My short story, constructive criticism please!!

This is a short story i wrote ages ago.

I'd just like to know what people think, love it or hate it!



The Dream

It was an ordinary, boring Saturday and Jimmy was bored.
'Mum, can I go out and play?' he asked.
'Okay, but be careful. And mind the road! I want you home before it gets dark as well, okay?'
'Alright mum, see you later!'
He shot up from the dining room table and was gone, a streak of lightning. His mother went back to washing the dishes and staring out of the kitchen window into the garden. It looked like rain, she'd have to go and get that washing in.
Jimmy was a good kid, full of energy and fun. He also had the craziest imagination of any boy she'd ever heard of, he was always coming home and telling her of battles he'd fought, princesses he'd rescued. Although just lately, he seemed to be growing up a little, he'd discovered an interest in football, and he could usually be found kicking a ball against a wall somewhere when his friends weren't around.

The game was in full swing by the time Jimmy got to the playground.
'Come on Jimmy! What are you playing at? You should have been here ages ago!' yelled Michael, a tall boy of eleven.
'Yeah, sorry...i was helping Mum.'
' 'Helping mum' ' Michael sneered teasingly. But it was only in fun, he knew that Jimmy hadn't been the same since his dad died last year in a car accident. He'd much rather be like Jimmy, helping his mum than getting the lash off his dad for being late for tea.
'Anyway, that's enough gasbagging, lets get back to this game before it starts to pour down! Everyone into position!'
And so they played on, Jimmy scored two goals in quick succession, leaving his opposing team mates furious. The game continued in good fun until Andrew volleyed the ball over a wall leading into an alleyway.
'I'm not getting it.' He said, arms crossed, looking mulish.
'Neither am I, mate, you kicked it over, you go and get it!' Laughed Michael.
After another five minutes arguing over who was going to get the ball, Jimmy came up with the idea of drawing lots.
'Short straw goes down the alley, right?'
'Right' they all said as one. When Jimmy made a decision, no one argued. He might not have been the oldest, or the biggest, but he had their respect and knew it.
A tense time followed, as each boy drew a straw. Andrew was safe, so was Michael. So were the other boys.
Down to the last straw.
'Come on Jimmy, open up your hand, lets see!' said Andrew.
Short straw.
'Looks like i'm going to get it then, right?'
They all looked at him expectantly.
'Okay, okay, i'm going. See you in a minute. And Andrew, be more careful next time!'
He walked away from the group, towards the alleyway. He couldn't understand what the big deal was, it was just an alleyway like any other...bunch of sissies, the lot of them. Although he knew eighteen months ago he'd have been the same. No way would he have come down here, not for all the trading cards in Andrew's much-coveted collection.
Dad dying seemed to have changed all that for him...he'd recognised that he was the man of the house, the night the policeman came to the door to tell his mother her husband wouldn't be coming home any more. He didn't have time for childish fears like being scared of the dark, or the bogeyman under the bed.
He jolted out of his musings, remembering that he was supposed to be looking for a football. Should be pretty easy to spot, he thought. Lots of undergrowth. He didn't remember all these weeds being here...
Where was that ball?
He began to get irritated, his friends were waiting, and he wanted to finish the game before the rain came.
He did a bit more scouting about, and then leaned his hand on the wall of the alleyway. Before he knew where he was, the wall had given way, and he'd fallen through it. Even as he began falling he thought 'you don't fall through walls, not when they don't have holes in.' Down and down he fell, dark and damp and murky all the way, landing with a thud at the bottom.
'Where am i?' He called out.
'Andrew? Michael? Guys?!' Silence.

