Page 23 of Forgive Not Forget

Abigail’s eyes lit up and her lips widened. “You’re so lucky. I wish I was.”

Anna did her best to demur from her comment. “Tom’s not that bad, surely.”

“He didn’t use to be. Now he plays his music too loud, he hogs the PlayStation, and his room smells.” Abigail wrinkled her nose.

“Well, becoming a teenager generally makes people less likeable. All the changes they go through to develop into adults takes a lot of work, and sometimes it makes them a bit selfish and grumpy.”

“You mean puberty,” Abigail replied frankly.

Anna focussed on the road ahead of them. “Err. Yes.”

“Don’t worry, I know all about that.”

“Good. It’s important to know.”

“I won’t be like him, though.”

Anna withheld a chuckle. “The future’s unpredictable. Although you might not want to be a typical teenager, you may still end up being one. I hope you don’t, though.”

Abigail found a small rock and began kicking it along the pavement. “Mum says that too. She doesn’t want two of us playing loud music. She said she’d have to cut her ears off.”

Unable to withhold her amusement any longer, Anna let out a small giggle. The girl beamed at her; she appeared to enjoy making people laugh.

They reached Anna’s office, and she unlocked the door. Abigail followed Anna inside.

“Is this your office?”

“Yes, all mine.”

“Well it’s too small to share with anyone; it’s the same size as the stationery cupboard at school.”

Anna again stifled her amusement. “Are you allowed in there?”

“Sometimes my teacher asks me to collect supplies from there. It smells nice. I like it in there.”

“Katherine would love a stationery cupboard here and at home. You can meet her properly at lunchtime. Right, we’d better get set up; we’ll be opening soon. Firstly, we need to put the signs out. They are for our avid hunters to find. If you look on the back, you can see the clues for the next sign, and they all lead back to the barn where they’ll collect their eggs. They also need to complete this.” Anna took a sheet from the box on her desk. “On the back of each sign is a jumble of letters that they need to rearrange and write down.”

Abigail examined the back of a sign. “A Giddy Roof, Good Friday.”

“Hmm. It’s probably a good thing you aren’t doing the trail; it might be a bit easy.”

“Do I still get an egg?” Abigail raised her eyebrows in hope.

“Of course, all helpers get an egg. Some get two.” Anna winked.

Abigail’s eyes sparkled at the thought.

“Can you take the mallet? I need someone to hammer these in for me. I’ll bring the signs.”

They made their way across the abbey’s lawn, stopping at all the places Anna had scoped out the previous week. Some were obvious and should be easy for their youngest visitors to solve; some were not so obvious and hidden within the flower beds.

They placed the last sign near the car park to direct all those who had come for the bunny trail to the barn.

“Was history your favourite subject at school?” Abigail asked, suggesting an interest in Anna’s place of work.

“Yes, I’ve always loved learning about how people used to live. That knowledge connects us to our past, don’t you think?”

Abigail nodded. “My dad used to take us to museums all the time.” She looked down and scuffed at the ground with her tan suede boots.