My head was in a bit of a whirl, as I walked back across the City streets towards Trafalgar Square. It was a busy mid afternoon and filming for me for the day had already finished. Alan Rickman and a few of the others, Jules included were still on the film set. I though, was not needed so had got a car to drop me off a little way from my flat, the idea being that I should buy something to wear for my date with Jules tonight. But as I passed the many clothes shops and boutiques along the way, displaying many fine outfits, I really did not feel in the mood for actual shopping.
All I needed to do right now, was to get home and relax. It had already been a very long day and now having to meet up with Jules this evening was going make it seem even longer.
Why had I even agreed to go on a stupid dinner date with him in the first place, I'll never know....... I didn't even like the man very much!
It was true to say that he was indeed very handsome and had also got a fine reputation of being a very sought after young actor for the future, but sadly I did not actually fancy him!
I had now literally stopped outside a lovely little dress shop and was peering in through the window at all the beautiful garments that dressed tailors dummies throughout the store. This shop was so out of my price range though and even if I could afford any of the dresses inside, my current mood denotes that I really wouldn't be able to find anything suitable anyway.
I gave a huge sigh to myself.
Maybe I could just borrow something, from a close friend perhaps?
Just for tonight.
Amelia had loads of dresses. Perhaps I could borrow one from her........... Although in her current frame of mind towards me at this precise moment in time, she was most likely to dress me up in something totally hideous!!
Well....... A bin bag it would just have to be then! For I really didn't have anything else at all to wear!!
Then I caught sight of the sleepy little florists shop, which belonged to the parents of my other good friend Maya.
Of course Maya!
She might be able to lend me something.........
That's if she was indeed still there!
The last I'd heard from her was that she was rushing over to ibiza!
Probably on some sort of mercy mission to claim back what she actually believed to be hers, in the shape of that ghastly rat, Hugo Martinez! Now knowing that he wasn't in fact truly gay, she might think that now she stood an actual chance of having a relationship with him!
Poor, deluded Maya!
I now strode over towards the florists hoping that she hadn't already taken flight and gone. Maybe I would still be able to talk some sense into her and persuade her to instead seek out a possible relationship with that security guard Geoffrey instead!
The cute little bell tinkled sweetly as I opened the door. I didn't think shops still had these sounding above their doors, but it was a nice touch all the same.
Maya's mother looked up from behind a huge display of gladioli's as I entered and recognising me instantly gave me a huge, warm smile.
"Hello, darling Gwen. How nice it is to see you". She said sweetly, coming forwards to greet me.
"Hello....... Mrs. Kemple". I answered almost shyly.
"How are you? Maya tells me that you've struck out into the film making industry now. How's it all going then? It must be so exciting for you. Oh, I do wish that Maya would do something like that with her acting. She's so very talented you know. Loves it very much as well". Maya's mother went on.
That was the thing with her. She was rather a chatterbox. Never actually allowing you get a word in nor indeed answering a question before asking another.
So totally different to Maya!
"Is..... Er...... Is Maya in? Only I was aware that she was thinking about going away". I said quickly, before the woman had time to interrupt me.
But now she had suddenly gone very quiet and the expression upon her face had now changed dramatically.
" Bloody fools errand, that's what that is!". She hissed.
I was a bit taken aback with the suddenness of her tone. She was not best pleased with any of this at all.
"I don't know what she's playing at, really I don't. One minute she's getting it together with this sweet young man.........And the next....... She's packing a bag and flying off after that waste of space. I tell you Gwen I just cannot understand her, I really cannot ".
"So.......she's already gone then?". I asked sadly.
"No....... Not yet. But she does fly out first thing in the morning though. She's upstairs right now, at this very minute getting all packed. We simply cannot allow her to just disappear on a whim like that, however important she might think that it is! ". Her mother sighed.
" Believe me Mrs Kemple ". I soothed, " Hugo Martinez is not important at all".
She then smiled again sweetly at me.
"Tell her then. Tell Maya that it's not worth it. He's not worth it. Any of it. Oh...... She never listens to me at all. Gone and got this awful, strange notion inside her head and....... And then that's it! Please, will you speak to her. Tell her not to go. Tell her to forget about him once and for all".
The woman was almost pleading with me now.
"What she needs are friends around her, like you......... to take her out of herself a bit more. Show her that there really is a big, old world out there, just for her".
