A Badtime Story

The one time Nurse Mariam announced she was taking the night off, Jacob and Jacob gnawed at the tree root they had been given for supper and glanced at one another beneath the table.

“I shall be back before winding time,” she said. “Cloister will put you to bed and you are to keep the door closed at all times.” Jacob and Jacob glanced at one another and nodded.

The gardener unlocked the dining room at six oh three, as per his instructions, and beckoned to them. “Ar,” he said, eloquent as a crow. The twins put down their playthings and followed him along the corridors and up the staircases and into their bedroom where they had their faces scrubbed as they stood by the wash basin. Jacob and Jacob glanced at one another and raised their arms to receive their night jackets.

“Ar,” said Cloister, pointing to where the twins’ bed lay like a marble slab. Jacob and Jacob bowed their heads and walked, glancing at one another from the corners of their eyes.

“Ar arr arrrrr arr arr-arr ar arr ar ar arr arr arr arar arr ar. Ar Arr.“ said Cloister as he read out the sleep story, their favourite. Then Jacob and Jacob glanced at one another as the gardener dropped a thin white sheet over them.

The gardener bent at the hips and placed his permanently open mouth on each forehead in turn to kiss them goodnight. The twins listened to him leave and close the scratched panelled door behind himself. They did not dare to glance at the other.

“Do you…” said Jacob after eight whole seconds had been severed from the clock.

“Only if you think so,” said Jacob.

“Well… he isn’t Nurse,” said Jacob.

“That’s true,” said Jacob.

Each boy raised the loose-fitting sheet into the air and sat up. The bed creaked with all the agony of a turned screw. The twins held their breath. They heard nothing.

“He isn’t Nurse,” said Jacob, lowering first one leg and then the other. When the floor did not protest, Jacob followed suit.

Inch by inch, the twins circled the bed and met at the foot. In front of them, just thirty short paces, lay the main door. Jacob glanced at Jacob. And then Jacob glanced back at Jacob.

They listened and, when no sound was forthcoming, they walked forward. Each step was followed by a pause, each pause by silence. Together the twins reached the still open bathroom door. Jacob pointed to the ivory handle. “Try it,” he said.

Jacob reached out and pulled.

“Arr,” said Cloister.

The twins leapt into the air and spun around, each heading for the bed. The unfastened sheet gave way beneath them as they grappled with it and they tumbled to the floor where they lay until morning.

And the door remained closed.

Which was a Good Thing. A Very Good Thing indeed.

Goodnight.

—

Illustration © 2017 Carl Pugh

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