Chapter – 4 

The next day it rained. Gray clouds flooded the skies; rain pounded the fields flat; rain filled the alleys, roads and pathways through the valleys. It was as if the sky would never stop pouring out rain. Mary stood at her bedroom window looking out into the rain and saw the three women approaching once again. She felt as if she had to stop them. But Mary couldn’t wait anymore so she quietly put her raincoat on and snuck out the door. Outside, the rain had soaked Mary to the skin, but she still desperately searched for the women. She desperately searched the nearby village, but they had disappeared. 

She stopped at Mrs Hill’s house to ask about the 3 women. Mrs Hill always knew everything going on in the area.  Mrs Smith called her a tittle-tattle and said she always rambled on about other people but she was Mary’s last resort to find the women. Funnily enough, Mrs Hill was standing at her bedroom window watching. “ Don’t come in ere, witch ya wet boots on it’ll ruin me new carpet.”She shouted angered, by the thought of her newly installed carpet being ruined. “ Sorry Mrs Hill but have you seen 3 women passing towards my home these past few days?” Mary said politely, Mrs Hill eyed the young girl. “No,” she said, slamming the door shut in Mary’s face.

Mary stood under the oak tree beside her school yard. She could hear the wind howling and rain dripping and this made her shiver. As she was about to leave she remembered, like an answer to an English question, it came to her. Maybe they had returned to Mrs Smith’s home? After all, she had been searching the village, not the house. Maybe they saw her leave and went back? Mr Smithhad just woken up when she left so they must have seen him if they were there. She pickled her feet up and made her way home.

All this happened 20 years ago. The three women had been the family of the smiths.  I found them all chatting in Mr Smith’s room. They introduced themselves as Mr and Mrs Smith’s mothers and their sister. Sadly Mr Smith would never be able to visit the rest of his family  because  somebody discovered that Mr Smith was alive

and was hiding. He died in 1945 as he was sent to the rag ends of the war in France and sadly passed away. Mary was sent back to her mother and father in 1946 and was happily married by 1955 and had a daughter in 1960, and named her aberline. One summer’s day, Mrs Smith sent her a letter telling her that she had been released from jail. The whole journey living in the valleys is now just a happy memory and the bond between Mary and the smiths was a bond made of chaos.