She now went on.
"You know...... I really thought that she had turned a corner when that lovely young gentleman offered to take her out to dinner. Now she's gone and stupidly cancelled all of her plans with him. I told her to ring him back up again, say that she's changed her mind about it. But she won't. She says she'll look stupid now, but I told her, it's not half as stupid as racing over to damned Ibiza to see that......... That......... ".
Her voice now trailed off as she appeared furious by her daughters apparent plans!
" Will you speak to her? ". She now asked.
"Well..... I'll try". I said quietly, "But I doubt she'll listen to me very much. She knows that my own love life is pretty made up of one car crash after another........... I very much doubt that she'll even give me the time of day over affairs of the heart!".
Maya's mum looked at me for a second.
" Then take her out tonight". She suggested, now walking over towards the till.
"Take her out to some swanky, posh place. Maybe take her to where all your new showbiz friends hang out. Get Maya to realise that there is more to life than that Hugo bloke!".
Mrs Kemple was now taking out a handful of notes from the inside of the till and had now forcefully placed the money into my hands. I actually only noticed a couple of 20 pound notes, but knew there was a lot more than that!
I looked down at all the cash, now in my sweaty, hot little hands and started to shake my head.
"I cannot accept all this!". I protested.
"No....... No...... You take it. Go on, I insist. Please...... Take Maya out. She's always going on about how well the both of you get along. I'm sure she'll listen to you if you try and persuade her not to go. I just need her to realise that her world is much more than just this little shop and Hugo Martinez!!".
"Oh, I'm sure she already realises that". I protested, "But maybe she doesn't even want to come out with me........ You know how she gets like sometimes".
I went on, now looking back at the cash already crumpled up in my hands.
"Please.......". Maya's mother now was pleading with me.
"Just try and talk some sense into her. Try and prevent her from actually going........ I..... I don't think I can bare it if she went all the way out there and then got herself hurt all over again. Its not what I want for my beautiful, wonderful daughter. She's worth so much more than that".
I now stared hard at her and very suddenly grew extremely envious.
Goodness! I wished my own mother was able to give me the same level of real love and support that Maya was actually getting from hers, even if it was unwanted.
Boy! If my mother was to give me just a smidgen of this amount of concern, I would only be too glad to take it!!
My own mother only ever seemed interested in marrying me off to anyone that even seemed to show me any kind of an interest.
And that also included bloody Ashcroft flaming well Jennings!!!
I took on a deep breath and found my fists were also now starting to clench.
My very own mother had never been interested in showing me any sort of support whatsoever in anything I ever did and that included my chosen career.
She had never been to see any of the plays I'd been in or never even visited me in my flat. I'm quite sure that if I never made any effort to visit her, we wouldn't actually see one another from one year to the next!
And here was Maya's mother pleading wholeheartedly with me to help her not to let Maya go!
This was love indeed and I needed to help.
"Okay, I'll see if she'd like to come out with me tonight then". I sighed.
Maya's mother smiled broadly at me and then breathed a heavy sigh of what seemed like total and utter relief.
"Awww......Thank you, thank you so very much my dear. It will mean so very much to me and her father if you can convince her to stay, it really will. Go on up to her flat now, see if you can talk some sense into her straight away, then have a lovely night out together. Spend all the money, have a good time and insist that she doesn't do a flit to that awful place and that God awful man".
I bent my head down and smiled wearily to myself. This was probably going to be a lot harder than Maya's mother thought it was!
Maya, although predominantly quiet and reserved, did have a stubbornness about her and once her mind was actually made up about something, well it was more than likely she'd see it through till the bitter end.
However I was willing to give it my best shot, in the name of true love between a mother and a daughter.
So I made my way behind the counter towards the very narrow wooden stairs that led up from the shop to the small, one bedroom flat that Maya resided in.
Her parents actually lived just a few streets away in a terraced town house just off from Leicester Square.
Maya had only lived in this flat for a couple of months now, deciding that she needed her own space and the chance to be able to have her own independence. It was something that I thought Maya was never capable of ever doing, but when the flat became available, she jumped at the chance of having it for herself, rent free of course, saying that she needed her own space.
I was very pleased with her decision to strike out on her own and had actually helped her to decorate the place and to move in! It was lovely to see her actually doing something for herself for a change in having the small flat above the shop and her decision to fly out on her own to Ibiza was also something that she would never have contemplated on doing just a few short months ago!
