‘What a beautiful morning,’ sighed Danny out-loud.
‘Wonderful isn’t it. Shame I’ll be snoring for most of the day,’ replied Michael who was looking forward to crawling into his rumpled bed when he got home. He felt slightly annoyed, at no-one in particular, that his current nocturnal shifts meant he would be missing out on most of the morning sunshine.
The whole world looked as though it was brand new. It was a feel good summer morning and everything dew-sparkled with the life-giving rays of the early morning sun. Michael opened the curtains and paused for a moment as he watched the night’s dampness steaming up from the long grass at the end of the garden. It could have been the garden of a stately home. It had in fact once been a lord’s present to celebrate his eldest son’s marriage. It had one of the last remaining ha-ha’s - a raised lawn surrounded by an ornamental ditch. This would have been there to keep father’s flock of sheep from over-running the expensive, hand-scythed lawn.
Danny had been washed in bed, an expert job that Michael had down to a fine art. Wash and roll, dry and roll, Michael’s strong but hairless arm as lever between Danny’s knees, onto side, wash back, roll back, roll and dress, job done. Michael pulled the blue sling underneath Danny and across the creased bedsheets. He lifted him up with the mobile hoist. As Michael swung him out over the bed they both paused again, looking out the window to watch the last of the night’s foxes slink back into the horse field beyond the garden. Danny rocked ever so slightly back and forth. He quite liked being in the sling, it felt almost womb-like. Eventually, he was ready to face the world, ‘Well, that’s you done Danny mate, nearly time for me to hit the sack,’ and with that Michael clapped his hands together eagerly and left the room.
Once downstairs, Danny waited patiently in the dining room. An hour passed whilst Danny sipped his sweet milky coffee through a thick plastic straw. The sun rose splendidly in the morning sky. The night carers departed. Michael waved goodbye, ever-cheerful, although Danny knew it was often a show. Michael did not love his job but sometimes it seemed to Danny that he was reluctant to leave the shift. Perhaps there was more chaos at his home than Michael admitted. The day carers arrived, fresh-faced and smelling of morning showers and brand-name toiletries.
Danny put mouth to joystick, a globule of spittle falling onto the armrest. His electric chair stuttered into life whilst the yellow lights of the charging panel lit up indicating a full battery. Danny used his mouth on the small black joystick on the right-hand armrest of his wheelchair to control his movement. Soon, he was gliding across the light wood floor of the dining room with a quiet electric hum. He moved over from the grand patio bay windows overlooking the garden to one of the two large wooden tables in the middle of the dining room. These were dark polished blood-red wood with a single Rubinesque carved leg in the middle. They were good for wheelchair access and suited the Victorian corniced, high-ceiling feel of the room.
Before long, his best friend Ben wheeled himself in amidst great effort, his light brown skinny arms slipping off the steel wheel rims. He took his place at the table alongside Danny. Whilst the carers were gone fetching breakfast they had a quick chat.
‘So, D-Danny, those c-control freaks have been at it again haven’t they?’ squeaked Ben, his boy-like frame almost flopping over in his manual wheelchair with the effort of talking. His coordination was too poor to let him loose in an electric wheelchair, besides which, Nathalie, the head carer, wanted to keep his arms strong.
‘You m-mean the agency? How did you know?’ replied Danny.
‘I don’t know anyone else who f-fits that description. And you know me, always tuning into the m-mindwaves,’ sighed Ben, his Indian accent rising in tone at the end of each sentence. Whilst he talked his legs kicked out involuntarily. His words had an odd squeaking quality due to the nerve degenerative disease he suffered from – freidrich’s ataxia. It was not easy understanding him but it was second nature to Danny.
‘Yes they contacted me, had to send out some stupid m-message for them, to the mass consciousness. I wish they would leave me alone,’ said Danny grumpily. He slurped up some cool coffee from the thick yellow straw.
‘The mass consciousness won’t talk to them f-freaks so they have to use you. Maybe one day we’ll both escape them. Leave this world behind too.’
‘If only it were that easy Bendhu my friend. You would gladly swap this life for another world I know. But some of us are,’ Danny hesitated, ‘m-more attached, if you know what I mean. I’m not ready to leave this world just yet,’ Danny replied quietly. Ben gave him a meaningful look. His time was more limited, his physical disabilities greater. Just then, Sarah sauntered into the dining room throwing back her long blond locks which were still wet from the shower.
