The Final Piece
The next morning when Ben woke up, he was hurting all over. He tried to sit up but he felt so sick that he lay down again. He pushed back the duvet and looked at his foot. The doctor at the hospital had said that it wasn’t broken but that Ben should rest it. The nurse had cleaned it and then put a big bandage on it. Ben felt the bump on his forehead. It was very sore. The doctor said that it was just a bruise but that it would hurt for a week. Ben couldn’t see the scratches on his face but they were still stinging.
He settled back down in his bed. It was early and no one was moving in the house. He felt very sleepy but he was so worried about what his mum and dad were going to say to him today. They had told him the night before how glad they were that he was safe, but Ben knew he had done something wrong and he was going to be in trouble about it. He was worried about Lox too, and the last piece of the gate. The doctor had said that Ben needed to stay in bed for at least four days. Ben counted on his fingers.
‘Today is Sunday. So that’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.’
He also knew that he wouldn’t be able to put on his shoes or to walk properly for ages, and that meant he couldn’t go outside. It was hopeless. He’d never find the missing piece. His head was aching now and he felt very hot. He turned towards the window but he couldn’t see out because the curtains were closed. He shut his eyes and after a while he went back to sleep – he dreamed about magpies and pieces of the spider gate and dragons. Just at the moment when the dragon was going to take the last piece of the gate from the magpies, Ben’s mother came into his room and he woke up.
‘Good morning, Ben. How are you feeling today?’ she asked.
Ben rubbed his eyes. ‘My head hurts.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ Mum said. ‘You have a really big bump. Now, let me help you to sit up and you can have your breakfast in bed. I’ll help you to wash, and to clean your teeth later, and then Dad and you need to have a talk.’
Ben began to cry. ‘I’m sorry, Mum. I know I shouldn’t have gone out.’
His mum smiled at him. ‘Don’t get upset, Ben. I’m sure you and Dad will be able to sort things out. I was very cross with you last night but I’m just glad that Scoot found you and that you weren’t hurt too badly.’
Later that morning Ben thought about everything that had happened. He had told his dad about the magpies and the wand and how he had opened the gate. He said that it was his fault and that Jess only went along because he asked her to. Dad said he was putting a lock on the gate and that Ben was not to try to go out alone again until he was older. Dad promised to take Ben and Scoot out for training on Saturday mornings if it wasn’t raining. He said that when Ben was better he would have to help Gran and Mum for two weeks with extra jobs around the house. He would also have to help Dad to clear up the leaves from the garden and he couldn’t play on the computer for a month.
On Thursday Ben was allowed out of bed. His mum pushed a chair near the bedroom window so that he could look out. She gave him a book and told him that Gran would come up soon to help him read it. Ben put the book down and looked at the big trees at the bottom of the garden. He could see that lots of the leaves had fallen off and most of the others were yellow or brown. There were only a few that were still green. He felt very sad.
‘Cheer up, Mister Grumpy!’ Gran sat down on the end of the bed. ‘What’s the matter?’
Ben looked up. ‘Hello, Gran. I was just looking at the leaves. I don’t like it when they fall off.’
Gran patted his hand. ‘Never mind. There will be plenty more next year. Now, what about that book?’
‘I don’t really want to read. Can you just tell me a story? Tell me about when you were little.’ Ben smiled at his gran. He knew she liked to talk about when she was growing up, but he liked the stories as well.
‘If that’s what you want, Ben. You remember that I used to live in this house when I was your age, don’t you? The trees in the garden weren’t quite so big then and the hedge wasn’t there at all. My father planted it when I was eight years old. I used to go out all the time to see how much it was growing. I would lie on the ground and stare at the bushes for hours. One day I fell asleep in the garden and had a very strange dream.’
Ben sat up. ‘What dream, Gran? Why haven’t you told me this story before?’
Gran smiled. ‘I don’t know. Anyway, I dreamed I was tiny and that I was talking to ladybirds and all sorts of creatures, then I woke up. It’s funny how I forgot that until now. It must have been your story about the boy in the garden that reminded me.’
Ben looked at Gran closely. She was staring out of the window and smiling.
‘Oh, Ben. I nearly forgot.’ Gran put her hand into her pocket. ‘Your coat was so ripped from the brambles that we had to throw it away but this was caught in the lining. I don’t know what it is but I thought you might want it.’ She opened her fist and on the palm of her hand was a tiny parcel wrapped up in silver foil.
Ben took the parcel. He unwrapped it carefully and there, sitting in a little nest of tissue paper, was the third piece of the spider gate. Ben was so surprised that he nearly dropped it.
‘Was I right?’ Gran asked him. ‘You do want it?’
Ben looked at her and nodded. Gran stood up and said she had to go the shops. As she opened the door she turned around and said, ‘You take good care of that now. Looks like a real piece of treasure to me. You and Jess are certainly good explorers. I’ll see you later. Maybe you can finish that story for me soon?’ Then she winked at him and left.
Ben turned the piece of gate over and over in his hand. What did Gran mean? Did she really have a dream in the garden or had she become small just like Ben had? Maybe Gran had seen the spider gate before it was broken. Ben didn’t know how long it had been there. He didn’t think Lox had said, but that didn’t matter now. Ben was worried that he wouldn’t be able to go out into the garden in time. He would have to think of some way to give Lox the final piece of the gate.