In a world of wonder there is so much to experience for the first time
Waking up to a new day is always something good . New light through the window different sounds of life filtering through whatever and wherever they come .
Every new day can bring a new journey and a new picture of life through the eyes of people and places . The smell of food was brought the Greenacres downstairs to the dining room where breakfast was already on the table .
Mrs McDermott was singing away in the basement where she was bringing up some food items for the cupboards in the kitchen .
She was singing like a bird inside a cage . Her voice was magical, unaccompanied and free to be enjoyed by all .
When she returned from the basement, she was surprised to see the Greenacres already at table eating their breakfast .
She started looking everywhere all at once as if she was embarrassed for them to have heard her singing and said ,
“Oh, I’m sorry I wasn’t expecting you all to be sitting here . I had to get a few things form the pantry downstairs. You took me by surprise . “
Mrs Greenacre stood up and applauded then she said ,
”No need to apologise Mrs McDermott . We were enjoying your singing there . What a great voice you have and that song “
Mrs McDermott took a bow and said , .
“‘Actually, when I was young I always dreamt about being a famous singer:”
Sham said,
“Don’t stop singing , maybe dreams can come true ”.
Mrs McDermott walked off into the kitchen humming a tune to herself .
“Thank you for that beautiful song today ‘
Mrs Greenacre said.
‘Well, that’s enough of the singing there’s too much work to be done
Mrs McDermott said and returned to kitchen .
Shep was sitting beside Sham at the table and now and then without being noticed Sham would slip a little snack to Shep .
Sham said ,
“Thanks for sharing some of your breakfast , you know Sham isn’t life full of wonder like the dawning of the day , or the moon that shines at night , you know maybe dreams can come true , just like a light shining through the window today ‘
Sham responded.
‘Its true what you say Shep, there’s a time in life when anything can happen .“
Shep replied ,
‘I had a dream that I could dance and sing and people came from everywhere to watch , but it was just a dream “
Sham said ,
“Last night I had a dream that seemed so real. It was just like watching a movie.
“Do you have colours in your dreams ?“
Shep asked and Sham said,
“Of course, I do , Don’t you ?
Shep replied.
“Yes, my dreams have colour but in real life I only see in black and white. “
“ I seem to live more in my dreams now that in the real life ,“
Said Sham and Shep replied ,
“You’re gifted then Sham . Some people never get the chance to dream but it seems to me that you’re living your dreams , Dream on little Sham for you’ve found that magic place where not many are allowed to go . “
“ Some say to believe in your dreams I also think that dreams happen because they’re meant to . “
Mrs McDermott returned to collect the empty plates from the table.
“What are your plans today then ?”
Mrs Greenacre replied .
‘ We are going to visit local a horse breeder . Like you we have always had a dream to own a racehorse and who knows maybe our dream might come true . We asked Conor yesterday if he knew any horse breeders and he gave us the details of a few of the local breeders So that’s where we’re going “
Mrs McDermott said ,
“ That sounds exciting . I wish you luck in chasing your dream . I’ll make you some lunch and have it ready before you leave :”
In no time at all they were driving through town, to the sign that pointed the way they had to go to Sunshine Stud On a back road there they went along through a forest.
Road to an entrance of the horse stud , where an attendant stood at a gate.
They drove over to the gate and the attendant asked ,
“Can I have some identification and ask the reason of your visit ?”
Mr Greenacre produced driver’s license and said ,
Sure we are the Greenacres and we’re here on holiday Chapters End .
We are looking to buy a racehorse and yesterday I spoke with the manager yesterday , Mr Rodd and he is expecting us this morning .’
“I have your name here so let me open the gate for you ,:
He presses a button a remote that swung open the double gates to the Stud .
‘Welcome to Sunshine Stud , follow the road to the end and you will find to your left a road to the main house , just make your way there and park your car . I’ll inform Mr Ross you’ve arrived and he will come to meet you “
Mr Greenacre said ,
‘Thank you . Have a great day ?”
As they drove along the road on both sides were lush green paddocks with some horses with their little fillies and colts at their side .
