Peter and the Plastic Snowmen Two by Roger Hartopp - HTML preview

9. GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

The next moment, the snowmen and Peter were back on the Cloudland, standing next to the large marquee-sized igloo where the Plastic Snowman had been judged guilty and then made his and Peter’s journey down to Atoz.

“I have to say it’s good to be back,” said the Plastic Snowman cheerfully.

“I couldn’t agree more,” said the Tall Thin Plastic Snowman, “but I will still have to go in there for playing my part in getting Peter into the land of Atoz.”

He said this as if it was a normal every day activity that anyone would do at work, although he then added tentatively: “And to face the Most Important Plastic Snowman and his cronies. It’s thanks to them I got Peter in this situation. He told me to keep quiet during your trial. I was not even supposed to be at the trial but I was curious. He wanted you out the way, but when I saw what happened to Peter, I had to do something.”

“That’s what I thought,” said the Plastic Snowman coolly. “He clearly doesn’t like me.”

“Why?” asked Peter. “What did you do to upset him?”

“I have my theories.”

“And I don’t like him at all,” Peter said sniffily. Although happy to be out, he could not understand why the snowmen didn’t seem to care about what happened to India.

Then out came the Most Important Plastic Snowman, this time joined by a group of other, similar looking snowmen.

“We have two final tasks to complete before Peter returns home,” he said in his usual official sort of voice. “First, Peto, there is someone to see you.”

“It’s Peter, not Peto!” sobbed Peter, “and I don’t care – INDIA!”

From behind the snowmen hopped another, smaller snowman, with branches for arms. But it had a face made up of small stones and a large vegetable for a nose that was out of proportion with the rest of its face. It didn’t look exactly like India, but Peter knew. He just knew it was him.

“Hello Peter,” said India. “As you can see, I’ve been rebuilt. I’m not exactly the same – well, we can never be exactly the same, but I’ve been rewarded by getting another body straight away, for my part in helping to get you away from the monsters.”

“But I thought you were –”

“You thought I was dead? Oh no, Peter, we don’t die. They just take our souls, put them somewhere in one of the cabinets in the soul department that deals with us, until the… Most Important Plastic Snowman decides it is my turn again to be a snowman and give me the chance to be with a child. They found me very quickly, which I’m so happy about, because they often have to do a bit of soul searching.”

“But India,” said Peter, “why have you almost got the same body as last time? Wouldn’t he…” – he looked up at the Most Important Plastic Snowman – “wouldn’t they give you a better body?”

“They could have given me a new body, slightly better than this one, but I’ve got used to this one with you around. Maybe when it’s time for me to move into a new body perhaps I will be lucky enough to be just like your Plastic Snowman.”

The Plastic Snowman looked at his complete arms and his legs. “You know, I really should be so lucky with my body,” he said humbly. 

He quickly glanced at the Most Important Plastic Snowman and his well-made colleagues. “India, you are a better snowman than many of us.”

Peter looked at the Most Important Plastic Snowman, who appeared to be frowning at the Plastic Snowman.

India smiled. “As they say on the land below, don’t be fooled by appearances.”

Peter then looked at the other snowmen. They all had what he thought were the best snowman bodies. This did not make him feel good about them, and he felt that they were well-aware that other, less well-made snowmen would be made to feel inferior to them to keep some kind of control over them. He certainly did not think they were. India had proved that.

“So,” he said coldly to the Most Important Plastic Snowman. “What will happen to the other snowman that my father made?”

Peter had begun to really dislike this snowman and his pompous attitude. There was no way, in his mind, that this snowman could ever be the friendly type. After all, it had been unsmiling and overformal all the times he had been in his presence, but there was something else, something darker, that had now upset the Plastic Snowman.

 “He should be sent to the land of Atoz,” said the Very Important Plastic Snowman stiffly. “But I think he should be sent to somewhere worse – to our Accounts area.”

“ACCOUNTS? Oh no, please, I want to go to Atoz!” said the Tall Thin Plastic Snowman, sounding very upset. “Not to Accounts!”

“How bad is the Accounts area?” asked Peter.

