21 October 2012
New Year's Eve 1850 somewhere near London
Christmas had been a lot of fun. Zophar had got himself a new job and so they travelled to his Mother's house. On the twenty-fourth Phillipa wrapped herself up in her coat, scarf, mittens and hat before rushing to the little shop where she worked. A new, much thicker layer of snow had fallen making it hard to get anywhere in a hurry. The shop looked lovely! Phillipa had stayed behind one evening to help Molly and Ava to make little paper decorations. Ava's boyfriend, Gideon, was able to get them a bush-like tree to put in the shop and decorate. He went to visit them when they had finished decorating. He loved it! On Christmas Eve Phillipa helped her friends to pack up some of the most expensive materials. The area had been known to flood during winter when the snow melted. They had no customers, that day, and were able to finish up early. Just as Phillipa was about to leave Molly handed her a parcel wrapped in brown paper. "Merry Christmas, Phillipa!" "Oh, but I haven't got something for you two!" "It's alright!" Ava told her as she joined them. When Phillipa got home her Mother sent her straight upstairs to her small suitcase. They waited until Zophar arrived to take their bags and travel to Phillipa's grandmother's house. The whole family arrived at Amity's house to celebrate Christmas together. On Christmas Day they all got up early to check their stockings. Phillipa and her cousins all received a penny each and a small bar of chocolate. From their grandmother the boys each got a fine wooden train that looked almost expensive. Each of the girls got a doll for the doll house that Amity owned. But as Phillipa was the oldest she was given something very special. Back when Amity was a girl she travelled around a lot and collected lots of beautiful things. One of them was a bear with fine hair and a large grin. This she gave to Phillipa. Her parents had nothing of sentimental value to give to her but Phillipa still loved her gift from them. It was a small tin robot that moved when you wind up a pin on its back. It wasn't until after their hearty mealy that she remembered about her gift from Molly and Ava. She unwrapped it as fast as she could. It was a deep red dress that reached her waist before puffing out slightly. It was beautiful! Phillipa tried it on straight away. All her cousins were jealous but she didn't care. The next day Maria, Zophar and Phillipa went back home. Phillipa didn't go back to work until New Year's Eve so she instead helped her Mother around the house. They cooked and cleaned right up until they went to bed each night. Eventually it was time for Phillipa to go back to the shop. She put on the dress she had got for Christmas along with her brown boots. The shop was quiet when she got there. Molly rushed to greet her. Phillipa handed Molly some biscuits her Grandmother had made. The girls spent most of the day talking, stopping only to serve customers. Soon the day came to an end and Ava put up the closed sign. The three girls left and went back to Molly's house. They had a large meal and played about for a while until Molly's Mum called them downstairs. Phillipa met her family at the park as they, along with everyone else from the town, huddled round the large Christmas tree. The priest said some prayers and the Choir sung hymns. When all of a sudden they stopped. Everyone became quiet until the mayor began counting down from sixty. Everybody joined in. The counted down to the new year…
The Primocoggler Part 5 • Opuss № I