do was lay on the bed and sob. Nothing could relieve the pain.

As he tired of sobbing, Sean fell into a reverie. He was back on the day he had met Rachel.

A loner, he was playing as usual at the end of the garden under a large weeping willow, where he needn't attract the attention of his parents or brothers. He was playing making use of bits of branches, rocks and such to create imaginary miniature worlds complete with court intrigue, plots, wars and other geopolitical interactions, when he heard the barking of a dog. Its paws were scrabbling through a hole in the fence. Annoyed he went to see what was going on. Beside the hole stood a tiny woman, frozen with fear. She then looked at the paws of the dog and at Sean, seeming not to know which to be more frightened of. Sean had never been cruel to an animal but he knew what to do. He dropped rock on the dog's paws and it immediately withdrew whimpering. He then took a closer look at the woman. She was just five inches high, her clothes were torn badly, and she covered in leaf mould. Sean would later find out that she was eighteen years old, but to an eight year old she just an adult. He tore off a doc leaf for her to wipe herself. Instead she wrapped it round self to cover her semi-nakedness. Realising her need to cover herself, Sean picked a larger leaf and picked her up with it. As he brought her towards his face she fainted. Again, some how he knew what to do.

He carried her to his room where he had some action figurines. The army fatigues of the dolls were too large, but they would do for now. He opened the bottom drawer of his chest of drawers where his winter woollens lay relegated for the summer. He lay her limp body on a particularly soft pullover. She was kind of semi-conscious now, but didn't resist moaning softly as Sean pulled the remaining clothes off with a pair of tweezers. He then replaced them with outsized army fatigues. Warm but exhausted, she now curled up into the pullover. Sean looked at her lovingly for a few minutes an then gently closed the drawer leaving I sufficiently open for a little light and air.

What had just happened was the impossible. Not the impossibility of the existence of five inch high human being, but the impossibility of this older sister coming to life. Reality and dreams were not well separated in his child's mind; soon it felt logical that she had come. He took another gentle look: of course she was real, and of course she had come to him.

Sean crouched by the open drawer. Before him lain curled up asleep on his favourite winter jumper was a living dream. He was too young to have sexual feelings that he could really understand, but it pleased him that she was pretty.

Sean would later realise that he had modelled his dream on the wood fairy from Pinocchio. As a very small child at the cinema, he had shared the puppet's desolation on separation from his 'parents' and the relief at the intervention of the beautiful, magical woman.

To get a better look he grabbed a magnifying glass from his desk and began looking more closely at her. Instead of the blond older sister he had imagined, the woman's hair was the most wonderful shade of … Brown was too plain a word to describe the colour, it was kind of golden, ever so slightly reddish and at the same time none of these colours. Even as small as she was he could make out her pleasing features, a delicately sculptured slightly turned up nose, high cheek bones, a refined chin. It was a beautiful and kind face; he knew that he was going to like her. She was much better than a dream.

He was as quiet as he could possibly be, but maybe she sensed that someone was scrutinising her, invading her personal space, because she began to stir.

Perhaps it was a defence mechanism in times of great stress that the state of unconsciousness that had so suddenly swept over Rachel in the hands of the child that had picked her up had returned her to her normal size in her normal sized world. She was at school. Some guy was giving her a bunch of flowers. Then she was walking a dog. Nothing seemed to make sense as she came too. In what room was she in? She was lying in a bed. What bed was this and why was there no ceiling? What was the large round metal object above her? My God, there was a gigantic eye and it just blinked! She wanted to scream, but nothing came out. She was paralysed with fear.

Sean's delight at the woman's delicate movements as she stretched and turned and looked at him, suddenly turned to horror as she let out a tiny yelp. He realised that he must be terrifying her. He quickly placed the magnifying glass back on the top of the chest of drawers.

"I'm terribly sorry!" The woman clamped her hands on her ears at the great booming voice. Sean realised that his voice must have as loud to her as a military jet passing low overhead. "I'm terribly sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to scare you"

Rachel took her hands off her ears. She looked at the giant form in front of her. Yes, it was the child who had picked her up in the giant leaf. His voice was still loud, but now much softer, imploring, not at all threatening. She remembered that he had seen off the dog, given her the leaf to cover herself and how gently he had picked her up, before she lost consciousness. If it had to be a boy who found her, at least he seemed a gentle child.

