The magic helicopter -- (Author) feetintrouble

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Sep 11, 2017 at 5:20 PM
Content: This story is about an afternoon that might have started 5-year-old Jemima's lifelong fascination with being blindfolded. There are sure to be other times she loses her sight with Kristen looking after her...

The Magic Helicopter

It's my friend Shannon's sixth birthday, and I'm at her party! We've sung happy birthday, had our food and drink, given her our gifts. Shannon's mum and Shannon's big sister Kristen are running the party. Kristen can be very funny, but she's also very strict; I'm a bit scared of her, I'm not sure if she's a girl or a grown up. She's big and strong; I've often seen her lift Shannon up onto her shoulders, hold her upside down by her ankles, and swing her around. Sometimes she's done it to me too; it's scary but exciting.

"Time to pin the tail on the donkey!" Shannon's mum announces cheerfully. "I'll call your name when it's your turn. The child who gets it closest is the winner."

I've played lots of party games before: pass the parcel, musical bumps, but I've not played this game before: on the wall I see a picture of a smiling donkey; it has long ears, but no tail. Shannon's friend Summer takes her turn first; Shannon's mum puts a sticky paper tail in Summer's hand, ties a red bandanna around her head over her eyes, and spins Summer round. Why is she doing this? Everyone laughs as Summer walks up and sticks her tail in completely the wrong place: is she stupid?

I watch lots of the other children have their name called, the bandanna tied on, and they put their tail up, but I don't understand why they're all putting it in the wrong place. The bandanna is not covering their whole face; surely they can see where the donkey is, just with a bandanna in front of him?

"Jemima!" Shannon's mum calls: it must be my turn. I go to her, she gives me a tail with my name on, picks up the bandanna, ties it over my eyes.

Suddenly everything goes dark, I didn't expect that, I thought I'd see the bandanna just as a strip in front of everything else!

"Help, I can't see!" I protest, wriggling as I can feel the bandanna being tied at the back of my head.

"Of course you can't see, that's the game!" I hear Shannon's mum's voice say. "Keep still while I put your blindfold on."

"But how do I know where to put the tail?"

"You have to guess. I'm going to turn you round." I can feel hands on my shoulders turning me round; I feel all dizzy, and I can't see a thing! Why is everything black, why can't even I see the red bandanna?

"Pin the tail!" I hear several people saying it at once. I walk forwards like I saw the other kids do, and I stick it, but I don't know if it's right. I can suddenly hear people cheering; why?! Suddenly I can see again, and Shannon's mum has the bandanna in her hand. I'm very confused; how did that bandanna stop me seeing anything at all?

Shannon's mum points at my tail; it's on the donkey's back leg. "You're winning!" she says to me.

Lastly it's Shannon's turn. Her mum ties the bandanna on her, and turns her round. Shannon tilts her head back as far as she can, suddenly walks straight up to the donkey, and sticks her tail in exactly the right spot. "Cheat! She was looking!" everyone shouts. Shannon takes her bandanna off, and says she was not looking.

Kristen makes Shannon have another go, and this time takes special care to tie the bandanna snugly, and turns her around not just once, but four or five times, both one way and the other. She gets her tail on the donkey's nose, and Kristen now tells me that I am the winner, as my tail was closest to where it should be. She gives me a prize of a small spinny thing, which she shows me how to use.

Kristen now announces to all the children that it's time to fly in her magic helicopter; most of them look delighted. Kristen is holding a toy helicopter; earlier today my mum showed me some videos on Youtube of what it's like to look down on the ground from high up. Kristen says that one by one she will be calling us into another room, so we can fly into the air. She calls Summer to the other end of the room: I can see them talking, and Kristen ties a blue and white scarf over Summer's eyes before taking her out of the room.
I'm all confused, I ask my mum why Kristen is covering Summer's eyes. My mum tells me it's so that Summer can't see anything, just like I couldn't see when I pinned the tail. I ask how that scarf stops her seeing: she tells me to put my little hands over my eyes. Can I see now? No I can't. She says it's called "blindfolded", having your eyes covered so you can't see. But why is Summer "blindfolded" for her helicopter ride? As I wonder, I keep playing with my little spinny toy, watching it go round and round like the spinny things on a helicopter.

Summer comes back in, looking very happy. Kristen comes in too, with the scarf in her hand, and looks straight at me, telling me it's my turn for a magic helicopter ride, and she holds up the toy helicopter. She asks if I've done it before; I say no. She says I'm going to fly very high, and I'll have the choice of coming slowly back down, or jumping out with a parachute. My mum showed me videos of this as well. Kristen says that so that I can fit in the magic helicopter, I have to close my eyes, and she will cover them with a magic scarf, so I have to pretend I can see the things she tells me about, and that I must not take off the scarf until I'm safely back on the ground. "Keep your eyes shut tight," she says, and I can feel the scarf being wrapped around my head, tied at the back, and tucked around my nose. "Can you see anything, Jemima?" Kristen's voice asks. I can't even open my eyes as the scarf feels so tight and snug, and everything is black, so I shake my head. "Walk with me," she says, and I feel her pulling me along with that strong arm of hers.

We stop walking, and I must be in another room. "I'm going to lift you up into the helicopter," she says, and I can feel her lifting me up, and putting me on something high and hard: it sounds like wood under my sandals, perhaps it's a chair. Nobody's holding on to me. I can hear a helicopter noise; but it sounds like it's coming from the side, rather than above my head. "Listen carefully, there are two rules." she says. "One, there's no room to walk in the helicopter, so keep your feet still. Two, you must keep your magic scarf on. If you break these rules, you'll fall out of the magic helicopter, and you'll die. Do you understand this?" I feel more scared than ever, but I nod.

"I'm going up in the helicopter with you," Kristen's voice says from behind me, which makes me feel a bit better. "Two grown ups are on the ground beside you, I'm going to put your hands on their shoulders. You're going up, but they won't be." I'm still trembling as I can feel each of my hands being put on a shoulder. Whose are they?

"And now, up we go!" Kristen's voice moves slightly lower down; the shoulders I am touching move downwards and are no longer there; and I can feel the thing I'm standing on moving up into the air. I feel like I'm going up and up! I remember: keep my feet still, keep my magic scarf on.

"The ground's moving away underneath you, there are little houses and trees, woods, fields, oh look at those tiny little houses!" I can't see them, but as Kristen said, I pretend I can. I keep flying as Kristen tells me about other things: birds, some clouds which are now below me, the mountains, the rivers, the towns, roads with tiny cars, the open sea with ships. I think of the videos I saw earlier. I can feel my helicopter moving forwards, turning and moving from side to side. I'm starting to enjoy it.

"Now we've gone so high, we're touching the sky!" I feel something flat touching the very top of my head. Is it the ceiling?

"We're now above our home, going back down, and you have a choice: you can come down slowly in your helicopter, or you can do a parachute jump and come down quickly. What is it to be?"

"Can I take the scarf off if I jump?" I ask, as I'd no longer be in the magic helicopter.

"Oh no Jemima! You'll die on the way down if you do that, you'd fall much too fast. That magic scarf is to keep you safe, it has to stay firmly tied until you are safely on the ground."

"But I can't see with it on."

"You have to pretend you can see," she said. "Keep still until I say, but will you jump, or come back down in your helicopter?"

I think; I am feeling scared again. "I'll jump."

"Jemima is going to jump!" Kristen says. "Listen carefully, Jemima. When I count to three, you jump forwards. It will be a long way down, and it's from very high up, but as long as that scarf stays on, you will be safe. You must jump in front of you, not to the side, and someone on the ground will catch you. Is that clear?"

The scarf still feels very tight; I still can't see no matter how hard I try, but I nod.

"Which way are you going to jump?"

"In front of me."

"Jemima is going to be brave, and jump out of the helicopter! One.... two.... three!!!"

I jump. I'm flying. I'm going down and down and down. It feels like I have jumped into nothing, a deep hole. It's like the time I went down a fast, scary and dark water slide, ending up in a deep pool of water. Am I about to die? Is the magic scarf keeping me safe? Suddenly I am on the ground. There are cheers all around me. "Just keep that scarf on for a moment," Kristen says, "I'm going to walk you to another room." I walk as my hand is held, pulling me forwards.

"Are you ready to see again?" she asks; I nod. "Everything might seem very bright," she says. "We're by the front door, I've dimmed the lights, wait until your eyes get used to the light before you go back to the party." I feel the scarf being untied, and it falls away; everything looks funny and misty but very bright for a moment, but I can see the hallway, and I can hear the party. I wander back in, and Kristen smiles at me. I watch her inviting my friend Mason for his ride; as she blindfolds him and leads him out, I want to do it all over again!

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Sep 13, 2017 at 2:12 PM
Content: Thanks for your replies, everybody! I write sometimes, especially stories about the world from the child's view, because I remember that part of my life very clearly.

Not long after the magic helicopter ride: Jemima has a day out with her friend Shannon, and Shannon's big sister Kristen; although she's looking forward to the outing, having her eyes covered is still very much on her little mind.
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Today, Kristen is taking me and Shannon to the zoo; we're going by train. It's a frosty day in winter, so we all put on coats, woolly hats and scarves. The sun is shining, but it still feels really cold!

Now we're on the train, it's warmer, so we've taken off our outdoor clothes. Shannon and Kristen are sitting side by side; I'm sitting opposite them. We're off to see animals: zebras, lions, tigers, bears.

"Now listen girls," Kristen says, looking serious. "When we're at the zoo, you're going to stay close to me. I don't want any little girls wandering off; and that applies to you too, Jemima! Remember how you went and hid when we were in the park?"

I giggle as I remember hearing Kristen running around and calling for me, while I hid in some bushes. She was so angry when she found me, I thought she was going to spank me; but instead she put a baby strap on me, and led me around like a dog.

"It wasn't funny, don't laugh!" Kristen snaps at me, "and at the zoo, there's always a chance an escaped lion or tiger might eat you up. So girls, I have some straps here. If there's any moving away from me, I'll put them on you." She reaches into her bag and holds them up; they're black and have lots of buckles and clips on them.

Thinking of animals, I think about some of the animals Kristen told me were far below when I did my magic helicopter ride. Although I'm sure Kristen was pretending a lot of things, it really felt as if I was flying.
"Are we going in a magic helicopter?" I ask.

Kristen smiles. "No, Jemima," she says. "The magic helicopter only flies on very special days, like Shannon's birthday. That's why we're going by train today."

"How did you make it feel as if I was in a helicopter?"

"Are you trying to be smart?" Shannon says.

"If I tell you that, the magic will stop working," Kristen says. "But if you're a good girl, I'll take you up in it again one day."

I want to go up in it now! I know that I'd better not ask again because Kristen is strict, and gets angry if I keep asking for the same thing, but I really want to be blindfolded again; in a funny way, I felt safe when I couldn't see. I'm a bit scared of Kristen, but I want it so badly, so I take a deep breath, and I ask: "can I be blindfolded now?"

Kristen makes a funny noise that almost sounds like she's laughing, and pulls a really strange face; I can't tell if she is angry or not.

"If you're blindfolded, you won't be able to see the lions, tigers, zebras and so on! Today we're not going to pretend we can see them, we're going to really see them!"

"But there aren't any in this train," I say.

Shannon snorts. "Sometimes, you're just too smart, Jemima," she says.

"You're right Jemima, there aren't any here right now," Kristen says, smiling even more at me. She turns to Shannon and asks "as Jemima's so smart, shall we blindfold her now, as she's asking for it?" Shannon nods and grins; Kristen picks up the bag with our warm clothes, and looks inside.

"Will you blindfold Shannon as well?" I ask.

"No way, I want to be able to see, even if you don't!" Shannon says, looking shocked.

"'I want' doesn't get," Kristen says, smiling at Shannon's horrified face. "We'll play a little game. Jemima, have a good look at Shannon. I'll blindfold you, then ask you a question about her clothes. If you get it right, she'll have her eyes covered too."

