Childhood

Frantic knocking at 2:45am is never a good sign, thought Albert as he glanced at his bedside clock. He hustled downstairs and opened the door to a very unexpected Valentine and the last thing he saw - a young boy armed with a bow.

He was struggling to think of how he could make Valentine’s Day as special as his birthday. Perhaps he could dress as cupid and pay a late night visit to some random house, armed with the very real archery set he had received from his estranged father.

The thrill of Halloween was beginning to fade: the bayonet; the blood. He would be eleven during the week before Christmas and he had to find a way to make it very special indeed.

They all thought hide-and-seek was a great game until the day they didn’t find little Davy. Lucy found him 4 months later and screamed for days.

His sense of excitement grew the closer he got to the first house. At age 10, this was his first Halloween out collecting on his own and, trick or treat, it was thrilling to think that grandpa’s bayonet would be put to use again after so many years.