Sean held out his index finger to Rachel to introduce himself. She withdrew, fear again taking over, could he still be trusted? Realising his mistake Sean changed to his little finger. Understanding the gesture, Rachel reached out and touched it. She felt the strange ridges and whorls of the giant fingertip; she almost had a moment to be fascinated.

"How do you do? My name is Sean," he whispered. He felt a strange electricity as her tiny hand touched his finger.

"Rachel," she replied

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," her voice was too tiny.

"Rachel," she shouted.

"Please to meet you, Rachel," His face was screwed up with concern.

"What on earth are these, you wretched child?" She shouted pulling at the outsize fatigues "who do think I am, an Action Man?"

He could see her smile. He smiled back with the most enormous grin.

"There's one thing you can do for me," suddenly Rachel's shout was no longer a barely audible squeak. The miracle of human relations in the oddest of circumstances began to work its magic: Rachel's voice became to Sean as mellifluous and sweet as any he had heard. "You can lift me out this place - a drawer? - so I don't feel like I'm trapped in a box!"

"Yes, you're in my bottom drawer"

"Bottom drawer, eh? Don't I deserve better than that?" She made Sean smile again.

Sean could have picked Rachel up easily in one of his child's hands, but he wanted her to be comfortable. He placed a hand palm up either side of her. She sat on the palm of his left hand and lifted her legs so he could slide the right underneath her. She now tucked her legs underneath her. Sean made his hands into a shallow cup and watched as she tried to make herself comfortable.

"Okay, you can lift me onto the top of the chest of drawers, it'll be easier for us talk there." Inside his hands, Rachel felt the warmth and give of Sean's flesh and the hard ridges of whorls on his palms. She pressed down with both hands as began to lift. There was some give, but it was like there was a stiff jelly interior with hard mobile crust on top. It was so strange to be in hands of someone so young, otherwise so small, although on reflection he may have been nearly as tall as she was at her previous size. To be so dependent on someone that should be dependent on her. Instead of fear she felt the strange frisson of feeling both vulnerable and safe at the same time as she moved through the air and he lifted her to the top of the chest.

Sean laid his hands down flat on the top and slowly moved them apart to allow Rachel to stand up. She marvelled at the texture of the giant wooden plain around her, the strange perspectives on giant everyday bedroom objects scattered into the distance. 'No time to go under now', she thought, 'the boy seems okay, it could be worse.' She stretched and stood up straight to her full five foot one? How tall was she now? Shoulders back, breasts out, look him in the eye. She was now ready to address Sean. She seemed to have some sort of control of him, she wasn't going to loose it now.

[The Present

Sean was woken from his reverie by the lock turning in the keyhole. It was his mother. He was resigned to a verbal battering. But no, she had a concerned look on her face.

"Sean, I need to talk to you about something," she sat at the end of his bed.

Oh my god, what was it going to be?

[One year ago

Rachel looked at the great wide watery green eyes transfixed on her. Then, the "small" nose and ears (each must have been half her height) the chubby, rosy cheeks, cherubic lips, light brown hair in a pudding basin cut (mother, no doubt), Sean was nevertheless a pleasant looking child. "Sean isn't it?"

"Yes, spelt S-E-A-N, the Irish way, not S-H-A-U-N, as the… it means…"

"Yes, I'm sure that's all very important, but don't you think my predicament is a little more pressing?"

"Predicallment?" Sean's face began to screw up with the word he didn't understand. His mouth opened and began to make the most alarming noises. Rachel realised what was happening and turned and began to run. It was too late. Sean sneezed propelling Rachel towards the edge of the desk. She cringed at the droplets of gunk hit her hard on her back. But more alarming still she could not stop herself getting rapidly nearer the edge. She fell.

The world rushing passed suddenly came to a halt. She was in one of Sean's hands.

Sean, still overwhelmed by Rachel's presence and trying to understand the long words she was using had completely failed to redirect his sneeze. His reflexes were in better order and without thinking he stretched out and caught her in the palm of his right hand. His fingers closed around her in relief. Proudly bringing her to his face he said, "I saved you!"