'Where the hell did Jimmy get to?' Michael asked irritably. 'He should be back by now.'
'Yeah, he should be...he only went to get that ball...do you think somethings happened to him?' Andrew wondered.
Michael raised an eyebrow in contempt.
'What, like a troll? You've been reading too many stories, you have.'
'I was only saying!'
'Well, don't. There's a logical explanation for this, i know there is. I think one of us needs to go and look for him. I'll go, being as Andrew is scared of 'things.' '
'I'm not scared!' Andrew shouted. 'Well, i am, but only for Jimmy. You go, but i'm coming with you. Jeremy,' he said to the youngest boy, 'Stay here, then if neither of us comes back, go and find Jimmy's mum, tell her what's happened. DO NOT follow us, on any account. If someone or something has snatched Jimmy, its' no good us all getting caught by him...or...it.'
Michael thumped Andrew on the arm.
'OW!'
'Well pack that up then!! you're scaring the poor kid! come on...'
The two boys went off towards the alleway, and Jeremy waited. He sincerely hoped they came back very, very soon. Something weird had just happened, he knew it. He didn't like the thought of going to Jimmy's mother and telling her her son had gone missing...

'Ow...my head...'
Jimmy tried to gather his thoughts. Where was he, why was it so dark? Was he still asleep? Gradually it came back to him. He'd fallen through a wall...that was it. He remembered now.
Hang on a minute, he thought. Fell through a wall?
Ball...he had a recollection of a ball flying through the air...that was it, Andrew and his big feet. He came down the alleyway to look for the ball, and then fell down the hole. Time to go back then, and find out if any of them had found it, because it sure as hell wasn't down here.
He got up slowly, checking he'd broken nothing. It appeared that he was unhurt. The floor underneath him was soft, and sandy, but there was still that awful smell of damp.
He turned around to climb back up, back the way he came. Boy, the boys are never going to believe this, he thought.
Then he got a shock. He seemed to have no way out. There was nothing to climb back up, no sign of light. Just a solid wall, right in front of him. But that couldn't be right, he knew he'd fallen down a hole. And what goes up, must come down, so what goes down, must go up, right?
Try as he might, he could find nothing that looked familiar.
He began to feel scared. Scared for the first time in ages.
'Well, i'll just have to find my own way out, how hard can it be?' He realised the best thing to do was to calm down and get his bearings. where was he?
He walked a little further from where he'd landed, and found he walked into a large room, that was dimly lit. It was full of boxes and barrels.
'A cellar' he whispered. Which meant it had to be a house that he was in, they had a cellar just like this at home...except it was filled with boxes of old toys and clothes, and some of his father's things that his mother could no longer bear to have about the house.
'If this is a cellar, it means that this is a house, with a front door. Someone must live here. I can explain to whoever lives here that i ended up here by mistake, and then go home. Mum'll be cross though...nevermind. Can't do anything about that now.'
Slowly he made his way across the cellar and up the staircase, to the ground floor.

Jeremy was very relieved to see Andrew and Michael reappearing a short time later. Andrew and Michael. No Jimmy. Where was Jimmy?
'Guys? Where's Jimmy?'
Michael said nothing for a minute. Andrew just looked...well, odd, to say the least.
'We don't know' Said Michael hoarsely. 'We couldn't find him, no sign of him anywhere.'
'Don't be silly, he can't have disappeared, he only went down the alley. Did you go right to the bottom and back again?'
'YES, AND WE CAN'T FIND HIM!'
'We need to tell his mum...come on you two, lets go now...we need a grownup now. Whatever's happened to Jimmy is far too much for us to handle on our own.'

