Looking Through Crystal

“Raaaarr” seven year old Jakob roared, waving the skeleton hands he was wearing, “I’m gonna get you”

He began to chase his elder brother Joey wildly around the living room, knocking over several trays of sweets and toffee apples Adrienne had prepared for trick or treaters.

“Be careful” she shouted above the racket, “You’ll rip that costume”

She wasn’t really cross of course; it was perfectly understandable that the boys were excited. Not only was it Halloween, and they would have the delights of trick or treating with their friends, but their Dad would be returning that night after being away on tour for two months solid. However much she supported him and his music, Adrienne still felt a tingle of excitement at the thought having her husband around the house again. And it wouldn’t be another fleeting visit, this time he had managed to wrangle a whole three weeks off.

“Come here Jakob” she said, snapping out of her thoughts, “Let me finish painting your face”

After much consideration, Jakob had decided to dress up as a skeleton, which Joey had found very amusing.

“I don’t think you’re skinny enough mate” he’d sniggered

Joey was dressing as some kind of headless corpse, and had managed to stain the carpet applying excess amounts of fake blood. He was carrying a long sword, which Adrienne feared would be used to hit Jakob with, the moment her back was turned.

“Give him great big boogies Mum” Joey said, as she reached for the face paints, “There’s a nice shade of green there”

Being over three years younger than his brother, Jakob couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so stuck out his tongue. Sighing, Adrienne added the finishing touches to the black around his eyes. It was silly, but he almost looked scary. Perhaps it was the decorations which had been hung throughout the house, spider webs, bats and the like. There was going to be a huge party, with all their friends coming in costume. Billie Joe was refusing to tell her what he was coming as, and Adrienne would have bet any money that it would have everyone in stitches. But it was after the party that she was most looking forward to, when they could talk properly for the first time in months. Garbled phone calls with Jakob whining in the background just weren’t the same.

“Done” she announced, “Don’t you dare smudge it before you go out”

The sentence had barely left her lips before Jakob was galloping around the lounge again, shrieking and screeching.

“When’s Dad coming back?” he asked breathlessly

Adrienne set about tidying the things he had spilled.

“Tonight” she answered, “He’s getting in at nine, with Uncle Tre and Uncle Mike”

Jakob, letting out a joyous whoop, ran to the door as a car drew up outside. At last, his friends were arriving, and the real fun could begin.

“He’s knocked over that plant in the hall” Adrienne groaned as she heard a familiar crash.

It didn’t look as if things would get any calmer, judging by the rate both boys were chomping through smarties and jelly witches.

“Can we come in” came a cheery voice

Jakob had obviously invited a lot of people. Like his Dad, he already loved parties, particularly if he was the centre of attention.

“Yeah” Adrienne shouted back, realising it was Claudia, “We’re in here”

It was nice to have the house filled with people; it felt so empty when Billie Joe wasn’t there. Frankito rushed in to greet her, wearing a little devil suit, closely followed by Ramona, who was a bee. Snorting with laughter, Joey made buzzing noises.

“Shut up you” Adrienne snapped, swatting him and smiling at Claudia.

She guessed that she too, appreciated the happy chaos surrounding them, since she hadn’t seen Tre in a while either. Her house was probably much noisier though, even with Ramona only living there half the time. Frankito, amazingly, was even noisier than Joey and Jakob put together. At that moment, he was attempting to take Joey’s fish, ‘Glubber’, out of its tank. Somehow Claudia managed to pick her way through the mess and snatch him up just in time.

“Sorry about him” she said, “So who else is coming”

Jakob, not wanting to be outdone by Frankito, clambered onto the sofa and began to bounce.

“Heaps of people” he said, “Sydney, Louis, Dave, Rachel, Charlie”

He ticked them off on his fingers, grinning widely.

“I invited seventeen people” he said proudly, “I’ve got loads more friends than smelly Joey”

Infuriated, Joey tackled him, knocking him to the floor.

“Get up you two” Adrienne said, “And one of you get the door”

Joey, being older, got there first, leaving Jakob whimpering that his knee hurt.

“It’s your own fault” Adrienne told him, “Now go and get those biscuits from the kitchen, and stop moaning”

It was another hour, an hour in which everyone either screamed, or was screamed at, before the children left to go trick or treating.

“You’ve to listen to Joey and Ramona” Adrienne warned, “They’re the oldest”

Joey smirked at his brother.

