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'Once upon a time, there lived a girl called Jane...'
She was sat on her chair, clutching her Harry Potter book like she might never let go of it. Now it wasn’t your usual run of the mill copy, no, this book that Jane held so closely, so tight to her chest was a very special book indeed. It was the last copy of the very last book in the series – ever. It was signed by J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, herself, making it the veritable Holy Grail of all things Potter. Jane had recently won it in a competition, and she prized it above everything she possessed. Unfortunately, after having such a wonderful experience the only way forward for Jane, was down. The only thing left for all Potter fans, after publication of the last instalment in the series, was to move on, to grow up and to get on with their lives. Jane, however, found it so hard to move on. She didn’t want to move on. Why should she? She was quite happy, thank you very much, with Harry! So she just sat there on the chair, on the hard wooden chair, struggling to come to terms with the Alpha and the Omega, the be all and end all – of Potter. Did anyone try to help her? Yes, so many people tried. They told her to pull herself together, and to get on with her life. But it had no effect on her dark mood, no effect at all. That shows you just how bad she felt. Jane was devastated; there were no other words to describe it. Only two weeks prior to all this, Jane had been the happiest girl in the world. When she had received word that she had won the competition, and was going to meet J.K. Rowling, she cried with joy. And she cried with joy again, when she actually met her and received the very last Potter book – ever – to be signed by the world-famous author. Jane had her photo taken with her dream author and it appeared in newspapers across the entire country. For two weeks, two short weeks, Jane had been the centre of ‘Potter’ attention – and it was wonderful. She had never been happier in her entire life. Two weeks later, however, the world had moved on, with all things Potter fading fast into the ether from which they had come. But Jane, poor Jane continued to clutch onto her book. She clutched it so tightly her fingers bled. And why wouldn’t she? It was her dream, her life – all that she had ever known. How could she accept that Harry Potter had gone, with no hope of return? “Come on, Jane,” her mother called out. “Your dinner is on the table.” Despite hearing her mother, the words never registered in Jane’s bamboozled brain. Trapped in her delusion that Harry would soon return, she said, “Harry will return, mum, he really will...” In the end, for the sake of peace, Jane’s besieged mother simply agreed with her. “If you say so, Jane, if you say so…” Thus bolstered by her mum’s agreement, Jane became ever more entrenched in her delusion that her idol, her hero – Harry – might return in another, eighth tome of magical adventure. “He’s coming, soon,” she kept whispering to herself. “Very soon, Harry will return in a brand new adventure – They’ll see that I was right…they will…” That was how Jane got into her present predicament, sitting on the chair, clutching her book like she might never let go of it. No one had any idea how they might snap Jane out of it and return her to her original pre-Potter state of mind. Some of her mother’s friends, shouted, “That Rowling one, she has a lot to answer for, skid addling off with her millions of pounds, leaving our poor children in such dire states!” Others were even more vocal, saying, “Rowling must pay for this – our children’s lives have been ruined. Where is she now? On a beach somewhere, sunning herself, I’d hazard a guess!” It’s like I said, no one had any idea as to how they might help Jane or any of the suffering children after the passing of their all-time hero. Some brave parents did try, buying such books as Eragon and Skulduggery Pleasant. And for a while it even worked. Unfortunately, once the stories had been read through, finished, the children returned to their beloved Harry Potter books, with a vengeance. The vast hole left by the exit of their hero and his friends was not going to be filled that easily. After moping about, sitting upon her chair for a two full weeks, clutching ever tighter onto her Harry Potter book, Jane heard a knock on the door. “It’s your friend, Topret,” Jane’s mother called out. “Shall I send him in to you?” Jane thought about it, and sniffing, she replied, “Yes, mum…” “Hello, Jane,” said Topret. “How’s it going?” Jane made no reply. “I was wondering… if you might like to come out, on your bike,” Topret suggested, “The bike shop has next year’s model, in…” Coughing, clearing her throat, Jane said, “No, no thank you.” “Oh.” “I’d like to go to the library, though…” Smiling amicably, Topret agreed.