"That's not fair! I don't want to be blindfolded!" Shannon says.

"You'd better hope Jemima gets it wrong, then," Kristen says. "Beware Jemima, when I've covered your eyes, you're not allowed to peek. If you do, one of the lions in the zoo might escape, and eat you all up, and that will be the end of you. Is that clear?"

I nod, and look at Shannon's clothes. She is wearing brown winter boots which come almost up to her knees, a pink skirt, and a black and white striped sweater. She's got a funny face on, glaring at me.

"Can I be the one to blindfold Jemima?" Shannon asks.

"Nope, I'll do it," says Kristen. "Time for you to lose your sight, Jemima, and remember: no peeking!" I expect her to get out my scarf, but instead she pulls out my stretchy winter hat, and moves towards me with it.

"Not my scarf?" I ask.

"No, I'll use your hat today," she says. She puts it on my head, and pulls it down so it covers my ears, eyes and nose. At first I can see bits of light through it, but then it feels tighter and everything goes black: perhaps she's folded up the bottom of it so it's now above my nose, and there are two layers over my eyes.

This time Shannon asks if I can see. Although the hat's snug, this time I can open my eyes, but even if I do, I can't see anything at all! I say no.

"Now for your question," Kristen asks. "What colour are Shannon's socks?"

I try to look, but I can't see. I don't know, they were hidden inside her boots!

"I don't know," I say.

"You should know," Shannon says cheerfully, "you were there when I put my boots on."

"Black?" I guess, as that's all I can see anyway.

"Wrong!" Kristen and Shannon say together.

"Haha! Now I can see, and you can't!" says Shannon.

"Don't be nasty, or I'll blindfold you too," says Kristen.

I imagine Shannon with her hat over her eyes, and I try to think what I look like, but I can't look in a mirror. "Do I look funny?" I ask.

Kristin giggles. "I'll take a photo of you," she says, and I hear the click of her iPad. "I'll show it to you later. Now, let's play a game: we'll pass some small objects to Jemima, and she can feel them and guess what they are."

"I'll pass her my hairclip!" Shannon says excitedly.

"That was silly, Shannon, don't tell her what it is!"

I feel something being put into my hand: it's small, round and flat, and it has two floppy flat things coming off it. It's funny, it's almost as if I can "see" it with my hands, but I can't tell what it is. I say I don't know, Kristen tells me it was her watch.

Shannon passes me something; I can feel that it's the little bag she always carries with her. Then Kristen gives me two soft objects, which I recognise as my gloves.

"Now it's time to make the game harder," Kristen says. "You are going to feel something with your gloves on!"

"But I can't see to put them on," I say. I always find putting gloves on difficult: I keep getting two fingers of my hands inside one finger of the glove. And how will wearing gloves make the game harder?

"Shannon will put them on your hands for you," says Kristen. While I can feel them going on my hands, I can hear whispering. Perhaps they're deciding what to pass me next, indeed I can feel another thing. It is round: not like a ball, but a tube. It's big, hard, and when I move it about, I can hear something sloshing inside it.

"A water bottle?" I say. I'm expecting Kristen or Shannon to say something back, but nobody talks.

"Are you there?" I say. I listen; I can hear the train rushing along, I can hear other people talking further away, but I can't hear my friend and her sister. I mustn't take off my blindfold, she said, I don't want to be eaten by an escaped lion. I can't see Kristen and Shannon; I can't hear them; perhaps I can feel them. I put my hands out and move them all over the place in front of me; nothing there. I stretch my little legs out, but I don't kick anything. I'll have to move from where I'm sitting. I jump down off my seat: it's a long way to the floor, it almost feels like when I did that parachute jump. I'm crawling like a baby; I'm starting to feel frightened.

Suddenly I hear someone bursting out laughing, followed by a voice I know.

"Ha ha! Jemima's not as smart as she thought she was!" Shannon says.

"Poor Jemima, you thought we'd gone away, didn't you?" says Kristen.

"We were sitting there all the time, you just couldn't reach us."

"But you were a good girl, you did as you were told, and kept your blindfold on."

It feels like my magic helicopter has suddenly crashed to the ground, and I want to burst out crying. Back then, I felt safe with Kristen talking to me all the time; now I feel really scared, that she could disappear just like that.

"Do you want to see again?" she asks.

I nod; right now I never want to be blindfolded again.

"Shannon, take Jemima's hat off, will you?"

As it's pulled off my head and the light comes in, my eyes are misty with tears. After a while, I see their faces. Shannon is grinning a little, but Kristen looks very serious indeed. She uses a tissue to wipe my eyes.

"You were scared just now, when you didn't know where we were, weren't you?" she says; I nod.

"That's how I felt when you went and hid in the park, I didn't know where you were, I thought I'd lost you."

Now I think again of Kristen running around looking for me, and it doesn't seem funny any more. I feel my face crumpling up, and suddenly I'm crying loudly. Kristen picks me up and cuddles me; I feel safe again with her, and soon I'm no longer crying, but I still feel really bad.

"Your hair's a bit messed up, let's put that right," she says. She gets out a brush, and I calm down as she brushes my hair. She uses her iPad to show me the back of my head; it's all pretty and plaited. She then shows me the photo of me with my hat over my eyes; it's like only half my face is there, I look like a funny sort of snowman sitting on a train seat.

"Now we are nearly there, time for us to put on our warm outdoor clothes, so we can see those animals!" Kristen says more cheerfully.

I'd almost forgotten about the zoo. I still have my gloves on; as Kristen gets them out of the bag, I grab my scarf and hat and put those on, but not over my eyes; I want to be able to see those animals!

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And Jemima, Shannon and Kristen did indeed see loads of animals; big ones, little ones, flying ones, lions, tigers, night animals kept in a dark building (Jemima loved this). The girls stayed close by Kristen's side, so they were not strapped up, or indeed eaten! In the gift shop at the end of their visit, there were many sleeping masks with animals on them, and Jemima jumped up and down begging and pleading to have one, so Kristen bought a tiger one for Shannon, and a zebra one for Jemima. On the return journey, when the girls were tired and happy, guess who won Kristen's competition of who could keep their mask on the longest?

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Sep 17, 2017 at 8:12 PM
Content: 3: Jemima's birthday

Jemima has an enquiring little mind: one of her favourite questions is "how do they do that?". When she's been to the theatre, she asked how they made people on the stage fly. Kristen explained patiently about harnesses and wires which are hard to see, so it looked as if they were flying. Jemima asked if that's how she flew in her magic helicopter, but Kristen again warned her that the magic would stop working if she knew.

Now Jemima knows that it's her birthday coming up. She's always been involved in the preparation for her friends' birthdays; making cakes, cards and decorations, but it's occurred to her that she's not going to be in on this when it's her own birthday.

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"Mummy," I ask one morning before school, "why is it that you always do my birthday stuff when I'm not there?"

"What do you mean?" mummy asks.

"My cake, wrapping presents, getting everything ready!"

"Because when it's your birthday, it's a surprise for you! If you knew what it all was before your birthday, it wouldn't be a surprise on the big day."

"But, you could blindfold me, and then I could be there while you do it."

Mummy laughs. "You might peek, and that would spoil everything."

"No I wouldn't! Kristen's blindfolded me lots of times, I haven't peeked once!"

"Oh, Kristen's been blindfolding you again, has she? I'll talk to her, I'm sure she'll have some good ideas. Now hurry up or you'll be late for school."

All day at school my teacher keeps telling me I'm daydreaming. After school that day, Kristen and Shannon come to my house.

"I've had a chat with Kristen," mummy says, "and as you want it, we will be getting your birthday stuff ready while you're there."

"Do you want to see us doing it?" Kristen asks.

"No!" I say quickly.

"You want us to cover up your eyes, so you're in the dark while we do your cake, gifts and other things, and you can't see anything for a looooong time?"

"Yes!!"

"I think that should be 'yes please'," mummy says.

"Yes please."

"Very well, you shall be the blind birthday girl. Of course you must not peek, because if you do, the green-eyed birthday monster might come and eat up all your birthday things, and maybe you too."

"I wish it was my birthday now!!" I say. I try to stamp my foot, but my chair is too high, and I can't reach the floor.

Mummy and Kristen look at each other.

"Well, actually, I do have a small treat for you for this afternoon," Kristen says.

"What's that?" I say.

"Kristen is going to take you out shopping this afternoon," mummy says, "and she is going to buy you something new to wear at your party."

"You won't see it until the big day," Kristen adds.

"So..." I begin.

"Yep," Kristen says. "You'll have your eyes covered at the store."

I'm so happy, I jump off my chair and run around cheering.

"Sit down, Jemima!" mummy orders. "I hope she's not going to do that while she can't see," she adds to Kristen.

"The green-eyed monster will get her if so," Kristen says.

"Can I come too?" Shannon asks.

"You can, but you won't be seeing either, because I'll cover your eyes too." Shannon looks sulky at this, but she decides she will come.

Later that afternoon, Kristen takes me and Shannon to the mall in her car. I'm wearing my party dress, so she can see what goes well with it ("of course, you won't see!" she adds). Kristen made me wear socks and velcro sneakers, which seems silly with a pretty dress, but she says I have to because she says they're comfy for walking round the mall. In my little bag I have my zebra sleeping mask which I got from the zoo. I've worn it a few times; Kristen made me wear it to help me calm down when a store had run out of my favourite sweets, so I carry it with me. It's not as tight as a scarf, and I can see bits of light when I have it on, but it stops me seeing what's happening.

We arrive at the store, and Kristen leads us by the hand through lots of people, to where the children's clothes are. I'm nervous of crowds; everyone's taller than me, it's noisy, and there are things that I might bump into like clothes rails. I'm glad Kristen's holding my hand. She gets us to sit on low chairs, then she goes over to a lady who has a name badge on, puts a finger to her lips like my teacher does when she wants quiet, and whispers in her ear, pointing at me. The lady pulls a wide-eyed funny face, but nods and walks off.

Kristen walks over to us. "Let's have your masks," she says.

We take them out of our little bags; Kristen blindfolds Shannon first, and I just have time to see her with a tiger mask covering her eyes before my eyes are covered and I can't see anything. I can hear Kristen moving beside me, then I hear the sssscritch of velcro, and realise she's taking my sneakers off.

"Are you buying me shoes?" I ask.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out," she says. I can hear someone walking over, perhaps it's the shop lady. I can feel some different shoes being put on my feet: they feel very stiff, and I can smell that weird smell of new shoes.

A different voice speaks; perhaps it's the shop lady. "Would she like to walk around in them, with you holding her hand?" It sounds like she's giggling.

"Sure, why not?" Kristen says. "Stand up, Jemima, try out your new party shoes!" Someone is holding my hand (I hope it's Kristen), and I walk. It's strange, walking around when I can't see! She leads me in different directions, spinning me round sometimes; I feel very confused now.

"How do the shoes feel?" Kristen asks; I bend down to feel them with my hands. "No no no, how do they feel on your feet?" she laughs, holding both my hands so I can't bend down.

"Oh... OK I guess." They're hard like new shoes, and I really want to know what they are like, but I also like the mystery of not being able to see them.

"Good!" she says. "We'll buy them." I'm then flying in the air; she's picked me up, and put me on a chair again, and I can feel her taking the shoes off my feet. "The shop lady's taken them away, so I'll take your blindfolds off in a moment. Close your eyes, girls, so you're not dazzled by the bright lights in the store."

I do so, and the light looks all red until I open my eyes. We put our masks away, and I put my sneakers back on; they feel all soft after what I wore a moment ago. We go back home, and I feel excited knowing that something is waiting for me in a bag in Kristen's hand. Two sleeps to go!

And now it's my big day; I am seven years old today! After breakfast my mummy has told me that the preparations will begin at 10 o' clock, and that while everything is happening, I will sit on the birthday throne, in the dining room. I have seen it already: it's actually the spinny chair for my mum's computer desk, but it's covered in cloth and looks grand. Kristen has told me that if I want to visit the bathroom, I must ask and I will be taken out of the room; and that I must definitely not uncover my eyes myself, or the green-eyed monster will chase me and eat me and all my birthday things.