Normally I would not have prevented her from doing such a thing, for this was again showing that she now felt as if she had a real place in this world!
But in this instance, I felt she was wrong to be doing this and so I really felt as if I had to step in.
Climbing up the creaking, wooden staircase, I could hear Maya moving about and talking to herself. I didn't really want to disturb her with my intrusion, nevertheless I gave out a tiny cough so that she was aware of my presence. By the time I had reached the top of the staircase that led straight out into her very sparsely decorated living room, Maya was already standing there looking at me.
"Hi Gwen". She chirped, happily, "Come to wish me good luck".
"Well........". I breathed, almost wearily as I stepped up from the staircase, "Not exactly".
"Oh, don't tell me............ you've been talking to mother haven't you?". Maya sighed.
"She's just worried about you". I reassured her. "And so am I as a matter of fact".
"Well she shouldn't be". Maya sighed again, as she proceeded to fold a couple of t shirts and place them into an already bulging brown, suitcase.
"And neither should you be. I'm perfectly capable of flying out there on my own and finding Hugo, you know".
I now perched myself onto the arm of her prettily floral patterned sofa and looked on despairingly at her.
"It's alright". Maya soothed, noticing my mood.
"I know where he is. I rang Marcus up earlier. He told me the address of a nearby hotel just across the road from where they had been staying, I'll just book myself in there and then go over to the villa and surprise Hugo".
I looked at her with a feeling of immense sadness.
"Are you sure this is such a good idea, I mean he might not even be there any more, you know what he's like and he's not exactly expecting you either is he!".
I wailed.
Maya looked at me with pure excitement in her eyes.
"That's the most exciting part of it!". She now beamed. "It's going to be so brilliant!".
"But....... Maya...... Its Hugo. You do realise exactly what he's like don't you". I tried to warn her.
But Maya was having none of it as her eyes now sparkled with both wild excitement and anticipation.
"Anyway". She smiled, "What exactly did you come over for? Couldn't have been purely to wish me luck on my travels. Knowing you like I do, there must have been more to it than just that!".
I shuffled my feet.
"Well........ To tell you the truth, no that wasn't the reason at all........ I actually came over to see if you could lend me a dress or something....... Just for tonight". I admitted.
"A dress? From me?". She asked surprised.
"Why? Have you gone and bagged yourself another date with Alan again?".
I shook my head, almost sadly.
"No.....not with Alan I'm afraid. Its with Jules Ryback".
Maya's mouth dropped open.
"Jules........ Ryback?". She repeated.
I nodded my head.
"Its only dinner. Nothing heavy you understand, but I just haven't got a dress........ Or anything in fact..... To wear. He's supposed to be taking me to a posh restaurant or something like that and I don't particularly want to be turning up like some old bag lady do I? So I was actually just wondering if you can let me borrow something of yours?".
"Oh my Goodness Gwen, of course I will. I mean it would be a complete honour. A date with Jules Ryback! Wow...... How dya manage that? Was it through Alan? Did he set you up for it? Well...... To be quite honest with you Gwen, he is more your age. You know compared with Alan that is...... Wow, I just cannot believe this! ".
I stared at Maya in almost sheer disbelief. I had never heard her so utterly animated about someone before! She was now sounding exactly like her mother! Something that I never thought would ever be possible! Usually the two of them were complete opposites of one another, with Maya being so measured and quiet in her spoken words. Now I couldn't get a word in edgeways!!
"Now... Just let me see. I must have something in here that would be suitable for a first date with the very handsome and delectable Jules Ryback!"
Maya was now sifting through her wardrobe, pulling back hangers of dresses that hung there all forlornly, having been left behind, unpacked from Maya's sudden excursion to Ibiza.
Then it suddenly hit me!
" Maya? ". I asked.
" Now..... Where is that little black number....". She continued to mutter to herself.
"Maya?". I asked again.
"Ah..... Now here it is". She smiled broadly to herself, pulling out a slinky, little black dress with a pattern of red roses all over it.
"Will this do?".
I stared at it. This would be absolutely perfect.
A cute little cocktail dress with dinky little shoulder straps and cute embroidered flowers on it, topped off with a stunning sweetheart neckline.
"That's beautiful". I marvelled.
"I know....... Isn't it just!". She said, now holding it at arms length to take a better look.
