Last summer at the pier

Every summer, in the first week of the school holidays, Katy and her parents would go to seaside.  They would stay in a yellow two-bedroom chalet that overlooked the beach. 

Katy’s mother always insisted that her dark curly hair be placed into two ponytails each side of her head and tied with green ribbons that brought out the hazel in her eyes.  But Katy, who was nine years old and an only child, wanted to be just like mum.  As she was very grown up for her age, she’d protest a little about the hair and then let her mum have her way.  Katy had a little blue bikini, just a miniature version of her mother’s, really.  After getting dressed in swimming attire the flip-flops were then put on and the three of them; mum, mini mum and dad would walk hand in hand down to the beach.

During the daytime they ate ice creams and Katy and her father made sandcastles while her mother ‘topped up her tan’, as she liked to put it.  Sometimes, her father would walk with her to the sea and they would laugh as they jumped the waves.  Katy couldn’t swim yet, she’d had lessons at school but the only time she felt safe in the water was with her dad.

At night, as she lay in bed, Katy could hear the waves calling her to a false pretence like the mermaid to the sailor, then, finally she’d slip off into a deep soothing slumber only to be woken in the morning by the screeching of some mad lunatic seagull on its search for scraps of food.  As she awoke she’d smell the bacon that her mum cooked and her tummy would rumble furiously.

This morning was different.  When she awoke everything was quiet; there was no smell of bacon and no seagulls screeching.  She looked in the mirror and saw that she must have fallen asleep early and been put to bed by her father.  Katy looked down, she still had her pink flowery summer dress on, this was her mum’s favourite and as she touched her hair she realised it was still in bunches.  She even had her jelly sandals on.  That didn’t seem right, mum usually came in and got her undressed and in bed whether she was asleep or not?

Katy pulled the curtains and the sun sent a warm burst straight through her making her realise just how cold the room was before she let it in.  Time for some breakfast, she thought and headed off into the kitchen in search of mum and bacon.  When she got there, there was no sign of either.  ‘They’re probably laying in.’ She thought and helped herself to some cereal, spilling a little milk over the side of the bowl.

After finishing her cereal, that strangely seemed to taste of cardboard, and washing up her bowl Katy decided it was now late enough in the morning to go and wake her parents up.  After all they were missing the best part of the day.  Maybe they could all go down to the pier again.  Katy liked the pier.  Her dad usually gave her some money to go on the carousel and the bumpy slide.  They’d watch her go round on the horses, pretending she was in the Grand National her Dad would shout “Keep it up, you’re winning” and she’d wave madly at them every time her horse passed by them.  Then while she went on the slide they’d go over into the arcade and play on the slot machines.  Dad always said if he won enough money he’d buy her a new dress.

The slide was huge, possibly menacing to those with a fear of heights, but Katy wasn’t scared of anything, with the exception of swimming.  It was her favourite ride on the pier because when you’d finally climbed all the stairs to the top, you could see for miles and the best part was once you’d paid your money you could have as many goes as you liked.  She’d climb in the sack they gave you to make you slide faster and push herself down, giggling, as if she’d never giggled in her life all the way to the bottom.  Then she’d climb the stairs again.

As she pushed open the door to her parents bedroom she felt herself shiver, no one was in bed.  They couldn’t have gone out?  They wouldn’t leave her asleep and on her own in the chalet?  Maybe they’d just gone down to the beach for some sunbathing?  But wouldn’t they leave her a note?  She’d go and check.

There was no note, Katy started to panic, so she calmly told herself that they were down the beach and she decided to go look for them.  As she descended the steps down to the beach, she saw two rented stripy deck chairs in their usual spot and her heart leapt.  There they were.  Already forgiven for their mistake of not leaving a note, Katy skipped over to join her parents but when she got to the chairs she saw two old pensioners were sat there. 

Distraught, Katy wandered over to the ice-cream man; she‘d ask him if he’d seen them.  He knew her Dad, he even knew her name but he called her ‘bunches’ because of the way her Mum did her hair.  Every year they’d come back and every year he’d be here selling his ice creams and calling her ‘Bunches’.  Katy waited patiently for the queue to go down, looking around for her parents while she waited.  Finally she got to the front of the line. 

“What flavour can I get you today?”  The Vendor asked, smiling with big white teeth, dimples and crows feet at the corners of each eye.

“Have you seen my Dad I…” Katy began.

“Strawberry please.”  An excitable voice said from behind her.

She turned and saw a small red-haired boy jumping up and down while holding hands with a lady in a stripy swimsuit. 

“Ok Sonny.”  The vendor said and turned to grab a cone with his thick, sausage-like fingers. 

Katy dodged out of the way as the cone filled with delicious strawberry ice-cream was passed to the young boy.  The vendor then turned to person next in line, an elderly lady with a big straw sunhat on her head, and asked what she would like. 

“Excuse me.”  Katy said politely, “I only want to know if you’ve seen my Dad?”  But the vendor just carried on serving up his ice-cream just like she wasn’t there. 

Frustrated, Katy started to cry, why would no one listen to her? She turned and bumped straight into the ice cream menu board, knocking it to the ground.

“That must have been some strong sea breeze to blow that over, I was sure I secured it firmly properly this morning!”  The vendor said, puzzled. 

“It’s all right.”  The lady in the straw hat said reaching down and just missing Katy.  “I’ll put it back up for you.” 

Katy stared disbelieving from the vendor to the straw-hat lady; with anger welling up inside Katy clenched her fist and punched at the sign knocking it down again. 

“Oh dear.”  The straw-hat lady said and started to pick up the sign again.

“Don’t worry,” the vendor told her, “I’ll pick it up later.” And he handed her the chocolate and vanilla double cone ice cream that she’d ordered.

Katy stormed off.  On the outside she looked angry but deep down she was anxious to find her parents, frightened at what reason they might have had to go off and leave her all alone.  Alone, that was a word she wasn’t used to and it scared her.  She’d never been left alone, well not alone in the sense of not knowing where anyone was.

Wandering aimlessly, Katy found herself beside the entrance to the pier.  Hope appeared with a message; maybe they were on the pier.  They’d be in the arcade playing on the slot machines.  Katy started to run, dodging past all the people and through the doors into the arcade.  But fate dealt the final hand by letting her look all around the arcade to find that they weren’t there.  Katy wandered out of the arcade and stopped at the foot of the bumpy slide.

She should go on the bumpy slide; she’d be able to see them from up the top.   She walked over to the lofty man in the booth.  She put her hands in her pocket to see if she had any money.  No money.  Maybe if she asked him nicely he might let her.  No one was on the slide after all.  She strolled round to the side of the booth and tugged on his trousers to get his attention.  He turned and looked straight at her and then he turned away again.  Katy tugged again.  This time when he turned around he rubbed his hand down the woodwork of the booth, and then stroked his hand down the back of his trousers as if checking for any rips or snags.  It was as if he couldn’t see her.

Katy gave up, she seemed to be invisible to those around her, and no one wanted to help her.  It was as if she was destined to be alone.  Tearful she wandered, head down, towards the end of the pier.

Looking up to se where she was going, Katy spotted her mother and father at the other end of the pier.  She couldn’t understand why they had left her on her own all day but she was so pleased that she had found them at last.  She ran to the end of the pier, yelling “Mummy!  Daddy!”  Dodging past all the people who got in her way not noticing that she was trying so hard to get to her parents.  Then something made her stop.  They weren’t at the end of the pier, there was a metal fence stopping them from going all the way to the end.  On it was a bright orange sign saying ‘Danger!  Keep out!’

End