Personal Treasure Chest

A visit from my Mum has brought with it a wonderful, nostalgia-filled manilla envelope.

As a kid I loved to write short stories and she loved to read them. What I didn't know, what I hadn't even contemplated in the three decades since I wrote them, is that she kept them all!

There are literally hundreds of the little buggers, ranging from about two to seven pages in length, all hand written in an ever-evolving script.

For my benefit more than anybody elses, I thought I'd read through them and post any that I think deserve the light of day.

I'm going to open with a little number that gives a ten years old's view of preconceptions. I've re-written it here in it's exact form - grammar and spelling mistakes included.

"It's All Over Now!"

The van hurtled down the old country road towards Devon. It was late, dark and getting cold.

"Slow down Pete, we don't want to have an accident." Said Jo.

"O.K. love" pete answered and he eased his foot off the accelerator. After a while they were back up to 50 miles / hour.

Suddenly Pete's headlights shone onto a deer. The deers eyes glowed back at him. Jo grabbed the steering wheel to avoid hitting the deer, the car careened off the road and hit astone wall. Jo hit her head on the dashboard.

Pete opened his eyes and shoock his head as if to regain sense. He looked at Jo, she was unconscious.

"I'll have to go for help."

Pete wrenched himself from the drivers seat and began to walk towards the nearest village.

Jo woke to see an empty seat beside her. She panicked and tried to get out of her seat but,

"Ow! Ooh!" She couldn't move.

She lay back in her seat. "I'llput the radio on," she said to herself and turned the key in the ignition. She tuned in to radio Devon. She listened to the local news which said there were crowds of skin heads going to Devon for a big concert.

Suddenly a car stopped beside the van. Jo looked in and saw it was full of skin heads. She quickly locked all the doors.

"Look lads, someone has left us a van." They all looked in.

"Blimey, there's some woman in it!"

They tried to force the door open.

"Need any help, lady?" one asked. "Cor, she's bleeding!"

"Go away, leave me alone!" she screamed hysterically.

"Come on, we only want to help you, we'll give you a lift to the 'ospital."

Jo began to scream as if her life was threatened. One of the boys got a stone and smashed the side window. As he did this a police car and ambulance with Pete in came around the corner. Hearing the screams they presumed the boys were attacking Jo. The boys were grabbed by the police.

"But I was only trying to help her!" said the boy who broke the window.

"A likely story! You skin heads are all the same" said an officer.

"I was going to open the door and try to get her to 'ospital" argued the boy again.

Pete sat with Jo and hugged her. "It's o.k. love. The Police have got those skin heads now."

Jo began to cry on Pete's shoulder.

"Don't worry love. It's all over now."