"Put me down you utterly wretched child!"

His pride was wounded: "I've saved you twice now, what if don't want to put you down?"

Rachel tried to release herself from his grip thumping his thumb with both fists. She was about to get very angry, but it was no use, she knew she was going have to take a different tack.

[The Present

"Sean, lovey," Seans's mother had that awful concerned look on her face. Terrible things went through Seans's mind: they'd found Rachel's broken body? A cat had got her? He tried to stop his mind racing over the most awful horrors. "Your father didn't mean to be so hard on you this morning." Her expression became strained. "It's just that we've being through a hard time lately." She let out a sob. "We've decided that it's going to be best that mummy and daddy don't live together anymore."

Sean could not hide his relief that this wasn't going to be about Rachel. He hated Jeff, who wasn't his real dad anyway. He let out a long sigh, but seeing the puzzled look on his mother's face changed it into something (he hoped) sadder.

"Daddy has been clearing his stuff out the garage, that's why he was in such a bad mood."

Jeff might have found Rachel. Suddenly things were much worse again. What would that pervert do to her if he found her?

[One year earlier

What dignity was there to be mustered being five inches tall, wearing action figurine fatigues that were too big for you and had giant bits of gunk stuck on the back. Worst of all she was trapped in the hand of a recalcitrant child.

'Steady on girl, you've been doing great so far. Don't loose it now. He's not a bad child. It's time to use some of those baby-sitting skills: yes, he responds to humour and firm confidence.' She'd quite often baby-sitted and mastered children bigger and potentially stronger than her, but this time…what a baby!

"Now look here young man," she looked him in the left eye – she was too close to get both in.

"Sean," the boy said equally firmly

Rachel eyed the cherub turned monster. This wasn't going to be a piece of cake.

[The present

Sean did his best to listen to his mother for some time, but he just couldn't get his mind off the possibility of Jeff having Rachel. What would he do. He wasn't to be trusted with any living being and he definitely wouldn't like her, just because she had something to do with Sean. How would he rescue her, now that Jeff was going somewhere else. In Sean's mind Jeff now had Rachel: something had to be done.

[One year earlier

Rachel didn't have time to take the new tack. She hear loud footsteps getting nearer and nearer. The door swung open revealing a huge new figure in the distance. Sean was quick, practically flinging her into the top drawer, closing it behind her. She was now getting used to being flung around, but not to the darkness, the heat, the sneeze-gunk soaking into the toy fatigues. She was going to vomit. The fatigues had to come off: 'I'm in clothes drawer, there must be something in here!"

The figure was Mick, Sean's elder brother by under two years, but much bigger and stronger.

"I saw you! I SAW you hide something in the drawer." Sean's protestations and resistance were useless. Mick had the drawer open.

"You di-gust-ing little brat!" Mick held up the snot soaked fatigues and threw them at Sean. "You have blown your nose on Action Toy clothes" Mick left the room shaking his head and slammed the door closed.

Sean looked in the open drawer. Well, she must have been magic because she had disappeared.

Then, he saw something move in the sleeve of one of his tee-shirts. He lifted and shook the shirt and out rolled a naked Rachel. "Oh God! how disgusting. A naked woman! Gadz Puke Yuk!" Sean slammed the drawer shut again. He was SO embarrassed. When he had put her into the fatigues it had been like tending wounded animal or something. He hadn't really noticed anything. But this was awful. He opened the second drawer, got out a hanky, closed it and opening Rachel's drawer flung it in without looking. After putting his hands over his eyes for what seemed ages he dared a peek. She had managed to organise the hanky into a sort of toga or kilt. That was much better. Both looked at each other, blushing, but the tension had evapourated. Rachel knew she had the upper hand again, even from inside a boy's drawer.

"Well young man," her voice was firm but soft, " I think you're going to have to start treating me with a lot more respect." Sean didn't argue. "...and thanks for the lovely new dress." They both laughed.

Now that things had settled down between Rachel and her child-protector, she needed to take stock of her situation. She sensed he was basically kind and safe and they could work together, but it was clear that there were others in the house that wouldn't be quite so easy to handle. He was very young, but her best bet.

"Are you just going to keep me in drawer, or are you really going to help me?"