Watching them make their way down the street, before finally disappearing round the corner, Jane’s mother said, “He’s certainly got the charm.” Although Topret had managed to prise Jane away from her chair, she was still clutching religiously to her book. But he didn’t mind, for he also loved things Potter and therefore understood what she was going through. “Are you taking out any books, today? Topret asked, as Jane flicked her way through the children’s section of the library. Jane made no reply, for although she was fingering the books her thoughts were far away, mulling over the prospect of perhaps never again being able to purchase a new Harry Potter novel. She began crying. Her life had no meaning. She wanted to die… “Come on,” said Topret, “I want to show you something…” “I, I don’t want to see – anything,” Jane sobbed. “Leave me alone.” “Please,” he insisted, “You won’t be disappointed...” Wiping away the tears, she asked, “See what?” Tapping the side of his nose, he replied, “All in good time…” Intrigued, Jane asked, “Where are we going?” “Home.” “Your home?” “Yes, mum won’t mind… It’s like I said, I have something to show you…” “Hell, Jane,” Topret’s mum said, when she opened the door, “It’s good to see you out and about again.” Jane made no reply. Sensing her mood, she asked, “Would you like a drink of lemonade and some biscuits?” “Yes, please,” Jane replied, as much out of courtesy as hunger or thirst. “We’re going up to my room,” Topret explained. “Is it okay?” “Of course it is, dear. You two go up, I’ll follow you in a few minutes.” Topret leaped up the stars, two steps at a time. When he had reached the top, he turned round, and said, “On the way down I can do four steps at a time …” Jane remained silent. Having failed to impress with his stair climbing ability, he opened his bedroom door and invited Jane in. Inside, the room was so typical of any boy’s bedroom. There were posters of football players s sellotaped haphazardly to the walls, model aeroplanes hanging precariously on threads from the ceiling, and items of every conceivable nature thrown untidily across every free inch of space. Stuck into one corner, almost hidden from view, there was a computer perched atop a desk so small Jane wondered how it managed to stay there at all. “Over here,” said Topret, pointing to the little desk. Fingering the dust, Jane asked, “Doesn’t you mother ever clean your room?” “No, not on the pain of death,” Topret replied. “Didn’t you read the sign on my door?” “No, I must have missed it,” Jane mumbled, as she took out a handkerchief and began dusting the litte desk. “I clean this room, myself,” Topret proclaimed ever so proudly. “I even make my own bed!” “Good for you,” said Jane, ever so dryly. “Now what have you brought me here to see?” Grinning from ear to ear, Topret said, “Let me turn the computer on, first.” The computer whirred and buzzed into life. When the image on the screen had finally settled, he took hold of the mouse and pointed the cursor to the icon displaying the word ‘internet connection’. The modem began dialling and before long ‘Google’ appeared on the screen. Topret always struggled with his conscience, when using Google, the market leader. He insisted that he’d prefer using one of its competitors, to give the underdogs a sporting chance. “Unfortunately,” he said, “none of them are anyway near as good as Google, so until they improve I’ll have to stick with it.” Jane watched as Topret typed in some words and pressed the ‘enter’ button. They awaited the results of his search. In less than no time at all, a list appeared on the computer screen. Studying it, Jane asked, “Who are these people – Wot, Nott and Kakuri? And what on earth is a HU BA HOU?” Tapping the side of his nose, again, Topret replied, “All will soon be revealed…” Clicking on the appropriate link, Topret waited for the page to appear, but it didn’t. Instead, the computer screen froze. “That never happened before!” he hissed. Losing interest, Jane said, “I’m going home...” “Wait – please,” he cried out, trying desperately to unfreeze his computer screen. All of a sudden it sparked into life, and he said, “One minute, just one minute! You won’t be disappointed – I promise!” “Okay, one minute, but not a second longer.” “Got it!” Topret shouted, when the web page finally appeared. Smiling and laughing with excitement, he said, “Well, what do you think of that?”
