The Swan

Chapter 1

It was a honey-coloured autumnal evening in Dursley Woods. The beams of sunlight struggled through dense plants but then faded into an eerie dim. Shadows began to emerge through the slits in many varieties of trees.

Hoa-Mai Vesi, who was half Vietnamese and half Estonian, walked towards the Dursley Ghetto checkpoint. The wind began to bellow as she drew her hood tighter.

She could distinguish the colossal border looming over her miniscule, pathetic body through the now thick mist and it made her heart throb: she had to be allowed through. Her delivery, which was full of fresh fruits and flowers, would be wasted if she was stopped. To add to that, Hoa knew that the money from these deliveries to the commoners would give her family food for days!

“Hurry up, pesky, little girl!” demanded the formally-dressed guard. “If you wish to pass, I must see your papers,” he continued, staring sternly at her with narrow eyes.

“I’m distributing these plants for my company, Flowers and Fruits,” Hoa-Mai spoke timidly, pleading with all her mind to be freed. ​

“I’m afraid I must see every one of the details to be allowed to let you past. Where are they?” the guard demanded, impatience growing.

“Here,” Hoa replied, handing him her papers shyly.

“Hmmmm. You may pass,” sighed the guard, unrestricting the purposeful gateway and sending him through. Hoa was in main Dursley.

With a gasp, Hoa felt what it would be like to be ordinary, British. She had imagined life outside the ghetto, but not like this: lanterns sat on their posts like the guards in front of Buckingham Palace; vehicles travelled along the fresh tarmac; professionally built brick houses proudly stood before her. She didn’t belong here.

As jealousy mounted her back, Hoa snarled. If only she could be like one of these people. If only she could live outside the ghetto. But she couldn’t. It was unfair. As she walked along the streets, she recited the words she had been bullied into learning again and again in her head, don’t look up, just do your deliveries and head back. But she couldn’t just go back to the ghetto. This was too good. She had to explore.

Unexpectedly, Hoa fell to the floor. She looked around her, there was no one near. Ignoring the accident, she shot straight up. The parcels seemed to be fine. Then, she was yanked into a pitch-black alleyway.

“Hand me that parcel and anything valuable,” a voice came from the black, pointing a white finger at Hoa’s package, “or I’ll handcuff you.” Hoa navigated around obstacles and made her way into the main street. There was no point. She was enclosed. How could she escape from this? she pondered, hoping there was a gap.

Breathing deeply, Hoa shook. This was her only chance to survive. The men were ready with handcuffs. Pushing through, suspecting them to stay on her trail, Hoa sprinted. She continued until she came across an old WW2 bunker. Peeking out and back to the robbers, she saw a large tumble of people. She had to stay low. It had worked.

Chapter 2

Outside, cackles of lightning flashed before Hoa’s eyes through the thickening fog of the ruling night. Inside, Hoa snuck around searching hopefully for a better hiding place. Hoa snarled at the chuckling area: abandoned blankets lay in heaps all over the freckled floor; beams balanced dangerously as they threatened to fall on her head; and dust was scattered everywhere. Rushing towards the exit, gravel and rocks began to descend over her escape. To her disappointment, it was too compact to get out…                 …or in.

Through the window, the greedy faces of the gang, who now had knives that were covered with blood in their dominant hands, held their knives illegally. Then, they smashed through the barred-up windows. Before Hoa could scream for help, a strange thing read her mind, making her heart skip a beat. An ear-splitting but yet muffled honk overwhelmed the tight room. It was as elegant as a ballerina. It was flawless. It was a paralysing swan. They lingered above Hoa for a timeless spell and Hoa was transfixed. The wonderful creature then dived towards the swarm of muggers. As the gang fled, the swan returned gently to Hoa, sitting calmly beside her. She seemed to be on her side. But there was a constant streak of claret liquid. She was dying.

Then something unimaginable happened. She spoke in an inhuman, smooth voice. Not too deep yet not too high. “I need help,” she formally pronounced, “You must find your whisker of light. You have to find the gateway.”
“How do I do that?” Hoa replied.
“Follow me,” she whispered mysteriously. “It is too dangerous to stay, Azrelta will be coming for me,” the swan glided through the exit, followed by Hoa.

Five minutes later, they arrived near the ghetto, at the Black River, which, despite its name, was surprisingly pale. Ducking down under the bridge, the swan rested on the calm water.