"Help you, of course," replied a slightly offended Sean.

"We need to find out how I got like this and how to get me back to normal, but first I need a proper place to live, while we get things sorted." Sean was slightly disappointed that there was a normal for Rachel other than this, but she had had kind of normal clothes when he found her, it was kind of inevitable. She stood in a space between two piles of clothes in the drawer, but even standing on tiptoes Rachel couldn't quite see over the top. She climbed up a pile of tee shirts, but the surface was too wobbly and she looked as if she might fall. Sean had learnt his lesson and didn't grab, instead he stretched out finger in front of her to use as a rail to hold onto. How curious was the flesh of the boy's finger. Children's hands seemed hairless, but at this size each follicle produced a thick stalk, quite stiff to touch, rising and falling with waves of subtly changing colour, it was quite disconcerting to hold onto to it, the hairs actually moving her arms slightly in the process.

She looked out over the vast canyon that was Sean's bedroom.

"What's in that cupboard over there?"

"Clothes"

"And that one?"

"Toys"

"Do you do the clearing up, or is it your mother?"

"It's usually me, but she sometimes sticks her nose in when I leave stuff out"

"Now Sean, I'm not sure it's a good idea just at the moment for your parents to know about me" Earlier, her first thought had been for Sean to enlist the aid of an adult; but on reflection adults tended have things like financial problems and other hidden agendas. She imagined being sold as a freak, or for scientific research. "If you really want to help me, Sean, you're going to have to be a really good boy and keep this place ship shape and Bristol-fashion" Sean nodded. He liked the idea of exclusivity and complicity between him and his new friend. "You're going to set me up a home among you're toys."

(The present)

Finally after an agonising wait, Sean's mother stopped. She hadn't been really interested in what Sean was thinking; but now she was disturbed by the slightly inappropriate far away look on Sean's face. "What are you thinking, Sean, lovey?"

"Where is Jeff going?" Aw, the boy was going to miss his dad. She was relieved. She'd never been satisfied with Sean's response to Jeff.

"He's got a flat in Bradfield." Not an easy bicycle ride, but Sean had gone further…

(A year ago)

Sean heard a faint hollow clattering sound behind him. He guessed what it would be. He ran to the bin and saw Rachel curled up at the bottom. He then leant over and scooped her up with both hands bringing some of the tissues with her. As Sean slowly brought her to eye level, she managed to get up on all fours to look at him again. Still marvelling at the exquisite perfection of this magical being, Sean studied the bemused, tear-stained little face in front of him.

"I knew you would try it again, that's why I put the tissues in the bin," Sean beamed in triumph. Rachel was still somewhat lost for words and just continued staring. "There, there cheer up little lady, come and see what I've made for you!"

Sean took Rachel over to the toy cupboard and placed her in the roofless, plastic brick house. There were windows, but Sean had forgotten to make a door. Rachel stood surrounded by the four plastic brick walls and burst into tears again.

"What's the matter, I haven't finished yet."

"It's just another bldy prison," sobbed Rachel. "I'm thirsty, I'm hungry and I need the bldy loo!"

He would normally have been upset or just plain annoyed by this, but some deeper instinct took over. Again using both hands he brought Rachel to the hollow between his chest and shoulder. One hand providing a platform for her to stand on while stroking her back with the other "There, there, don't cry now", he whispered. "Your Uncle Sean's going to look after you, sshhhh, don't cry now."

Rachel didn't know quite what came over her but instead of thumping the stupid little brat, she just buried herself into the course fibres of Sean's tee shirt. At that moment, something seemed strangely okay about the reversal of roles and she yielded to the maternal softness of his tone loosing herself inside a catharsis of tears.

(the present)

Somehow Sean managed to hobble the bike sideways. It was just enough! The huge back wheels of the lorry came within centimetres of him, but it was clear. A head came out the window of the cab and grinned at him. The man that had nearly just killed him grinned at him. God, how he hated both lorries and their divers. Still he was clear now and on his way.

Sean calmed his new friend and placed her inside a half-filled box of tissues. He found an old eggcup he had used for something in a game of toy soldiers and placed it behind an open book creating a private place for her.