“And the first thing I’m telling you to do” he said, “Is jump in the lake in the park”

For that, he received another swot.

“You behave yourself” she said, trying to sound severe, “I mean it Joey”

Joey of course did not behave. Almost the second they had left the house, he began clowning around. He, at last, had an audience, and he was going to perform.

“Who dares go in the old Planet Estate?” he asked the crowd, “I’ll bet none of you would stay in there for more than ten seconds”

The old Planet Estate was notorious in the area. It was really only a block of flats, which was being torn down. Half of the building was still, shakily, standing however, and it was rumoured that the men employed t demolish it had been possessed by some kind of spirit or demon. No one else had been called in to destroy the flats, and it didn’t look like anyone ever would. Joey made a habit of telling anyone who would listen that he often spent the night there, that he wasn’t scared.

“There was all these ghosts” he would insist, “All covered in blood. And they sort of float towards you, dead slow. They all have swords and stuff, it’s really creepy”

Some of the neighbourhood kids seemed interested, but they were so fascinated by the fact that his father was famous, they would have listened even if Joey had been speaking Japanese.

Luckily, no one else thought venturing into the rubble was a good idea.

“Nah” Ramona said, trying to make it sound as though she simply couldn’t be bothered, “Let’s go round a few houses, Mrs Richards is doing apple bobbing this year”

She gave Jakob a secret smile. Joey never stopped teasing him, saying he was a wimp. At let one of these situations had been avoided, just. He looked at Ramona with extreme gratitude, wondering how Frankito had ended up with her for a big sister, while he was stuck with Joey.

“Cheer up” she whispered in his ear, “Your Dad’s coming home soon, and mine. It’s gonna be a great party”

Jakob grinned as they headed up Mrs Richard’s path. Suddenly his brother making fun of his costume was very insignificant. It didn’t matter, not really. Not when his Dad, his hero, would be by his side for three wonderful weeks. Feeling light-hearted, Jakob could even enjoy countless old ladies asking him to sing.

“Now you sing one of your Dad’s nice songs” they would say, “And I’ll get you an orange”
And it was almost worth it, Jakob realised, because everyone ended up in a helpless giggling heap on the floor. Unfortunately things started to go wrong, almost as soon as the laughter died away. The problem was that there were a large number of people in the group, and some people just didn’t have enough stuff to go round. The gang came to a house from which they heard a lot of arguing.

“Maybe we should give this one a miss” Andrew, a friend of Ramona’s suggested
“Nah” Joey said, knocking loudly, “If we interrupt them, they’ll just bung us some dosh to get rid of us. You wait and see”

All of them crossed their fingers, and prayed that the foul-mouthed people at number 87 were millionaires.

“Yes?” an immensely muscular man asked, sticking his bald, ugly, tattooed head out of the door.
Everyone except Joey took a smart step backwards. But Joey, ever brave, stuck out his Halloween bag.

“Trick or Treat?” he said firmly from under his headless corpse disguise. The man surveyed him for a moment, before fishing around in his pocket. He produced a large handful of coins, and dropped them into Joey’s bag.

“Share them between the lot of you, right?” he said, “Now scarper”
They didn’t need telling twice.

“Fancy going up Chesing Lane” Joey asked, once they were a safe distance from number 87. The fight had built up again gradually, and was now a droning, soap opera style conversation, which could be heard for miles around.

Jakob stepped determinedly in front of his brother, stopping him form heading into the lane.

“What?” Joey hissed crossly

“You know what” Jakob retorted. It was a line his Mum used frequently, whenever their Dad got ever so slightly drunk.

“Oh, that” Joey said, an irritating smile playing on his lips, “That money’s for charity Jakob. I’m giving it to the A.M.I.B fund, know what that is?”

Jakob shook his head.

“Stands for, Abduct My Infuriating Brother. Pretty funny, eh?”

Everyone found it incredibly funny, and they screeched with laughter, leaving Jakob standing pathetically before them, clutching his own, smaller, Halloween bag.

“All proceeds go to the aliens planning to beam you up” Joey continued, “Wanna donate?”

He stretched out a hand, looking at Jakob with his laughing eyes. ‘Don’t do anything’, they seemed to say, ‘Just play along’

Jakob slapped his hand away, knock his bag to the ground.