Jimmy's mother had just put the basket of washing down on the table when she heard a knock at the door. Who could that be, at this time of day? Not Jimmy, he always came flying in the back door, covered in mud, traipsing over her nice clean floor.
She was very surprised to find Andrew, Michael and Jeremy on the front step, looking out of breath and very, very frightened.
'Boys, what is it? Come in quick, you look done in. What's happened?' Then she noticed there was only three of them.
No Jimmy.
'Where's Jimmy?' she asked, trying not to panic.
'W-We don't know! We were playing football, Andrew kicked it into an alleyway, Jimmy went to look for it, and didn't come back. Andrew and I went to look for him, thinking he'd tripped and fell or something, but we couldn't find him!' Michael burst into tears, Andrew looked as if he might do the same any second.
'Jeremy, is this true?'
'Yes, it is. They made me stay behind.'
'Very wise, no good you all getting lost. Right, the next thing to do is organise a search party. I want you boys to go back down the alleyway, all together this time, make sure you've covered every inch of it. See if you can find any sign at all of my Jimmy. I'm going to knock on a few doors, perhaps he went to one of your parents houses as a joke, i don't know.'
'Okay then' Said michael. 'Come on you two, lets find Jimmy.'
Jimmy's mother changed her shoes and housecoat, and set off down the road to the nearest of the boys' homes and knocked on the door.
Michael's mother answered.
'Oh hello, i was just wondering, is Jimmy with you? He was out playing football with michael and andrew and jeremy and hasn't come home.'
'Well, no. we haven't seen him. Most unusual, being as he must have known i was baking cookies today. I hope nothing's very wrong' Michael's mother asked.
'Oh no, not yet. He just seems to have mislaid himself!' said Jimmy's mother, in a brighter voice than she felt inside. Inside, she felt very sick and very worried. Her little boy would never just 'disappear'. Not after what happened to his father.
'i'm going to knock on a few more doors, see if anyone else has seen him, then i'm going to go home. If he hasn't turned up before dark, i'll ring the Inspector'
'That's a good idea, good luck! Come back if you need anything.'
'Thanks, i will!'
She went to Andrew's house, and Jeremy's. Neither of them had seen Jimmy in the last couple of hours. It began to rain heavily. Thank god i bought that washing in, she thought.
She decided that the best thing to do was to head for home, she'd read somewhere that often when parents went out looking for children, the child got home before they did.
She found Michael, Andrew and Jeremy on the doorstep.
'Did you find him?' she asked them.
'no, we didn't. Was he at mum and dad's house?' asked Andrew hopefully.
'No, he wasn't. Nor was he at Michael's or Jeremy's. Can any of you three tell me if anything would have prompted Jimmy to run away at all, did you have a fight?'
'No, we were just playing football, like always. Jimmy scored two goals, then Andrew volleyed the ball into the alleyway. We drew lots to see who was going to get it, to make it fair, like. Jimmy got the short straw...' Andrew couldn't say anymore, he'd started crying.
'come on lad, it's not your fault. You were only playing like always. There's got to be a logical explanation. You didn't see any signs down the alleyway that suggested he could have fallen down a hole and become trapped? Did you call for him?'
'yes' said michael. 'We called for him, and could see no sign of anywhere that he might have fallen. It's a straight alleyway, with a cobbled wall either side.'
'Well, you'd best all come in and have some tea with me, and we'll wait to see if he turns up. And boy is he ever in trouble when i catch the seat of his pants!'

Julia walked into the front entrance of the Nursing home where she worked, and sighed heavily. Not that she didn't love her job, she just had a feeling she'd been doing it for too long.
She was beginning to long for some fun and adventure in her life, but she wasn't quite sure how to go about getting it. Not to mention that some of the staff these days were being really bitchy, and she couldn't stand that. Her attitude was that if people didn't care enough about the job, she knew where the door was.
Everything was normal, all the residents were fine, her shift proceeded as it always did. She enjoyed spending time with the residents, especially the ones that appeared to have no recollection of who or where they were, they were the ones she felt closest to, the strongest sense of acheivement if she could raise a smile or a laugh out of them.
In fact, this was the only place where things WERE normal. In the rest of her life, everything had gone a bit crazy since her grandmother had died eighteen months ago. It was harder for her, because she'd seen so many people die already, and she knew what her nan was going through, when the cancer began eating away at her.
Harder because her nan had raised her as her own after her mother died when she was young...she had fond memories. Thankfully she was old enough to take care of herself now, so that was something. At least she was free. Her nan didn't leave much behind, and anything valuable was locked away safely in storage. Julia only carried one memento to her grandmother. A strange pendant that she hung around her neck. Her grandmother used to wear it all the time when she was a little girl, and Julia used to call it the 'magic necklace' and her grandmother would laugh and tell her that her imagination would one day get her into trouble. Now it was hers. She'd always wondered what kind of stone it was exactly...she supposed an opal, but when she took it to the jewellers, he replied that he had no idea, but that it looked valuable and she should get it insured, or maybe he could take it off her hands.
She declined, saying it had great sentimental value. Take it off her hands indeed!
Just lately, it had been acting oddly. Which she thought strange, considering she was grown up enough now not to believe in such a thing as 'magic necklaces'. Of all the ideas.
She'd always thought it had been fairly uniform in its behaviour, but just lately the colours seemed to dance more than usual, one night waking her up because they were so bright. She'd certainly never known that before. Sometimes it went a little warm. Not enough to burn, but enough for her to notice it. Like it WANTED her to notice it.
and sometimes, late at night, she could have sworn she heard it singing, or at least whispering something very softly. She put that down to overtiredness, but it still puzzled her.
she figured out that the mystery would be revealed all in it's own time.s

