Dear Mum,

Thank you for packing these postcards. If I ever get homesick, than I can write to you! Thank you for giving me a warm buttered potato for the journey; it kept me warm and reminded me of your cooking! Some children I saw on the train had no food at all. I made friends with another girl, and we talked to each other while we were on the train. She secretly shared her fruit cake with me! It was similar to the one you make. When I looked inside my suitcase, I was really surprised that you had bought me a comic! I read it all then decided to look out the window. Crops were being planted by patient farmers and horses were being rode by cheerful people. I then fell asleep.

When I woke up, I saw some sort of animals outside! Lots of children were calling them cows. I saw them eating the grass and munching on the flowers. I began to get really hungry again so I rummaged through my bag, in hope that you might of packed something. When I realised you hadn’t, I decided to fall asleep again.

When I got off the train, the platform was blanketed by children. I was taken into a big room with other children. There were a lot of adults. A woman came and said to us that someone would come and choose to take us home. I got really nervous when a woman called out my name first! I bundled up my suitcases and walked out the room with the woman. Her name is Joanne. I think you might like her.

I miss you very much and I really wish you were here.

From, Eloise.

Chapter 3

Kendall had been wondering. What would life be like if somebody had lived in the countryside all their lives? The countryside was a wonderful place, endless sun, flowers and fields of green, lots of places to play. Kendall then thought of the city. Cars rushing through, always busy, not many places to run around freely. The country was different. It felt… free. No bombs, no threats. It felt safe. Even though Kendall missed her Mum, and her Dad at war, this was life now. Kendall trudged over to the backyard rope swing. She wouldn’t have had this back in London. She wouldn’t have made friends with Maddie. She wouldn’t have met Miss Rose. Or have found the jewels and the golden locket and she would have never known about James Rose. The country was exciting, and full of secrets!

Miss Rose had granted Kendall permission to see the jewels. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, gold, silver, bronze, topaz, amethyst, every type of jewel and diamond you can think of, Miss Rose has it. Stroking the jewels, Kendall created a story in her mind for each one of them. The topaz, found on the sandy beach of L.A, the sapphire, found in the Atlantic Ocean, nearly swallowed by a whale. Emerald, found in the Amazon Rain forest, and all the rest. Her favourite story was of the gold. Found on the moon by NASA, brought down to earth, stolen by pirates, and dropped to the bottom of the sea. Found by scuba divers, and given to the bank, who exchanged it in a cheque and gave it to charity. Hours and hours went by and Kendall stayed in the shed with the jewels.

A day later, Kendall did the same. But this time, Kendall went to the jewels because of worry. What if the jewels were stolen? What if somebody saw them? She had to make sure that the jewels were still there. Frantically, she grabbed the keys off the counter top, and ran to the shed. Kendall pushed the key in the keyhole and yanked the door open. She closed her eyes and the door creaked open. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see what terror awaited her. The jewels were… safe! Relief flooded Kendall’s veins.

A week later, Kendall went out to the jewels. She had been avoiding them, because she was too worried to find them stolen. But now, she had over come her fear. She headed out to the shed with the keys. She only walked, because she didn’t want to get there in a hurry. Opening the shed door, she saw the tin. She shook it, and when she felt the heaviness of the jewels, she took the box and headed inside. Miss Rose was sitting at the table and greeted Kendall when she came in. ” Ah, Kendall. Oh, you’ve got the jewels! Lets sit down and talk about them together. It definitely sounds like the jewels! Why, Kendall, stop shaking the box.” ” Sorry, Miss Rose, the jewels just sound different when I shake the tin.” said Kendall. She opened the box, and they were both shocked to find the tin filled with rocks! ” Oh, no!” gasped Miss Rose. ” I knew there was something wrong with the sound!” said Kendall.