I had breakfast, but I could hardly eat, I was so excited. I am barefoot as I usually am at home, in my party dress, wearing a badge saying "I am 7", and my mummy has sat me on the birthday throne. Kristen comes into the room; she is wearing a very pretty dress (not like the sporty clothes she wears most of the time). My friend Shannon is by her side, wearing her own party dress, and flip flops. She walks up to me holding a cushion in front of her, on which there is a small gift, wrapped in paper with lots of different coloured balloons on it.

"Here is your first present of the day, your Highness!" Shannon says, with a little bow.

"But I thought you were going to wrap them in front of me," I say.

"This one's not from us, look at the tag."

I do so: it says "to Jemima, from Mr Wolf."

"Who's Mr Wolf?" I ask.

"Open it, that will give you a clue!"

I pull off the paper, and I see it's a digital watch, and it has a big button which says "talking". I press it, and a funny voice says "it's nine fifty-seven, a.m.". I can tell the time, I learned how to do it at school. Suddenly I realise who Mr Wolf is: one of our favourite games with Kristen used to be "What's the time, Mr Wolf".

"Yep, it's from Mr Wolf himself," Kristen says, grinning more widely than ever. "We're going to keep you blindfolded until he tells you it's eleven o' clock or later, that's quite a long time. You can use your watch to ask him the time while you can't see, but don't do it too often: he might get hungry!"

I giggle nervously. Kristen was always the first to be Mr Wolf, and when she caught me she usually turned me upside down and shook me until I felt dizzy, while pretending to eat me all up. I used to be really scared of this, and I cried the first time I was caught by Mr Wolf.

"I think Jemima's ready to be blindfolded," mummy says. "Shannon, go and fetch the scarf."

Shannon runs out of the room, and comes back and gives me the scarf: is dark purple, quite thick, very soft, has golden crowns on it, and lots of dangly bits at the ends.

"A scarf fit for a princess!" mummy says. "Shannon, as Jemima's best friend, do your duty, and blindfold her well. Remember to make absolutely sure she cannot see!"

"My pleasure," Shannon says, taking the scarf from me. She goes behind me; the last thing I see is my mummy giving me a little wave as the scarf appears in front of me. The scarf is turning black, it is wrapping round my head, I can feel the knot being tied, the edges being tucked in.

"I think you could make that a bit tighter, we really don't want her seeing anything," says Kristen, and I feel the knot being loosened, the scarf pulled really tight, and tied again. I open my eyes, close them, open them: nothing changes, I am a very blind princess!

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Shannon says.

"Three?" I guess; I can't possibly see.

"Wrong! I didn't hold up any."

"Oh, look at her, our blind birthday girl is as happy as a peach, grinning like a Cheshire Cat!" Kristen says, cooing like she did on my first day at school. "Now Shannon," she adds in a serious voice to her little sister, "you can see, and Jemima can't. But remember that she can hear, and I'm sure she will be listening! Do not tell her anything about what's happening, because if you do -"

"The green-eyed birthday monster will get me?" Shannon giggled.

"Don't interrupt! No, he'd only come for Jemima, as it's her birthday, not yours. But if you give any secrets away before it's time, then I'll blindfold you too. See? Here's a scarf for you, all ready just in case."

"I promise I won't," Shannon giggles.

"Now we're going to get you ready, Jemima," Kristen says.

"What do you mean, get me ready?"

"We're going to paint your nails, to begin with."

I love having my nails painted, when I wear a nice dress. Mummy does it for me, she won't let me do it myself because I get the stuff all over my skin as well. I can smell the stuff now, I wonder what colour it is? Do different colours have different smells? "Keep your fingers very still, or you'll smudge them!" says mummy's voice. I can feel mummy holding my hand; I can't feel the brush, but each nail suddenly feels colder. While this is going on, I can hear clattering noises from the kitchen. Now I can hear buzzing, and that must be the mixer. Something is put into my hands: it's a big tube, I think it's wrapping paper. "Hold that for me, will you?" mummy says. I hear her put something on the table near me: it must be my present. It's right there, under my nose, and I guess it's not wrapped; I'm so tempted to peek, but my hands are full. I try moving my mouth and screwing up my face to dislodge my blindfold, but the scarf is firmly tied and doesn't budge. I can't seeeeeeee!!! The paper is taken out of my hands, I can hear scissors and sticky tape being used. "Have a feel of your gift," mummy says, and something is put into my hands. It's small and rectangular; I shake it to see if it rattles, but no sound comes from it. "That one's from me," mummy says.

"Jemima, it's time for some cake mix!" says Kristen's voice.

"But I can't see to eat it," I say.

"I'll feed it to you; just smell it, taste it, and enjoy it! Stick your tongue out, and lick the spoon."

I open my mouth, and a wooden spoon touches my tongue: it's covered in something gooey, sugary, chocolatey. Mmmmmm! I lick and lick; I feel it going on my lips, so I lick those too.

I hear other presents being wrapped; I'm so excited, I want to run around. I start fidgeting in my throne; I feel twitchy like I do when I've been sitting still at school, and it's just before playtime. I ask Mr Wolf what the time is: he says it's ten twenty-three am. It's ages to go until eleven o' clock!

As I can't see, I find that I can hear more, and things which were very quiet now sound loud. I can hear whispering, and I'm sure I can hear "do you think Jemima needs to move about?"

"Oh Jemima!" Kristen says. "I've just spotted the green-eyed birthday monster outside. You must come and help chase him away!"

"Why me, can't Shannon do it?" I ask.

"You have to, you're the birthday girl!"

"But I can't see, and he might eat me up!"

"You don't need to see, you can hear where he is! He has a bell on his tail, listen carefully." I do, and I can hear a bell from where the garden is. "He looks fierce, but he's actually a scaredy monster, and if he sees you running after him, he'll run away."

"Let's get some shoes on you before you go outside, so you can run after him," mummy says, and I can hear the scritch of my velcro sneakers; mummy's putting one on my foot.

"I haven't got socks on!" I cry out.

"No time for that," mummy says, and I can feel the other shoe going on, and she does them up really tight. Although I wear sandals without socks in the summer, I haven't worn sneakers without socks before, straight on my bare feet like slippers, it feels weird, but they have soft insides. "I'll take you outside; when I let go of your hand, follow the sound of the bell, and stop running if I tell you."

I can feel mummy walking me to our big garden, where I know there's loads of space to run around, and mummy lets go of my hand. The sound of the bell is just in front of me. I think of nothing but chasing that monster; I run. But suddenly the bell is to the side; I turn and run in that direction. Now it's going over my head: can the monster fly? It's now behind me, I turn round and I run. It's low down on the ground, perhaps it's trying to bury itself. The ringing is loud. "Go away monster!" I shout, waving my arms. I run into something warm and squishy, and I'm flying up into the air; has the monster caught me, and is now flying away with me? I shiver and panic. I'm being turned upside down; I don't know where I am; I can't see a thing; this is scarier than the magic helicopter; but suddenly I'm the right way up again, held tight in someone's arms, and I can hear Kristen's voice.

"Well done Jemima, he almost caught you, but I think you scared him away good and proper!"

"Has he gone?" I ask; I can't hear his bell, and of course I can't see if he's gone. I'm frightened from having been flung over the place, but I feel safe with Kristen.

"He has flown away, never to be seen again." So the monster can fly! For a moment I think about taking my blindfold off, as the monster won't come back, but I'm sure Kristen will take away my presents if I do.

"Let's get you back inside," she says. "Why don't you ask Mr Wolf what the time is?"

"It's ten forty-two am," Mr Wolf replies.

Not so long to go now. Soon I am back on my throne, my sneakers have been taken off, and there's the scent of some cake baking. Mmm, it smells good. I listen to other sounds around me such as the metal sound of the step ladder being used; perhaps decorations are being put up. I can also hear a funny hiss that keeps starting and stopping. "What's that hissing noise?" I ask.

Shannon speaks from right next to me; I'd forgotten she was there, I wonder if she saw me chasing off the monster? "Balloons being pumped up," she says.

"Oh Shannon, I'll have to blindfold you now," says Kristen's voice.

"Why?!" Shannon sounds horrified.

"Because you told Jemima what's happening."

"But that's not fair, I don't want to be blindfolded!"

"Tough, you knew the rules. There's not long to go, and you'll be allowed to see at the same time as Jemima."

"But I want to see her playing mmmfff!" Shannon's voice is suddenly muffled, as if someone's put a hand over her mouth.

"Well, you can play the game of silence. I'll blindfold you now, and if you keep silent for six minutes, I'll let you see again before Jemima does."

"But..."

"Silence, Shannon," says Kristen. I can hear the sound of a scarf being tied as Shannon is blindfolded, followed by an angry sigh from her.

Nobody talks much for a little while, although I can hear Shannon muttering under her breath beside me. I can hear sellotape and scissors again; perhaps more presents are being wrapped? Suddenly I can feel shoes being put on my feet again, but this time they feel like my stiff party shoes; they feel all cold on my bare feet. I wonder if they are sandals, and I try to feel the bottom of one shoe with my toes, but my toes are covered.

Kristen speaks. "Jemima, you have to stay in the dark for just a bit longer! Shannon, good girl for keeping silent, I'll take your blindfold off now, and you can help set up a game for Jemima; remember not to tell her anything!"

I can hear whispering, and the sound of Shannon's flip flops as she walks around; what is she doing?

"Now, Jemima," Kristen says. "After this game, you'll be allowed to see again. Your presents are hidden in the room; you have to find them by crawling and feeling about. As you find each one, give it to Shannon, who will be beside you. I will tell you if you are warm or cold."

"You can get off your throne," mummy adds. "Right now, you're freezing, so get crawling!"

I go on my hands and knees, moving my hands about in front of me as much as I can.

"Warmer! Warmer!" Kristen and my mum say together. I feel a wrapped present; I think it's the first one I heard being wrapped. Shannon takes it, and I'm told I'm cold again. I keep changing the direction I'm crawling in, and I find more presents; I've counted four of them so far, each one feels bigger than the one before. Suddenly there is cheering and clapping around me.

"Well done, you did it, you got them all!" Kristen and my mum say; I am led back to my throne.

"Jemima, check the time with Mr Wolf," my mum says.

I do so: "it's eleven hundred hours, am."

"Dinner time!" adds Kristen. "No really, it is now time for you to see again. Are you looking forward to seeing everything, after so long in the dark?"

I am mostly, and I feel really excited, as I got what I wanted and heard everything going on around me, but in a way the darkness still feels safe, and I don't want to leave it behind. However, I say yes.

"What colour do you think your nails are?" mummy asks.

I'd forgotten about her painting my nails, it seems so long ago now. "Silver?" I guess.

"You'll soon find out. Remember, close your eyes first," says mummy, "because everything will be bright when we take the scarf off, and open your eyes slowly."

I follow these instructions, and off comes the blindfold. I open my eyes and wait for the brightness and the mist to clear. I see decorations: streamers and balloons all round the room, banners with "happy birthday Jemima" on them. I see a pile of wrapped presents on the table. I see that my nails are not silver, but glittery red. I look at my feet, and I see my party shoes: they are also red and sparkly; they cover my toes and each has a strap over the top of my foot. I don't see a cake though.

"Where's my cake?" I ask.

"You'll see that later, when your friends are here. But now, your presents from us are waiting for you, why not start opening them?"

I look at the pile in front of me, wondering where to begin; and I've still got the party itself to come!

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Sep 18, 2017 at 10:15 AM
Content: Thanks Kerry. I'd be grateful for feedback on one thing: how well does it work telling it from Jemima's point of view? I'm trying to use vocabulary a girl of her age might use, and not use many advanced sentence constructions, but I do wonder if that makes it less enjoyable to read? I keep thinking of the way the book "Room" is written, but I'm certainly not trying to copy that.