“I HATE YOU” he shouted, tearing down the street, “I hate you Joey”

He had no idea where he was running to, for it was pitch black. Every twist and turn of the road looked the same as the one before. And it only took a few of these for Jakob to realise that he was quite alone, and very lost. If only, he prayed, he could see something familiar. Berkley Courthouse, Tight Wad Hill, anything. But every house looked completely new, and every face he saw was unfriendly.

“Where are you off to then sonny?” some tramp asked, stroking his beard in a way that made Jakob even more uneasy, “Nice costume that, you off to a party?”

He might very well have just been lonely, and desperate for someone to talk to. But in his wound up state, Jakob was terrified out of his wits.

“No” he squeaked, “Don’t hurt me, please”

And he turned on his heels again and fled, feeling gentle spots of rain mixing with his tears. It was dark, freezing cold, and now a storm was brewing, the rain beating gradually faster against the pavement. His Dad was probably home by now, and Jakob was sure no one, in the midst of all the excitement, would notice he was missing. His Mum was already annoyed with him, what would she say when he was eventually found? The face paint was smudged, dripping form his chin and staining his costume. The costume Adrienne had spent the previous two days making, ensuring the ribcage was symmetrical, the bones outlined perfectly. The design was only painted on, and was running, a milky coloured liquid flowing down the black of his jumper. He was drenched, his teeth chattering with cold and fear. And then he caught sight of a ragged building in the distance. What was left of it was swaying in the relentless wind, its broken windows illuminated in the moonlight. The Planet Estate. It wouldn’t exactly be warm, but the parts of the flats still standing would shelter him from the worst of the weather. Jakob, shivering, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked slowly in the direction of the crumbling wreck. It didn’t seem to be getting any nearer. And then someone caught hold of his arm.

“Is everything alright?” a kind voice asked gently, “You look a bit lost”

Glancing up, Jakob saw a tall, smartly dressed woman, holding tightly to a little girl’s hand. A man, most likely her husband, stood a few paces behind. They were a perfect family, Jakob thought bitterly. The girl’s Dad would never be away for months, leaving her Mum so empty she would hear her sobbing into her pillow every night.

“I’m fine” Jakob mumbled, “I’m just…erm…going to the shops”

The woman didn’t look convinced.

“It’s getting late” she said, “Does your Mum know you’re out?”

Jakob nodded, feeling hot tears fill his eyes at the thought of is Mum. She would be happy, happier than she had been in months. She would be having fun, all her friends around her, her husband home at last. And he wasn’t a part of it

“I’ll be okay, honest” Jakob muttered, “I’m going home now anyway”

Hoping the woman wasn’t watching him, Jakob slipped down a quiet side street, dragging his feet. The cold was seeping through his clothes, chilling him to the bone. More than anything in the world, he wanted to go home. But he wouldn’t give in to Joey. The street, which had originally looked completely deserted, now seemed to be filled with dark ominous shadows. Shadows of creatures, waiting to pounce and drag him into the depths of his underworld. Abandoned pumpkins grinned cruelly, their hollow eyes watching his every move. Screaming in outright terror, Jakob flew down the road, falling several times. The Planet Estate was getting closer, the empty bottles rolling in the wind and discarded rubbish from its lonely grounds whipping around his ankles. Bricks littered the site, making it a hazardous experience to get to the shelter of the old flats. But at last, gasping for breath and staggering with exhaustion, Jakob was able to clamber inside. Some of the workmen’s tools were strewn across the filthy floor, cobwebs hanging from the uneven, half torn down walls. And it was cold, if anything colder than it had been outside. Wind rushed through what was left of Jakob’s surroundings, ruffling his hair and rousing goose pimples on his skinny arms. In fact, he was thin all over; Joey had only been teasing him about being too fat for a skeleton costume. Jakob had the look of someone who had missed their last few meals, a useful tool to have when asking for chocolate. Only, for the fist time in his life, Jakob wished he was just a little bit plumper. It would have been one way of keeping out some of the bitter cold. He sat down in the cleanest corner he could find, hunching over with his chin on his bony knees to keep himself warm. Never before had he felt so miserable, or so alone. Whimpering slightly, Jakob lifted several sweets from his Halloween bag. Their wrappers, covered with pictures of ghosts and witches, only frightened him more, and he threw them away in disgust. Joey would be tucking into a large slice of cake. Adrienne had ordered it specially, and it was going to have ‘Welcome Home’ in huge letters, surrounded by bats. The bats had been Jakob’s idea, but Joey had ruined it as usual.