“We are going to have to do something. We have to get the jewels back!” said Miss Rose. She had a piece of paper and was drawing out a plan. Kendall agreed. Kendall knew how much Miss Rose enjoyed the company of her jewels. ” Miss Rose, how are we going to find them?” ” I’ve got a plan. Grab yourself a pen from your bedroom, and I will work out the basics, ok? You should find a few pens in the bedside draw. Then, we’ll look for clues in the shed.” Kendall did as she was told and found the pens easily. By the time she got downstairs again, Miss Rose had concocted an easy plan.

Chapter 4

Looking up, Kendall spotted many stars sewn into the night sky. She was laying on the grass, and staring upwards, trying to connect all the stars, like a dot to dot. It was a Saturday night, and Kendall wanted to try star-gazing for the first time. Miss Rose had lent her an old telescope, that had belonged to James Rose. Miss Rose had also told Kendall to be careful with it, since it was old and fragile. All of a sudden, Kendall saw something rushing by in the sky. She grabbed the telescope, a little carelessly, and put her green eye to it. A shooting star! Kendall turned to look inside the cottage, where Miss Rose was still trying to draw out a plan, to find out who stole the jewels.

Sun was streaming in through the windows when Kendall got out of bed that next morning. She sat up and rummaged through her suitcase for her watch. It was a tattered watch, but at least it still worked. 6:30. Miss Rose liked to get up at 7:30 on a Sunday morning, so Kendall had another rummage through her suitcase for a book. She only read the first few pages before the smell of hash browns, bacon and egg wafted into her room. When she got downstairs, she saw that the piece of paper that Miss Rose had been writing on was full of writing and little abstract drawings. It had little arrows too, in a circle, between each drawing, showing which way to go next. It was like a sort of map! She turned to Miss Rose, but she had big dark circles under her eyes, and her face was pale. Kendall knew that Miss Rose wasn’t well. But she also realised that there was post! “You wouldn’t mind getting that for me, would you Kendall?” croaked Miss Rose. So Kendall did as she was told. She read the envelopes, but they all said for Miss Rose. “Could you open and read them?” she asked, sneezing violently into her handkerchief. “Dear Anna, Happy 29th Birthday! Hope you have a good time, especially with Kendall! From, Mary.” “Ah, that would be Mary Williams from Dove Lane.” “But Miss Rose, if you’re sick, you can’t come find the jewels! Wait, I can go on my own, can’t I?” “Why don’t you take Maddie with you?” Kendall agreed, grabbing her coat and shoes.

“So, Anna’s jewels were stolen, you are trying to find them, and you want to bring me along? Ok!” answered Maddie, excitedly jumping down the steps to her house. “Let me just go tell Lauran that I’m going out with you.” In the short time that Kendall had known Maddie, she knew that she could turn to her for anything she needed.

Turning into the forest, Maddie and Kendall heard something. It sounded like rustling from a bush! Quickly but quietly, they hid behind trees to spy. An eerie figure sauntered across the forest, with a tin in its hands. Another figure followed behind. “It’s Joe! With… Oliver? Is that the tin with the jewels, Kendall? I wonder what they have to do with it?” “Same. But I think we have to find out. We need a distraction.” answered Kendall, thinking. “I have an idea! Wait here, I’ll be back in a sec!” and with that, Maddie disappeared. 10 minutes later, Maddie returned with a small rat. “If I know Joe, one thing he hates is rats. If I let him go, he is sure to scream and drop the tin, so they both run away.” “That’s a good idea!” exclaimed Kendall. And with a countdown, Maddie let the rat go. As she expected, the boys ran away, screaming. The girls burst into laughter and started mocking them. “Come on, let’s find the jewels and return them to Miss Rose.”

Two years later, the war was over, and both of the young girls returned home to their daily lives. Kendall and Maddie wrote to each other frequently, writing also to Miss Rose and Lauran. Kendall thought often of how much fun she had had down in the countryside. Miss Rose rewarded Kendall’s bravery by handing her the gold. Kendall guarded that with her life, and still to this day, she keeps this in her bedroom.