I woke up, bathed in the early morning sunlight. I drew back the curtains and looked outside to see what I thought was the sunrise amongst the London skyline. But instead, there were at least thousands of people in black clothes holding large weapons. They were all in lines, an unbreakable barrier. I knew I wasn’t allowed to go outside by myself, but curiosity got the best of me. I threw on my dressing gown and ran outside only to see the streets covered with these people. I had no idea what was going on, but it probably wasn’t good. I retreated to the front garden and stood frozen. The neighbours also came outside to see what was going on, but no one had any answers. We just stood on our doorsteps, puzzled. That’s when Dad woke up and came outside, closely followed by Coco, barking for Dad’s biscuits. This whole time, the people were silent, giving the whole street a deathly stare.
Dad suddenly realised something, grabbed me by the arm and scooped Coco up. He locked the door behind us. ‘Dad? What was that?’ I asked, still confused.
‘Not now Hazel, just do not go outside again, light the wood burner, take some of the biscuits from the table and sit with Coco in the living room.’ he said sternly.
‘But Da-’
‘It is <em>not</em> negotiable. Go.’
I shuffled to the kitchen, took some biscuits, lit the wood burner and sat by the window. I took a look outside every once in a while, but nothing interesting happened. I’d never seen these people before, but I turned on the radio just in time for my questions to be answered.
“London is on a city lockdown, after unidentifiable ‘battleships’ sailed across the Thames at dawn. Do not go outside and do not cooperate with anyone in black clothing and in possession of a weapon.”
I looked at Coco, my heart thumping against my chest. Mum and Dad both came downstairs, and Mum opened the door.
‘Rosemary, no!’ Dad shouted
‘Mum,’ I screamed. ‘We’re on lockdown, you can’t go outside, you can’t get hu-’
‘It’s okay Hazel, comfort Coco and I will be back in no time!’
Dad ran after her.
As soon he had closed the door, I drew back the living room curtains aggressively, tears streaming down my face. I held Coco in my arms, holding her tighter than I had ever before. Mum walked towards a person and showed them a flower, bright and beautiful. I looked on, confused and angry at Mum and Dad for putting themselves in danger.
‘Why bring terror and worry, when you can bring happiness and care? This flower is all of us on the street, all connected and bright. But when you pick the petals, they will turn shrivelled and dark and bring no light.’ she said softly, picking petals from the flower.
‘Instead of picking all of you away from your communities and bringing fear to others, you could stay and we can live in peace.’ She attached a petal to a weapon and walked towards the front door. I expected the people to have no reaction, yet, I was wrong. One by one they turned around and headed towards the Thames.
When I heard the key turn in the door, I sprang off of the sofa, ran to the hallways and hugged Mum and Dad tightly. We walked to the sofa and sat, eating biscuits. All day, the radio was telling us
“Local Hero: Rosemary Price, her words of wisdom send enemy troops away to their home.” But we didn’t mind, my Mum will forever be my hero.
