Page 49 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

Ethan looked at his brother, but Ryan was frowning over his shoulder.

‘Hey,’ he said, squinting into the semi-darkness. ‘Is that smoke coming out of your house?’

Ethan spun around and followed his brother’s gaze down to the old school. He too could see a grey cloud pouring out of the open window of the lounge in the front of the building.

With sudden dread, he broke into a sprint towards his home.

Ryan raced alongside him as they both leapt over the small fence that separated the front yard from the lane.

Ethan ran up to the front door, noting the smell of burning coming out of the kitchen window as well as thick smoke. He threw open the door, grateful that it wasn’t locked. But he realised with horror that it meant that surely Libby had yet to leave to go home as she always locked up each night. Therefore she must still be inside somewhere.

He rushed inside, immediately engulfed in grey smoke. ‘Libby!’ he shouted, trying to get his bearings through the acrid cloud. It was hard to see anything.

He went to switch on the overhead light, but Ryan stopped him. ‘Too dangerous,’ he said, bringing out the torch on his phone instead to shine a light around the lounge.

‘Libby!’ shouted Ethan again.

The brothers raced to the kitchen, feeling their way around. As the smoke billowed out of the open front door, Ethan felt his heart in his mouth as he looked for Libby.

Finally, to his absolute relief, he heard coughing nearby.

‘Libby?’ he shouted, heading in the direction where he had heard her.

It was then that he found her, sitting up on the sofa and coughing endlessly.

Feeling shaky but fired up on adrenaline, Ethan quickly picked her up in his arms and raced out through the front door. He headed down the path and lay her on the overgrown patch of grass, still holding her in his arms.

‘Libby?’ he said, his voice croaky with emotion and smoke. She looked tiny, her beautiful blonde hair covered with a layer of fine soot, as well as her face.

She tried to say something but began another round of coughing.

Ryan joined them, panting heavily. ‘I’ve turned off the oven and opened up some more windows and the back door. How is she?’

‘Fine,’ said Libby, her voice tiny and raspy.

But when she began coughing yet again, Ryan drew out his phone and said, ‘I’m calling the doctor.’

Ethan instinctively drew her closer to him, his heart thumping in his chest. Another hour and perhaps the outcome wouldn’t have been so good, he thought. And the thought that he might have lost Libby made him hold her even tighter.

30

It was later that evening and Libby was tucked up in her bed, still trying to take in what had happened.

Apparently she had fallen asleep, but rather than only napping for a short time as planned, she had been told that she had been asleep for almost two hours. Which was plenty long enough for the cocoa beans in the oven to not only burn but catch alight.

‘So is the school burnt down?’ she asked, her voice still a croak from all the smoke.

Somehow she had slept through the smoke filling the old school until a moment before Ethan had suddenly rushed in and carried her outside. According to the local doctor who had already checked her out, that blast of fresh air had been the reason that she wasn’t in hospital that night.

Katy shook her head. ‘No, thankfully, it’s just smoke damage. The building is still intact. The only fire was in the oven.’

Ryan had rung Katy for support as soon as they knew that the place wasn’t on fire. She had stayed with Libby whilst the doctor had completed his checks, as well as helping her take a shower to wash away all the soot and grime.

Now Libby was in her pyjamas and squeaky clean, at least on her skin. Her throat and lungs would take a little while before they recovered.

She had a terrible thought. ‘What about the chocolate?’ she asked.

Katy sighed. ‘Ryan took a look in there after the smoke had cleared. Unfortunately, anything out on the work surfaces in the kitchen is ruined, but luckily there wasn’t a fire or it could have been much worse.’