Sweet Gregory

Grandmother settled herself onto the soft pillows of the bed and opened her arms for us to gather around. It was story-time. Sam fidgeted and wriggled until Grandmother shushed him with a hug and a kiss on his head. Then, he sagged against her and waited for the story to begin. I was all attention, half-sitting away from them. Grandmother told wonderful stories, that carried us far into the evening and readied us for our own stories later, in our sleep. What I loved best though, was watching Grandmother’s face. Sam said he didn’t like to watch, he said that it was too scary. For me, the scarier the better.

Shh now, we’re ready.

Once upon a time, Grandmother began, her eyes soft and smiling, her lips gently telling the words, in a land far, far away, lived two small people, Catherine and Gregory, who were friends. Every day, they walked to school, holding hands and keeping safe. Just like me and Sam, I said. Grandmother smiled and pressed her finger to her lips for me to listen and not interrupt.

One day, she continued, teacher called both of the children to her desk just as the bell rang for the end of class. There she reached into the secret cupboard, where no boy or girl was ever allowed to go. From a small cardboard box, teacher drew out a sweet and presented it to Gregory. She looked at Catherine, paused for a moment and then gave her a sweet too. ‘Remember now, said teacher ‘sweets are for after your growing food.’

Grandmother paused. Sam and I held our breath for a moment and then she began again. In the room, the fading sunlight had gathered in a pool on the bed and everything else melted away to a misty nothingness. Sam giggled nervously. I played with my hair.

Grandmother’s eyes widened and the small brown spots on her face darkened as she brought more and more words into the room.

On the way home, she said, Gregory and the girl held their sweets in their hands. Gregory wanted to eat his but Catherine, said, no, they must wait until after lunch. That was what they were supposed to do but Gregory, who knew he was the chosen child of all who gazed on his lovely face couldn’t bear the suspense of the sweet, hot and melting in his warm hand, crying out to be taken from its wrapper and set free. Grandmother looked up to the ceiling as if hoping that he wouldn’t. She sighed and looked straight into my eyes, saying in a deep, grave voice, And so, despite Catherine’s warning, he unwrapped the sweet quickly and popped it whole into his mouth before she could stop him.

That was when the trouble started, Grandmother nodded knowingly, settling her bottom into the bed to get a better grasp of the story. Sam wriggled deeper into her side, determined this time not to lose his place and fall off the bed, like he usually did.

He could feel that the story was about to take off and he didn’t want to be left behind to face all that fear on his own. Grandmother’s face darkened further, her lips almost disappearing, her eyebrows coming down and her chin tucking into her chest. I wrapped my arms around my legs to keep my scarediness inside.

Suddenly, said Grandmother.

See, there, I told you!

Suddenly, said Grandmother again, Gregory stopped smiling. His skin changed from that of a pale, freckle-faced boy to that of a brown, fur covered creature. His shoes burst from his feet, stretching to a thin nothingness as his long nails reached forward to grasp the earth. Longer and longer his feet grew, spreading flat and high into soft brown pads to clutch the ground beneath them. Catherine’s eyes grew wider and wider at the sight. From his britches, a ripping sound announced the arrival of his long bushy tail, its feathering brushing the air in damp strands as it cooled in the early afternoon sun. All about him, Gregory’s clothes lay in rags and tatters. Gone were the short trousers, the grey socks, the white shirt and striped tie. His jacket perched on his broad shoulders like a napkin. Gregory licked his lips clean of the last morsel of chocolate and flashed a shining white smile at his young friend far below.

The sun was gone now and our bedroom was dark as night, with Grandmother’s teeth and eyes like glow-worms flashing in and out of the story, drawing the words together and cocooning them around us, binding us together in their spell.

All the while, Grandmother continued, poor Catherine had kept Gregory’s hand firmly locked inside hers and now her arm ached from the effort. She let go and fell free, landing on the ground with a soft thump.

In our bedroom, somewhere out there in the dark, I heard a thump. I did. I know I did.

Grandmother pretended not to hear it and went on telling the story.

Gregory sniffed, his nose hooked high to the sky, in search of he knew not what. Then remembering his friend, he looked down at her lying there in a crumpled heap and threw back his head to laugh. The howl that arose shook the trees, sent cats and dogs running for their masters and scattered the birds, bees and all wild things to the air.

Outside, a cat howled in the night and we all jumped in fright. Grandmother laughed.