When they arrived to park the car at the main house Mr Ross was already there to welcome them . He was well dressed in fashionable clothes and wore an expensive gold watch . Obviously, a wealthy young man . He was accompanied by two beautiful ladies . They were all so friendly and excited having new visitors into their stud .
This was also an opportunity for them to sell another racehorse .
Mr Greenacre reached out his hand and said ,
‘Thank you for your time today, Mr Ross: this is my son Sham and my wife Sally .
He shook their hands and then said ,
‘Nice to meet you all . As we’ve never met before and I was wondering where you wanting a full tour of the stud or did you just want to look at the current stock we have for sale .”
Mr Greenacre said.
,
‘If we could just run our eye over some of your current stock and depending what we see , we might be making a decision about purchasing a horse today with the desire to set the horse with a trainer for future racing on the track . . “
“Oh, thank you . I just love that dress you’re wearing . Is it from a famous designer ?”
“We recently bred the winner of a group race in Europe and we also have exported ten horses to race in other countries .“
Mrs Greenacre spoke with the two other ladies
“How beautiful those dresses look on you . Are they from a local designer ?
“Thank you . My name is Jane . Pleased to meet you .“
The other lady said ,
‘I’m Marie and thank you , I have a friend who is a designed of clothes . Mosty of our friends buy clothes from him . His name is Gary Chase .”
“Hello , Marie and Jane , I’m Sally and this is our little Sham . “
Marie asked ,
“So Sham are you going to be a horse owner ?“
Sham answered
“Well maybe , kind of , but not really, its Mum and Dads dream . I’m here just to see the horses but who knows maybe one day I’ll be in a syndicate with others who collect horses like a hobby . I love horses in another way , like a friend sort of .”
Jane said hello.
“Pleased to meet you Sham , I’m Jane . I think what you’re trying to say is that no one can really own a horse , Is that right Sham ?”
“How do you do Jane .Thats exactly what I was thinking ?“
They all smiled .
Mr Ross approached and spoke to Mrs Greenacre .
“What a thrill it must be for you having a possibility to race a horse ?“
He said .
Sally replied ,
“Well its always been dream of ours to race a horse .“
“Wow that is just what I needed to hear because here at Sunshine Stud we believe in dreams and we have seen many dreams come true . Why don’t I show you all some of our horse for sale . “
He brought them to a nearby paddock where several horses were walking around.
Sham spoke to all the horses in the paddock ,
“Hello there. What beautiful horses you all are here . My name is Sham .
Immediately all the horses came running over to the fence .
“Sham hello . What a wonderful surprise for us “’
“We’re so proud to meet you Sham , so you have the gift . . “
.“It’s a rare thing to have a human bring us words lie you just did .“
Mr Greenacre asked ,
“So how much would one of these horses’ cost .“
“Two million .“
Was the reply .
“How much would you expect us to make on that investment ?
Mrs Greenacre asked.
Jane replied.
“At least double in return of your initial cost in the first year of racing “
Marie said .
“Yes, we are all very excited about our new horses , Theyn have prospects .Some people collect cars . Although I love cars myself these horses have heart and a wild speed to burn . We breed champions here at Sunshine Stud . How many would you like to buy ?
Mr Greenacre replied ,
‘I would have a yard full of them but at this point in time I’d be interested in buying three . I would choose that horse with the white socks on its front legs and whatever my wife and son choose .
Jane took out her mobile phone and called everyone together for a photo .
“Welcome to your dream ?
Mrs Greenacre took a while but saw one of the horses had very strong hips which.
was a sign of great strength . The she pointed out to Mr Ross ,
“That horse has an attitude I like . That’s my choice ,”
Sham had already spoken to all the horse and they mentioned to him that the quietest horse among them possessed the greatest speed . It was also the humblest with its head kept down showing no vanity with its behaviour.
Sham said.
‘My choice is the one over there with wings on its feet,“
Everyone laughed and Mr Ross said,
“That is the only horse we have with wings on its feet . You have a great eye for detail . So now that you have chosen your horses . Let’s get the paperwork processed for the sale so you can start racing your horses as soon as possible”
“Congratulations to you all . Your dream has come true .”
