Honeycombs and Bittersweets

Prologue

Prologue

The street was full of narrow turnings, sharp corners, and thin dark cloudy alleyways where decomposing ghastly odours clinged to the damp brick walls that reflected unevenly in the dull sunlight.  The cobble stones at the edge of the balanced grey pavement formed a lumpish wide busy road, which turned and followed the edges of the pavement on either side of the road. There were many finely dressed ladies being escorted by dashing gentlemen walking along the pavement, while labours pulled dark wooden carts containing fruit or vegetables down the lumpish road. Each shop down the street was filled with wealthy customers, trying on the latest fashion hats, garments and gowns. While gentlemen were being fitted with new their new suits, or ordering their new hand crafted canes. While others entered fine smelling Cafes full of warm succulent pastries or deciding to dine early in famous luxury restaurants. The sidewalk was becoming more crowded as people rushed to and from shops into restaurants where crossing the road to avoid the rush, became impossible as carriages of traveling visitors and merchants pulling along their goods down the next street. Walking down the crowded sidewalk a young boy of eight held desperately onto his father’s large hand, as he began pulling his son gently along the crowd alongside him making sure that they would not be separated from each other. Once the rush had died down both father and son walked in a steadier pace, the young boy could now let his eyes roam among the tall cramped buildings that they passed as they stretched high into the dull lifeless horizon making each arched rooftop look intimidating. The sky was heavily over casted as the smell of dampness filled the air, as the dull grey clouds devoured the sun and sky.  The street was filled with a mixture of chaotic jumbled noises of jumpy carriages, the turning of gears of the ticking hands of the street clocks, the ringing and closing of shop doors as well as the chatter of passing ladies and gentlemen.

At the edge of the pavement on the corner of Cobblers Lane, the boy had stopped walking as he stood still while holding his father’s hand. As the young lad stared mindlessly down Flaunders Road making his father come to a halt as he tried to walk around the corner. He looked down at his young son looking down the same direction as his son did, where both father and son could hear a faint angelic voice coming from down the murky road. The father looked once more at his son’s face which was full of curiosity, as he looked down the road once more as his own curiosity to where such a voice was coming from was getting the better of him. To fill boy’s curiosity as well as his own he led his son down Flaunders Road through the murky mist finding themselves joining a large crowd of both rich and poor standing still all facing ahead as they all stood in silence. Not a word was whispered or said until the silence was broken by a single angelic voice, coming from ahead of the listening crowd as both father and son sault for the person responsible for such as sweet voice. In front of the large crowd standing on top of piled empty crates that were aligned against the wall was a small boy dressed in labourer’s clothes, wearing a large brown cap that hid most of the boy’s face. The boy had pale skin and dark hair, he small and frail looking and looked much younger then himself, but when the boy opened his mouth a sweet angelic song filled the air as the boy sang timidly.

“Try this new scumdelliumpous sugary delight.

So sweet and tasty it will almost make you take flight.

Have one before you go to bed,

 as it will make you dream,

dreaming of sweet things

such as marrying a King or Queen.

So try this screwtimidlly umpous,

Honeycomb’s new sweetish thing. ”

As the young boy sang he showed a small honey coloured sweet in a translucent wrapper to the audience, before throwing it and many more into the waiting hands of the eager audience. The boy standing beside his father still holding his warm large yet gentle hand, watched in the young boy throwing the sweets in wonder. While the boy continued throwing the sweets one by one to the audience grabbing handfuls from his pockets of his ankle high light brown trousers, the audience that stayed hoped to have a sweet thrown their way while others left the crowd in order to find the nearest confectioners to buy a handful. As the audience began to leave passing the young boy and his father listening to the praises of the child that advertised the brand of sweets. Both father and son stood still as the crowd moved passed them as they watched the small child with a voice of an angel give out the last of the sweets to smaller children, the young boy licked his lips inwardly finding himself wanting to try one. His father however kept his eye on the last of the crowd to disappear and saw a tall gentleman who he recognised helping the young boy down from the crates, putting his old hand into his pocket of his long black coat pulling out a penny smiling at the young boy. The young boy whose face was still hidden by the large brown cap lit up with an angelic smile as he handed the penny over to the small boy, as he led the boy away placing his old wrinkled hand on the boy’s shoulder guiding him in front of him where they both disappeared into the thick mist. Now that the entertainment was gone the last of the remaining crowd that lingered around the area walked away into the mist the boy looked up at his father and found him deep in thought as his brow deepened and creased as he smiled to himself saying a single word to himself before leading his quiet son away back into the mist. “Clever.”