Gregory bent his knees and hopped forward, then shouted loudly with every jump as he bounded down the road, each leap breaking new spaces in the ground beneath him. The trees shook and trembled in fright.

Little Catherine covered her ears with her hands and shouted his name. Gregory jumped this way, then that. Each pounding hop smashing open more and more of the footpath that was their way home. Catherine tried again. Gregory laughed and clapped his paws in her face shouting, I’m free. I’m free. Look at me!

Gregory continued towards home, crashing and banging his way along. It was all Catherine could do to keep up. At last, she lost sight of him as he topped the first hill and headed down the other side. Catherine knew she had to act fast. She put her fingers between her teeth and let out a piercing whistle.

Grandmother put her fingers between her teeth and pulled them out of her mouth, from which she now made a ‘whoof, whoof’ sound. See, she said, that’s what happens when you don’t take care of your teeth. She cackled just like Gregory and put them back in again, pulling Sam close and patting me on the knee before going on with the story.

From the sky, darkened with all the creatures fleeing for the heavens, She-Eagle came, swooping and gliding on the currents, all the while looking this way and that at the chaos beneath her. She stretched her legs forward and her wings back coming gracefully to land at Catherine’s feet. Neither said a word, having long practised these moves together. Catherine climbed onto the space between She-Eagle’s shoulders and wrapped her small legs around the strong neck. Up they flew, gathering force and speed faster than a jet engine. Up and up and up. There, Catherine pointed. There he is. That Bold Boy.

Grandmother paused, waiting for the story to catch us up.

Together, Catherine and She-Eagle flew on, over the next hill and the one after that until finally, satisfied that they had gone far enough to head off Master Gregory before he got home, they gently set to earth in the middle of the road. Together, Catherine and She-Eagle waited as the ground started to shake and tremble beneath their feet. He was coming. They could feel it. They could hear it. They could smell it. All the air was filled with the smell of chocolate and sugar and brown fur.

Gregory crested the last hill and stopped still. He could see them there, waiting for him below at the place where the road turned towards home. He stopped and drew a hot, sticky breath deep into his lungs. He knew he was in trouble. Knew it from the look on Catherine’s face. Knew it as soon as he saw She-Eagle. Gregory slowly placed one foot in front of the other, letting it feel the energy come up from the ground below. He pushed forward, heel to toe, feeling every muscle in his leg ready for action and then, with a screech of wild energy, he charged straight for them. This time, this time, he was sure he would defeat them. He could taste it in his mouth, the sweet smell of victory and freedom.

Down the hill he raced, his tail whipping long circular arcs behind him, whirling dust and broken pavement into fragments that flew out in a trail of destruction as he went, trees toppling to one side, their roots and branches all atangle. Then, with one mighty leap, he cast caution to the wind and soared over Catherine and over She-Eagle, high above their heads as they stood waiting for him, there, in the middle of the road.

Grandmother took a deep breath, pulled Sam tighter still and went on.

Fixing her eyes firmly on the dark figure flying above her, Catherine gathered all of her power and aimed towards that soft space between the pads of his left paw. Coiled, she launched herself with a giant spring upwards, her own momentum shooting her through the thin flesh where she wedged herself tight, holding on with all her might.

Below, She-Eagle snatched the flailing tail in her fierce beak, as it thrashed a wild maelstrom across the earth and dragged it to ground, heaving Gregory backwards with every ounce of strength she could muster. The skin on the land broke open to the depth of an elephant’s trunk, splitting in two, its soft brown core now, at last, the resting place for the small boy who lay shivering and crying on the leaves and twigs beneath him.

Grandmother smiled sweetly.

Slowly, the frightened creatures returned to their resting places. The birds to the trees, the butterflies to their flowers, the cats and dogs to their backdoor steps. The trees stood up straight and the broken pavement settled itself back onto the land, with just a few little cracks here and there reminding everyone of what had almost happened. She-Eagle nodded goodbye to Catherine and quickly disappeared into the clear blue sky.

I told you not to eat that before your lunch Gregory. Catherine said sternly. Good boy indeed. Whatever would Teacher say!

Dusting off his knees and pulling up his socks, first one and then the other, Catherine patted him on the head and smiled. Better luck next time, she said, taking Gregory's soft hand once again in hers and continuing towards home.

See, I told you Grandmother told great stories! J