Chapter 5. Fountain Terrace
The next day began early for Ben. A small voice called,
‘Wet, wet.’
With a groan, Ben dragged himself out of bed to find a fresh nappy for Molly who giggled at him and proceeded to explore all Mr Jenkin’s drawers and cupboards while Ben had a quick wash. After hasty breakfast of the rest of the yoghurt and another banana, which was by now decidedly over ripe, Ben let Molly hit a saucepan lid with a wooden spoon she had found while he tidied up all traces of their presence.
They then played a wonderful game where Molly crawled around the flat followed by Ben, who growled like a tiger and pretended to eat her.
The clicking of the lock announced the arrival of Tessa and her parents. While her father was occupied putting out tables of second hand books on the footpath, and her mother dusted the ornaments, Tessa helped Ben to carry the pram downstairs and load Molly into it. They packed his schoolbag with the spare nappies and opened a large packet of chocolate biscuits, which was all the food Tessa had been able to bring.
‘It’s a funny thing,’ said Ben, ‘but my Mum always nags at me to eat a proper breakfast and I’ve always wanted to eat chocolate biscuits and bananas. But now all I really want is some toast or cereal or bacon and eggs.
‘I did the best I could,’ said Tessa. ‘Come on, let’s head to the elevator.’
Molly insisted on clasping the china dog, to which she had taken a great fancy, as they set off. They quickly discovered that the pram had a mind of its own, and kept trying to drive in circles. They managed to cope with this by each taking one side of the handle and pushing hard. It also made a loud squeaking noise that thankfully stopped when Ben pushed a piece of banana against the axle.
Together they negotiated the steps of the office building and entered the elevator. The puddle Molly had made had dried up but left a lingering smell, which combined with the usual concrete and cabbage smell made Ben feel slightly sick.
‘I’ll try another button,’ he told Tessa hurriedly and pressed the second button firmly. There was a loud bang, a sudden jerk and a rumbling vibration as the elevator began to move upwards. Ben clutched the handle of the pram where Molly screamed in delight, waving her half eaten biscuit in one chocolate covered hand. The elevator lurched to a stop and Tessa pushed the button to open the door. There in front of them was the same dim corridor they had been down before.
‘Come on,’ said Ben briskly. He pushed the pram in front of him down the corridor. They walked for a while.
‘Isn’t this further than yesterday?’ whispered Tessa. ‘We seem to have walked for miles.’
‘I don’t know,’ replied Ben crossly. ‘Just keep walking.’
A few minutes later they came to a stop outside the red door. Ben turned the golden ball handle and pushed the pram through the doorway. To their surprise they were in a street of houses. Ben looked back for the door they had come through but all he could see was the footpath stretching behind them. The houses looked like ordinary houses and the cars parked on the side of the street looked like ordinary cars. There was a faint smell of newly mown grass and the air was warm and still. A signpost beside the road said ‘Fountain Terrace.’
‘I’ve never heard of this street,’ said Ben rather doubtfully. ‘Unless it’s one of those new subdivisions that’s recently been built.’
‘I don’t know either,’ replied Tessa. ‘I know all the shops and things better than the housing areas from going to the shop every afternoon to help Dad.’
A tinkle of bells chimed out in front of them, breaking the silence.
‘Right, let’s follow that sound,’ said Ben determinedly and pushing the pram ahead of him he set off down the footpath.
‘Wait for me,’ protested Tessa and hastened to catch up with Ben.
They walked past rows of houses with neat gardens and white picket fences. Frilly net curtains veiled the windows of the houses they passed and there was no sign of anybody about.
‘Look at that’, said Ben in amazement as they reached the end of the street. There in the middle of the street, looking as if it was growing there, was a large bronze fountain. A steady stream of clear water bubbled from a pipe at the top to fall into a series of round scalloped bowls. Balancing on the top of the spray was a shiny golden ball.
‘It did say Fountain Terrace,’ Tessa reminded him.
‘Yes I know, but a fountain in the middle of the street? What on earth is the point? I mean, the cars would have to drive around it.’
‘Who cares,’ said Tessa. ‘The important thing is the ball. If we can give it to Molly we can change her back.’
‘You’re right,’ said Ben with a regretful look at Molly who was sitting happily in the pram chewing the head of the china dog. He stepped on the lowest bowl of the fountain and reached up to grab the ball.
‘Stop,’ screamed Tessa. Ben stopped with his hand out.
‘Don’t touch it,’ said Tessa ‘Remember what happened to Molly.’
‘I’m going to give it to Molly,’ explained Ben patiently, ‘to turn her back into an old woman again.’ He looked rather guiltily at Molly as he said this. She beamed back at him from the pram.
‘Ball, ball, ball,’ she said.
‘But what if you turn into a baby too?’ wailed Tessa. Ben gulped.
‘I hadn’t thought of that.’ he confessed. ‘What I need is some sort of stick to knock it down with and then she can pick it up.’
He looked around him at the houses nearby. One house had a neat tidy garden with dahlias staked neatly along the front fence. Ben pulled out one of the light bamboo stakes and reached up to knock the ball down.
‘Put Molly on the ground by the fountain,’ he instructed Tessa. ‘I’ll knock the ball down to her then I’ll jump out of the way.’
Tessa sat Molly on the road beside the fountain. Molly looked up at Ben as he knocked the ball at her feet and leapt to join Tessa at the side of the road. There was a sudden silence than Molly reached one chubby hand out and patted the ball. Tessa and Ben held their breaths but nothing happened.
‘Ball,’ said Molly. ‘Wet ball.’ She patted it again.
‘It’s not working,’ said Tessa.
‘I think she has to break the ball,’ said Ben. ‘Come on Molly; hit the ball,’ he urged. He moved his fist up and down in the air. Molly looked at him, then raising the china dog in her hand she brought it down with a thump on the golden ball. There was a sudden ‘pop’ and a stream of sparks shot up out of the ball. Ben and Tessa recoiled with their hands over their eyes. When they looked up again they saw Molly sitting beside the fountain dabbling her hands in the water of the lowest bowl.
‘It didn’t work after all,’ said Tessa.
‘Oh yes it did,’ replied Ben grimly. ‘Look over there.’
A small golden puppy with one torn ear came trotting happily from beside Molly and lay down at Tessa’s feet. Its tail wagged as it sniffed at the pram hopefully, hot on the trail of the remaining chocolate biscuits.
‘That’s the china dog,’ said Ben ‘The golden ball has made it come alive.’
‘Oh no’, gasped Tessa. ‘What are we going to do now?’