The Spider Wizard’s Magic
Two days later, on Saturday, Ben’s dad helped him downstairs onto the settee. Ben could walk a little bit now but his foot was still sore. He watched television for a while, then Mum helped him into the kitchen.
‘Time to eat something, Ben.’ Gran told him. ‘We have to build up your strength before you go back to school.’
Ben had missed a whole week of school. He hoped he would be well enough to go back on Monday, but he had to wait to see what the doctor said. He wondered how Jess was. He hoped she hadn’t been told off too much.
‘Mum,’ Ben asked, ‘is Jess all right? Have you heard from her mother? She will be allowed to play with me again, won’t she?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Mum said. ‘Her mother is bringing her over this afternoon for an hour. She can tell you what you’ve missed in school. Gran found some cards in the drawer this morning so you can play with those if you like.’
Jess arrived at half past two and her mother said she would come back after she had done her ironing. Ben’s mum and dad had gone to the shops and Gran was in the kitchen baking cakes. Jess told Ben all about the models they were making in school and about the drawing she had done of a castle and a dragon. Then Ben pulled the piece of the spider gate from his pocket.
‘Look, Jess. It’s the last piece. Gran found it stuck in my coat. It must have been under the bramble bush all the time.’
Jess opened her eyes wide and put her hand over her mouth. ‘That’s great, Ben, but how are you going to put it under the hedge if you can’t walk properly? Your mum and dad won’t let you go out by yourself yet will they?’
‘No, I don’t think so,’ Ben said, ‘but you could do it, Jess. You know where the cave is and it wouldn’t take you long. You’d only have to put the piece next to the cave and just leave it there. I wanted to see them put the gate back together again, but we’ll know the next time we look if the Spider Wizard fixed it, won’t we? I’m sorry I won’t be able to see Lox again, but maybe next year, when the summer holidays come again, I might try to find him. Will you do it, Jess?’
Jess wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to get into trouble again. She’d had to go to bed early every night last week and she wasn’t allowed to watch television at all for two weeks. She asked Ben, ‘What about your gran? Won’t she stop me from going out?’
Ben shook his head. ‘I think she already knows about the gate but I’m not sure. Anyway, she’s just gone upstairs so if you’re quick you can be back before she comes down.’
Jess took the piece of gate and held it on her hand. She touched it with her finger. ‘It’s really pretty, Ben. Maybe I could have it as a charm for my bracelet.’
Ben’s face went red, but before he could say anything Jess said she was only joking. She ran into the kitchen and opened the door quietly. She ran down the path and knelt down next to the hedge at the back of the garden. She remembered the spot where Ben had shown her the spider cave and she placed the last piece of the gate carefully on the ground. She waited for a moment but nothing happened so she stood up and ran back to the house.
‘I did it, Ben. I did it,’ she said as she sat down next to him. Her cheeks were red and she looked pleased with herself.
‘Thanks, Jess.’ Ben smiled at her. ‘It’s up to Lox now. We can’t do any more.’
Two weeks later, when Ben was much better and was able to walk on his own, he went back to school. Jess asked him if the spider gate was fixed but he told her that he hadn’t been able to go into the garden yet. Jess hadn’t been able to visit him after the day she’d put the last piece of the gate back, because she’d had a cold and her mother had made her stay in the house.
‘I’ll have to wait for Saturday,’ Ben told Jess, ‘because it’s too dark now after school. I hope it doesn’t rain.’
Jess groaned. It was such a long time until Saturday. She really wanted to be with Ben when he looked but she didn’t know if he’d ask her. Then he said, ‘If your mother will let you come over on Saturday, we can look together, if you like.’
Jess grinned. ‘Oh, yes, please!’
They were both happy when Saturday morning turned out bright and sunny, but it was very cold. Ben’s mum had picked up Jess, and at eleven o’clock Jess and Ben were sitting at the kitchen table drinking milk and eating some of Gran’s little cakes. Ben’s dad was in the shed mending one of the bird feeders. Ben opened the back door and called to him.
‘Dad! Dad! Can we come out and play with Scoot?’
His dad came out of the shed and looked at the sky. ‘Yes, all right then, but only for half an hour. It’s cold today. Ask Gran to help you to wrap up warmly.’
Jess and Ben did as they were told and they were soon throwing a ball for Scoot to chase. Scoot was very excited and ran round and round, barking and wagging his tail. Ben threw the ball towards the gate and watched as it rolled underneath the hedge. He looked at Jess and they both ran after Scoot who was chasing the ball.
‘Shall we look now, Jess?’ Ben asked. ‘It’s the best chance we have. I put my torch in my pocket so we can see properly. Are you ready?’
Jess was too excited to talk so she just nodded. Ben pulled out the ball and threw it so that Scoot would run back up the garden. He knelt down and switched on the torch. Jess knelt down beside him. They looked at each other and then Ben pushed the torch right under the hedge.
At first they couldn’t see anything. It seemed as though the cave had disappeared. Then Ben nudged Jess and said, ‘Look! Right at the back by the big stone.’
Jess looked and gasped. The torch beam was shaking but they could both see something shining in the light. It was there. It was in one piece. The spider gate had been fixed. Ben wasn’t sure but he thought he could see something moving behind the gate. Maybe it was Lox. Maybe it was just a shadow.
Ben and Jess walked slowly back up the garden path. They didn’t want to play ball any more. They wanted to talk about what they’d just seen. As they passed the garden shed Ben looked up to his bedroom window and saw his gran waving to him. She smiled and she winked at him.
Ben waved back. Maybe Gran really did know everything!
