A Sudden Realisation

As I was preparing to write a brief paragraph or two to meet my quota for Sunday evening, I had a sudden realisation. I needed to go back and make a fairly significant change to an earlier part of the story. Otherwise, the ending that I have partially planned would not work! So to those of you religiously reading this story, (Emma, this means you! And maybe you too, Charlotte, if I haven't confused you too much) you will need to take another look at the last paragraph on the entry of Wednesday 12th. You'll notice that it's different now! But here's a little bit more, another 718 words that continue on from Saturday's post. Tomorrow I am going to sit and do a brief plan for the rest of the month, to ensure that the story will be finished on the 30th. Of course, if I'd had a plan earlier, I wouldn't have had to go and correct Wednesday's entry! Note to self: writing by the seat of your pants is not always a good thing! At least have some form of safety net handy!
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"Come on! Faster!" The men and women of the village were running as fast as they could up the hillside, towards the rocks that James had described. James himself was being piggybacked by one of the men. He understood why everyone wanted to go to the hillside. He knew that everyone was desperately hoping that they would find some trace of the other children; some clue that would tell where the children had gone and how they could get them back. But they won't find them, he thought. I am all that is left. Even as he thought those words, his heart skipped a beat. What would he do? The only child left in the whole village. How would he cope with the eyes of every parent on him forever more, looking at him as if to say, "Why were you spared, when my child was taken? You cannot even walk properly. What use will you be?" He hung his head. It was different when he had just been one of a crowd of children. It was easy to hide away at the back and not be noticed. A few people like Charlotte and her mother had tried to include him, but most didn't. He had gotten used to being overlooked. But now he would be obvious. He would be a permanent, painful reminder of what the town had lost. Tears began to fall down his face. He would have wiped them away, but could not, for fear of falling.

"Is this the place?" The people had stopped in front of the largest rock at the top of the hillside. James was lowered to the ground and he limped painfully towards it. He pressed his face into the cool rock and ran his hands over the surface. "Let me in, he whispered, so softly that noone heard. "Please let me in." But there was no response. He turned and faced the crowd. "Yes," he said. "This was the place."

Desperately, men and women clawed the edges of the rock, looking for any way of breaking through.
"What if we brought picks and axes?" said one of the men. "We could chisel a hole."
"How will that help?" said Hannah. "The children are not inside the rock."
"What do you mean?" said Richard. "That is where they disappeared."
"Didn't you listen to James' story?" asked Hannah. "He said that the voice promised a beautiful land, where he would be healed. If the stranger has truly taken our children, he has taken them someWHERE, not into someTHING. We need to find where they have gone. Forcing a hole into this hillside will not make any difference."

"Hannah is right!" Sarah came to stand by her friend. "We need to find the stranger. We need to convince him to return our children to us."
"But how will we do that?" asked Richard.
"The owl." James' voice was so soft that he was barely heard at first.
"What did you say, James?" Hannah was standing next to him now.
" The owl," said James again. "It was the owl that brought the stranger's voice. If we can lure the owl back here, maybe we can get a message to him somehow."

At that, there was a loud explosion of voices. Everyone was talking at once, keen to make their own ideas heard. At last, Richard held up his hand. "Enough!" he yelled. "Let us go back to the Council buildings. There we can make our plans. Our children will not be lost to us for long."

Everyone began their journey back down the hillside, Hannah and Sarah supporting James between them so he would not fall. As they left, they couldn't resist turning around for one last look.
"What is that at the base of the rock?" asked Sarah.
James peered closely. "It looks like fur of some sort," he said.
Hannah gasped. "You are right!" she said. "It looks like Sixpence's fur!" She looked at the others, her eyes shining brighter than they had been all morning. "Sixpence must have gotten through," she said. "That means there must be a way to reach the children. This is a good sign! Come on! We must not give up hope!"
Half walking, half running, the three of them followed the others back towards the village.