by Les Gower

I miss Alice.

We used to play all the time. I would be the princess and she’d rescue me from the wicked witch. When it was hot we would play badminton and football in the garden. She looked just like me, Mummy would always dress us the same, except for the ribbon she would put in our hair. Mine was green and hers was blue. I think that helped Mummy tell us apart. Sometimes we swapped and didn’t tell her.

Big people came that day and they made me go into another room and I could hear them shouting. Don’t like it when people shout.

I remember Daddy taking Alice away in that bag in the car. Mummy kept saying all the time ‘It’ll be alright, it’ll be alright, Daddy can make it better.’

A big policeman came round and I asked him if he had come about Alice. He put me in this big car with some other people and we drove on the motorway. When we got there they wouldn’t let me see Mummy or Daddy and they put me in this room with loads of teddy bears. Another lady talked to me all about everything and gave me some biscuits.

They said Daddy had killed Alice and he was being taken to jail. They took him away with his hands all stuck together behind his back. Mummy screamed and tried to hit one of the policemen. Poor Daddy. Hope he can say his prayers where they have taken him.

Mummy won’t talk to me now.

Then I told them about how Alice had upset me when she took Mabel, my doll, and hid her. I hit her, I didn’t mean to.

I had a big pan that mummy uses for cooking our tea. I was wiping-up for mummy, being a good girl.

Alice lay on the floor like she was asleep and Mummy screamed.

Les Gower lives in Wiltshire and has been writing short stories for about five years now.