‘What are you two weirdos planning?’ she laughed in a kindly tone. ‘When you two are whispering, something crazy’s being planned for sure.’ Hands on hips, she eyed both of them in a kind of mocking matronly fashion that Danny found irresistibly attractive.
‘We’re just talking about n-normal things, like going shopping,’ laughed Danny, who was cheered by the sight of Sarah. How could she always be in such a good mood? He wondered.
‘You two never talk about normal things,’ she jibed.
Just then Nathalie, the morning carer swept into the dining room. Her long flower-printed blue dress swirled behind her highlighting her naturally red hair. She had a tray of breakfasts, porridge and toast. The friend’s attention turned itself to food.
‘You coming to school today then Dan? Go on, you know you love the chaos really!’ Sarah said gently. Danny tried to weigh it up in his mind. Was it worth the stress of trying to fit in for a whole day at that hectic place just to spend twenty minutes chatting with Sarah at lunchtime?
‘Dan’s had enough of school by the l-looks of him,’ stuttered Ben.
‘I am a bit knackered,’ agreed Danny.
‘That’s because he’s probably been fighting ghosties all night knowing that looney,’ Sarah chimed.
‘Probably,’ Danny sighed in reply.
After breakfast the three chatted for a while longer until Nathalie announced that the bus to take them to school had arrived early.
‘I think I’ll give it a m-miss today Nat,’ explained Danny. ‘Didn’t get too much sleep last night.’
Judging by Nathalie’s all-seeing, but kindly expression Danny wasn’t sure whether she believed him or thought he was isolating himself unnecessarily. After the others had gone to school, Danny sauntered electrically, gliding in his wheelchair over to the grey metal lift doors opposite the office. From here he could glance at the grand Victorian front door, which was nearly as wide as a man is tall - ideal for wheelchairs. It had stained glass panels, in triangular patterns and was painted a deep green colour. Nathalie followed and pressed the lift call button for him. Danny made his way upstairs and into his bedroom.
As soon as he entered the room the flat screen TV switched itself on. This was not a good sign. Danny felt a little frightened. He tried not to think about his involvement with that sinister agency. But as hard as he tried he could not help worrying. In the middle of the huge flat-screen there sat a Golden Frog.
‘Brrrrrup,’ it said.
With a twist of his body Danny slammed the bedroom door shut using the back end of his wheelchair. He was not going to show them any signs of fear he had decided. The frog lazily scratched its oversized glistening head with a smooth golden hind limb as though it knew exactly what Danny was thinking.
A logo in the top left hand corner of the TV screen flipped into mirror image and back again. It did this whenever you looked at it, but otherwise remained perfectly still. The logo was a white triangle shining like the sun.
‘You have done ver-ry well,’ remarked Golden Frog suddenly. Frog’s mix of gruff working class Tokyo and broad East London accents gave the frog a loud and unsettling tone.
‘You have helped us prepare and big boss is pleased. We have special task for you in future also,’ squeaked the Frog, who was now hopping excitedly from side to side.
‘Would you care to tell me what this is all about?’ enquired Danny. He thought he’d better get his questions in whilst they were in a good mood.
‘No we wouldn’t care to,’ said Frog. ‘But listen up, this much I can say,’ he continued. ‘We have some shopping to do. Very special shopping. Our snake colleague has - what to say? Been redeployed - permanently I hope. Anyhow, no need for any more mind-messages to mass consciousness. Now is time for action. We shall be in touch.’ Frog winked maliciously.
The logo on the screen did a double flip. The whole image then swirled away as if a plug had been pulled. Once the images had gone the screen returned to its usual lazy haze.
Danny chewed it over, trying to make sense of it all. He wondered what effect he could possibly have? What task could that misbegotten agency need him for now? He knew he could do things with his mind that some may find wonderful but to Danny it was nothing spectacular. In fact Danny did not really think of himself as special at all. He was just some silly disabled kid who got harassed by weird stuff. The psychic powers were a poor compensation for the endless frustration of his daily life. He yearned for a body that actually worked and did what it was told. How he wished for the comfort of a girlfriend. But for now he would settle for just being left alone.