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Sep 21, 2017 at 11:12 PM
Content: 4: Jemima's frightening experience

I'm at an afternoon party of one of my mum's friends. Grown up parties are boring - there are no other children around. All the grown ups are talking and laughing loudly in small groups, but no one's taking any notice of me. I've eaten as much as I can, I'm wandering around from one group of adults to the next, people smile at me, they ask me a few questions, but then they carry on nattering. Many of them are drinking from wine glasses. They're all talking and laughing more loudly than grown ups usually talk (and they often tell us children to be quiet). It's a cold day, so everyone's indoors. I wish Kristen was here - she's fun.

Earlier this afternoon I showed one group of people my favourite birthday present from Kristen, she says it's called a "sensory board": it's a game with ten wooden blocks, and there's a wooden board with ten holes to put them in. Each block has a surface which feels different, such as sandpaper, sponge, plastic, cork, bare wood, bumpy cardboard, felt, and some others. On the wooden board each hole has one of same kinds of surface inside, and the game is to feel them and put the blocks in the right holes, while you're blindfolded and can't see. I managed to get one group of the adults to play this game with me, we used my zebra sleeping mask: I won it every time, but they didn't!

As nobody wants to talk to me, I find the door to the garden. It's not locked, so I go outside: I haven't been in the garden at this house before. In the garden, there's a big lawn, lots of shrubs, a tree, and a shed. I try the door of the shed but it's locked, so I walk over to a funny wooden house in the far corner of the garden which is shaped like a big play house, but instead of walls it has wire netting made up of very small metal hexagons, and the door and roof are the same. I know about hexagons at school; it's a shape which tessellates. It looks a bit like some of the cages we saw the animals inside at the zoo. I try to open the door, but I can't because although there's a bolt near the floor, there's another one which is too high for me to reach. Inside this funny building is an earthy floor, and what looks like a very small wooden house: it's only as tall as my elbow, and the front is open, so I can see there is absolutely nothing inside. I wonder what all this is for? It looks like it's for animals, but there are no animals inside at all.

It's cold out here, so I go inside again. One of the guys who was wandering on his own looks down at me.

"Are you all right?" he asks.

"I'm bored," I whine.

"What's your name, little girl?"

"Jemima."

"Would you like to play blind man's buff, Jemima?" he asks, smiling widely.

I don't know that game, but as it has "blind" in the name, it sounds fun, so I say yes. Kristen has taught me a few blindfold games now, but not this one.

"We'd better go and play outside, as there's more space," he says. "Get your coat, it's cold out there."

I go out to near the front door; I can see my coat, but I can't reach it because it's on a peg very high up. He gets it down for me, along with my multicoloured scarf. As we walk outside, he tells me that he'll blindfold me, walk me to my starting place and spin me round, I have to stand where I am and count to twenty, and then I have to try and find him. I won't be able to see, but perhaps he'll make noises like the birthday monster did? I put my coat on, and he ties my scarf over my eyes. He doesn't do it as well as Kristen does - when my eyes are open I can see a little bit out of the bottom. He walks me along by holding my shoulders, unlike Kristen who always holds my hand to lead me; I nearly trip over his feet as he's behind me. Then he turns me around a couple of times.

"Remember, stay there and count to twenty, then you can try and find me," he says.

I start counting out loud. I can still see a little bit of daylight under the blindfold, and I can hear noises like metal scraping. I try listening for him walking away, but I don't hear anything.

"Eighteen... nineteen... twenty!" I count. I haven't heard anything at all, I wonder where he is, or indeed where I am?

I guess I'll have to try and find him. "I'm coming for you, ready or not!" I say. I put my hands out in front of me, and walk slowly forwards; after only a couple of steps I can feel something in front of me. It's that metal netting which that funny house was made of; he must have walked me over to near there. I walk backwards a step or two, turn to my left, and walk forwards again: but I can feel the wire in front of my hands again. That doesn't make sense! This time, I put my hands on the wire, and slide my fingers slowly along it: I can feel a corner, and more wire. But this is not right: that would mean I was inside that house. I keep feeling what must be the long side: then there's another corner, and more wire, and another corner. I keep walking and feel some pain as my leg hits something hard: it must that little wooden house inside the big wire one. I'm inside that wire house! How did he get me in there? He must have opened it very quietly. I try to remember where the door was: I think it was in the long side of the house, perhaps he closed it again.

"Are you there?" I call out. I realise that I don't know his name, or even who he is.

There's no reply. I listen very hard; but I can't actually hear anything at all, not even the adults talking loudly in the house. I know it's harder to hear things on the other side of doors and windows, but I thought I would hear it a bit. I'm starting to feel scared, like when I couldn't find Kristen.

I think of Kristen telling me that I mustn't peek out of my blindfold or something terrible might happen; I might die, a lion might eat me, or the birthday monster might come. But Kristen isn't here to see me peek, and also he didn't tell me not to peek. I can see already anyway, as he didn't tie the blindfold properly. I tilt my head back as far as I can to try to see out of the bottom, like Shannon did when she played pin the tail. I can just see my sneakers, the earthy floor, a bit of the wire. I'll be able to find the door more easily anyway. I go round the edge of the house, and I can see the wooden frame at the bottom. I see a part of it which moves slightly when I shake the wire: this must be the door, but it doesn't open at all. There are those bolts on the outside, but if they're fastened I can't put my hands through to open them. I can't get out!

Panic grips me. I don't care any more about monsters, or dying, or being eaten up: perhaps a monster will come and rescue me. I take my scarf off, and look quickly all round me: I am right inside that house, and the door is closed and I can't open it. There's no sign of the man in the garden, and I can see that the door back into the house is closed. By putting my cheek right up to the wire and peering out, I can see that not only is the door of where I am bolted, but there are big padlocks on the bolts which weren't there before. I am locked in!

"He-e-e-e-e-e-elp!!!!" I scream at the top of my little voice. Someone in the house must be able to hear me. I can see people moving behind the windows, so the people are still inside, but they don't turn and look outside. I scream for help again, but nothing happens. I am all alone out here; I've been tricked and locked up by someone I don't know. I don't know if he's going to come back, if he's just going to leave me out here.

I hear a thumping noise above me: I look up in terror, but I can see it's a tabby cat which has just jumped over the fence and on to the roof, and is walking along the wooden parts between where the wires are. He looks down at me with green eyes, and then climbs down the outside of the house. "Please tabby, can you help me?" I plead to him. I put my fingers through the netting to him, and he rubs his nose on them. I feel comforted by his presence, it's nice to have company even though cats can't talk.

I notice that it's getting dark. It would be terrible to be locked up out here all night! I'm glad I've got my coat on, but my feet are cold, I'm wearing sneakers but no socks; since my party I decided I like wearing them on my bare feet. Why oh why is nobody looking for me, where's my mummy? I panic again and jump up and down, screaming; the cat runs off. I feel more alone than ever in my little prison, and crumple to my knees and cry. I weep and sob and wail until my throat is dry, my eyes are itchy and I've no tears left in me. I feel like Hansel in his cage; I see a little stick on the ground, and I hold it out through the wall, to practise holding out a bone instead of my finger, to fool the wicked witch who might cook and eat me. I also feel like Princess Fiona, banished to the highest room in the tallest tower. I wish I was Queen Elsa, hiding in her room before her coronation; at least then I could turn everything to ice.

I need to pee, but I have nowhere to hide. But nobody can see me anyway, or they would have rescued me. Where shall I do it? I don't want to wet my pants; I'm a big girl, I'm not in pull ups any more. What did all those fairy tale people do when they were locked up, why do they never seem to need to pee? I take my panties off under my skirt, and squat in the small space behind the little wooden house. It's hard to go because I'm shaking so much, and I'm so uncomfortable, but ahh! it's coming, bliss... I can hear it hitting the earth below me, and I can smell it.

I'm just finishing when I hear a clicking sound behind me. I automatically shout "go away!" as I'm still peeing. But then I realise someone might be coming for me, how unlucky that I have my pants down! Nobody's coming out of the house, but gate leading to the driveway opens, and someone comes through. It is the man who blindfolded me! But I'm not pleased to see him, as it was he who tricked me, he is my enemy. I quickly put my pants back on: I can see a funny look on his face. "Go away!" I shout as he comes near.

"But I've come to let you out," he says, with keys in his hand.

"You're going to do something nasty! What did you lock me up for?" I shout back. Why did he come into the garden through the gate, and not through the house? And why am I so sure he is up to no good?

He's now reaching up to unlock the top bolt: I frantically look around for something to defend myself with. Poor little me is no match for a grown man; I try to pick up the little wooden house, but although it moves a bit it's too heavy for me. It's just big enough for me to get inside: everything is telling me that I must hide, so I curl up small (like they get us to do in dance at school) and get in. I have my head in my hands, and I'm shaking all over as I can hear my prison being unlocked. I don't want to be taken away by him.

My little house is being picked up - he's trying to take it away with me inside! But it's heavy for him as well, so he's moving it slowly. I peep out and see he's left the door of the prison open, so there's my chance! I spring out of the little house, and I run through the open wire door, out to freedom, through the garden, to the back door of the house; I pound my little fists on the back door. I kick it; I shout and scream. I dare not look back to see if he's following me. I reach up and try the handle: the door opens, I fall inside, but pick myself up and run to where I can hear voices; the adults are talking and laughing louder than ever. I dive under their chairs, and curl up again; I am surrounded by legs, and I can hear sounds of surprise above me. I'm crying again.

Finally I can hear my mum's voice. She's asking me to come out from where I'm hiding; my mind is now so hazy I don't know what's happening, but the next thing I know I'm in the car with mummy, and we're going home. I realise I've left my scarf behind in the prison, like Mr Toad leaving his waistcoat behind in his cell, but I don't want it back. I reach into my little bag, which I managed to keep around me all the time; I find my zebra eye mask. I want darkness, the world is a frightening place. I put it on, and I don't see anything until we're home. My mum doesn't talk during the journey; perhaps she's waiting for me to calm down.

Much later that evening, mummy's given me my bath and am ready for bed, in my jammies, slippers and dressing gown, still scared, but feeling a bit calmer. Mummy comes into my bedroom, with the look on her face that means she's going to talk about something BIG AND SERIOUS. I glance at her feet and with a shock I see that she's wearing her black flip flops with the sparkly bits, the ones that she used once to smack my bottom when she was very angry with me for running off out of the house; she hasn't worn them since, or even spoken about it. Curiously enough, that time she seemed to cry more than I did. Is she about to spank me now, I wonder fearfully.

"Can I wear my blindfold?" I ask; it now seems to be my comforter, and then I won't see her nasty footwear.

"No way!" mummy says. "I want to see your face, and you must see mine, so you keep your eyes open, and tell me exactly what happened in the garden."

Mummy sits and listens, while I tell her everything that happened to me. She asks me to describe the guy who took me outside; her face changes.

"Who was he?" I ask.

"He's a friend of someone I know, and don't like," she says, "I didn't realise he was there. He was bored as well as you; he must have heard about how you like being blindfolded, and I think he locked you up to give you a fright."

"Where would he have taken me?"

"I don't know," mummy says. "If he wanted to take you away, he would probably have done so straight away, before anyone else saw him."

"Why was that wire house in the garden anyway?" I want to know.

"They used to keep hens in there, but they don't any more."

"So I was a little hen!" I say, forgetting my fears for a moment, and I start clucking.

"This is not funny, Jemima, you might have been in great danger!" mummy shouts, making me jump; she crosses her legs, and starts wiggling one of her flip flops so it slaps against the bottom of her foot. "Now listen carefully; you seem to like being blindfolded, which I find... puzzling, but you must be careful who covers your eyes, so you stay safe. It's okay if I do it, or someone the same age as you, but no other grown ups."

"What about Kristen, or my teacher at school?" I ask.

Mummy hesitates. "Your teacher is fine. As for Kristen, I wish she wouldn't play so many blindfold games with you, I think it's messing with your head."