Jane looked at the screen, and replied, “It’s a web page – big deal…” “A web page? Is that all you can say – a web page?” “Well, yes,” she replied, beginning to feel uncomfortable with his manner. “You asked me who were Wot, Nott and Kakuri…” “Yes, yes I did, but only because I saw the words on the screen…”
she replied defensively. Jane began reading… “Wot, Nott, Kakuri and the HU BA HOU, a magical, mystical adventure story – a Race Against Time.” “Well, what do you think – now?” “Give me some time, will you. I have only just begun!” Jane continued to read the words displayed on the screen. And she read quickly, finishing the first page in less than a minute. Clicking the mouse, opening the next page, she began reading the fist chapter in earnest. “This is FANTASTIC,” she exclaimed, when she came to the end of the chapter. “I can’t believe how good it is… I am really enjoying it!” “I told you so,” said Topret, smiling from ear to ear. Jane continued her reading in total silence, not a word, not even one word passed her lips until she had come to the end of chapter four. Then she asked, “Where’s chapter five?” “Ah,” Topret replied, the smile disappearing from his face. “I’m afraid that’s where we have a problem.” “A PROBLEM? WHAT PROBLEM?” Jane hollered. “Unfortunately, that’s all there is… until the book has actually been published…” “Huh, I thought it was too good to be true,” she replied, gloomily. “But don’t you see?” “See that the remaining chapters are missing?” “Well, yes, if you put it like that… But can’t you see this means, that we still have another thirty-three chapters to look forward to?” “Thirty-three more chapters, you say?” “Yes! And, remember, this is the first in a trilogy. Even after we have read the entire story, there will still be another two parts to look forward to…” “Another two?” “Yes – two more – It’s fantastic, don’t you agree?” “It does sound rather good,” Jane whispered, “and I do like the story…” “He – the author –has loads more stories in the pipeline. It says so, here in his web page.” Topret tapped the computer screen. Her face falling again, Jane asked, “But when will it be published, the first one?” “I’m sorry, I don’t know – but I do have a little plan…” Entering the room, holding a large tray in both hands, Topret’s mum said, “Here’s your lemonade and biscuits.” “Thanks,” said Jane, taking a glass and two biscuits. “It’s nice to see a smile on your face, Jane.” “I have something to smile about, now…” “I so am happy to hear that,” she said, then without even bothering to ask why, she turned round and left the room. “Is you mum, you know – all there?” Jane asked, watching the door close again. “Yeh, she’s fine. Why do you ask that?” “Oh, it’s nothing really. So what is this plan of yours, anyway?” Grinning again, he said, “We write to all the publishers, asking them to publish Wot, Nott, Kakuri and the HU BA HOU…” “Are you joking?” Jane cried out in shock at so barmy suggestion. “Yes – don’t you think it’s a good idea?” “To be perfectly honest, no, I don’t.” “Why?” There must be hundreds, perhaps thousands of publishers – we could be writing for the rest of out lives!” Casting his eyes down, Topret felt so small, silly for having suggested such a thing. It was now he who needed cheering up.
Thinking she might have overreacted a bit, Jane’s grey cells clicked into action, trying to see if there was another way forward. After several minutes of deep thinking, she waved her hand in the air, saying, “Topret, perhaps I was too harsh on you, perhaps we can use your idea, though with some tweaking, that is…” Raising his head, Topret asked, “What do you have in mind?” “I’m still working out the details… Give me a few minutes…” Jane took more than a few minutes; in fact she took so long Topret had finished the lemonade and all of chocolate biscuits before she began speaking again. He was just about to shout down, for some more, when she began waving, shouting, “I HAVE IT! I HAVE IT!” “What?” he shouted, almost as excited as her. “We do ask the publishers to consider printing the story,” she said, “but in a round about way…” “What do you mean ‘round about’?” “By contacting all the children who love this type of story, to get them to write to the publishers!” “And how do we do that?” “By contacting radio stations, TV channels, newspapers, magazines
– anyone who will listen.” “Gerry Ryan, of course…” Gerry Ryan? Who is Gerry Ryan?” “He’s on the radio – he’s famous – everyone listens to him!” “Do children?” “No, he’s for grownups.” “Then how will that be of any help?” “All famous people have contacts – I am sure that he has some. And even if he doesn’t, some of the people listening most certainly will.” Sensing his doubts, Jane pushed Topret for a decision, “Topret – are you with me?” “Of course I am,” he replied. “Then, let’s begin. Have you got a pen?” “No, but I’ll use my computer. I’ll write the mother of all letters – Gerry Ryan will believe every word of it…” “It sounds as if you’re going to lie.” “Just using a bit of artistic licence…He’ll understand” “I hope so, I certainly hope so…” By the time Topret had finished writing, he had created, crafted three letters and all of them addressed to Mr Gerry Ryan. In each of these letters Topret explained the frustration he felt at being unable to read the remainder of the Wot and Nott story. “I’ll send him these letters over a period of a few weeks – for greater effect,” Topret proclaimed. “If this – Gerry Ryan of yours is worth his salt, he’ll do something, and if he doesn’t we’ll tell everyone to stop listening to his show, hah, that’ll fix him!” “You’re very bold, Topret,” said Jane, amused by his antics.
