Hide Me, Seek Me
Chapter 1
Vivien Nimue
10 years have passed, or have they? Making a point of stating that ten years have passed implies I believe that something of interest happened ten years ago. And if I'm honest, I doubt it did.
To the world, I am your average twenty five year old woman. I go shopping; I have a dull (if bill paying office job), I like the occasional drink and I have a sweet boyfriend called Drew. Infact, I'm actually fairly average. I make sure people think I'm an average woman, as I certainly wasn't an average girl. If I'm honest, and for now I will be honest, in my childhood I was a bit of a freak. I was extraordinarily obsessed with fairy stories; I spent my childhood in a fantasy. I wore flowing medieval dresses over my jeans and would secretly sit huddled under my blankets smeared in dark red lipstick, a paper crown adorning my messy hair. At school I was something of a loner, I'd spend my free time either desperately pouring over books of fairy stories in the library or adding clippings to my scrapbook. This scrapbook was one of my two greatest treasures; it contained all of the clippings I could find detailing my mom's theatre career. In those days I idolised my beautiful ethereal mother with her fabulous career and rock star boyfriend, but now I can see her for what she actually was…a terrible mother, self obsessed and vain. My other great treasure, (just thinking about it sends shivers down my back), was a copy of Labyrinth. A strange strange children's book that my father had picked out for me from an old second hand book shop. I adored that book, memorised every word, however now I just can't remember the story, not a word. I think it was something about a King or Princess or something, I haven't seen the book for years it's as if it vanished. It vanished the night of 'The Dream', a strange night, I think I dreamt that I lost Toby and I found these strange friends, and there was music, stairs, an owl...and a man. The morning after 'The Dream' I woke up and my copy of Labyrinth had gone, so had my passion for all things fantastical. It was as if I'd vanished myself from my childhood fantasies and discovered the real world. The next day I went jean shopping with my step-mother, had my hair cut into a 'hip' new bob and finally plucked up the courage to ask Michael in my English lit class out for coffee. That was the night I became average.
'Sarah, bra!' Yelled my friend Marisa across the emptying office.
I went bright red and mumbled a quiet 'Shit'. Classy Sarah, a black bra and white shirt, nice combination. And I had no time to change before my family dinner, oh well I'd just have to keep my jumper on despite the sweltering heat. Office dress has never been my forte; I tend to throw things on in the morning and don't really give a damn how it looks. My boyfriend Drew is a history teacher, so he isn't really into fashion either. Infact he lives in walking boots, cords and fishermen's jumpers, reliable if unexciting.
I was musing on my relationship with Drew as I drove to my dad's house; we were having a family dinner in honour of my half-brother Toby who was going to a posh boarding school in England. Drew and I have been together for about a year, and I guess we're going well. But the problem is that he wants to settle down and have kids, whereas I, and I blush when I think this, guess I want to live a bit mire first. Not sexually per se, although that thought kinda thrills me, it's more I've got this nagging voice in the back of my head that's telling me to get out and see a bit more of the world.
'Sarah honey, you look thin' Karen tells me anxiously as she forks yet more turkey onto my plate.
'Too much overtime' I explain smiling, when I was little I detested Karen and her constant fussing, now I realise all along she really did just care. She was right, I did treat her like a wicked step-mother in a fairy story, no matter how hard she tried. Nowadays we're really close though, she's the only person I've even hinted my doubts about Drew to.
'Ughh work' interjects Toby, who's sat at the opposite end of the table with his friends Joe and Kim sat either side.
'Get used to it boarding school boy' I reply, Toby just sticks his tongue out.
The rest of dinner passed with the usual sort of conversations we have in our family, Karen fretting about whether or not boarding school in England is a good idea and Toby's little friends asking him if it would be anything like Hogwarts. For a supposed child prodigy Toby ate so much jelly and ice-cream that by the end of the meal he was one seriously hyper twelve year old.
'Let's play hide and seek!' he suggested, grinning conspiratorially at his friends.
'Yeah Sarah' screeches Kim, who is the most annoying child I have ever encountered in my life, I have no idea how Drew manages to not kill his pupils some of the time. 'You have to find us!' She commands me smugly, and before I can raise a suitably dignified objection the three of them have dashed from the table.
'For God's sake' my father mutters as we hear them dashing upstairs, then upstairs again, 'they've headed for the attic'.
'Shall I go and retrieve them?' I inquire, rolling my eyes at Karen who is starting to tidy away the dinner things.
'Probably for the best' Karen replies 'Toby needs an early night'.
With a sigh, I abandoned my comfortable chair and went in search or the hyperactive preteens. I found Joe first; he was in Toby's room hiding behind Toby's packing.
'Go downstairs and get some more sugar or something' I suggested, as he was sulkingly excluded from the game. Once he'd pattered off downstairs I took a moment to examine Toby's bedroom. It hadn't changed much really, ok so there were some band posters on the wall and it was messier, but it was still basically the same as it had been when he was a baby. My old bear Lancelot had his head sticking out of Toby's rucksack and I found it touching that he was taking it to school with him.
I took a step towards the room's vast window when suddenly there was a quick flash of lightening, the rumble of thunder and I found myself plunged into darkness. Then in the distance an owl hooted, and inexplicably a shiver of desire ran through me, but it was gone before I could even attempt to ascertain why.
Screeches presided from Toby and Kim who had hidden themselves in the attic.
'Relax kids it's just a power cut, Sarah's coming to get you.' My Dad yelled, loud enough for most of the street to hear. Torch, I thought, where will there be a torch, I was lucky and found one on top of Toby's bookcase. Casting a dim beam of light around me I proceeded to the attic.