"But I like Kristen's games!" I plead. There's Christmas coming soon; I know she'll have all sorts of fun stuff planned for that, where I won't be able to see.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow; she may be your best friend's big sister, but she is young. I have to think about your safety; you'll only be allowed to play blindfold games with her if you and she stick to some rules, which I will talk to her about."

Safety, rules, boring grown-up words. Kristen is not young - she is most definitely grown up; she drives a car, she goes to places by herself. I can't do those things because I'm only little.

"Tomorrow, Kristen and I will talk to you about keeping yourself safe, and who you can trust," she says. "Now it's bedtime."

As I brush my teeth, I wonder if I'm going to have bad dreams about being a hen locked up in a cage, or men I don't know taking me away. Kristen has sometimes threatened "or the child catcher will come and get you...".

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Sep 26, 2017 at 10:47 AM
Content: 5: Jemima in the Jungle

It's been two or three weeks since a stranger locked me in a hen run at someone else's house. Since then my mum has warned me about stranger danger, and Kristen has talked to me about it as well. My mum made several threats that she was never going to allow me to play blindfold games again; I cried my little heart out at this, and promised that I would obey any rules she made about them.

I have an exercise book where mummy makes me write out stuff she wants me to remember. (She once made me write in it "I will stop using potty talk" twenty times.) Last week she told me some rules for blindfold games with Kristen, and made me write them in my book:
1. Kristen must stay with me while I can't see.
2. If I feel scared, I can say "I need help", and Kristen must speak to me. If she does not, I can take off my blindfold.
3. If I hear a voice I don't know, I must speak to Kristen. If she does not reply, I can take off my blindfold.
4. I can only blindfold Kristen if another adult is there.

I hadn't thought about blindfolding Kristen; I can't think why I'd want to do that. Doesn't my mum understand that I like being blindfolded by her, not the other way round? I wanted to add to this list that Kristen must blindfold me every time we meet, but I didn't think my mum would approve. I also wanted to add that Kristen must always ask "can you see?"; when she does, I've always said no, but I wonder what she'd do if I said yes. Kristen smiled when she saw the rules written out in my book, and then told me that it needed illustrating, and I could draw a cartoon of me and her playing one of our games. And guess what? She blindfolded me for this, I had to draw it while I couldn't see! It came out a bit messy, with me and her overlapping, but it was quite funny.

It's much warmer today than it was when I was a caged hen, and Kristen has told me that this afternoon will be adventure time, which she says will be as much fun as the magic helicopter, and it will be longer too: I am going into the jungle! She's wearing a safari outfit: a big hat, a brown jacket and shorts, and brown sandals. She sends me to my bedroom to change into my own similar outfit which she's just bought me, and has told me to wait there until she comes to fetch me, and that she might be some time. I like my new clothes: I feel all ready to explore! She hasn't bought me shoes though, I wonder if I should wear my own sandals, or my sneakers?

I wonder what will be in the jungle; I've read some books about things that are in it, like brightly coloured birds, animals such as monkeys, lots of trees and plants. After what seems like a loooong time, Kristen comes into my bedroom; I ask her what I should wear on my feet.

"Absolutely nothing," she says, "you're going to get close to nature, and be a barefoot jungle girl."

"Will I see the jungle?"

"You certainly will," she says.

"What??!" I say, my eyes and mouth wide open, my heart pounding. Is Kristen not going to blindfold me? Did I misunderstand, and I'm going to actually see the jungle, like I did the zoo?

"In that big vivid imagination of yours is where you'll see it, with a little help from my voice. Don't worry, you'll be blindfolded all right."

That's a relief. "Is the jungle dangerous?"

"Oh, it's full of snakes, swamps, spiders, savage beasts that might bite you, or eat you whole, plants that might tangle you up, natives that might kidnap you. But have no fear, you'll be safe with me and the magic scarf."

She waves it in front of me: it's a brown scarf this time to match my outfit. Kristen looks as if she's about to put it on me, but she pauses.

"Remember the rules that your mum made you write," she says. "What must you do if you feel scared?"

"Say that I need help," I say.

"Good! Now take your hat off so I can blindfold you, then I'll carry you into the jungle. Close your eyes Jemima!"

Why is it that Kristen sometimes tells me to close my eyes? I like seeing the world disappear as the blindfold goes on. However, I do as she says; I can see some redness, but it turns black with the familiar sensation of the scarf being tightened around my head, squishing my eyelids slightly. I can imagine Kristen's look of concentration as she knots it soundly, and tucks the bottom edges in near my nose to make sure it's all peek-proof. As a final touch, she adjusts the knot and makes it really tight. "Can you see?" she asks.

"Yes," I say cheekily.

There's a pause, then Kristen suddenly shouts "BOO!" behind me: I jump and giggle.

"Little liar, nobody can see when I blindfold them!" I feel her putting my safari hat back on.

"I can see lots of black," I add; I hear Kristen snort.

Kristen spins me round a couple of times, then picks me up in her strong sporty arms and carries me in front of her like a baby. I wish my mum would do this, but she says I'm too big for it; I feel sad about that, I think she does too. Soon I can hear the sound of insects chirping, a little wind on my skin, and I can feel Kristen putting me down in a standing position. My bare feet touch the grass, and I'm being spun round again; perhaps I'm in our garden, but I don't know where I am or which way I'm facing!

"All safari walkers need some food to survive," Kristen's voice says. "Some fruit may be falling out of the trees around you: listen very carefully, and go and find them on your hands and knees!"

I hear a thump over to my right: I head in that direction, thinking about what jungle fruit looks and feels like. I find something hard and round and hairy.

"Oh, a coconut!" Kristen says. "I'll take hold of it for you, but you need more; keep listening out!"

I hear another thud, and I find a fruit which Kristen says is a mango. I don't know what a mango looks like, but it feels softer and lighter than a coconut.

"Now I'll take you to the jungle path," she says. "When you get there, there's a string for you to follow, so you won't need my hand, but I'll be right there with you." As Kristen takes my hand and steers me in another direction, I still feel very excited. As I have no idea where I am, it doesn't feel like my garden at all, and I don't even think about not being able to see: I really am in the jungle! I can feel the warm sunshine on the back of my legs.

"Here is the string," Kristen says, letting go of my hand. "Move your left hand upwards until you can feel it." I do as she says until I feel my fingers close around it; it's quite tight and it goes along in front of me, not straight up. It's rough and thick string, not like the thin white kind my mum uses for tying up parcels. "Just keep following it, whatever way it takes you, and enjoy being a jungle girl!"

As I walk along, it's no longer grass under my feet, but it feels like bare earth. After a few steps it feels softer and wetter, and then I'm in soft mud, right up to my ankles!

"Uh oh, Jemima's walked into the swamp!" Kristen says cheerfully; I suddenly stand still. "Don't stop," she says, "you might sink, better keep moving!"

"But my feet are all muddy and sticky!" I protest. The mud feels really funny as I wiggle my toes, but after a while it feels all tingly and nice.

"Perhaps you'll find a stream to wash them in later," she says, "but keep going."

I try to walk, but it's difficult: there is a loud squelch as I tug my foot out of the bog! The mud disappears as I walk on, and my feet feel all cold. The path keeps changing: I walk slowly over what feels like gravel, big stones, something rough and woody but I don't know what it is. Sometimes the string is tied round a tree and then changes direction, but I feel it continuing on the other side. Is our garden really as big as this? I can hear something gradually getting louder: it sounds like a waterfall.

"I think there's a river ahead of you, but it's too far below in a valley for you to wash your feet," Kristen tells me, as the sound gets louder. "There's a bridge coming up; I'll tell you when to step upwards."

Have I really been transported to a jungle far away from where I live? I can't imagine how a bridge, a valley and a waterfall can appear in our garden. I step up when Kristen tells me, still following the string which now goes upwards. It's planks of wood beneath my feet. The sound of the waterfall on my right is louder than ever, and I can feel drops of water on my arms and legs.

"Oh, Jemima is leaving muddy footprints on the bridge, let's hope savages don't find her!" This makes me move a bit quicker; as I do so, and reach the end of the bridge, I can hear the waterfall sound fading out behind me, which is now replaced by buzzing; lots of it, some of which goes over and around my head. Am I about to be stung by angry bees?

"That's just the insects swarming," Kristen tells me. "At certain times of day, they move from one place to another in huge swarms. Just keep moving normally, don't flap about, or they'll think a storm has begun."

The sound of the insects suddenly stops; almost too quickly. I keep following my guiding rope, and suddenly my hat disappears and something very long and hanging brushes all over my arms, legs and face, as if I've walked through one of those curtains made out of beads or heavy strips. I stop, and with my right hand I feel behind me and try to find my hat.

"Oops, did Jemima lose her hat as she walked through the vines? Too bad, the beasts might be after you, you can't turn back! Better keep walking!"

And then, very close behind me and to my right, there is a crash of thunder. "Oh no, now a storm really is beginning!" my guide says. "Jungle's also called rainforest, and for a good reason. We're going to get very wet, but we have to keep going!" And sure enough, I can feel rain. Lots of it. I wish I had my hat on! It's all cold and going over my jacket, shorts, arms and legs; I wonder if it's washing the mud off my feet? In half a minute I am soaked through, and shivering. I don't like this jungle, with its surprises, I want to go home!

The rain suddenly stops, and my string seems to carry on a long way in the same direction. I then come to where it is tied to a tree, and I feel for the string continuing on the other side, but no matter how much I feel about, it is not there.

"Where's the string?" I call out, but there is no reply.

I'm in panic for a second or two, then I remember what my mum told me. "I need help!" I say.

"It's all right, I'm here, I'll take your hand in a moment," Kristen says; her voice is lower down than usual. I feel relieved that I don't have to take off my blindfold, so I stand still. Owwwww! There's a sharp pain on the top of my foot: I clutch it and almost fall over, then I realise I've let go of the string.

"Oh no, you've been bitten by a snake!" Kristen says, but she doesn't sound very worried. But now I really am scared: I try to run, but Kristen grabs my shoulders to stop me. "Keep still, Jemima! You can't see, you might run straight into a lake."

I wonder if Kristen had jabbed something into my foot to make it hurt, but it's still stinging and prickling quite badly, perhaps it really was a snake that bit me. For the first time since entering the jungle, I find I actually want to see what's around me! I try to peek by moving my face around and opening and closing my mouth, but I am still securely blindfolded and can't see a thing. What kind was it? An adder, a viper, a cobra? Is my foot changing colour, am I about to die? How did snakes get into our garden anyway, or am I really in the jungle? What idiot goes barefoot in a dangerous jungle, anyway? My mum never lets me go barefoot outside, I only did because Kristen made me go without shoes.

"I'll help you to sit down," Kristen says, and she leads me to sit on something hard. She's rubbing the injured part of my foot with something that feels like a leaf; the nasty sensation goes away a little. I'm shivering in spite of the warm sun, as my clothes are still wet.

"I'm going to turn you round on your seat, there's a small pond you can put your feet into," Kristen continues. "Don't try to do anything, I'll help you." And my feet are in cool water. But there's something moving inside it which tickles me: a water-snake? I take my feet out in a hurry.

"It's all right, keep your feet in!" she says. "There are fish in there which will suck the snake's venom away."

Ewwwwww! This is not very nice. It feels like the water is alive, not just the fish inside it. My clothes are starting to dry in the sun, but I don't want to be in the jungle any more. "Please, Kristen, can I go home?" I ask.

"We're a long way from home," she says.

"But I'm bursting for the toilet!" It's true, I often find I need to go when I get scared.

"There aren't any toilets out here, Jemima," Kristen says. "If you need to go, you'll have to squat like the natives do."

I haven't told Kristen that that's what I had to do when I was locked up in the hen run; it really upset me having to do that, and I feel tearful thinking about it. "Pleeeeease, can we go home?" I beg, wriggling on my seat as the tiny swimming things continue to move around my feet. "Can you fly me there in the magic helicopter?"