Jimmy found himself in another large room, with a black and white parquet floor. It looked like a kitchen, sort of like the kind of kitchen he'd expect to find in one of his fantasy games that he used to play inside his own head. All quests and goblins and bad guys. But not any more. Not since dad died.
Telling himself to stop dreaming, he took a look around. Yes, it was definitely a kitchen. In the middle of it, was a large wooden table with things on it. A large leather bag, with a strap, a lot like his school satchel. An apple, and a piece of cake. So had someone been down here recently? He wondered.
He picked all three items up, and took them with him, along with a candle holder that had three candles in it. It was very dark in this house. didn't anyone ever open any windows? It stank too...it smelled 'old'. Like someone old lived here. In fact, it smelled just like Granny. Ugh.
Time to carry on, find the way out. He walked into another room, expecting it to be similar to the one he'd just left. But this was different. It looked like a library, but it had one difference. All the furniture was upside down, on the ceiling. He could see the doorway, but it was blocked by a large bookcase. The room had one tiny window, right at the top. He couldn't climb up and look outside, because he had nothing to stand on. 'Maybe i can somehow move this furniture. What goes up, must come down. What i want to know, is how the hell did it get up there in the first place?'
Just as he was thinking this, he thought he heard a dry whispering voice.
'Help me...i am frozen in time and cannot move. Help me, you from another place in time'.
Jimmy jumped in alarm, almost dropping his candle. Now he was hearing things. First he falls through a wall without a hole in it, and now he's hearing things.
Great.
The voice started again.
'The house is doomed. Save it, save me. Save yourself, and return to one who loves you....'
What?! What was this nonsense? He bet it was some kind of trick on Michael's part...some kind of game. Well, when he got out of here, he'd make sure michael realised it wasn't funny.
He tried to talk to the voice.
'What are you talking about? This is nonsense. I want to get out of here and go home. Mum's going to have a fit when she sees me. So, the sooner i get out of here, the better!'
The voice responded in the same dry monotone.
'Save me, save this house, save yourself. Come find me.'
He tried talking to it again.
'Who are you? What do you want? How do i 'save' this house? Tell me what to do! And then maybe i can go home!'
The voice didn't reply.
Hmm. He thought for a minute. Maybe it's like a game, or a puzzle. Everything in this room is upside down, right? Which means i'm technically standing on the ceiling. He looked down at his feet, noticing that the light was very bright. Why?
He looked at his candles. They too were upside down. he shook his head and frowned. This was too weird.
Okay, so basically i need to find a switch, he thought. Here goes then.
He started at the door where he came in, and worked in a leftwise direction, towards the bookcase, feeling and patting against the walls as he went. Hey, if i can fall through a wall to get in, maybe i'll fall through a wall to get out again! But he knew it could never be that simple. After an hour of searching, he hadn't found any kind of switch. He sat on the floor and sighed.
The dry voice had come back again.
'You must not give up so easily, or all is lost.'
He stood up. What about the bookcase, he thought.
Too obvious. But it had to have been about the only thing he hadn't tried, he'd patted walls, floor, everything. The bookcase was barring his way. He just knew there was an entrance there somewhere.
So he walked up to it, and ran his candlelight along some of the titles. What were these books? He'd never even heard of any of them. Books on Alchemy, curses and all kinds of strange things...
Curses...maybe that would help him. He put his candle down on the floor, and snatched it up immediately, thinking that setting fire to the room was not a good idea. Until he realised that in spite of it being upside down, the flame and the wax never touched the floor. The candles, as a matter of fact, didn't seem to burn down at all. it was almost as if the wax was reabsorbed.
He went back to the bookshelf, and pulled down the book on curses. It was stiff, and he had to tug hard to get it out. It got so far, and then stuck fast. He sighed in frustration.
'Oh, come ON!!' he said, and tugged again. suddenly, everything seemed to move, as if the room had been hit by a wave. It pitched from side to side, and he found himself thrown head over heels. There was a strange groaning and creaking noise, also something that sounded exactly like shrieking.
Suddenly, the room stopped moving, the bookcase slid back, revealing a door.
At last! The furniture had all moved back to it's proper place as well, and Jimmy realised he was now standing on the floor proper. He also realised that if he stood on one of the chairs, and climbed onto the mantelpiece, he'd be able to see out. See exactly where he was.
When he got to the window, he got a terrible shock. Outside he could see across the street to his own house. Outside his house, his mother was standing with a policeman. She was crying and wringing a handkerchief.
He could hear the policeman asking questions. Questions about HIM.
He suddenly realised that his mother had reported him missing. How long had he been in here? Surely not more than a few hours?
Maybe i can attract her attention. He looked for an opening on the window, of which there was none. It appeared to be sealed shut.
Maybe i can shout through it, while it's shut. If it's single pane like at home, she'll hear me.
'MUM, MUM!! I'M IN HERE, AND I'M STUCK!! I NEED YOU TO GET ME OUT!
She didn't seem to hear him. there was a lot of dirt on the window, so he wrote in it. 'GET ME OUT'
The same dry voice from before spoke to him.
'She can't hear you. She can't see you, or this house.'
He was filled with despair. How could that be possible, how could he see her, and not she him? That wasn't possible!
'that is the nature of this curse...the house is doomed to fade. it is near it's time. Hurry, and save us both.'
He clambered down from the window, wiping the tears from his face, and ran to the door. Mercifully it opened out into a large hallway with a marble staircase.

