4
They all headed back into the house. The sheep and the lamb didn’t follow though. As Aoife was walking towards the house she could see without any doubt, that this was the same as Dad’s cottage – smaller and with a straw – a thatch roof – as she corrected herself – but basically, it was the same thing.
Her head was spinning. How did this happen, how did she manage to go into a dusty attic and end up being a place that was two hundred years before she was even born? She began to think of all sorts of questions she could ask – it certainly would be a great story for school and for the teacher.
Then she began to think – “Hang on, I wonder how are we going to get back? I wonder if it’s going to work in reverse. If we go into the attic and crawl round the opposite way.”
Aoife decided that she would have to make sure they could get back. But firstly they would have some beer and scones – after all there dinner was not going to be ready for another two hundred years!
Hold on though – “beer and scones?” She remembered from school that people – adults and children – used to drink beer because the water was so very dirty and unhealthy and beer was altogether safer. “Interesting” she thought, “I get to drink beer and I’m only eight!”
When they entered the house, Lizzy was standing just behind a lady. This lady Was dressed in a blue shawl a long brown skirt and a dark blouse that was buttoned up to her neck. Around her neck was a lacy collar and she wore a little blue bonnet tied round under her chin with a blue ribbon. She was very pretty.
“Hello” she said warmly, “my name be Eliza. I hear you two young girls be lost! Well come ye into our house and do have some beer and a scone and we shall talk about how we can get you back home to your own home in Kilkenny, for your mother will be looking for you I will wager”
Aoife and Niamh smiled and said “Thank you very much” and sat down on big wooden chairs at the large kitchen table.
The table was large with an uneven surface – it was scratched and had obviously seen many scones, beer and big dinner plates.
Aoife was starting to think a little more clearly now. She had no idea of how this whole thing had happened and that she was better not to try and tell these nice people anything else that would make them get into any more trouble.
She didn’t fancy having them calling the Gardi or something silly like that. All right so they lived in Kilkenny but their house there was not actually built yet, the roads were not actually made yet and it might be a bit of a problem telling anyone where they came from.
Aoife knew though that Lizzy might understand. That would be a great help.
So they had their beer and more delicious scones and apart from the scones being about as big as pies and the beer being as strong as well very strong beer – it really was a scrumptious snack. Neither Aoife nor Niamh liked the beer but they just pretended to sip and enjoy it.
The fireplace was in the same place as it had been in Dads cottage and on it stood a large pot. There was a chain hanging down on which hung a large kettle.
Then Jeremiah said – “I must just go to the milking shed, I hear one of the cows in distress. She must be in need of milking. We shall talk of your journey home when I come back.”
Aoife smiled and said “Thank you sir” – she was getting used to this way of speaking and how nice and well-mannered it was.
Niamh, on the hand was looking increasingly more confused and just sat with a big frown on her face.
“Eliza can you fetch me the milking bucket” and with that they both stood up and went out of the door.
Aoife had her chance and turned to Lizzy and whispered – “I want to talk to you – its very important but can you keep a secret.”
Lizzy smiled excitedly and nodded.
Niamh didn’t react – she kept frowning but was quite happy to sit and have another pie-sized scone. She was not keen on the beer though and just pretended to keep drinking it and when Aoife and Lizzy stood up and went outside, she poured her beer into an empty mug.
“Double Yuck” she said to herself – “I want some Fanta.”
Aoife told Lizzy their fantastic story. She told them of the attic crawl and the cottage being exactly the same but different. Not surprisingly to Aoife, Lizzy understood immediately- well she seemed to understand.
After all, the girls had appeared in her house, wore very strange clothes and talked with a very weird accent.
Why should they not have come from the future?
As you might expect, Lizzy became excited at the thought it this. Aoife didn’t want to tell the little girl too much just in case she wanted to come back with them – that is if they could get back – as her mum and dad would miss her if she didn’t and had to wait 200 years to see them again.
Aoife then said that she wanted to try to go back home.
If they could return to their own place and time, then there was a good chance they could come back again.
“Maybe we could be friends she said and we could visit any time.”
Lizzy said, “Yes Aoife I shall try and help you. I can tell my Papa that you want to see the bedroom upstairs- when you don’t come down I can tell him that you went home – your uncle collected you – something like that.”
”That’s so great” said Aoife, “I think we should do it now” – she was getting anxious and she turned to go back into the kitchen, to get Niamh away from her scone pie and go upstairs.