As we come to the end of this little story, we find two children who, having sent three letters to Gerry Ryan, are waiting patiently for his reply. Will he reply? And if he does, will be do anything? And can he do anything? The only things that I know, that I am certain of, is that Jane no longer clutches her Harry Potter book, and the spark within her, which had almost gone out, has been reignited and glows anew. God bless us all
Here are the three letters that Topret sent to Gerry Ryan...
23 Muggles Parade
21st May
Dear Gerry, Last Sunday my parents brought me out for a drive in the countryside. It was a lovely day and I really enjoyed it. I loved the winding roads, not knowing what lay around the next bend. As we drove down a particularly small lane, a car parked up ahead of us blocked our progress. We got out of our car, to see if anyone was nearby. There wasn’t, there was no one to be seen. We examined the car; it was a strange one, with writing all over the back window. I read it, it read: ‘Wot, Nott, Kakuri and the HU BA HOU.’ There were also some other words, and they read: ‘If you liked Harry Potter, you will love this story. Check it out on www.gerrardtwilson.com.’ Well, those magic words did the trick for me, and from that moment I lost all interest in our little drive. All that I wanted to do was to go home and check out that web site... As soon as we arrived home, dad helped me to get onto the Internet, to see exactly who Wot, Nott, Kakuri and the HU BA HOU actually were. As the pages of the web site opened, and I began to read the story before me, I was amazed with the magic and intrigue – it was fantastic!!! I finished the prologue and chapter one in no time at all. I began reading chapter two in earnest, totally captivated by the story. I found it hard to stop. I was glued to the screen, incapable of taking my eyes away from it. By the time I reached the third chapter I was converted, Harry Potter being ancient history as far as I was concerned. But when I got to the end of chapter four I was devastated!!! You see, the remaining thirty-three chapters are not available until the book has actually been published! I felt so helpless – I just had to see what happened to Wot, Nott, Kakuri and their intriguing HU BA HOU… Then I had an idea. Maybe we hadn’t read all the words on the car window. Perhaps there were other words, telling us where we might find the book. ‘Yes, that must be it,’ I thought, and as luck would have it Dad had taken a photo of the car. I begged him, I pestered him until he printed it out from his computer. The printer cranked into life. I waited with anticipation for the photo to emerge. Then the strangest thing happened – right there before my very eyes, as the photo came into view, I could see Harry Potter standing next to the car in the photo. I couldn’t believe my eyes, but there he was, as large as life for the entire world to see (I enclose a copy of the photo). There were no more words or information about the story on the car. So in desperation I am writing this letter, asking if you know anything more about it, and if you know when the story is going to be published. Believe me, this story is going to be the BIGGEST THING since Harry Potter – I am SURE of it. Why, it has even got him intrigued!!! From
23 Muggles Parade Gerry Ryan, 18th June
Dear Gerry, In follow up to my previous letter regarding Wot, Nott, Kakuri and the HU BA HOU, I am enclosing a copy of ‘Wot and Nott’s Broadsheet’ which Dad printed out for me. We saw it on www.gerrardtwilson.blogspot.com. I am sorry that the printing is so small, but you can see it in all of its glory on the blog itself. You must take a look-see – It’s awesome!!! I am also enclosing a Wot and Nott car sticker for you. I was sent two of them by mistake. Oh, I must tell you something very exciting – chapter five of Wot, Nott, Kakuri and the HU BA HOU can be seen on the same blog. Oh, how I wish the complete story were published – It’s driving me bananas, wondering what happens next!!! I am still waiting for your reply, Gerry. Have you heard anything? Is there any news as to a publication date? Gerry, you are my last hope, my only hope, please don’t let me down… From Topret Rahry
23 Muggles Parade
2nd July
I do hope that you have been able to take a look at the web site and read the story thus far. I am sure that when you do, you too will be filled with Wot and Nott mania… Oh, by the way, on the web page (www.gerrardtwilson.com) there’s a link to the Gerrard’s blog, which has so many items, including a whole section featuring extracts from ‘Wot’s Little Book of Poems’. I had better finish now because it’s way past my bedtime. Bye. Your friend, Rahry Topret
© Gerrard T Wilson 2008 |