Julia was dreaming. It was a dark dream, and she was frightened. She appeared to be in a room with no way out that she could see. She began to cry, when a voice spoke to her softly.
'Don't cry child...you're safer than most. Listen to the stone. Listen to what it tells you.'
She looked down at her chest, and found the stone was glowing brighter than ever, and yes, it was singing at her. It was telling her of a young man, a boy, but a man. Someone older than his years.
It told her that she needed to help him, that he would save those that mattered.
'I can't!' she wailed.
'You can...just keep dreaming. He'll hear you...' the voice faded away, and Julia woke up to the stone warming her skin and tears on her face. In the air, she could smell her grandmother's favourite perfume.
'Oh, granny' she whispered. 'Didn't you say magic necklaces were nonsense?'
Then she sat up.
Wait a minute. She never said it WASN'T magic...she just said her imagination would get her into trouble...But she hadn't had time for imaginings, not for years.
She got up, and went to the mirror across the room, and studied the stone. All quiet. No singing, no glowing. Nothing.
Stop it Julia, she said to herself. You've got so bored with life, you're conjuring up nonsense, it was just a dream. There's no house, no boy who is a man. And definitely no curses.
And who said anything about curses? a voice seemed to say from outside, yet within herself.
Julia began to be frightened. She took the necklace off and put it in her jewellry box. Maybe something in the metal was disagreeing with her.
She shut the door firmly behind her, and went to work.
'Hey, Julia, where's your necklace?' one of her friends asked her when she got there.
'oh...i took it off...i think the metal was irritating me.'
'Oh, shame...it's very beautiful, it suited you. It was almost part of you.'
Back in it's box, the stone began glowing again. Calling.