"A helicopter needs a lot of space to land, and the jungle's too thick," she says. "However, you remember the fruit you found earlier?"

"The coconut?"

"After that, there was the mango. You're going to eat some, and then we'll go home."

Hearing Kristen say we'll go home calms me down, as does the thought of eating. She tells me to lift my feet out of the water, and she walks me to another seat to sit on. My foot is still tingling unpleasantly. I can hear Kristen cutting something up, and then she tells me to put my hands out so I can feel the table in front of me.

"I've chopped your mango into small pieces," she says, "it's in a dish in front of you. Go ahead and eat it, you can use your fingers."

I feel about: there's the dish. I try to pick up a small cube of something inside, but it's very slippery, and makes my fingers juicy. I put it in my mouth: it tastes very sweet and strong! I've never had mango before, it's really nice. I eat it up until I can feel the dish is empty. My fingers are now quite sticky; this fruit is messier than some others.

"Now I think it's time to go home," Kristen says. I am relieved; although I enjoyed my adventure, it was one of the more frightening ones, and I'm glad it's over. "I'll carry you there."

The jungle can't be that far away if Kristen can carry me home just like that, but perhaps it's part of the magic. When she puts me back on my feet and takes off my blindfold, I am in the bathroom; my feet are clean, but my hands are still really dirty, and so are my clothes. Kristen makes me wash my hands, then tells me to go to my bedroom and get changed, and to stay there until she comes back. I do as she says after I have used the toilet; I really needed to go! Kristen also told me I could write about my adventure, but I don't really want to; at school, we go on lots of trips, but we always have to write about them, that sucks.

As I get changed into an ordinary skirt and T-shirt, I look at my foot. It still stings a bit, and there are small white lumps in the place where I was bitten, which hurt when I touch them, and keep pricking when my heart beats. Did something really happen to it, did the magic scarf not protect me? I can't look into the garden because my bedroom window doesn't face into it, so I don't know if I was out there all along.

As I relax, thinking about what my next blindfold adventure might be, and wondering how Kristen made it all happen or if there really was magic, I can hear Kristen and my mum talking in another room, and I'm sure I can hear my mum saying "you did what to my daughter's foot?"

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Sep 27, 2017 at 11:01 AM
Content:

kerry said:

For the most part these are very, very cute stories, though you violate your own theme and mood in part four. And it is interesting too that, in that part, Jemima's voice slips. She uses grownup words such as "nattering" and (good lord!) "tessellates"! She uses the word "which" instead of "that." She just doesn't sound like a small child or even herself.

And then of course bizarre and twisted things happen to her. Not sure this is your best installment.

Fortunately you immediately return to Fantasyland By Kristen, the best babysitter on the planet.

[End of quote]

Thank you for your feedback, Kerry, part four needs work, or even needs to be in a different place in the story, maybe when she's older. I suppose I was trying to develop it too quickly. Re the long words such as "tessellate", that was deliberate: one of my own childhood things was using big words I learned at school, and saying them when adults didn't expect them, I remember enjoying them looking a bit surprised that I knew words like that. Perhaps "nattering" was out of place, unless her teachers had told her off for "nattering"! I'm glad you like the character of Kristen, I wish she was my babysitter!

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Apr 20, 2018 at 2:35 PM
Content: Hi everybody! It's been a long time since I've added to this story, but here is another chapter about 7-year-old Jemima and her beloved babysitter Kristen, who likes to tease the little Jemima and play with her mind. This evening Jemima becomes more than a little fixated on a mundane object belonging to Kristen.

===== Slippers =============

It's nearly my bedtime. Kristen (the big sister of my best friend Shannon) is looking after me, and she is the best babysitter ever: she's funny, a bit scary, she keeps me safe, she helps me to be a good girl, tells me stories, and best of all, she often blindfolds me for games and surprises. She's very strong and can pick me up and swing me about, even though I'm a big girl now, and my mum says she can't pick me up any more. She likes shoes, and she's wearing different ones nearly every time she comes. Sometimes she wears flip flops, or sneakers, or sandals, but today she's wearing slippers which are red on the outside, and fluffy and white on the inside. One of them has the word "naughty" on the top, the other one "nice". They look really comfy - I wish I was wearing them! If she takes them off I'm going to put them on my feet, I'll be the wicked witch trying to steal Dorothy's slippers. These ones only cover her toes: I can see her heels, but I can't see what colour nail varnish she has on her toes today. I should have looked before she put them on. She's sitting at the table eating her dinner (my mum gave me mine ages ago, before she went out), she has her legs crossed and she's wiggling her feet: I keep hoping a slipper will fall off so I can see her toes.

Right now I'm reading "The Borrowers", which is a story about little people who live under the floors of your house, and there's a normal-sized boy, who lives with a grumpy woman who doesn't like him much. He's hoping to find a message from one of these little people under the front door mat, so he keeps lifting it up to have a look. The grumpy woman is angry that he doesn't put them back straight, and says she'll take a slipper to him.

I wonder if there's a letter for me under the front door mat, perhaps left there by a little person; I'll go and have a look. I check Kristen's not looking before I sidle out, because I'll feel silly telling her why. I feel a tingle of excitement as I lift the mat, but there's nothing under it apart from dirt and dust. Kristen's white running shoes are by the front door: just for fun I put my bare feet inside them, and try to walk around, but they're too big for me. As I'm taking them off and bending down to put them back, her voice makes me jump.

"What do you think you're doing, Jemima?" she says, like a mum who's just caught her daughter scribbling on the wall. I look up, and there she is, advancing on me with her hands on her hips. I giggle and fall over on my back; she puts her foot on my tummy, pinning me to the ground as if to stop me running away. Perhaps this is what taking a slipper to me means.

"Were you hoping to find some treasure under the doormat?" she asks, with her foot still on me. I so want to grab her slipper off her foot, but I don't dare. Instead, while she's standing over me, I tell her about a letter from the borrowers. I then ask her what "taking a slipper to him" means; she looks thoughtful as if she's deciding what to say, then she smiles.
"Well, as it's nearly your bedtime, I think you should run along and brush your teeth, get undressed, into your pyjamas, and your own slippers," she says, stepping back. "When you come back, I'll tell you what it means. I'll give you six and a half minutes; if it takes you longer, then I'll show you what it means instead. Off you pop!"

I'm confused. She sounded threatening when she said she'd "show" me. Wondering what she means, I get undressed, and into my My Little Pony pyjamas, my own pink fluffy slippers with smiley faces, and before long I'm back in front of Kristen.

"Good girl," she says, looking me over; she goes and sits on the sofa. "Now come this way, you're going over my lap."

I climb up; I like being on the sofa with Kristen, because even though I'm a big girl, she often cuddles me and tells me stories. However, this time she grabs me in her strong arms, and lays me down flat, over her thighs; I'm looking down at her slippers, and my bottom is facing the ceiling.

"Why am I over your knee?" I ask; this isn't our usual cuddling position.

"Aha," she says, putting one arm on my back, and holding my wrists together with her other hand. "You can't get away, can you, Jemima? I've locked you in my vice."

I wriggle like a snake in a trap; I wave my arms and legs, but she is holding me very strongly, and I really can't escape. I kick one of my legs so hard that one of my slippers falls off.

"Oops, silly Jemima's lost a slipper!" Kristen laughs. "That foot will just have to get cold now. Now, can you feel where my right hand is?"

She now has her hand on my bottom, I can feel it through my pyjamas; she's gently stroking and patting my bum; I like it, it feels nice.

"You were asking what it means if someone takes a slipper to you?" she says; I nod. "Well, if children heard those words, they would tremble with fear, because once upon a time, it was a punishment for children who told lies, broke things, talked back, didn't play nicely, or disobeyed. A naughty boy or girl would be held across a grown-up's lap, like you are now, and the grown up would use a slipper to smack his or her bottom, nice and hard."

"But I don't get it," I say. "How is that a punishment?"

Kristen snorts; I can feel her chest moving. "Because being smacked hurts, you silly girl!"

I still don't understand; why would grown ups hurt children like that? "But my slippers are soft, they wouldn't hurt," I say. I look for the one that fell off my foot, but I can't see it; it must be on the floor behind me. I try to look for it, but Kristen is holding me so firmly that I can't turn round.

"Oh, your kiddy ones are soft and floppy," says Kristen. "But my grown-up ones have hard soles, and if I was to hold one in my hand and bring it sharply down on your little bottom, it would really hurt you."

I look down at Kristen's slippers: they still look really soft, but I can't see the soles of them as they are on the floor.

"Would it hurt a lot?" I say.

"Oh yes," says Kristen. "When naughty boys and girls were punished like that, their bottoms would burn with pain, they'd be crying, and through their tears they would be promising never to be naughty again."

"But boys don't cry," I say.

"What rubbish!" snorts Kristen. "Of course boys cry; they always have, and they always will. They certainly do when they're punished with a slipper."

I think again of the grumpy woman in my book; I was afraid of her, and now that I know what "taking a slipper" to the boy meant, I feel more scared for him than ever, I could imagine him after his punishment, perhaps locked in his bedroom to cry himself to sleep. I look at Kristen's slippers again: I'm glad they are both on her feet, and not in her hand, but now I feel afraid of the same happening to me, especially as I can't get away.

"Do you smack boys and girls?" I ask nervously, like a kid asking a monster if they're about to be eaten up. I know Kristen babysits other children (I wish she didn't - she's MY babysitter!), I wonder if she has taken a slipper to any of them.

"There's always a first time," she says; I shiver. "Actually, no. These days, most people think it's wrong to smack children, so naughty children get time outs instead."

"Please, Kristen," I say; she's still holding me firmly in place.

"Yes, Jemima?"

"Will you..." I hesitate. Right now I really want her to take a slipper to me, so I know what it feels like, but that would be like asking a monster to gobble me up. I blurt out "will you show me the bottoms of your slippers?"

Kristen pauses. "You can feel them."

I feel a surge of fear, and try again to wriggle free. This is it, she's going to reach down, take off the "naughty" slipper, and smack my bottom.

She giggles. "No, I don't mean on your bottom," she says, relaxing her hold a little. "I mean feel them with your hands."

Oh. As she's loosened her grip on me I wriggle free, get on the floor and try to feel the bottoms of her slippers; but she's smiling a little, and pressing her feet very firmly down and I can't get my fingers under them.

"Not like that," she says. "You can feel them properly in a moment, but go and fetch your scarf."

"My scarf?"

"That's right. I'll blindfold you, and then you can have a really good feel of the bottoms of Kristen's slippers."

"But why are going to blindfold me?"

"One, you'd be disappointed if I didn't tuck your eyes away this evening," she says, grinning broadly, "and two, you can feel things better when you can't see them. Go on, spit spot."

I hesitate. Normally I love it when Kristen blindfolds me, but I'm afraid of those slippers of hers, they might do something nasty when I can't see them.

"I've no intention of telling you twice," she says, her grin disappearing, and her slippered feet tapping the floor. "You don't want to be punished, like a disobedient little girl, do you?"

Kristen's now got her face on that says "don't argue", so I turn round and go to my bedroom, collecting my own slipper which fell off on the way. I fetch my purple scarf, the one which my best friend Shannon used to cover my eyes on my birthday. When I go back to Kristen, she snatches my scarf, stretches it out, and points at the floor just in front of her. Even though I'm scared, I always love the moment when Kristen actually blindfolds me. I kneel where she's pointing, see the purple scarf in her hands getting very big; everything disappears and turns black as I feel Kristen wrapping it around my head, pulling it tight, and tying a good strong knot. My eyes are open, but as they're covered up I can't see a thing, no matter how hard I try. She tells me to stand up, and I can feel myself being spun round. She makes me take a step forward, and spins me again: now I really don't know where I am.

"I've taken a slipper off," she says. "Find it, and have a good feel."