"I'm going to fetch you something to eat and some water, you can 'go' behind there if you want. Don't worry, I don't mind"

While he was gone, she began to make her first real assessment her situation. Rachel wondered how she could possibly survive at her new height. The child was keen to help, but was still only a child and a child beset by problems. Rachel's tears on Sean's shoulders had somehow cemented a bond between them. She could feel that it would be Sean's inspiration to surmount any obstacle to make life as bearable as possible for Rachel, although she doubted what he could do realistically to change to her size and ultimately find a way of restoring her to her former life. There seemed, however, a link from his suffering to hers. As he had stroked her in the hollow of his shoulder she hadn't at all felt dehumanised like some strange exotic pet, but genuinely comforted by a fellow being who also knew suffering. This, she hoped, would prevent her from slipping to the status of 'pet person', a state of being, even given that her basic needs were sure to be met, could lead to catastrophic loss of morale, and could easily have resulted in the insanity and eventual death which can beset any animal denied so cruelly its natural surroundings. On her part, she would be able to listen to the little boy, advise him, and accompany him in his loneliness. It was this combination of the strength of his desire to help her and the sense of her usefulness to him that made survival…well, at least worth a try…

On his return, Rachel actually felt a wave of relief. She hadn't had time to miss him this time, she'd been too deep in thought, but felt genuine gladness on his return. He hadn't done badly. He brought a peeled banana with a dollop of yoghurt on plate, some water in small shallow bowl and a glass of lemonade with two straws. To eat with he'd broken two stirring spoons his father had brought back from a fast food restaurant and had for some reason been washed and placed in the cutlery drawer. He had half solved her size, and, therefore, her digestion problems by bringing soft nourishing food, but so much had been his desire for her to share his favourite drink with him, his child's brain had short-circuited across the practicalities of someone her size drinking the gassy liquid, and from a straw! This made Rachel smile.

"Well that's a fine meal you've prepared for me, although I would like to check out your kitchen some time!"

Sean beamed back.

After she had eaten and drunk what she needed, Sean pushed forward the glass of lemonade. Rachel stared with fascination at the huge bubbles as they grew on specks of dust and other impurities she could see floating in the gaseous liquid. She understood the gesture and didn't want to hurt his feelings, so she decided to pretend. She pulled down the top of bendy straw, which she could just reach on tiptoes. She then placed her face over the opening. Sean thinking she was ready began to suck. The suction brought the straw upright sucking her onto the straw and lifting her clean off the ground. Sean realised his mistake, but this just made the straw 'let her go' and she was dumped unceremoniously on the ground.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you think?" Sean's worry transformed into a giggle as he realised she was fine. Rachel couldn't help smiling too as she said, "well, if relationships are about trial and error, there's going to plenty of error we're going to have to get through."

"Trial and error?" Sean didn't know what it meant.

[the present

'Well it's when you do something and it goes wrong, but you learn from it so you don't do it wrong the next time' Sean remembered Rachel's explanation of 'trial and error' from a year ago. He already missed the patient way she explained things to him. 'You have to admit that we're a bit of an odd couple. We're going to have to make plenty of mistakes on the way before we find the best way of working together to get me home' he remembered. What a terrible space she'd already left in his heart.

Sean had made it to Bradfield. All the other obstacles seemed to pale into insignificance after the close run in with the lorry. But, as he reached the town centre, he began to realise that he hadn't a clue where Jeff was going to be living.

'This is going to need trial and error,' thought Sean as he slowed his bike and looked at all the buildings around him, 'a lot of trial and error,'

[One year earlier

"What's that book you brought with you?" Rachel was looking at a large well-thumbed leather bound volume on the tray Sean had brought the food on.

"It's my dad's road atlas."

"Good boy," Rachel enthused. "You brought that for me? You are so lovely!!!! I'm going to kiss you"

"Yuk!" why did women always want to kiss him? He could never make a proper friend at school but all his female relatives (except his younger sister) seemed to want to pick him up and smother him with wet kisses. "Do you have to?"

"Yes, I have to. Now come on, lean over so I can reach you"

Sean leant down.

"A little further, I'm not that tall, you know."

"Oh, okay then, but make it quick."