'Little Jimmy Davis has been missing for over a week. Police and dogs have combed all the surrounding areas with no findings whatsoever. If anyone has any information as to the little boy's whereabouts, who he could be with, they are asked to contact the station with any information. All names will remain confidential.'
Jimmy's mother switched off the set and sighed heavily. She looked out of the window, and down the street, hoping to catch a glimpse of her little boy.
Then she went into the kitchen to make the tea, his favourite, fish and chips. Maybe the smell would bring him home. There was a knock on the door, the knife slipped and dug into the soft skin of her thumb, drawing blood.
'Ouch' she said, going to find a plaster.
On the doorstep was Michaels' mother.
'Hello, can i come in? You look like you could use someone to talk to.'
'yes, please do, come and have a seat.'
'So, have they found Jimmy yet?' Michael's mother asked as she looked round the room. The pile of laundry on the dining room table, the preparations for tea. For two, she noted, but said nothing.
'Nothing. Not so much as a shoe lace. Oh, where the hell is here? I dreamed about him last night, i dreamed he was trapped in some room somewhere...he kept shouting 'mum, mum, i'm in here, come and get me out!' But i couldnt' get to him...I'm so worried...what if he's dead?'
'Come on now, don't talk daft, that's not happened and you know it...he's your son...you'd know if something like that had happened.'
Jimmy's mother sat at the table, and studied her hands. rough and worn from the non stop cleaning she'd done since Jimmy had gone missing.
'I just don't get it. Jimmy would never, ever run away. Since Martin died, he's stuck to me like glue. He's been my rock, even though i don't like him doing it. He's older than he looks, in here' she said, tapping her head.
'I know...it'll come right in the end, you'll see. Just you wait and see...'
'I sure hope so...because i need him here. Jimmy, where are you?'

The hallway that Jimmy was standing in was very tall, and very grand. On the ground floor, there were lots of doors leading off into all directions. A red carpet ran all the way up the staircase, with a flight of stairs leading to the right and the left, culminating in a large balcony at the top. In the centre of the ceiling was a large chandelier, no longer lit. Hundreds of portraits lined the walls, pictures of people dead and gone.
What is this place, he wondered?
The dry voice he was becoming accustomed to whispered again...although this time, it seemed clearer.
'You have not far to go, but many trials await you...you must keep going. You have someone to guide you, if you would only listen.'
What the hell did that mean?
'oh well, I guess it's up the staircase, right?'
No answer, typical. Why did that voice always have to spout riddles and never give him any decent advice?