"I bought it on a whim once, when I felt sure that Hugo would be at this party, you know, the one Bob and Margaret invited us over for, that time".
"Oh yeah". I smiled and nodded at the memory. " That one".
"Turned out he wasn't going after all, so I decided I wasn't going either. So I've never actually worn the damn thing!". Maya said looking at the dress in almost distain.
"Oh, Hugo did go". I suddenly corrected her. "That was the night he got punched in the face by....... Oh, what's his name......".
"Joseph Marks? ". Maya asked quietly.
"Yeah, yeah that was him! In my opinion Hugo had it coming. He'd been hounding Joseph for weeks leading up to it, then at Bob and Margaret's, Joseph turned round and walloped him. We all stood there, we couldn't believe it!". I smiled.
Maya bent her head down, looking at the dress that was now draped over her arms. She suddenly looked very sad and I now felt really sorry for her.
" Didn't you know that Hugo went to the party? ". I asked.
Maya shrugged her shoulders.
"Well it wasn't much of a party really, well..... Not until that incident happened". I smiled.
"I knew that he got hit". Maya said sadly, "But I never knew he went to the party. He told me that he wasn't going, said it wasn't really his thing".
I gave a sigh.
"Hugo says a lot of things. You shouldn't really believe one half of what he tells you. He's a liar and a cheat and you deserve better".
Maya sucked in a breath and stared at the dress.
"Here then....... You'd better make use of it". She said, now handing it to me.
"Wear it, it's only gathering dust in here".
My eyes widened at it, but only for a moment.
"Look". I said brightly, "I was thinking. Why don't you put the dress on and come out with me this evening, you know...... meet Jules".
Maya stared at me.
"Oh......but I couldn't". She said.
"Of course you could. He won't mind. It's not a real date kind of thing, not really. Just a drink and some dinner. It was just a chance to get to know one another........ You know before we start acting together in the film. Jules says its a good way of breaking the ice. Stops any awkwardness". I explained.
Maya looked at the dress again.
"I'm sure you have something else I could borrow". I smiled.
"You Need to wear the dress. It's beautiful".
"But I couldn't just gatecrash your evening. It wouldn't be right". Maya wailed, although I could tell she was starting to waver slightly.
I now smiled fondly at her.
"Honestly, you'd be most welcome, I'd really appreciate your company and to be truthful, you'd actually be doing me a big favour". I grinned.
"Oh, go on! Tell me why!". Maya grinned.
"Well...... He's nice and all that, Jules I mean, But.... Well..... But.... he's not actually Alan now is he". I admitted.
Maya started to laugh.
"I thought you were going to say that!".
"Well...... He's not". I smiled. "I've only agreed to go out with Jules because Alan's being really weird towards me at the moment. I can't understand why though. One minute he was alright, the next he's accusing me of playing some kind of odd game. I don't know what's got into him. It's like he's just very suddenly gone right off me! ". I wailed.
Maya looked under her eyes at me.
" I thought you didn't care less what he thought". She grinned.
"No....... You're right..... I never used to....... But just lately. Oh my god, I've really started to.............. Well, really care about him. What he thinks, what he's feeling. To tell you the truth Maya, I actually think I've really fallen for him, big time!". I said, noticing that my fingers were tying themselves up in knots on my lap.
Maya stared at me.
"Then you should take a leaf out of my book then and do something about it". She announced, extending her arms out sideways.
"Be radical! Just do something so spontaneous, he'll never know what's hit him!".
"Yeah, but I don't know what though". I sighed miserably.
Maya was now looking under her eyes at me.
"Well, going out on a date with somebody like Jules Ryback wouldn't really help matters now would it". She cautioned.
I smiled at her.
"I mean". She went on, "I wouldn't think that Alan was the type of man to get insanely jealous about a thing like that now is he, if that was your intention. He's more than likely just as easily walk away from you ".
I smiled.
Perhaps at the back of my mind, I did intend to make him just a tiny bit jealous. But I certainly didn't want to scupper any chance I may have of actually being with him.
" So?, you'll come with me then? ". I asked, enthusiastically, " Save me from myself and if Alan should get really pissed off about it, at least Jules will be able to tell him that I had a chaperone".
I began to laugh.
Maya was now smiling at me.
"Seems as if I have no choice then". She said.
My heart suddenly soared.