I get on my hands and knees, and crawl around, keeping my hands in front of me so I don't bump into anything. Suddenly I feel a fluffy object under my left hand: I pick it up. I have Kristen's slipper in my hand at last, but I can't see it! The inside feels soft and warm. I turn it over, my body tingling as I feel the bottom. It's not soft and floppy like my slipper: the bottom is hard, stiff, feels rubbery and cold, and my fingers can make out a pattern of lines and ridges on the sole. I stay where I am, stroking it, wondering how much it would hurt if I felt it on my bottom. Although I'm scared of it hurting a lot, and I don't want to be punished, I'm curious about it.

"Can I see it?" I ask.

"Only if you can guess what colour it is, and you have only one guess," Kristen says. "If you get it wrong, you have to stay blindfolded and keep wondering until bedtime."

I think about colours; the only ones I can think of are red or white, and of course the only colour I can see right now is black. Then I think that the bottoms of many shoes are brown, so I guess. "Brown?" I say.

"Wrong," Kristen says. "So you're stuck in the dark, and I'll show you them at bedtime."

"Kristen," I say.

"Yes, Jemima?"

"Will you smack my bottom, so I know what it feels like?"

"No, Jemima," says Kristen. "I told you, these days it's wrong for people to smack children, so I won't do it. But I'll tell you who can."

Is she going to ask my mum to do it? "Who?" I ask.

"Your guardian angel."

Oh. She's told me stories about the guardian angel before, who watches over children to make sure they're being good, but I thought they were just stories. "Is the angel's name Gabriel?" I ask, thinking of Sunday school.

Kristen chuckles. "Only Mary had the privilege of being visited by the Angel Gabriel. I don't know the name of your guardian angel."

"How do I talk to the angel to ask for it?" I ask.

"No need to talk," she says. "Most angels don't speak. You have to kneel and bend over a bed or chair, with your pyjamas down a little to show your bottom, and leave a slipper beside you for the angel to use," she says. "You have to keep your blindfold on, and stay very still. The angel would give you three smacks; not as a punishment, but to remind you to be good."

"Will they hurt?" I ask nervously.

"Not really hurt," Kristen says. "They will make your bottom tingle, maybe even sting for a minute or so, but won't hurt enough to make you cry. You have to really want the angel to come," she adds. "Also, after the first smack, you have to stay bending down. If you straighten up, the angel will think you don't want the other two."

"Would the angel use my slipper?" I ask.

"No, yours is too floppy. The angel needs one with a hard sole, so I'll leave mine out. I'll take you to the sofa, and if you want it, you can bend down over it."

Without waiting for me to answer, Kristen takes my hand and leads me forward. I can feel the sofa in front of me, so I kneel, and bend down over it. As Kristen said, I take my pyjamas down; my bum feels cold. Leaving a slipper out for the angel feels like leaving a mince pie out for Santa. I wonder what angels eat?

"That's a good girl," Kristen says. "I'm putting my slipper beside you," she adds, and I can hear her placing it on my right. "Now remember, keep very still. I have to leave the room or the angel might not come."

I nod; I feel scared, as I hear her walking away, leaving me on my own. I don't know what a slipper feels like. But I'm sure the guardian angel will be nice to me, I'm a good girl. I wonder if Kristen's left the slipper with the sole facing up or down? I dare not reach out to touch it, I have to keep still.

I still can't see a thing, but I can feel a bit of movement beside me; I start to tremble. Then there's a "whap"; something hits my skin, there's a sting in my bottom, it hurts a bit, and I cry out. But now it feels warm. I shake all over; my head is full of good and bad feelings. I'm scared, but it's good scared, like when I'm on a scary rollercoaster or waterslide. I want to get up and run away, even though I'm in the dark, but Kristen told me to keep very still.

There's another "whap". Kristen's slipper, held by my guardian angel, on Jemima's bare bottom. It smarts, it stings, it makes a scary sound and a funny burning feeling. I want to rub my bottom but Kristen told me to keep very still.

I keep waiting for the third smack, but it doesn't come. Has the angel gone? Did the angel decide that I'm... Whap!! Ow! This one actually does hurt a bit, the pain spreads across my bottom, and I can feel a tear pricking my eyelids under my blindfold.

Then I can hear Kristen's voice. "Are you all right, Jemima?" she says. "Did the angel come?"

I nod. My head is a mix of fear, trembling, but some excitement that I know what it feels like having a slipper taken to me. But I still don't know what colour the soles of Kristen's slippers are.

"I'm going to dim the lights, and take off your blindfold," Kristen tells me. I can hear the click of the dimmer switch, and I can feel my scarf loosening, and my vision comes back, a bit blurred. Kristen is there, smiling at me; I look down, her slippers are back on her feet.

"Pull those jammies up, I don't want to look at your bottom," she says. "Is it hurting?"

"Not really," I say; there's only a small tingle as I pull my jammies up.

"Now, if that was a punishment, you would still be feeling it a lot, it would be really burning and stinging," she says. "Now it's bedtime."

Kristen picks me up, and holds me so that I'm sitting on her arm; now I can feel my bottom more. She carries me to my bedroom and tucks me up safely in bed.

"Do you want to see the bottom of my slipper?" she asks: I nod. She walks up close to my bed, lifts her foot, and put it right in front of my face, so I can see the bottom: it's black, and there is indeed a pattern of lines on the bottom. As she holds it there, a reckless idea enters my head: now that the angel's been, I don't feel afraid any more, so I grab the slipper off her foot, and hide it in my bed. I have just enough time to see that she has gold nail varnish on her toes today, before she puts her foot down, and looks completely shocked.

"Oooh, Jemima, you bad girl!" Kristen says; I curl up and hide under my bedclothes, I'm giggling again, and I can't bring myself to look at her. "Who taught you to snatch, like a thief? Did your visit from the guardian angel teach you nothing? I think he might not be so nice next time."

I'm still giggling, curled up in a ball. "Come out here, so I can kiss you good night," Kristen says, pulling back my bedclothes. I still have the slipper clutched in my hands, holding it close to my chest, like a teddy bear. "Shall I swap with you?" she says. "You take my slipper to bed, and I'll take your teddy bear?" She picks him up, and turns to leave my room.

"Nooooo!" I squeal, seeing that my teddy is being kidnapped. "Please, Kristen, I want my teddy back!"

"And I want my slipper back, you scallywag," she says. "If you keep hold of it, it might come to life and smack your bottom at midnight."

The thought terrifies me. I quickly put the slipper on the bed, and get into position looking like a good sleeping girl. Kristen smiles, puts my teddy into my hands, and picks up her slipper: not with her hands, but between her toes, drops it on the floor and kicks it around to get it facing the right way to put her foot in.

"Sleep well, Jemima," she says. I watch her walk to the door: I can see the bottoms of her slippers as she walks away. As she turns out the light, I can see her looking dark against the light from outside the room. I hope she's not wearing those slippers again next time, they're creepy.

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Jul 5, 2018 at 11:39 AM
Content: ===== Jemima at Kristen's house=======
In this story, Jemima transgresses heavily, and her beloved Kristen shows a nastier side.

It's going to be an exciting evening - I am going to spend the night with Shannon and Kristen, at their house! They live in an old house with a very big garden; I went there for Shannon's party, and flew in the magic helicopter there, but I've only been downstairs, and haven't explored it very much. I'm going to spend the night in Shannon's room; we're going to stay awake and talk for a long time!

It's a hot afternoon, and right now we're all sunbathing in the garden. Kristen's already put the white sticky stuff on us, which she says we need to stop our skin burning. Really burning, with flames? Kristen told us that as she's sunbathing without any clothes on, we have to have our eyes hidden, so she's tied our sun bonnets over our eyes. I'm not exactly blindfolded because I can see the pink fabric, but I can't see Kristen. We're all girls, why doesn't she want us to see her naked?

"Can I fly in the magic helicopter today?" I ask Kristen hopefully.

"That depends," Kristen says, sounding dreamy and happy. "Are you a good girl?"

"I'm always a good girl!"

"Little liar," Kristen teases. "I've babysat you a lot, I know you're just as naughty as every other little girl."

But I'm not naughty: I'm always a good girl for Kristen.

"What will you do if I'm naughty, will you put a blindfold on me?" I ask. I'm not really blindfolded now, I can still see a bit.

"I don't call it that any more," Kristen says. "As from today it's called a Scarfy-Darky, and you'll be in trouble if you call it the word beginning with B."

I giggle: I like it when Kristen uses funny words. She's told me not to eat cheese before bed because I'll have a Screamy-Dreamy; if I watch too much television she'll have to blindfold me or I might get Squary-Staries; and that if I'm disobedient the guardian angel might come to give me Hotty-Botty. Right now I really want to see the upstairs of the house, I haven't been up there before, not even in Shannon's room.

"Time to go indoors now," Kristen says, "and no peeping until I've got some clothes on."

I can hear her dressing, and then she uncovers my eyes; she's in her usual shorts and T-shirt. She puts her shoes on her bare feet, today they're black slip-on ones. One of them has a picture of a bee, and the other says "good". We go inside, and I make for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Kristen demands, moving in front of me to block my way.

"To put my things away in Shannon's room," I say, as I'm still holding my bag with my pyjamas, toothbrush, sleep mask; my mum calls it my overnight bag.

"No need for that yet," Kristen says, taking the bag away from me. "I don't want you going upstairs without me, you might wander into my room."

"Shannon's seen all over my house!" I plead, but Kristen just stares down at me. I try to stare back, but Kristen widens her eyes, and I look down, seeing the "bee good" on her shoes, which are now gently pushing me away from the stairs.

"What will happen if I go upstairs?" I ask; today I feel like arguing, Kristen calls it "being stubborn".

"Then, you'll find yourself in my magic nursery; you'll turn into a baby, and you'll find yourself in a playpen, so you can't crawl off."

"But I'm too big for a playpen, I can climb out!" I don't remember being in a playpen as a baby, but I saw one at someone else's house the other day.

"Do you want a bet?" Kristen says; she often says that, I don't really know what it means. "I'm warning you: in this house, there's a playpen that even Houdini can't escape from."

"What's Houdini?"

"That should be 'who's Houdini'. You ask too many questions, Jemima. Now come with me into the kitchen, you can help me with baking, there'll be lots of cake mixture for you to lick."

"Can I go to the toilet?" I ask.

"Go on then, while you can, you know where the downstairs one is. Come on Shannon, let's go and make a start on baking."

They go into the kitchen; now's my chance. I'm a big girl, and I'm going to find Kristen's room, even if she doesn't want me to see it! I tiptoe up the stairs: I push open another door. It's a bathroom and toilet; I suppose I should climb up and use it, but Kristen might come up at any moment, so I open another door. It's a bedroom which is very tidy; there's a strange big long object hanging from the ceiling on a chain, but I don't know what it's for. I push it: it's padded, very heavy and it swings, it almost knocks me over as it swings back. On the floor beside it are some red padded gloves. There's also a table with a mirror and loads of little bottles, a picture on the wall of a young man who I've seen on TV. Is this Kristen's room? Feeling like an explorer, I open another door: I see a space full of lots of clothes. This must be Kristen's room because I can see some shoes which I've seen before: there are the "naughty" and "nice" slippers she wore while babysitting me, several pairs of sneakers, flip flops and sandals, some high-heeled shoes which I've never seen her wearing, I thought only older women like teachers wear high heels. Above my head there are loads of dresses; I haven't seen Kristen wearing a dress very often, I wonder where she keeps the sporty clothes she usually wears?

I suddenly realise that I've been up here a while, and Kristen might have realised what I'm up to. I'd better get out of here! I leave the room, pulling the door closed behind me, and I creep back towards the stairs. I'm just about to go down when suddenly I hear "Jemima!!" bellowing behind me: I look back, and Kristen is coming along the passage! How did she get up there without the stairs, which are in front of me?