“Please, don’t ask,” said the Plastic Snowman grimly. “It is our worse punishment. But he should be free to return to the life of being a snowman by next winter.”

Peter was relieved to hear that his punishment was not going to mean the end for him.

“Maybe I’ll see you next winter…” said the Tall Thin Plastic Snowman as he was led away by the Very Important Plastic Snowman’s burly bodyguards.

“So, Most Important Plastic Snowman,” said the Plastic Snowman defiantly. “Can you tell me where is the Chief Very Important Plastic Snowman? You sent him down to the Accounts area too, out the way, so ensure nobody can hear what they want to say?”

The Most Important Plastic Snowman now looked angrier than at any time Peter had seen it. He suddenly snapped his fingers. Very quickly, Peter felt the sudden urge to sleep, and began to lay down on the soft cotton-wall floor of the cloud. “Plastic Snowman, get Peter home now!” he commanded. “The sun is beginning to come up! You must get him back home before you are seen! You know what will happen if you do not!”

“Yes, Most Important Plastic Snowman. Come on Peter.”

Peter was already fast asleep as the Plastic Snowman picked him up.

As before, the Plastic Snowman was allowed to hop, skip and jump off the cloud and into the air, back towards Peter’s house.

*

As Peter opened his eyes, woken up by his father getting ready to go back to work after the long Christmas and New Year break, he felt as though he had just had the strangest dream…

…like the dream he’d had three nights ago.

But… different.

He looked out of the window. There were two snowmen out there, standing perfectly still on the snowy ground, just as they should be when they were made the day before and three days before. There was the one that he felt sure had taken him to Auntie Anne’s house and a cloud with a wonderful playground, and there was another one, the tall thin one that his daddy had built the day before, except one of its eyes were now missing.

He tried to think. There was something about that Tall Thin Plastic Snowman in his dream, but he couldn’t remember exactly what it was…

He went downstairs after Daddy had left, and there was Mummy sitting, still in her nightdress and dressing-gown, and drinking a cup of coffee. Her favorite radio station was playing music in the background.

“Morning, sweetheart,” she said cheerily. “I can see you slept well again last night.”

“Yes,” said Peter sleepily. “I –”

“We should now get dressed as I’ve got to take you over to Grandma’s. What would you like for breakfast? Oh wait a second,” said Mummy quickly, “I just want to hear the news.”

The presenter on the radio program read out the news headlines, and then added –

“And the good news is that there’s been a sudden change in conditions and there is a thaw on the way across the country. Although it’ll still be cold today, with temperatures below freezing, they are expected to increase overnight and we can expect daytime temperatures tomorrow to reach around five or six degrees centigrade.”

“Wow, they weren’t expecting that yesterday,” said Mummy happily. “That means the roads and pavements should be clear tomorrow.”

“They’re going up?” Peter said suddenly and without thinking. “But what about –”

He ran up to the window and glared at the snowmen.

There was something about that other snowman – but what?

He tried to think. The dream he had three nights ago was still fresh in his memory, but for some reason he could recall very little from last night.

There was something else… but what was it?

His mind was blank.

It was if he knew he had experienced something, but that something had taken that experience, the memory of that experience, away. But there was –

He just couldn’t get to it.

To get at that experience, he needed a spark, a signal, to get at those memories.

Even his day at Grandma’s did nothing to help, although by the afternoon he was beginning to worry less about last night as the hours went by and it was just some strange dream that, for whatever reason, his mind chose not to remember in detail.

He was even beginning to think less about that night three nights ago, even doubting whether that experience was real.

*

After being picked up by Mummy, he came home, and then the family had an evening meal. Both his parents were looking at him, smiling broadly.

“Why are you smiling so much?”

“Peter,” said Mummy, unable to keep her excitement to herself, “after I dropped you off at grandma’s, I went to the doctor, and – guess what –”

Peter looked at them while they paused for dramatic effect, readying for the big announcement.

“You’re going to have a baby brother or sister!”

“A baby brother – or sister?”

“Yes! Isn’t that great!”

He grinned broadly. Peter was not going to be the lone child in the family.

Suddenly the excitement of having a sibling put much of what had gone before even further into the recesses of his memory.