I had done it!
I had actually managed to persuade Maya to come out with me!
Now, all I had left to do now was to try and persuade her not to get on that damned plane!!
"How do I look?". I asked almost nervously, as I smoothed down the cream coloured skirt that accompanied the dark blue blouse I was wearing.
Maya looked at me, cocking her head on one side and now pressing a thoughtful finger onto her lips.
"Well....... Personally..... I wouldn't have put that combination together". She said quietly.
I looked down at myself.
"But you do look nice. You sort of get away with it somehow". She giggled.
I then looked up at Maya, standing there in her lovely black cocktail dress. She looked amazingly stunning. Hopefully, I thought to myself Jules would think the same!!
"You, on the other hand look beautiful". I smiled, " Really beautiful".
"Thank you". She now smiled back shyly, "I have to admit this dress does kind of make me feel sort of special".
I touched at her arm. Maya was not the most confident about the way she looked, possibly because of all the put downs she had received over the years, from the only person who ever meant anything to her, Hugo Martinez.
He had one heck of a lot to answer for, in making Maya feel worthless and insecure. She really did seem to hang onto his every word and take it to heart every little thing he ever said to her and the really awful thing about it was........ He didn't even care!
Now if I could actually get her interested in somebody else......... Like Jules Ryback for instance and more importantly get him to be interested in her, well that will be problem solved with the Hugo fiasco.
I actually suspected I was already almost, half way there!
Maya and I were now standing in the foyer of the very plush Ivy restaurant just off from Regent's Street, waiting for Jules to arrive. We were early for once after Maya's insistence. I actually thought she was quite excited.
I, myself was looking forward to hopefully my match making plans coming to fruition. That was the reason for my almost eccentric choice of attire!
I knew that the combination, I had chosen from out of Maya's wardrobe, didn't really go together but I wanted and needed Jules to notice Maya more than me and as he walked into the Ivy, looking all dapper and film starrish, with his dark, swept back hair and sunglasses on, my plan looked as if had already started to work!
"Oh, my goodness.......". He said, immediately taking of his raybans,
"And whose this you've brought with you?". He asked, suddenly ignoring me and making a bee line for my all too recipient friend.
"I'm Maya". She smiled up at him, her eyes agog with admiration.
"I.... Thought she needed a night out". I said "So I asked her to come along with me tonight. I hope you don't mind".
"Mind?". Jules grinned, giving me the very slightest of glances,
"Of course I don't mind. You can bring whoever you want as long as they all look just as delightful as Maya does here".
Jules then offered his arm to her and she folded her hand around it, giving me a smile of complete happiness as she did this.
Jules then offered me his other arm, so that he could escort us both into the restaurant, but I shook my head hurriedly giving him my most warmest of smiles and almost shooing them both inside ahead of me.
This was definitely going to plan.
The evening actually turned out to be more than pleasing. Jules was a surprisingly wonderful host, very attentive and friendly. He chatted about all sorts of things, his up and coming films, the people in the film industry he most admired and his hopes for the future. He didn't really speak about his private life, his family or even past relationships, but that didn't matter. He was very obviously a private sort of person in that way.
A little bit like someone else I knew.
My stomach twisted at the thought of Alan Rickman.
He never really spoke of such things either and that was the crutch of all my insecurities. He just would not let me into his very private and personal world!!
Maybe it was a film star thing. Being on your guard at all times in case anyone wanted to sell the story to the newspapers or something.
I suppose they do have a lot of trust issues, until they really know someone well enough to actually let go.
"Are you okay Gwen?". Jules suddenly asked, awakening me from my innermost thoughts.
"You were miles away there. I hope you're not feeling too left out, as I do seem to be neglecting you a little bit in favour of your wonderful friend over here".
"No.... No..... You carry on". I said hurriedly, "I'm absolutely fine, honestly. I've just got to go....... And maybe...... powder my nose".
I then smiled and got shakily to my feet. The copious amount of champagne we had consumed seemed to have now taken its toll and I began to suddenly feel extremely light headed.
Through the sudden muzziness of my befuddled mind, I could hear both Maya and Jules laughing at me, as I now put a hand onto the table in order to steady myself.
This was so weird. I'd very suddenly become very drunk in almost an instant.
Well, I suppose that's what an expensive few bottles of champagne does to a person who was clearly not used to it!!