“I want the slice with the biggest bat” he demanded, “Don’t give it to Jakob”

In his heart, Jakob knew that their parents loved them equally, but it didn’t feel like it sometimes. Letting out a strangled cry of desperation, Jakob flung his remaining sweets, a great deal less than Joey’s, across the rubble.

“Can I have one?” somebody asked, “I haven’t had anything to eat in ages”

It only took a moment for Jakob to recover from the shock, and nod. Their voice wasn’t menacing, or threatening. In fact, it made him feel a little calmer. Whoever it was, didn’t sound much older than himself, and was probably just as frightened.

“Thank you” they said, “Did you used to live here too, before it happened?”

Jakob shook his head.

“No” he whispered, “I’ve never been in here before

It had just occurred to him to glance up, and find out exactly who he was talking to. He found himself face to face with a girl, perhaps around eight or nine years old, chomping on one of his toffee apples. He black hair was long, but limply around her thin, ghostly face.

“I’m Crystal” she told him, fiddling with one of many holes in her dirty white dress, “Can I
have a monkey nut”

Jakob nodded again, feeling slightly annoyed. They were his sweets; he didn’t want to share with anybody. But he was much too polite to argue, and Crystal looked as though she needed them more than he did. She was, without doubt, the thinnest person he had ever seen, apart from the starving children featured on the news. And Jakob found himself mentally apologising that had been so selfish.

“I like your costume” Crystal said, “We never went out for Halloween. My Mum said it was a wicked thing to do, and very disrespectful to God. She caught me eating a chocolate pumpkin once, and she smacked me. Right on the back of the legs”

Bewildered, Jakob took off the skeleton hands he’d been wearing and played with them quietly. He had no idea why this mysterious girl was telling him these things. And then there was an almighty crash from somewhere in the wreckage, and a shout, making them both jump out of their skin. Joey had told stories of ghosts and demons making the Planet Estate their home, and now it seemed as if they were all true. Letting out a bloodcurdling scream, Jakob ran. He hoped he was running away from whatever made the noise, but knowing his luck, he was probably running towards it. Scarcely breathing, Jakob fell through a mass of cobwebs, stumbling blindly into the darkness. The sky was dotted with stars, twinkling above him. Thankfully, the rain had lessened, and Jakob took deep gulps of cold night air, attempting to steady his heart rate. He had fallen to his knees, and was sobbing uncontrollably. On the one hand, he was so relieved to be out of that place, and safe on the damp grass. But on the other, he had abandoned Crystal, and whatever it was, would likely be devouring her at that very moment. And then came the most magical sound in the whole world.

“Jakob” a familiar voice called, “Jakob, you there?”

He flew back down the hill he had just scrambled up, and threw his arms around his Dad.

“Hey” Billie Joe said, lifting him up, “It’s alright, I’ve got you. What are you doing all the way
out here? What happened with Joey and Ramona and everyone else?”

Jakob clung to him.

“I…didn’t…mean…it” he gasped through his tears, “I…ran… away… and… Mum’s… gonna…kill… me”

“Shh, it’s alright” Billie Joe said, trying to calm him down, “Nobody’s gonna kill you, your Mum’s just gonna be happy to see you. She was really worried when I got back, so was Joey. Why did you run away, was he annoying you again?”

Jakob nodded mournfully.

“Okay” Billie Joe said, hugging him tight, “I’ll have a word with Joey, you just come back with me and enjoy the rest of the party, right?”

He began to head slowly up the hill, rocking his son gently.

“Dad” Jakob said suddenly, Crystal’s still in there, with the ghost”

Billie Joe smoothed his hair.

“Shh Jakob” he said softly, “I’ve just been in the old flats; I must have gave you a fright when I fell over some bricks. And there was nobody else there Jakob, I swear”

It seemed pointless to argue, after all, Crystal had obviously been living there for some time. She would be fine for another night, until he could sneak back with some food. Billie Joe took off his heavy leather jacket and wrapped it around Jakob.

“You’re shivering mate” he said, “It’s alright, the car’s just up here. We’ll be home soon”
Through his fear and misery, Jakob felt a small smile creep to his lips. His Dad was home, after all those weeks of waiting. Billie Joe saw it too, and grinned back, opening the car door and placing him in the passenger seat.

“I missed you Dad” Jakob said sleepily

“Missed you too” Billie Joe said, pulling the seatbelt over him, “Missed you too”