Forgotten Dreams by Katie Flynn

come to end up in Rhyl before she slept, but though she did her best to stay awake, it was useless. She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.
    And dreamed.
    The dream started ordinarily enough. She was on the Rhyl promenade, walking towards the clock, knowing that something exciting was about to happen. There were people about though no one took any notice of her. She saw a teacher she knew and smiled but the woman seemed to look straight through her. And this was odd because Lottie could feel the warmth of the sun on her shoulders and a gentle salt-scented breeze in her face. When the boy came slap bang up to her, she recognised him at once, even though his golden-brown eyes were gentle now. She half expected him to walk past her as the teacher had done, but he stopped right in front of her and spoke urgently. ‘You’ll have to go back,’ he said. ‘You’ll have to go back even further than Sassy, right back to the very beginning. It’s the only way, you see.’
    ‘Back where?’ Lottie said blankly. ‘Back to Victoria Court? But I’ve not had me tea yet and Kenny’s teacher said there were a grand spread. Besides, the coach doesn’t leave for ages and I don’t believe I could walk all the way home. It would take days and days.’
    She tried to dodge, to sidestep the boy, but though he never appeared to move he was always in front of her, barring her way. Suddenly frightened, she turned round, meaning to run in the opposite direction, but it did not work. He was in front of her again and this time he was smiling. It was not an unpleasant smile, though there was an edge of mockery to it. ‘You can’t escape, you know,’ he said gently. ‘Not if you really want to know what happened. You’ve simply got to go back . . . back . . . back . . .’
    As he said the last words, his voice became fainter and fainter and rang hollowly in her ears, reminding her of the dreadful day when Mammy had taken her to the dentist to have a tooth removed because it was growing sideways and impeding the one next to it. The dentist had held a mask to her face and the room had whirled round and round, getting smaller and smaller until it was no bigger than a full stop, and the dentist’s voice had boomed strangely, echoing round her skull until it faded to a whisper.
    Now, she tried to resist, to escape from the boy’s gaze and from the whirling dance of promenade, sky and people. Thoroughly frightened, she gave a choked little gasp, and began to fight her way up from sleep to the reality of wakefulness. She half opened her eyes and saw her own little room, with the clutter of her possessions all about her. Thankfully, she sat up on her elbow. What a horrible dream! And yet it had only turned frightening when she had decided to run away from the boy. Perhaps if she had been sensible, allowed him to explain what he meant . . .
    Once more, Lottie glanced thankfully around her room. It was a nice room, furnished especially for her. There was a little dressing table with a mirror and three drawers, and a marble-topped washstand upon which stood a jug and ewer, brightly patterned with poppies and cornflowers. The curtains at the window were cream cotton with more flowers printed upon the material, and the little wardrobe, which Mam had bought on Paddy’s market, had a garland of flowers stencilled round the door. There was a shelf for books, for Louella always encouraged her daughter to read, and another shelf for toys. Golly, Baby Susan and Teddy were prime favourites at present, but there was a pink rabbit with only one ear, a rag doll whose features had been rubbed away by constant use, and a wooden zebra which had once had a red handle and four wheels, although such appurtenances had fallen off years ago.
    Lottie had no idea what the time was but she knew it was still night, so she hopped out of bed, grabbed the rag doll and the teddy bear, and snuggled down once more. She would go back to sleep, and if she dreamed the