The Mysteries of Brambly Hollow

cobbles by the side of her car, in a shallow, muddy river that was running down from the overgrown bank behind them. Taking aim she fired her key at the car, unlocking it with the first shot, before waving at them frantically, clearly telling them to get off their backsides and out of the wet. Pulling the door closed behind her, she bolted through the lashing rain, swiftly covering the distance with her long strides. Yanking at the door she scrambled inside and slammed it shut, angering the squally storm as it beat even harder against the shell of the car, trying to reach them.
    Twisting in her seat, she glanced at her sons, who were both sitting with equally miserable expressions, their hair darkened as it lay flat against their scalps. “That’s some downpour,” she commented, reaching up and peeling her own damp locks from where they had stuck to her skin
    “ Do we have to go to school like this?” David asked, huddling down in his seat glumly. Mesmerized, Meli’s gaze was drawn to the globule of water that was yo-yoing from the tip of his nose. As she watched it stretched downwards, hanging valiantly by a mere thread for a millisecond before finally snapping. Plummeting down it splattered on his lap. Instantly another bubble began to form. Reaching into her pocket, she handed him a pack of tissues.
    “ Here you are, share these with George,” she told him. “I’ll put the heater on when we get going. You’ll soon dry out.” She didn’t feel in the least bit mean, sending them to school a little damp. If it was a weekend, they would have been quite happy to scamper off somewhere, and thoroughly enjoy getting soaked. Straightening in her seat she turned on the engine, then with a swipe of the wiper across the screen, she glared through the slanted stair-rods of rain towards the converted barn that was now their home. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Where was she?
    “ I’ll go and get Cass,” offered George, astutely guessing the cause of his mum’s irritation.
    “ No, stay inside,” Meli cried, but it was too late. Scrabbling with the handle the door opened a fraction. Instantly, the maddened wind snatched it from George‘s grasp, almost wrenching it from its hinges as it hurled it backwards. Frantically he leaped out with both arms, assaulted by a barrage of large bull-nosed raindrops that tried to beat him back. Hauling on the handle, using the full strength of his young upper body, he managed to haul it closed again.
    Meli jammed the heel of her palm on the horn, unnaturally wishing it was Cassie’s head. Three sharp, exasperated blasts harmonised with the symphonic score of the storm.
    “ It’s okay, there she is,” George announced, gesturing in the direction of the doorway, where his sister was now standing, preparing to sprint through the downpour, her jacket pulled up protectively over her head. Meli could not even bring herself to look at her daughter when she dropped herself onto the seat beside her. If Cassie thought she could rile her today, she was very much mistaken. Leaning forward she turned the blower to full, shivering as rainwater, caught in the collar of her jacket, poured itself down her neck. Slamming the car into gear, they leaped forward.
    The drive to school proved more hazardous than Meli could have imagined. Used to living in a town, the storm out here was far more intimidating. It was one thing to witness wind-swept rain lashing against indestructible brick walls and solid concrete pavements with the force of tennis balls on the Centre Court; quite another seeing them tear into exposed woodlands and defenceless hedgerows. It was difficult to remind oneself that this wooded landscape had stood here for centuries, and survived far worse than this. On several occasions, Meli physically jumped as missiles battered against the roof and bonnet, exploded on the glass right in front of her face. Yet at the same time it was exhilarating and tremendously exciting. The boys obviously agreed, as behind her in the rear they yelped and squealed, while Cassie sat beside her, emotionless as a grotesque stone gargoyle spouting from a gutter.
    St. Sebastian ’s was the first drop off point. It was no surprise to find the playground evacuated as the unrelenting elements transformed it into one vast lake that overflowed over the path, poured into the gutter before racing away behind them down the hill. Unbuckling her belt, Meli twisted round so her sons could take it