Sally looked at Ted and they both looked at Sham and the three of them jumped up in the air and screamed out with delight .
.
Jane said,
Oh yeah . Life , love and happiness , what a sure thing it is “
Mr Ross said ,
“ I can see success in the years ahead for all of you . When people ask you how did you achieve all of this , you can just say to them , it’s a dream come true . “
After all the paperwork was completed Mr Ross said ,
“Yeah you have had a real steal of a deal today . We will have the horse sent to your new stables at the end of the month . Good luck to you all “
.
The Greenacres got back in their car and left Sunshine Stud . On the road back to the guesthouse Mrs Greenacre said
“Do you think we got a real steal or a deal ? “
Sham responded ,
‘Think positive , I mean . how can you put a price on a dream ?”
Ted said.
“If only people knew our secret . We know that you have to give before you can receive . As far as I’m concerned , we gave all we had to buy our dreams and the rest we will await and see .”
They all agreed and returned to the guesthouse for dinner . Even though it was already late they could always have their food reheated, On their way back the
rain softly fell around the hillside as a full moon glistened and flickered an eerie light around the countryside . Looking out of the windows of the car the scene resembled a magical presence with clouds drifting slowly past the moon . Suddenly the night sky was pierced by a huge fireball . It shot through the air unannounced and plummeted to the ground with flames pelting all around it as if it were some kind of rocket from another planet . It seemed to disappear just over the hillside . Then they all heard a definite thud . Some animals around the countryside awoke with a few going into a panic , running for cover . A few horses ran from a barn to chase their own shadows across the fields .
Sham sat staring out the window ,entranced by what he had just saw .
The raid eased off as they arrived at Mrs McDermotts guest house where she was standing there at her front gate , looking up at the sky . Under the light of the moon, she stood and greeted them .
‘What was that loud bang a while ago ?”
She asked.
“A fireball just fell from the sky and landed somewhere nearby “
Mr Greenacre answered .
“A fireball , just as well it never landed on top of the roof . Now you better all come inside and have your dinner . I’ll have it on the table shorty :”
She replied ,
They all went inside and had their dinner before going to bed .
The night was quiet as everyone settled down in their rooms ,
Sham sat in his bed and thought about the day . He was excited to own his first horse and looked forward to getting to know him .
On the outside of the window the moons reflection glimmered upon the ocean like stepping stones to the horizon . He hears the waves crashing to the shore and with that sound he heard the whisper of a voice , speaking to him ‘.
“The sea oh the sea , won’t you listen to me , I’m as deep and as wide as eternity .
After the waves , you’ll hear a sound of my voice , come away , let’s go , sure you don’t have a choice , to the land far beyond the time that you’re in , go now for its time , let the journey begin “
He slipped on his soft shoes and went quietly down the stairs and out to the street and on up the road to the storyteller’s cottage . Going in through front door and across the floor to the room where the treasure chest stood .
Then moving the chest away from the trapdoor, he went down the ladder then beyond the door to a road that went into a meadow where to his surprise he saw a huge crater there with smoke belching out from inside its depths . All around the hole were cows and sheep , deer and rabbits , ducks and geese and even the birds and of the air , they all stood motionless and mesmerised , looking down into the deep hole . There were fallen trees around the hole and from deep down in the hole Sham could hear the sound of something crawling and calling out in a small voice .
“Hello, can you hear me . Is there anybody out there. “ .
Sham approached the edge of the crater and responded .
