SHADOW OF A RECLUSE

By Tessa Harvey 

    "I was very small, maybe about five years old. Then a big shadow came into the room. It was a giant man and he put his arms around me to take me away. I couldn't move or talk, but my big brother woke up and yelled. Mum came but the giant threw my brother across the room." 

    As he spoke, Tarrant was crying. "My brother was only eight. His head was hurt. It was my mum's boyfriend. I had forgotten all this, but maybe it is why my brother gets so angry when I mess up so much."

    Sylvie was furious. Yes, her husband had a steady job and they were doing much better both as a couple and financially, but they did not need all this hassle with the past.

    It was gone! Move on!

    Silence alerted her. The children were looking at the puddle the puppy had made, with varying reactions. But Sylvie was becoming a sensible mother. "Ok, there are newspapers in that corner. Look, I gently bend the puppy's head to smell the wee." Robin giggled. "Wee, wee, wee all der way home!" His speech was good! "Now take Jimbo to the newspaper and give him one only of these little doggy treats. When he eats or drinks, take him to the paper, wait and reward him if anything happens." As Sylvie mopped up the puppy puddle, she heard the front door open. "Daddy's here." Johan was happy. They all were.