little voice
“Go on,” The voice whispered. It was slithery and tricksy, Billie could barely hold on to it. Like a bar of soap in the bath or a
(water snake, a slippery tricksy hissing sneaky snake)
tiny, airy whisper.
“It’s only a few steps, what, like, five? Six even? .. You can count to six, can’t you Billie?” The voice asked slowly, and Billie could see IT. That look. The IT look. The BILLIE, YOU’RE JUST A BABY look. Anger and pride swelled in his chest like a balloon. He could count to six. He could count to ten, to twenty, almost had thirty .. soon he’d be on eleventy million and five zillion and four. As he thought of this and the fierce love he had for his own spark of intelligence, that tiny bright light, the balloon is his chest expanded so much that he thought he was going to explode.
“I can count to six!” He shouted at the voice, his own voice high and sharp. “I can even count to eight! Ten!”
“Good.” The voice cut him off as he was about to list number s in a sing song voice. Billie was a little scared of that. The snakey voice. “Because it might even be eleven steps, Billie-O.” The fear (the shadow under the bed fear) that Billie felt disappeared as soon as the voice said his nick-name. Only his Daddy knew that nick-name and the voice must have known Daddy and then must have been good.
Right?
“Go on, Billie. Go on. Ten steps, you can count them whilst you go.”
“But my Mama said -“
“Your Mama told me to tell you that it was okay now. There’s nothing to be scared about.”
Billie shivered.
“You’re not scared are you, Brave Billie-O?”
Billie thought about this, but only for a second, that spark in his head flashed brilliantly and Billie shouted down the road where it met the sky.
“NO! I AM NOT SCARED!”
“Good, Billie-O, because the ice cream van’s just on the other side of the street, are you hot?”
Billie WAS hot. That sky that he had shouted at was big and blue and warm...
“Then go, Billie, go!”
And Billie did. One front in front of the other - the first was the hardest but it was easier after that. Like learning something scary but realising it was the easiest thing in the world. Billie giggled as he walked across the road, but he could hear a strange noise from behind him. A slithery, low, closet door shadow laugh. And from somewhere beside him, the screeching of tyres.
He saw a flash of twin bright lights.
And whilst he was on the floor, he could hear the boom-boom-boom of his own heart.
Then little Billie-O never heard or saw anything.
(water snake, a slippery tricksy hissing sneaky snake)
tiny, airy whisper.
“It’s only a few steps, what, like, five? Six even? .. You can count to six, can’t you Billie?” The voice asked slowly, and Billie could see IT. That look. The IT look. The BILLIE, YOU’RE JUST A BABY look. Anger and pride swelled in his chest like a balloon. He could count to six. He could count to ten, to twenty, almost had thirty .. soon he’d be on eleventy million and five zillion and four. As he thought of this and the fierce love he had for his own spark of intelligence, that tiny bright light, the balloon is his chest expanded so much that he thought he was going to explode.
“I can count to six!” He shouted at the voice, his own voice high and sharp. “I can even count to eight! Ten!”
“Good.” The voice cut him off as he was about to list number s in a sing song voice. Billie was a little scared of that. The snakey voice. “Because it might even be eleven steps, Billie-O.” The fear (the shadow under the bed fear) that Billie felt disappeared as soon as the voice said his nick-name. Only his Daddy knew that nick-name and the voice must have known Daddy and then must have been good.
Right?
“Go on, Billie. Go on. Ten steps, you can count them whilst you go.”
“But my Mama said -“
“Your Mama told me to tell you that it was okay now. There’s nothing to be scared about.”
Billie shivered.
“You’re not scared are you, Brave Billie-O?”
Billie thought about this, but only for a second, that spark in his head flashed brilliantly and Billie shouted down the road where it met the sky.
“NO! I AM NOT SCARED!”
“Good, Billie-O, because the ice cream van’s just on the other side of the street, are you hot?”
Billie WAS hot. That sky that he had shouted at was big and blue and warm...
“Then go, Billie, go!”
And Billie did. One front in front of the other - the first was the hardest but it was easier after that. Like learning something scary but realising it was the easiest thing in the world. Billie giggled as he walked across the road, but he could hear a strange noise from behind him. A slithery, low, closet door shadow laugh. And from somewhere beside him, the screeching of tyres.
He saw a flash of twin bright lights.
And whilst he was on the floor, he could hear the boom-boom-boom of his own heart.
Then little Billie-O never heard or saw anything.