‘Hello there yes , I can hear you “
Sham made his way over to the crater which looked about fifty feet wide .The as he looked down into the hole , it seemed as if there was no end to its depth . It was clear that whatever had struck the ground must have been travelling at a very fast speed beyond our understanding . Somewhere deep down in the hole he could hear a scratching noise that got louder and louder . Then he saw it crawling up the inside wall of the hole . It finally jumped out of the hole and stood there in front Sham ,
The giant hairy spider stood there before Sham and began to shake its legs one by one . With his big eyes blinking and winking at Sham and a big smile that stretched out all over its face , the spider softly said ,
‘Hello there I’m Vincy .“
He rolled his big eyes and smiled , the spider was three times bigger than Sham who took a deep breath before speaking . He was a little amazed and astonished , then he replied ,
“ I’m pleased to meet you Vincy , I’m Sham . You’re a little bit bigger than most other spiders that I have seen before , “
“Hello Sham , well I normally live deep down under the ground with some of my friends and I never usually come to the surface except for now because as you can see for yourself here something big has hit the ground and left this huge hole . So, I was asked by the underground community to go and investigate what happened above here .”
Sham replied ,
“This is something else Vincy . Am I right ?“
The spider stretched each of its eight legs one by one and then said ,. .
“Well to be honest this is something else definitely . Where I come from, we all live
Happily, and peacefully in our own world , Now this something else thing has made us feel a little concerned . Are you afraid , even just a little bit Sham ?.”
Sham put up his two arms in the air and started to wave about and said ,
“What have I to fear except fear itself . “
The spider laughed and said,
“‘Ok that’s good . Just to let you know that I have these powers you might not have seen before .‘
“What powers are they Vincy ? “
Sham asked.
“Let me show you”.
Said the spider who projected a bright white light from its eyes followed by a red sweet smelling gas from its mouth . That made Sham start to giggle and laugh as the big spider spun around and started to dance , The it started to sing a little song ,
“Its much better to wiggle and to giggle when you’re stuck in the middle of a hole ,
If I promise not to tell you , would you tell me not to promise too , just in case we might have to say farewell . Some promises are made in such a hurry , some promises have been broken but don’t worry , I promise not to promise you , a promise that I cannot do so just for now let’s go where the spiders dwell”
Sham was in a fit of laughter that slowly began to leave . Suddenly the spider started to build a strange web made from shinning silk . The base of the web resembled a three dimensional cube that had an archway entrance in the shape of a door that opened up . The Spider invited Sham to enter .
‘Welcome to my world Sham . Let me show you around .“
Sham went inside the door where there was a large room . Once inside the room
Sham watched Vincy continue to make pathways through funnel shaped corridors
That took them both down into a world of wonders . All around them were the sounds of birds singing , the sights of bright lights flickering and an awesome sense of wonder drawing them deeper into a vortex of silken threads that was spun at an amazing speed with the precision of an gifted engineer building frameworks from a strange kind of plastic elastic stands that made a web like castle dwelling palace .
.
Sham had a very peaceful sense of trust and peace that came over him and he smiled at Vincy and said ,
“Either you’re just a dream inside a dream or the biggest daddy of all the daddy long leg dreams the world has ever seen but this is definitely the strangest place I’ve ever seen .”
The spider lifted up two of his front legs and reached out an lifted Sham up . The looking directly into the Shams eyes and said ,
“Thank you for being here and welcome to the land of silken dreams . “
Now in that moment the two had become new friends and the spider brought Sham inside the world he lived . He pointed to around to the roof that with a simple click of the spiders legs an opening appeared revealing a large movie picture screen from which a sequence of images started to appear that showed a colourful story and Vincy smiled at Sham and said ,
“So, I mean there was I , just minding my own business , when all of a sudden this extraordinarily polarized uninvited ultra-galactic storm erupted from within the deep core of a vortex never seen here before in this world . Then from within that vortex there came a mustering of small clusters of comets that spun with an awesome speed around and around orbiting this world of ours that was impacted by a fusion of energy that hit the world above us and opening up a huge crater on the surface with a ground shaking and breathtaking changes in the making for everyone who lives here and above , “.
Sham was impressed and replied ,
“So, this is what happened then to your world ?”
“That’s right little Sham my young friend . This is a recording of what just occurred .
,Most of the inhabitants here in the land of silken dreams have now gone into shut down node until my return and advice about what we need to do . “
The giant spider replied .
“Are they all spiders who live here ?”
Sham asked .