Julia arrived home from work as usual, and went up to her room to get changed. As she reached the doorway,she saw a light coming from underneath it. Perhaps she'd left the light on. She opened the door to find her jewellry box open and her pendant glowing brighter than she'd ever seen it. The singing was louder than anything she'd ever heard, so loud, she had to put her hands over her ears.
'What do you want?!' she yelled.
'put me on...save the boy who is a man, you are the only one who can. You must do this.'
Another voice came into the argument.
'You're being too soft on her, let me speak to her!!'
GRANDMOTHER!
'JULIA, PUT THAT NECKLACE ON RIGHT NOW...DO AS YOU'RE TOLD, OR IT'LL BE THE WORSE FOR YOU, AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT A SLAPPED WRIST. IT'S LIFE AND DEATH. NOW ENOUGH MESSING ABOUT. PUT. IT. ON. NOW!!!'
'Alright, alright!'
Julia snatched the chain up, and put it back around her neck. It grew warm on her skin, and sang softly. It told her to go to bed, and go to sleep. Find the boy in her dreams, help him out.
She decided that she wasn't going to get any peace if she didn't.
She closed her eyes, and immediately plunged back into the dream.
This time, she was somewhere else entirely. In a large hallway, with a big staircase. In front of her was the boy.
he was muttering something.
'Stupid voice...i don't think it knows anything. Spouting all those stupid riddles.'
Julia's grandmother found her voice through her, told julia what to say.
'Stop being insolent!'
Jimmy jumped and turned round to see the voice that had seemed to come from behind him.
'Cripes, it can read my mind!!'
'yes, so be careful! I'm going to try and guide you, if you'll hold your foolish tongue. If you don't do as i say, you'll be lost forever, and this house will be eternally doomed.'
'Grandmother, how come he can't see me?' Julia whispered.
'Magic of the necklace dear, if he sees you, it causes a paradox. He accidentally found a rip in the fabric of time. It could only be him really, no adult could have found it, they aren't inquisitive enough.'
'So, basically, if we caught sight of each other...'
'The two worlds would get fused together, except it would be like having half a horse and half an elephant.'
Julia giggled.
'Stop that. This is no time for jokes!'
'sorry.'
Grandmother gave Julia more instructions to relay to Jimmy.
Jimmy followed the guidance of the voice, up the staircase and along the top balcony. He came to two red doors. Both looked totally identical. he didn't need telling that one door was life, and one was death.
For the first time, he was really, totally terrified.
And for the first time in ages, he thought of his father, and began to cry. He sat on the floor and cried like he was six years old.
'I can't do it. I'll pick the wrong door, i know i will. I want to get back home to mum, but i have to pick the right door first. If i don't get it right, everyone dies.'
Suddenly he heard a voice, but not the dry rasping one, nor the one of the stern old lady. It was his father.
'son, listen to me. This house is under a huge curse. It's the curse of sadness and despair. Never mind witches and warlocks, they are easy to defeat. But when you are sad and despairing, like you and your mother are now, like the girl who is guiding you, you get so low you think you can't go on. so then the curse knows it's found a host. It feeds off all the joy in your heart. Takes all the sunshine out of your life. How many sunny days have you counted since i died?'
Jimmy thought. He couldn't remember one, although he knew that wasn't possible. Sunny days were when his mother smiled and laughed, ruffled his hair.
That didn't happen any more.
'See?' said his father. 'it's even beginning to work on you.'
'Who is this girl? I can't see her' Jimmy said.
'No, you can't. But she too is dealing with the curse only she hasn't realised it. Her grandmother died the same time as me...i met her on our last journey together, and i could see how devastated you both were, by both our deaths. Death is not an end. It's a beginning. You see it as an end because we are not there any more. But as long as someone lives to remember us both, we will never die, not until the last person that remembers us dies. I will always be with you. The girl's grandmother will always be with her. You are not alone. You know which door to take. Follow your instinct.'
The voice of his father faded away, and Jimmy felt better.
He stood in front of the doors again, asked himself which one he'd pick. His eyes were drawn to the left door. He walked towards it.
'consider carefully your choice' a voice whispered. 'Only those with a light heart, those who are free can pass through here unhindered. Those who hide grief will be revealed, and put to death. I am the first and the last test. I am the Ultimate. Life, death, judgement. make your choice. Pass through those who remember how to live...'
THIS WAS IT! He just knew it. Wasn't he light of heart, now that he could go home and tell his mother that his father wasn't gone from her, that she only had to dream, to think of him, smell his aftershave, and they could always be together?
Isn't that what he said?
He took a deep breath, turned the handle and opened the door.
'He did it!' Squeaked Julia.
'Shh!' said Grandmother. 'he has another test to go through first...this one is the hardest i think.'