I really didn't know how long I'd been in the toilets for.
I remembered going into a cubicle and being sat down for quite a while, hearing the swinging of the other doors and the flushings of the cysterns as they filled up again. The comings and goings of people exiting and entering, their chatter and laughter all sounded really distant, even though they were only the other side of the closed door.
I thought at one time that I actually heard Maya's voice calling out my name, but I felt far too weary and disorientated to really bother answering her. In fact I could have just stayed sat there all night!
Eventually though, I did re emerge from my sacred cubicle and went over to lean on one of the wash basins, staring at myself in the big oval shaped, gilt edged mirror before me.
"God I feel awful". I spoke into it as it danced and manoeuvred its way across the wall and back again.
"Keep still". I said into it, reaching out my hands to grab hold of its sides.
"I said..... Keep still".
I became very suddenly aware that I was not on my own, as a woman was stood there, right beside me, looking at me curiously.
She was putting on some bright red lipstick, but she seemed to be putting it on all wrong as she was smearing it all over her face! I noticed that she was also wearing the most hideous lime green dress that I had ever clapped my eyes upon and as I stared at it closer I could also see that it was also made out of a very fluffy material, just like a child's toy Teddy bear!
I shook my head.
Just how had she ever managed to get into a place like this, dressed like that!!
I now looked into the mirror once again but looking back at me was a smiling, grotesque face. I felt pretty weird but I knew that this was not my reflection. It was whitewashed with a huge red smile across across it and black eye make up that ran down the cheeks, quite reminiscent of The Joker out of Batman.
I took a long blink, hoping the image would just go away, for it wasn't me, it wasn't me at all.
I then felt a hand now holding onto my arm and the woman wearing the lime green, fluffy Teddy bear costume was now looking closely at me.
"I love how you've done your make up". She cooed into my ear, "How dya get that lipstick so right?".
I now stared into the mirror and studied the reflection looking back at me again.
I swayed.
The grotesque image now seemed to be coming out at me from inside the mirror, like a 3D image or something and it was laughing, getting louder and louder. The face of this joker like person was now right up against mine, yet wasn't touching me. It filled my vision, yet I could still see all of its features.
This was weird, very weird indeed.
I could not, nor wanted to escape from it, but it was hideous and scary all the same.
The woman in the lime green fluffy outfit kept asking for my beauty tips, kept going on about my hair, my lipstick, my eyeshadow over and over again and badgering me to confide in my utmost beauty secrets. But I didn't have any. I just slapped make up on. I really wasn't any sort of expert whatsoever and I tried to tell her this.
I also wanted to tell her to go away, but I didn't. I just couldn't. I was finding it hard for my brain to construct any words, never mind string a whole sentence together. It was just not happening for me as I became more and more wrapped up with the stuff that was going on all around me.
Everything was now kind of mad somehow. A chaotic swirl of colours and shapes all spinning around me and going off in all kinds of different directions. I could not escape from them, nor did I want to. In fact, I felt as if I needed to join in. Become a part of it all.
Even the toilets had now taken on a different form. They were not the same as when I had first came into them, yet I couldn't get my head to fathom out how I'd actually got here and also the reason why everything looked so very much different!
It now felt like a nice place though, a friendly place. Somewhere that I could just lie down and relax.
I could be myself here and everything was fine, so as I lowered myself down onto the ground, I began to feel instantly comfortable now, there was a nice sound surrounding me. I had never heard anything like it before. It wasn't music, nor birds or anything like that. It was indescribable but was beautiful all the same. I began to move my arms around above my head, closing my eyes and swaying to this wonderful sound. I felt like joining in. So I did.
As soon as I did this though, a huge, black hole was now beginning to swallow me up. It surrounded me and there was no escape. I couldn't fight it, I just had to let it happen. I fell into its darkness without a single ounce of energy to lift myself out of it. I was falling, but very, very slowly. Like in slow motion. I looked up. My eyes springing open in a kind of panic but unable to do anything about it. The jokers face, just his face was looking down at me, still laughing and the woman with the fluffy, lime green outfit on, was waving at me from above and although I could feel the weightlessness of falling, I was still not getting any further away from them.
I reached out with my hands. Perhaps they would help me back out. The hole was dark and I was scared to reach the bottom of it. But they wouldn't help me. They just kept looking at me, laughing and waving as they began now, to fade away into the darkness.