The Children's Magical Adventure

It was the year of 1915 that a young married couple living in the city of London in England decided to move into the countryside. This was because the man Kenneth Ingle wanted a good place for his three young children to grow up, and to escape the hustle and bustle of city life during the great war that was turning lives upside down all over the world. An educated man experienced in property sells and with a limited knowledge with legal matters. Gloria his wife was an extremely happy housewife and devoted mother who was never so contented than whilst caring for her children. Having made the decision to move as a family it was left to Kenneth to find a suitable home for them. Being well travelled around the country it did not take to long to find a house set in it’s own grounds on the edge of a small market town of Newton Priory. Being under the age of 13 the children’s lives were soon filled by exploring the lightly wooded area close to the end of the large nicely grassed garden behind their new home, separated by a granite stone wall with a trellis archway covered with a climbing rose with red flowers. For nine year old Asa this was like a doorway into a magical world full of adventure, where as for the girls Kaya aged eleven and Jade, the oldest at thirteen years, it was a place where they could talk to the animals and be as a princess in their own wonderland. Whilst in this wondrous place, none of the children was concerned by the raging fighting of world war one or the trauma of the dreaded telegram carrying news of the loss of a family member or loved one. For their mummy and daddy just everyday life was a constant struggle hence their father Kenneth had joined the army so as to provide the family with a regular income. Things were just about perfect until one wet and windy day while they were playing in their bedrooms, dressing up in the assorted costumes that had been discovered hidden in a large wooden trunk in the attic when the family first moved into their new home. Everything was shattered by the sound of a woman screaming which they recognised immediately as being their mother Gloria. They had only ever heard their mother as upset as she was now once before ,that being the day that their grandfather passed away having been battling typhoid contracted while working as a ships carpenter over seas. Normally a sprightly and proud lady of only 35years with shoulder length, wavy, strawberry blonde hair and a warm happy smile on her face, always ready to play with her children and tell them stories which she made up just for them. Without the slightest hesitation all three children rushed down the narrow wooden staircase and into the lounge door to see if their mother needed any help. As they entered into the lounge to their mother they were stopped by the strong arms of a large burly man in a military uniform. This all three children knew meant bad news had been delivered about their father who had been serving in the army as a soldier for the previous three months. Never before had they ever seen their mother without a smile on her face but today she was just curled up on the floor crying. Jade immediately sensed that all was not well so she took the other children by their hand saying, “Mummy needs to be alone so we had better go and leave her for a while” Before leaving Asa pulled away from his sister and ran over to his mother handing her a fresh tissue before turning to walk slowly out of the room. Returning to the girls bedroom all three children where obviously upset and worried about their mother and by not being able to help her. The two girls trying to hold back their tears, clinging to the teddy’s that mum and dad had given them for Christmas only a matter of months previously, while young Asa occupied his mind looking through one of the picture story book that were already there when they had come to live there. None of them knew what had happened, none the less they knew something bad must of happened with their father. “I wish we knew what’s happened. That way we could help mummy.” said Kaya in a state of frustration. “We’ll be told all about it soon my little sis.” responded Jade as she hugged Kaya comforting her. They had been there for a couple of hours when Asa suddenly jumped to his feet still holding the old book that he was reading saying in an excitable voice, “That’s it I know what to do. It‘s all here.” Surprised his sisters looked up and enquired as to what he was talking about. “Its right here. All we have to do is read this magic spell aloud under the full moon at midnight.”. Not really believing him the girls just went along with Asa if only to humour him. At a few minutes before midnight all three children carefully crept down the stairs avoiding any of the creaky ones and out of the kitchen door into the back yard. As luck would have it there was not a single cloud in the sky on this night and more than this it was a night with a full moon shining brightly as if it were a ball of fire. Opening the book Asa flicked through the pages until he reached the one that he was looking for. Looking firstly at Jade who was carrying a picture of their daddy and then at Kaya, Asa started to read out the printed spell before him. “Look around with eyes that see, bring this person back to, me so mote it be.” Neither girls believing that Asa’s magic spell would work held back from expressing their doubts from their brother as he obviously felt like his idea would help. The following morning whilst Jade was doing her best to act as mother to her younger sister and brother by providing a bowl of porridge for breakfast Gloria entered the dining room taking a seat at the end of the large oak table where meals where ate. Asking the children to sit down she took a deep breath before speaking, “The man who came yesterday has informed me that your daddy has been captured by the Huns and is a prisoner. That means that he will not be home again yet and we will not have many things.” Now they all knew what had happened to upset the their mother so badly. Both girls obviously started crying but little Asa stood up and placed his arms around his mothers neck said, “Well that means I’m the man of the house now and I got to look after you now for daddy.” “We’ll be okay my children as long as we never forget daddy loves us all very much and wants to come home to us.” With the previous days rain and gales subsided the sun was now shining and starting to dry up Gloria sent the children outside to play so as to write a few letters to her family informing them of the news about her husband, private Kenneth ingle. Sealing the last envelope she raised her eyes to see the large family photograph that hung on the wall above the open stone fireplace, where she and her husband would often sit on the floor playing cards during the cold and dark winters evenings before the beginning of the war that was taking so many young men away from their loved ones. Looking through the window she could see her children sitting on the wooden garden bench looking ever so sad and she felt her eyes fill with tears with a feeling of helplessness at the sight. Suddenly Asa jumped to his feet suggesting the three of them go into the wooded area to search for their daddy to which the girls reluctantly agreed even though they knew that their daddy was not there but wanting to give him something to feel helpful with. As they entered through the archway into the woods there was a bright flash of light that came from nowhere and filled the area all around them, like the glare of lightening, but it was a bright sunny day with no clouds to be seen which had them all surprised by its occurrence . Was the source of light just a freak of nature or was there a reason for it happening then and there. Nothing was any different so Asa looked all around deciding on the best direction to go with their search. To the left was a narrow footpath bordered with