Tony Littlejohns - The Hoffmann Plague

‘Well, missy, I think the first thing we should do is take you down to the sea for a good wash. Would you like that?’

‘Yes I would!’ she replied. ‘I haven’t been in the sea since last summer and it’ll be nice to be clean again.’

Jane fetched a couple of towels and the bottle of travel wash then they headed off down the garden holding hands. As they went she showed Megan all the vegetables they were growing. She said ‘Cool!’ and then said again how clever they were. She also thought it was cool that they had their own private steps to the beach and she ran off down to the sea. Jane went after her, a tearful smile on her face. Megan undressed quickly before Jane caught up and dashed in, shrieking and laughing. Jane followed and they were soon splashing each other: she was grateful for all the water in her eyes as it hid her tears. She couldn’t imagine what this poor girl had been through in all those months on her own and it made her feel so good to see her laughing and having fun.

Jane fetched the travel wash and Megan hesitated for a second but let her soap her hair and help to untangle the matted curls. Jane then handed her the bottle and moved away a few yards to let her wash herself. Megan smiled shyly in gratitude, then turned her back and washed the rest of her body.

After they’d washed, Jane said ‘Wow! It’s hard to believe there’s a pretty girl underneath all that dirt,’ and Megan smiled. Jane went back to the beach to get Megan’s underwear and socks and washed them.

‘Don’t worry about putting these back on;’ she told Megan, ‘we’ll dry them by the stove for tonight. Tomorrow we’ll go to the shops and get you some new things.’

‘Okay,’ she replied.

Jane got out first, dried herself and got dressed, then told Megan to follow when she was ready and walked back up the beach. Megan came out and dried herself, then got dressed and followed Jane back to the steps, where Max was waiting for them at the top, wagging his tail. When they got back to the kitchen they found it warming up nicely and Jamie was busy preparing the evening meal. Jane hung the towels and Megan’s clothing up to dry by the range then showed her the third bedroom, where she would be sleeping.

‘It will be so nice to sleep in a proper bed again,’ she said to Jane. ‘That camp-bed in the cellar was really uncomfortable and the sofa wasn’t much better. I won’t miss them at all!’ Her face clouded over for a few seconds and she looked down, but Jane stroked her hair and smiled, then showed her where she and Jamie would be sleeping.

‘We’ll be nearby, so if you need anything or you’re scared at night you just have to come and knock on our door.’

She then showed Megan the toilet and gave her a tour of the house before going back to the kitchen. Jamie had the meal underway and had just put a casserole in the oven. They all went to sit in the conservatory while the food cooked and they let Megan have the sofa, telling Max to jump up with her to keep her company. She sat there stroking him while they sat on the chairs opposite and they chatted until the meal was ready.

They kept the conversation away from Megan’s time on her own and her parents’ deaths; instead telling her about the things they had done, and about fishing, growing vegetables and trapping rabbits. They told her about meeting their new friends Bill and Emma, and Sarah and Georgie, and how Bill and Emma had a daughter of about her age. Megan said she would like to meet her and Jane said that she would do in a week’s time when they came for lunch, which pleased her.

Megan, inevitably, asked them about the plague and why everyone had died. They answered her questions as best they could, but were honest with her and said that they didn’t know what had happened and didn’t have any answers.

‘But the Prime Minister and the Government will sort things out and put everything back to normal, won’t they?’ she asked. Jane glanced at Jamie as if to say what the hell do we tell her?

‘Well, honey,’ said Jamie, ‘we don’t know for sure, but we don’t think there is a government any more. We think everyone died. We’ve seen almost no one in the last four or five months. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but we can’t rely on anyone coming to help us, ever. That’s why we’re growing our own vegetables and catching rabbits and fish to eat, because there won’t be any supermarkets or shops any more. We’ve got to look after ourselves from now on. There won’t be any more electricity, or TV, or running water in the taps, or schools, or anything else that we used to have. Everything has gone now, Megan – everything.’

Megan sat in silence for nearly a minute, digesting it all, but it was almost beyond her comprehension. She began to speak but then started crying instead. Jane went over and put her arms around her. ‘It’s okay, Megan, Jamie and I are going to look after you. You don’t have to worry about anything.’ Megan stopped crying and Jane pushed Max to one side and sat down next to her.

‘Did you answer my wish?’ she asked Jane after a while.

‘How do you mean, honey?’

‘Well, as it was my birthday yesterday I wanted a birthday cake, but all the cakes I found in the shops were mouldy. I found some tins of rice pudding, so I opened one and put a candle in it, then I lit it and blew it out and made a wish; because that’s what you’re supposed to do when you blow out the candles.’

‘And what did you wish for?’ Jane asked.

‘I wished for someone to come and save me and to not be on my own, and then today you came.’ Jane hugged her. ‘Then yes, Megan, we’ve answered your wish.’

By then the food was ready so they went back into the kitchen and served up the meal. Megan ate like there was no tomorrow and put away a big plateful, then asked if she could have seconds. They smiled at her and said of course she could. After eating they cleared the things away and washed up, and within about half an hour Megan was asleep in her chair. Jamie picked her up, carried her to the bedroom and laid her on the bed. It was a warm night so he didn’t bother with all the covers, but he put her favourite blanket on top of her and tucked her teddy bear in next to her. She stirred and rolled over to clutch her teddy then murmured ‘Night-night, Daddy.’

Jamie bit his lip to keep from crying then went over to the chest of drawers opposite the bed and lit a candle he’d made from vegetable fat that would burn through the night. He put a glass cover over the candle and went back to the kitchen, where Jane was making some bread for the next day. After pouring himself a whisky he sat down on the sofa in the conservatory, where she joined him shortly and snuggled up next to him.

‘… And then there were three,’ said Jane.

They sat there for some time talking about Megan, amazed that she had looked after herself for all those months. They also discussed how it might impact on them and the way they were living, but they didn’t have any answers to that yet and would just have to play it by ear. They closed up the house and went to bed. Jane awoke in the night and went to check on Megan, but she was sleeping soundly, still clutching her teddy.

When they got up in the morning Megan was still asleep, but she came into the kitchen after about twenty minutes, rubbing her eyes.

‘Well, good morning, sleepy-head!’ said Jane. ‘You’ve slept for over ten hours; you must have needed it.’

‘Good morning,’ she replied. ‘That was the best sleep I’ve had since… well, for months and months. Thank you for putting the candle in my room. I woke up in the night and couldn’t remember where I was and got a bit scared, but then I saw the candle and remembered. It was still burning just now so I blew it out.’