"You stay right where you are!" she commands in a slow, quiet and terrifying voice which I haven't heard before. This time she's not smiling like she often does when she catches me doing something naughty; she looks very angry, and I freeze in terror. "Did I not tell you that you were forbidden to go in my bedroom? What makes you think that you can disobey me like that? Scarfy-Darky is going to teach you a lesson!"

I'm just staring at her: the "bee good" shoes are marching towards me, and she is getting taller as she gets nearer. I'm excited that I tricked Kristen, but also really scared about what she might now do to me. Scarfy-Darky is in her hands; today he's red like the fire that might come out of my skin if I don't use sun cream, and he's getting bigger. I can't run away, I'm shaking. Scarfy-Darky grows to an enormous size, wraps himself round my head, turns from red to black, tying up my head, really tightly. It reminds me of Kristen hugging me really hard last week when I stuck my tongue out at her; she told me that if I'm going to pretend to be a snake by showing my tongue, she will do the same and hug me to death, like a "boa constrictor". I can't see a thing as my eyes are covered. Kristen spins me round and round; she makes me step forwards and backwards; I am now completely lost in the dark.

"No flying in the magic helicopter for you," says Kristen's voice. "You are grounded, my little reprobate."

This is it. I'm blind, and Kristen's going to do something terrible to punish me for sneaking into her room, perhaps she's going to leave me out for the guardian angel to give me Hotty-Botty, or put me in the playpen as she said. But surely I can climb out of a playpen? I have been picked up, I am being carried over Kristen's shoulder like a baby. I can hear her walking over the wooden floors, turning several corners, then she puts me down, and spins me round again. I don't know where I am at all!

"I'm going to put some special gloves on you, I call these the Good Girl Gloves," Kristen says. "Make your hands into fists, and hold them in front of you."

I can't see my hands, but I do as I'm told. I can feel gloves being put on my hands, but they don't feel like gloves; they feel stiff, and I can't open my hands. They also feel very tight around my wrists. Is Kristen making me wear gloves like the big red ones I saw in her bedroom?

"Now get on your hands and knees, and crawl," she orders. As I do it, I put my fists on the floor: they feel really funny. Kristen's hands are on me, guiding me forwards, until she tells me to stop. "Stay there," she adds. The floor under me clanks like metal. Scarfy-Darky loosens himself, and I can see again.

I can feel my eyes go wide as I see where I am: there are black bars in front of me, to the side, and above my head. I touch them with my arms and they are cold and metal. I am inside a rectangle-shaped cage! The low ceiling of the cage means I can't stand up, I can only sit down. I look around for a door; there's one behind me, and it's open, but suddenly Kristen kicks it shut with a clang, holds her foot against it, and fastens two little bolts on it. I try to reach through the bars to undo them, but I get a shock as I see my hands: the "good girl gloves" are really tight and have no fingers; my hands look like big blue balls on the ends of my arms, I can't open my hands inside them, and I can't get them through the bars of the cage. There are buckled straps round my little wrists: as I can't use my hands to get them off, I hold them up to my mouth and try to bite the buckles off, but they're firmly fastened. I scream with horror as I realise that I am stuck!

I look at Kristen, who stands there with a satisfied smile. She's even taller than usual now; have I turned into a baby? I feel like Pinocchio when he's shut in a cage by the evil Stromboli: he wore white gloves, but he could grip the bars of his cage and shake them. I can't even do that!

"Help, I can't get out!!" I scream.

"Indeed, you can't," says Kristen. "I said you'd end up in the playpen if you crawled off, you disobedient little baby."

"But... this isn't a playpen, it's a dog cage!"

"Playpen, dog house, baby jail, call it what you want," says Kristen in that cheerful but dangerous voice. "That's where you're staying as a punishment for going in my room when I told you not to."

"For how long?"

"Ooh, you're staying locked up until I think you've learned your lesson."

"But that's not fair, I came to your house to have fun with Shannon!"

"Well, you should have thought of that before disobeying me."

"I need the toilet!" I wail.

"Oh, really? Well, you should have gone when you said you were going to. Perhaps you need this."

She goes to the other and of the room, and brings over a white metal container which looks like an enormous jug. "That's not a potty!" I protest.

"It's a chamber pot," says Kristen. "If you need the toilet, you can sit on it and do a wee-wee. People had them in their bedrooms before toilets were invented." She opens the cage door to put it in with me: I feel like making a dash for it, but she's using her body to block my way out, and I know she'll punish me more if I try to escape.

"What is this room?" I ask, looking round. The room is quite bare, apart from a few things on the other side, but Kristen's blocking my view as she locks the cage door again.

"I'll leave you to ponder that; and you'd better think about what you did," Kristen says.

"Nooo! Don't leave me alone!" I plead, as I see Kristen moving away. Even though she's now my enemy who's locked me up, I feel comforted by her being there.

"Loneliness is an excellent cure for the felon mind," Kristen says over her shoulder; again, she's using words I don't understand. "I'll be back soon with Shannon to see how sorry you are." With that, she goes through a door and is gone.

As she disappears, I put my head in my gloved hands and cry. My favourite babysitter Kristen is being so mean, I thought she liked me! Perhaps I'm in a Screamy-Dreamy, and I'll wake up soon. I try again to reach the bolts outside the cage, but my "good girl gloves" are too big to fit between the bars, and I can't escape. I've got to get out, I really need a wee, and I don't want to do it in the chamber pot! I look at my feet: I'm wearing sandals where my toes are covered. I always feel like my feet are being locked in prison when they're buckled up tight. There's no way I can unbuckle them with my gloves on, so I try to take them off by pushing one foot against the other, but I can't even do that, they don't slip off like Kristen's "bee good" shoes.
My eyes are still wet with tears, and I look around the room outside the cage. On the other side of the room there are two beds with bars around them, like babies sleep in. Above them is a small window, but it's high up and I can only see the sky out of it. Beside my cage there's a high chair with a table, which is bigger than one for a baby: it looks like the right size for a child my age. I suddenly notice that it has two straps attached to the table, and more straps near where my feet would be. The door into the room is open, but I can only see a dark corridor beyond it, and there's a bolt on the outside of the door, up high where I couldn't reach it even by jumping. Near the door there are various objects on hooks: a wooden hairbrush, a slipper, a thin piece of wood with holes in, several scarves of different colours, and some sleeping masks, one of them has Elsa and Anna on.

What is this room? It looks like a nursery, but there are no toys, and none in my playpen. I hope it's not Shannon's bedroom, or where we will both be spending the night. I can't see a wardrobe or anywhere that Shannon might keep her clothes. There's a big square wooden box with a lid on hinges near the door; it's painted red and black, and has a skeleton's head on the front.

I can hear footsteps, and Kristen comes back in, still looking very fierce, and leading Shannon by the hand; I'm glad to see Shannon isn't wearing "good girl gloves". Shannon is blindfolded with a yellow and black striped scarf, so her head looks like a giant Fuzzy-Buzzy (a bee), to match the bee on Kristen's shoe. Kristen spins her round a couple of times, then turns to face me.

"Why are they called 'good girl gloves?'" I ask, looking at my covered fists.

"Because they keep your hands out of trouble, so you're a good girl if you can't get in trouble. Now, I've got a little job for you both, to see if you can work together," she says. "If you can do it, then I'll let you out. Shannon's mission is to take your gloves off, to free your hands. But she has to stay tied up in Scarfy-Darky while she does it; if she peeps, then you are going to stay in baby jail until bedtime. Is that clear?"
I nod, and so does Shannon. Without another word, Kristen leaves the room. Just before she shuts the door, I see her reaching up towards the bolt; I'm sure she has locked us in.

"Can you get these gloves off me, without seeing?" I ask.

"I'll try," Shannon says, "keep making noise so I can hear where you are."
I tap my feet on the floor of the cage; the metal makes a funny sound. Shannon comes over to me, and I move my hands near the bars so she can reach them. Shannon reaches through the bars with her little hands, feels around my wrists, and surprises me with how easily she undoes the buckles when she can't see: has Kristen made her do lots of things blindfolded? She pulls off one glove, and as my hand is free I use it to take off the other; I feel relieved that I have my hands back again.

"What is this room?" I ask Shannon.

"It's the punishment room; Kristen calls it the magic nursery," she says. "She locked me in that cage when I opened one of my presents before Christmas day. I don't even know where this room is in the house; Kristen always blindfolds me before bringing me in."

I'm amazed that Shannon doesn't even know how to get into a room in her own house. "But you must know!"

"No," she says, shaking her head sightlessly. "I've explored the house as much as I can, I've never found the way in."

That's going to be my mission: finding out where this room is in Shannon's house. I try to think of ways to find out: I would ask Shannon to stand on something to see out of the high window, but as she has a blindfold on that won't work. "How would Kristen know if you peep?" I ask.

"She can see into this room," Shannon says, "and she might be able to hear us as well, so be careful what you say."

"How can she see in?" I ask.

Suddenly there's a squeaky noise, and I scream: the lid of the big wooden box has burst open, and a huge scary head on a spring has jumped out. It's a clown's head, with green curly hair, big red lips, a huge grin and angry eyes; on the inside of the lid it says "Charlie is watching you".

"That's how she can see us," Shannon says.

"Ugh, Charlie's horrible! Has Kristen really locked us in?" I ask.

"I can't see, so help me find the door," Shannon says, putting her hands out. I tell Shannon which way to go, and she walks towards the door. She turns the handle and pulls, but the door doesn't open; Kristen must have bolted it.

"Why is this cage in here?"

"Kristen says it's Hansel's cage, and our house used to be the house of bread and cakes, but the birds have eaten them all."

Thinking of story of Hansel and Gretel gives me an idea.

"Why has Kristen turned into the wicked witch, why is she being so horrible?"

"She's always a wicked witch; she's my big sister! She only has a nice side for you. When she's here, she's in charge, especially when mum's not here, and she's then really bossy."

Would she really keep me in here until bedtime?"

"Oh yes, if she says something, she means it. So please Jemima, don't be naughty any more, or she really will, and she might lock us in our room tonight as well."
I'm glad to hear this isn't Shannon's bedroom. What she said reminds me about Kristen going upstairs without using the stairs, and I ask Shannon how she did it.

"There's another lot of stairs at the other end of the house. Listen," she adds, her voice dropping to a whisper, "there is a secret way out of our bedroom, so even if she locks us in, we can still get out. I'll show it to you this evening, but we'll have to be very quiet so we don't wake Kristen."

I shiver at the thought of sneaking around at night while Kristen's asleep; I'm now locked up because I did it not long ago.

There's a click; the door opens and Kristen comes back in; she spins Shannon round again, leaving her to stumble about. "Ooh, did Charlie come out to keep an eye on you?" she says, with a glance at him. "Good boy, Charlie," she adds, before pushing him back into his box, and closing the lid. She then sits down on the box; that's brave of her, Charlie might bite her on the bottom! Her face is looking a bit less serious now.

"So Jemima, did you like the good girl gloves?" she asks.

"No!" I say, shaking my head so hard that I feel a bit dizzy.

"Well, now you know what might happen if you don't do as you're told. You don't want to find yourself wearing them in bed tonight, do you?"

"No."

"Good. Now let's go back to the kitchen," she says, opening the cage so I can crawl out.

"Where is this room in the house?" I ask, as Shannon sighs and bows her head.

"That, Jemima, is one thing that you will never know," she says, smugly. "And you're not going to see either, so close your eyes for Scarfy-Darky."

As I feel Kristen covering my eyes again, I'm determined that I'm going to try and remember the way out of the nursery, like the old man in the story of Ali Baba, even though I'm blindfolded. But it's not easy; as soon as Kristen has led me out of the door, she spins me round so I don't even know if we went left or right. She does this several times before she takes off my blindfold and we find ourselves in the kitchen, baking gingerbread men. But I'm going to find out where that room is, even if Shannon can't!

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Author: feetintrouble
Timestamp: Feb 3, 2024 at 8:08 AM
Content: Thanks. I haven't read these stories for a few years: I actually found the last instalment quite scary when I read it back. Fancy being scared by my own writing!