Chapter 3

Hoa struggled to wake but eventually her eyes opened to find she was on a pile of rocks; the swan swam hurriedly towards her. A bullet hit the river bank; attackers were near. Peering through a fox-dug hole, Hoa shuddered. She called to the swan, fingers on her lips. Deep voices grumbled; footsteps echoed from on the bridge; the swan murmured her muffled honk.

They snuck under the water; headed for the unused sewers. At their arrival, Hoa panted and the swan swam happily around the water. They ducked into a dense, cobweb-filled corner.

The trapdoor creaked open, something had entered. It didn’t seem they had come in the same way though. The sewers sat silently. It seemed like even the water was drained. A growl cut the silence. Hoa turned around, using her spotless, white coat to hide. Peeking her head around and through the gap, Hoa now saw shadows of people. It was the attackers. A shiver bulleting down her spine, Hoa’s head swung back round, unnoticed. She stayed dead still. Hoa’s heart skipped a beat. They strode towards her. Then they turned back. They began to walk in circles. Hoa banned herself from breathing. ‘I need to get my deliveries back,’ Hoa thought, her mind flashing back to her deliveries, ‘No, I have more important things to do.’  she decided, settling her mind.

Multiple hours later, the attackers were gone. “I need help to enter my domain. The gateway is the portal into it. It will lead me away from Azrelta and I will be safe. It is located around a cluster of yew trees,” Avirary spoke, elegance in her voice which lingered in the air.

Hoa knew she meant the churchyard. There was an arch in the yew trees which seemed a likely place for it to be. Would it be safe enough to travel across the entire town? Would Avirary make with her still-weak wound on her leg?

They had to just go. It wouldn’t be far until there was a river, they’d enter it. So off they went, and it was a breeze to get there. But someone awaited their arrival, ready to play cat and mouse.

Chapter 4

The Chantry Centre, which was jam-packed, ready for a performance, stood proudly, showing off that it had survived World War 2. There were two ways out of town, one towards Uley and the other to the Prince of Wales Hotel and Berclea. The third road had once blossomed, but when the Ghetto was created, it only saw the silent movements of foreigners. Hoa knew all of these routes. Over the years, the area had degraded from fully-polished stone. It was the direction of west that they were headed.

The moon, which called eagerly for Avirary, glared down at Hoa with beady, glimmering eyes. Hoa, beginning to fret, peered back towards the swan’s bleeding wounds. It was in the direction of west that they continued.

As they crept into the illuminated graveyard, Hoa heard whispers. Was Azrelta near? Then, the swan frenzied. It was Azrelta. Fluttering forwards, blood dripped to the floor. Her wound was worsening. Approaching the unclimbable yew tree bark, Hoa smiled. The swan seemed to recognise the red bulbs, which were scattered around the ground. The pines flew down onto their backs and the swan fluttered. Hoa, who waited neatly for the swan to hobble down, silently spied at Azrelta, who was edging ever nearer. A lonely, golden light flashed between the trees. When it solidified into a constant beam, Hoa could see a world of water and space, which let her see more than even astronomers had ever seen, but no land. The world flashed; Hoa was surrounded by a golden space; and calm stars flew in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, Azrelta was before them. Avirary, raising her beak heroically, stepped back to join her. She let out an ear-piercing shriek and so did Hoa. She felt a tinge on her skin from Avirary’s power. It felt as if Hoa was under Avirary’s control. Her eyes, which beamed at them with a lifeless stare, shone like impatient flowers. The guards hesitated.

“The time has come.” Avirary spoke, her voice ringing across Dursley as they went to once more looking at the gateway. Within the water were many things: jellyfish bobbed, angler fish swam pleasantly, and many fish that Hoa couldn’t identify swarmed the everlasting waters. But now she saw a waterfall of many coloured liquids and so did Avirary, it was linking them. “You shall be summoned when it’s your turn.” Avirary stated, coming out of her eternal gaze sorrowfully. And she leapt with a simple hop through the gateway…

… and Avirary’s tail made its way through, swimming in her luxury lake. A star of golden liquid that showed joy… and hope. Eventually, her smiling body shattered into many magnificent shards that flew off to infinity… and she was gone.

Hoa swivelled, shaken by the drama of the day. But the guards had been more shaken. And they were gone. The chorus of dawn was thriving as Hoa headed back to the Ghetto.

Avirary would always with her and maybe Hoa would see her again too. But Hoa felt stronger. The gateway was open, the Ghetto was no longer a Ghetto. Change was on the horizon.