Lizzy stopped her. “I do have an idea,” she said. “Why do not I hide something in this cottage?”
It could be something that you can get when you get back to your own time. If you do know which parts of the cottage are still here then maybe you could look and find what I have left?
Aoife stopped and thought – “What a great idea” she said.
“I can send you a message” said Lizzy.
Aoife then said that “she would have to write on something that would last for 200 years.”
“It’s going to have to be on a bit of wood or stone she said – something that can’t fade or break up. Paper will be too easy to rot away.”
They looked around the yard and found a flat piece of slate.
“I can write a message onto that Aoife” said Lizzy.
“Now we need to find somewhere to hide it and I know the perfect place” said Aoife and went into the room that had the loose stone in the wall. It didn’t take her long to find it. She pulled and pushed and it came away, exactly as it would 200 years from now.
“Look she said, we can put it in there – that is quite a big hole behind this stone and it will easily hold that slate copy!”
Then she turned to Lizzy – “We must go back now. It’s time for us to get back, our Dad will be missing us.”
Lizzy looked a little sad – she didn’t have any friends on the farm – but she remembered that Aoife might be able to come back and that made her happy again. They ran into the kitchen to get Niamh.
“Come on Niamh,” said Aoife quickly, “we are going to try and get home.” Niamh still had a face full of pie- scone. By this time she had eaten four of them and was feeling a bit full. She spluttered – “OK,OK Aoife I am coming” and they all made their way up the stone staircase.
Aoife opened the old wooden doors – exactly the same way she had opened the new ones 200 years in the future. She looked into the little girl’s tearful eyes and said “We will come back and see you Lizzy, I promise” and gave her a hug. Niamh hugged her too and then they both said goodbye.
She grabbed Niamh and said – “come on, we have to go.” Aoife bent down onto her hands and knees and climbed into the attic. It was very dusty indeed and she could see some daylight through the eaves and the edge of thatched roof. She moved to the right – where she had come from – and Niamh followed suit. Soon they were both out of sight from the doors.
As they shuffled along, following the path they had been on – it got very dark again and then there was a rumble of thunder. They lost sight of the end of the passage – and then they heard the noise of a radio or television and slowly the light became to get brighter as they turned the last corner.
They had been right – it seemed like they were back in their own time – and they were both very pleased to see the daylight coming through the holes and the modern panel doors.
They climbed out of the attic back into their own time and place. Aoife turned to Niamh and Niamh turned to Aoife – they looked at each other and said at the same time – “Loose Stone” and they ran downstairs to find it.
The stone was still there, although Aoife thought it was in a slightly different position.
She wiggled it and pulled it out. She turned on the light and peered into the hole.
There was indeed a piece of slate. It was very dusty and had cobwebs all over it. She put her hand in and pulled it out. She blew some of the dust away – right into Niamh’s face as it happens.
Niamh began to take a deep breath, screw up her eyes and sneezed back onto the slate. The remaining dust was blown off with a few cobwebs to boot and those ended up on Aoife’s hair – “Argghh” she squealed as she tried to brush the cobwebs and doubtless a few dead spiders off her hair.
Niamh just gave her a “serves you right glare”. They both looked at what was written on the slate.
“Aoife and Niamh – very sick have sore throat – Lizzy”.
Aoife felt a cold chill travel up her spine and looked back into the hole. She saw another piece of slate and she pulled that out too. This time she brushed the dust off a little more carefully – she didn’t want a slap from Niamh…
Both girls read what was written and then looked at each other, both had a horrified look on their faces. “Aoife- Lizzy very sick – she will die – you help us – Jeremiah”
Niamh said – “how did Jeremiah know about the hole in the wall – that’s from him isn’t it?”
“Lizzy must have told him – they need our help – she needs our help” said Aoife, her voice a little shaky.
Aoife put the slate messages back into the wall and sat on the couch to think. “We must help her she said but how?”
“She must have had an ear infection” said Niamh “Just like you Aoife.”
Aoife looked up and said – “Brilliant Niamh – of course that’s it – we can get her some antibiotics – that might help her. That will definitely help her”
Aoife was good at remembering history at school and one of the things she remembered was that before antibiotics were discovered, people, children and adults, would die from a sore tooth or an ear infection – especially children. Well Aoife was not going to let her little new, well very old actually, friend die.