'Grandmother, how do you know all this?' Julia asked.
'I can't tell you that...all i can tell you is...we have a gift. you'll find out when your time is right.'
Jimmy found himself in what appeared to be a drawing room. Large windows were at the far end of the room, yet little light seemed to penetrate. There was a dining table laid for a dinner party, with candles and places set. A bookcase on the far wall. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. There was a great feeling of desolation in this room and it threatened to overtake him. Suddenly, his feet grew heavy, his heart felt like it was carrying all the burden of the world.
Tears came into his eyes.
'I can't do it...' he whispered. He sank to the floor.
'NO!' yelled Grandmother. 'GET UP CHILD, LISTEN TO THE SONG IN YOUR HEART. LISTEN TO THE TRUTH, LISTEN TO THE LIGHT'.
Jimmy heard singing that seemed to come from inside his head. The song spoke of things that could happen, all you had to do was make them. It was an uplifting song, made him think of climbing a hill to the clouds. He saw his father's face in front of him. He stood up, walked into the centre of the room,where the light was brightest.
In a large armchair was sat a wizened old lady. Her hair hung in ragged, lifeless curls around her shoulders. She looked dead.
Was he too late? He swallowed past the lump in his throat.
'You are not too late...i am not dead, i only sleep. Waken me'.
How? he thought.
He looked around the room for something, anything that might waken her.
The old lady spoke to him again.
'You need something that belongs to her.'
Something that belongs to her...wait, what was that over the back of the dining chair?
A shawl...made of silk. Lace.
This should work, he thought.
He held it up and away from his body, walked over to the old lady in the chair. Went to put it over her knees, and she suddenly sat bolt upright, and raised an old hand in the sign of 'STOP'.
She beckoned to him that she should put it around her shoulders.
He went round to the back of the chair, and holding his breath, placed the shawl on the old woman's shoulders.
for a minute, nothing happened, and he wondered if he'd failed.
Then...she began to breathe, her eyes flickered open, and looked at him. She smiled, and put a hand to his face.
'Jimmy' she said softly. 'my brave man...'
what did she mean?
The room began to change...light came in at the windows, the dust began to evaporate, the candles flickered back into life.
The old lady drew him down beside her, and began to speak to him.
'You've come a long way child, and conquered the greatest demon any human ever has. Despair. It's what happened to me. My husband went off to war and never came back. The table you see before you was laid for his coming home.
When i heard the news, i couldn't get on with my life. I sat in this chair until i withered away. Somehow i knew that wasn't the way it was supposed to be. So i knew i had to find someone who was like me, despairing, in danger of giving up all the light in their heart. You.
I can go on living now...sort this wretched house out, i am sure the garden must be a wreck...my husband loved his roses.
You've had good helpers too...but, your time here is done.
This world is not for you, it's a between world. It's time for you to go back. How do you feel?'
Jimmy looked at this old woman with the young eyes, and smiled.
'Okay, but i have a terribly sore throat.'
'Don't worry about that, your mother is cooking you a beef stew, that'll cure it. Go home, and drive the despair out of her heart.'
'How do i get home, i don't even know how i got here!'
'Come here to me, rest your head in my lap. Sleep awhile, then all will become clear.'
He rested his head in the old woman's lap and faded off to sleep.
When he awoke, he could still smell her perfume. He could also hear a lot of noise, rushing about. He woke to see his mother bent over him, touching his forehead. She was crying.
'Where am i? don't cry mum, i'm alright. I had the most WONDERFUL dream.'
'did you darling? What did you dream about?'
'I saw daddy. He told me that as long as we remember him, he'll never be dead. He loves you, he'll never really leave you. An old lady told me that the biggest curse of all is despair.'
Jimmy's mother held her son tightly in her arms, and thanked god that he was now safe, after having been found at the bottom of a disused mine shaft next to an alleyway, the same alley where he had gone to look for a football just over a week ago. The doctors said it was a miracle he survived, without major brain damage.
Later on, when he read the news reports, Jimmy noticed they all said one thing: 'This boy is lucky to be alive, he had someone watching over him.'
He believed it.
After this event, Julia's necklace stopped glowing. She didn't think of her grandmother with the same sadness in her heart. She still mourned, but it was different now. It was mourning for the fact that she couldn't share things, not an outright mourning because she'd gone. Because she knew that as long as she thought about her, and wore her pendant, she would never be forgotten, at least not until she died, which was going to be a very long time indeed!
She also stopped having those crazy dreams. Something she regretted, looking back on it, they had been rather fun. She'd wanted adventure, and she guessed she'd got it, but not in any way she could ever have expected until it happened.

The End.