The spider smiled and said ,
“Well as far as I know there two other dwellers here . The moles who lend their time to tunnelling through time and King Rat and his servants who collect everything that is worthwhile collecting . “
Sham smiled and said ,
“Is it possible for me to meet any of the them while I’m here ?“
Sham asked and Vincy replied ,.
“Well as I said before I can’t promise anything but let me see what I can do ?
‘So how long have you all lived here?”
Sham asked and the spider said ,
“Oh well that is a very long story and as you see we have already been here been coming here for a very long time it would be difficult to say for how long because no one really knows and no one except you has ever seen us before . “
The spider replied .
Sham nodded his head and said ,
“Tell me about King Rat and some of what he collects .“
”Well Sham , I’ll tell you what , I’ll take you to where’s he’s at and take him from his shut down so he can tell you himself about all the different regions and different things he collects from there , like the purple sector where there’s not enough room for anyone else to get through and scavenge except for the rats who live there . Then there’s the red sector where the lava rock and hardbacks moles live , their job is to tunnel their way through time into undiscovered zones below and above “.
“Well, that is just brilliant and how do you manage to survive here ?
Sham asked and the spider replied ‘
“We have one communal food sector here in our world that we call the life centre.
sector , it seems to thrive by itself . There are plants and other essential resources that we all need to survive .So we all well-nourished . It’s always been here,. No one knows where it came from or who created it .“
Said the spider
“What is your role here Vincy?”
Sham asked and the spider replied ,
“Deep in the earth I where I came from and that is where I firm seen the glow worms there among the ores and rocks . My original role was to gather seeds and bring small seedlings and transplant them into the life centre in the land of dreams .
Where a purple slight shines down around that sector helping everything to grow and over a long period of time everything has grown much bigger and become much different than it original was below earth in the land of silken dreams ..”
Sham replied .
“ So is that why you became a spider bigger than those above on the surface ?”
The spider replied ,
“Actually the spiders that once lived here have all gone and I’m all the only one that remains here . I was told that they returned above to the surface where they shrunk in size in a very short time .”
Sham said ,
“Could I you take me to meet King Rat . “
The spider placed Sham on its back and began to make a passage through webs climbing and weaving around empty spaces as if it were stitching fragments of unseen walls . Up and down and around and around , inside and outside until they found a doorway where Vincy said
“Here we are now at the doorway to the green sector . I need to remove the shut down mode before we can go inside”
Vincy pushed the switch outside the front door that automatically opened up to a corridor that was illuminated in a soft green light all the way down to another door that opened up to a land illuminated in purple light . On a hill stood a rat house with a welcome on the door for anyone who would come and knock .
Vincy softly tapped on the door and called out
‘
‘Hello JJ are you there , Its Vincy ?”
The King rat awoke from his sleep and answered the door saying ,
”Vincy what under earth are you doing here at this time of the year whenever it might be in the land of silken dreams , .“
Vincy replied ,
“I have someone here who wants to meet you by the name of Sham . He comes from the surface above and he has never been here or seen anything the likes of what we have here before ‘“
“Well come in then Sham , you’re welcome to stay for a while . Let me tell you a story or two “
Sham went inside and Vincy smiled and said
I’ll be back in a little while Sham after I make my report in the ledger of time in the library of recordings in land of silken dreams . Until then enjoy your time here with King Rat in his home “
When Sham went inside the Rat house , he saw there were rooms and tunnels everywhere . There were also other rats running around carrying things and digging holes and working away furiously . The next thing Saham knew King Rat was opening a book he took from a shelf and with eyes as squinting to see the words in the book he said “
‘Sit yourself down there and let me get you a cup of purple blackberry juice from the cupboard and some soft wafer cheese flakes . Make yourself at home Sham . I am JJ , King Rat in the land of silken dreams “
JJ called his servants to bring food and drink for Sham who was seated at a table in the middle of the busy muddle in the room where many rats went scurrying around .
Up and down the tunnels they came and went as King rat looked through the pages in his book .
