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(Page 3 of 11) The Key by Liliana V.
 (8 ratings)
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Once at home, Mrs Parker broke the silence, ‘I'll put the kettle on', she said softly, ‘will you set the table my dear?' and made a move towards the kitchen.
‘I've got to go' Lauren said in a dry voice and turned to the front door which was still opened.
Mrs Parker looked at the teenager through her grey coloured eyes and didn't insist, ‘would you bring me a glass of water before you go, then?'
Lauren nodded and disappeared to the kitchen.
Very quickly Mrs Parker moved to the wall unit on the other side of the room and grabbed a small coffer; the inside was lined with red velvet except for the lid which beared a mirror. The only content was a key. Mrs Parker concealed the key in her hand and put the coffer back in its place just as Lauren emerged from the kitchen door with the glass of water in her hand.
Mrs Parker made a gentle gestured indicating Lauren to leave the glass on the table that dominated the front room and opened her arms. Lauren approached her and gave her a warm hug without saying a word. Very swiftly Mrs Parked slid the key into the side pocked of Lauren's jacket, unnoticed.
Lauren kissed Mrs Parker's cheek and said ‘I'll see you next week. Take care, please'.
Mrs Parker held the young face between her caring but firm hands and whispered ‘you know you don't need to wait until next week to see me, my doors are open any time' and sealed her words with a kiss on her forehead.
On her short way home Lauren thought about the events of the afternoon, about Mrs Parker's words. How could she believe in magic when she'd been most of her life bound to a wheelchair? no family as far a she knew, just her garden and her butterflies!.
For sure Mrs Parker had that kind of forgiving soul that she lacked, because still after seven year of that dreadful day she felt so intensely the heartache of loosing everything and she could neither forget nor forgive. Still vivid in her mind were the images of her aunt calling at the school to take her to the local hospital to say goodbye to her parents. All happened so fast, one moment it was the morning when her mum kissed her goodbye at her classroom door and next thing she found herself holding her dying mum's hand at hospital. Her father instantly killed in the accident.
The funeral and the events that led to her going to live with her uncle and aunt were blurred in her mind. It was too much to bear for an eight year old girl; it was still too much to bear for a fifteen year old girl who needed her parents so desperately.
Lauren dried the tears covering her face as she walked into her house. She didn't want anyone to notice that she'd been crying. She closed the front door softly and hoping not to be seen, rushed to the stairs that led to her room in the upper floor, but before she could set a foot on the first step her aunt emerged from the kitchen with a mug in one hand.
‘Lauren, good you are home early', she said with a pleasant tone, ‘Why don't you join us with a cup a tea? Carol's made one of her delicious tea cakes and Arnold is arriving any minute'
Carol was an old friend of aunt Rose and uncle Arnold, she visited every Saturday, coming for tea and staying well after dinner.
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