Sean went down far enough this time and presented his friend with a giant cheek. Again she marvelled at the ever changing colour of skin tone, the hair!!??! She parted the thick down and planted a little kiss.

Sean's entire being felt a wonderful warmth. He was shocked to find that he didn't mind at all her kissing him. He blushed.

"That wasn't so bad was it?"

"I suppose not," Sean storyboarded contempt and total lack of enthusiasm.

"I suppose not," Rachel mimicked. "Now come on, show me this atlas and let's see where we are" Rachel was by now jumping up and down with excitement.

Sean laid out the atlas on the floor near the cupboard on the page where his town was and prepared himself to lift up Rachel again. She was so pretty standing there in her hanky toga, he knew it was very girly of him to think so, but he couldn't help it. He'd picked her up several times now but each time it became more special.

"Come on dreamy Daniel, stop daydreaming and let me see where we are."

Sean once again placed his hands either side of his tiny fallen angel, so she could sit on one palm and lift her legs while he slid the other underneath. He cupped the joined hands slightly and waited a moment for her to get comfortable. He lifted his hands. It seemed to take forever to carry her down to the book. He stared at her beautiful smiling face. He felt complete mastery of himself as he slowly knelt, one leg going back, one forwards to give gentlest and smoothest possible of rides down.

Once on the atlas, Sean laid his hands flat while Rachel excitedly got off. Sean removed his hands. Rachel stood there a while staring intently on the map beneath her feet. There was a long silence. Sean started to feel slightly worried.

"It doesn't make sense," she said in the smallest of voices. "It just doesn't make any sense at all…"

Now Sean was very worried. What had seemed so easy and perfect a moment ago, suddenly became intractable. What could be wrong? What was the matter?

[The present

Sean had to think. Trial and error. Trial and error. A pub. Jeff was always down the pub. He stopped by a pub, the White Hart. He would need to take his bike in otherwise it was sure to be stolen and he'd never get another. Not easy through the swing doors.
Pulling the bike backward he somehow managed to manoeuvre his way in. He looked at the length of the bar. Boozy men leant, wobbled and gesticulated at each other over a boozy hubbub, the acrid smell of hops, yeast and cigarette smoke nearly overcoming him. The men seemed to tower above him on their bar stools with their boozy wobbling and boozy faces, only half noticing him. The callous world of adults.

"What on earth do you think you are doing in here?" The voice was angry and unsympathetic. That was okay. He hadn't expected a warm welcome. The angry face from which it had come was the other side of the bar.

"Hey that's Jeff Hanley's boy!" It was another voice. Sean was surprised to be recognised in this strange far way place.

"I don't if Adolph bldin' 'itler's boy, get 'im outta my pub"

"Someone grab 'im," said the other voice. "He lives in Stockley we'll need call his mother. He'll need to be taken home."

Sean was suddenly surrounded and then held. He kicked and screamed, but he couldn't break free. "steady on now boy, all we want to do is get you back to our mother…"

[One Year Ago

Rachel had already begun to realise that there could be additional problems about getting home, when Mick had come into the room. Initially, Sean's voice had been so low that it had been on the edge of audibility, but it still sounded like English. Mick had been completely incomprehensible to her. It was almost if he was speaking backwards. Now everything she was standing on was backwards. She could make out the names, form and roads of familiar places, but everything was positioned and written in reverse. What on Earth could have happened to her? How on Earth was she going to get home?

"What's wrong?" Sean's voice should have boomed, but it was thin with worry and concern.

"Don't worry, it's just a little more complicated than I had expected," she turned and managed a half-smile to Sean. She then turned back her muscles noticebly clenching trying to take in the absurdity that was beneath her feet.

Rachel felt the lightest of touches on her back. She felt the morale stop draining from her and begin to be replaced by the warmth of reassurance. Whatever the outcome of her struggle that lay ahead, she now realised that she was not alone, that there was now another human being to accompany her.

There was second light touch from her heels to the base of the muscles behind her calves. She knew the signal by now and sat back holding her legs up. A second giant hand slipped underneath and front of her. This time she lay on her side curling up in the scoop of the two child's hands. Sean's heart was once more filled with joy as he looked at her laying there: he too was no longer alone.

From now on neither's journey was to be taken alone.