The Three Dead Lancelots
It was foggy and you could not see the stars, thought the moon was still slightly visible, like a reflection in a dirty pond. The air was crispy, but there was no wind anywhere, and the stillness and tranquility gave the night a gloomy atmosphere.
Guinevere Lancelot was sitting in her garden, wrapped up in a woolen shawl. The shawl was women by her deceased mother. It was a pastel, cream colour and it gave her an itch every time she moved her arms. Her locks were twisted into a bun and hidden under a violet-grey bonnet. Her skinny legs, blue with cold, were dangling under her dress's skirt.
Guinevere, or Guinna, was a girl of ten. Her eyes were grey and every time she looked at someone, it gave them a fright as Mrs Lancelot used to look at people the same way, as if the eyes wanted to say: "I am a Lancelot by name, but a Smythe by nature." Her cheeks were never rosy, but this never troubled neither Mr Lancelot or Miss Laura. Her eyebrows were golden and sparse. Her nose was a ski-slope, snow-white and curling up at the end. She hated her name, but could do nothing about it as her mother gave her that name, so Guinna tried to treasure her name, but couldn't. Her classmates found her name too old-fashioned and funny, they teased her every time when their teacher, Mr Danysh, read about King Arthur.
- So, you married Lancelot after all, didn't you, Guinna?
- I am a Lancelot, but never got married.
- So, shall we call you Queen Guinevere?
- Yes, if you like it.
She actually hated to be called 'Queen Guinevere', but there was nothing to do about it. Her father, Mr Lancelot, was a busy man and was either away or 'too busy to be distracted' and her sister, Miss Laura Lancelot, was too busy flirting with her beaus. Guinna either played in her room or sat in her little play-garden, swinging or skipping.
Tonight, Guinna wasn't tired. She couldn't sleep and crept down to her play-garden to gain some imagination for the play that she was writing. She wanted to become the first female playwright and get famous, so she wanted to write a play and get famous. She sat in the garden and tried to think what to write the play about, but the thoughts could not reach her mind. She thought about her brother, Charlie, who went to fight in a war. Though it was not as famous as the Great War. Charles Lancelot went to fight in a war against the Zulu tribe in Africa. He went to fight there, but never came back.
'Charlie was brave,' she thought, 'he was such a great brother. We were always good comrades. He was a year older than Laura, but liked me better. Now, I have nobody to talk to, nobody to hear me cry.'
Guinna wanted to cry, when she got an idea. She can talk to her mother and Charlie as in Heaven, they can hear her.
'Mummy, Charlie. I am lonely. Dad is busy, he hates me. Laura hates me as I always get in her beau's way. I love you, Charlie. I love you, mum. I love you both, I love you more than I love dad and Laura and even more than I like my newborn pony that I called Luna-Charlotte. She is Luna because of you, mum,' she stared at the moon, 'because I think that Charlie turned into a star and you are the Moon, mummy. Charlotte is because of you, Charlie. Charlie is short for Charlotte, though Laura says girls can't be Charlies. I think Laura is just a stupid stagecoach with plenty of boy stagecoaches around her. She can only sigh when she sees Guillaume Francois out of her window. Mum, Charlie, you probably saw him when he climbed on top of the roof in the night to say "good evening" to Laura? Yes, he is a stagecoach, no, he is more of a steam locomotive,' she laughed as she said it, 'and I think he is just a skinny, old, yes, he is forty, and a cunning artificer. He is such a,' she yawned, 'a, a, a liar. He hates me, mummy. He beat me and called me a dumb donkey once, didn't you hear? Oh,' she looked at the sky, 'Charlie, mummy, I will go to sleep in the garden. It is so nice here.'
She looked at the sky and saw a star. It disappeared as the fog was thick. Guinna made herself comfortable on a bench and fell asleep…
Next morning, nobody could find Guinevere. They searched for her until it was lunchtime and then finished looking for her. They asked a young, twelve-year-old, maid called Lucy to feed the newborn pony that was in the stable near the play-garden. Lucy fed it and went into the play-garden as she thought that nobody was there and she always wanted to go into it and swing high on 'Miss Guinevere's swings'. She was as happy as she could be, but when she saw Guinna lying on the bench, she got scared and then realized that she found the girl who everyone was looking for. She came closer to wake Guinna up, but with no luck. Lucy put her index and middle fingers on a vein in her wrist to feel the pulse. Lucy screamed.
Guinevere Lancelot went to Heaven to meet her mother and Charles Lancelot. |
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