‘We once were the rats who lived in the ghettos where business people fought to stay alive and poor people starved . There was not many who cared about the unfortunates and life was hard , Working class people lost their jobs and were deserted by their employers who lived the good life making business while the sun shone around them in their tropical holiday resorts . We were the rats of the ghetto and we moved around observing everything in quiet unseen places . The more we saw , the more we began to despise those who were living the good life at the cost of the poor . We wanted to help if we could so we found friends with the homeless who slept in cardboard boxes , under the bridges and inside the shop doorways .
We were like them in many ways homeless and hungry so we learned to accept each other . Night after night we stuck together to fight for the right to survive .
Every rat pack had a leader and I was the first elected leader of the roof pack . We live on the roof of the old hospital that had been abandoned . I was known as JJ King Rat and if you never accepted the roof rat code you were pushed back out into the rat race of cardboard city were anarchy ruled and bedlam was the everyday way of life . The going was hard out there so most of the rats stayed on the roof and accepted the code that was understood by all . While we became strong in numbers other ratpacks were struggling to survive and the streets were a place without mercy and hope . We watched and waited the business people who came and went with their briefcases , dressed in their business suits and cared for no one but themselves . We started our plan to disrupt and destroy those who lived in their ivory towers . We found the stashes of cash and eat as much as we could . We made our way into their businesses eating through their cables and causing havoc with their cameras and computers . One by one , we overrun the city offices . The rats of the ghetto had moved in and pulled down their ivory towers and their fancy city apartments . In the end the rich and wealthy left the city that we now controlled ,
The rich who remained could not regain their wealth and the ghetto rats ate the food from their tables and slowly but surely we saw the wealthy become like beggars at the door of the refuges and shelters around the city .Begging for money , clothes and food . Now they understood what life was all about .
After that we had decided to run away and leave the city to rebuild itself with the need to share with one another all they had .
That’s when I found a tunnel and discovered a world where no one had ever been .
I was the one who went down underground into the depth’s gar below the pavements
and buildings to where I found this place the land of silken dreams ,
Since that day many of us have come to live here covered in a blanket of purple light that surrounds us everywhere . This is our home now and we are happy here .
We have no desire to return to the surface above but we hope that those who are there now are more considerate to one another .
We have found a new life underground far away from the stench of sewers and the drench of rains and snow . We brought our lives here underground ; we found a home . Now we are building a network tunnel system here that is the first of its kind anywhere on the planet . Every tunnel is interconnected to provide a home for packs in the future that may come . It’s no a hide out . it’s a comfortable place to live and become part of the breed who want to help one another . It is warm and dry here and there is nothing to fear here . We work together and we live together in a place where we are bothered by no one . there is a code and here in the underground I am known as King Rat . No one has ever questioned my reign . We lead a different life now and we don’t need to fight to exist . We have a right to live and survive .
So, we are the rats who ran away. We are the survivors and we look after each other and here is where hope can live “
Vincy returned and knocked upon King Rats door .
“It’s time to go now Sham . Be aware that there’s no time to spare because the hole above is beginning to close and we must get you back on your way :”
Sham said goodbye and thanks King Rat for the story . Vincy reached out and lifted Sham upon his back and began to weave its web of many patterns upwards and onwards until they reached the surface above .
“ Will I ever see you again ?”
Sham asked the spider who replied m,
“‘Well I can’t make any promises but who knows when everything and everyone has been and gone and the sun has left where it once shone ,maybe there is a chance who knows I suppose , anything is possible , never despair because hope is there and where ever there is hope that is where King Rat and I can be found . “
The spider shone a bright light from its eyes along the path the door where Sham had to go . As Sham walked away the hole in the ground was starting to close .
Sham left the land of silken dreams behind and walked through the door to the ladder where he climber up to the room in the storyteller’s cottage .
Replacing the treasure chest over the trapdoor , Sham left the cottage and walked down the street to the guesthouse where he checked his watch and saw time had not passes since, he left . He went quietly upstairs and into his bedroom where he got under the blankets and fell fast asleep .
The Rise of Lord Belmundus is the first book in the fifteen book series, The Adventures of Lord Belmundus, a remarkable tale of others worlds, strange customs, beauty and warfare; and, in its grips, lands a young celebrity, who has the chaps to play
