At BlueSky school in Marbleglow, the capital city of the Skylands, it was the very last day of lessons before the Christmas holidays.
What normally happened was that you’d have a fun day at school where you just played games, and then the next day everyone would meet in Satinshine Park and exchange Christmas presents.
But this year, as Scarlett spent the last day of term with her friends Theo, Alex, Rene, Cyrano, Erwin and Elly she was both excited and sad at the same time. Sad, because she wouldn’t be able to go to Satinshine Park the next day and meet everyone, but excited because for this Christmas holiday she and her family were going to visit her Aunty Rachel all the way south in Horsmarlonerpool.
At nine O’clock the following morning, Scarlett, her brother Xander, and her mummy and daddy were at Marbleglow train station for the 9.20 express down to Horsmarlonerpool. Scarlett was pleased when she saw the huge red engine at the front of the train was Sir Betjeman, and made sure to run up and say hello before they set off.
As she and Xander and Mummy and Daddy settled into the cosy compartment in the second carriage of nine that trailed behind Sir Betjeman, she watched her town of Marbleglow slide past the window as they picked up speed. And then saw Satinshine park. Soon, all her friends would be there - celebrating the end of school and the start of Christmas.
Daddy smiled at her, “Don’t you worry,” he said. “You’ll see them all again soon. And besides we’ve got an exciting journey to look forward to - and Aunty Rachel at the end of it! Let’s look forward!”
Well Scarlett and Xander did enjoy the journey. Sir Betjeman was a very powerful engine and even when the train entered a huge swirling blizzard of snow he powered on, past little farms, and along the coast of the Albion Sea. Scarlett and her family even got to walk along the train to the restaurant car to have lunch! She’d never had lunch on a train before! And only a little while after they’d got back to their compartment the train began to slow for Horsmarlonerpool.
After Sir Betjeman had come to a halt on the platform and let off a huge hiss of steam that blew out across the station, mummy opened the door and Scarlett set foot into Horsmarlonerpool for the very first time.
And there was Aunty Rachel! Her arms open wide and a huge smile on her face. Scarlett and Xander ran to her. Aunty Rachel was a pilot and they normally only got to see her when she flew her plane up to Marbleglow.
After hugging Aunty Rachel, Scarlett looked around the station. It was very old - not like the modern station in Marbleglow - but it seemed very friendly. Then she saw a girl about her age looking sad. She was waving goodbye to someone as they got on the train that Scarlett had just stepped down from. “Goodbye Herc,” she said. “Have a great Christmas.”
The boy waved back. “Thanks, Vaila, you have an amazing Christmas and I’ll see you in the new year.”
Vaila smiled, but Scarlett knew that she was feeling sad. But before she could wave to the girl herself, Aunty Rachel took her hand.
“I thought,” she said, after walking her, Mummy, Daddy and Xander out of the station, “that instead of going straight to my house we could head to Peacock Park. Mr Dennis does the best Smashberry ice creams that you’ve ever tasted.”
Well not only did the idea of an ice cream - even on a winter’s day - sound fantastic, Smashberries were only to be found in Horsmarlonerpool. And coming from the Skylands Scarlett and her family definitely wanted to taste them.
Outside the station, Scarlett looked at Horsmarlonerpool for the first time. It was very different to Marbleglow. She spotted a big castle, “Oh, that’s Castle Earnose,” said Aunty Rachel. And there was the river with a very weird bridge going over it.
“Oh, that’s the River Gurgleglug and the Twisty Bridge” said Aunty Rachel.
And over the other side of the river were beautiful fields that seemed to shine with silver frost.
“Oh, and those are the meadows,” said Aunty Rachel. “You’ll have all the time you like to explore the whole town, Scarlett. But let’s get you a special ice cream first.”
As they all sat in Peacock Park, Scarlett and Xander were amazed when three elephants walked by. “Oh,” said Aunty Rachel. “That’s Roughnails, Flappy and Sneazehorn. They live in the park.”
Scarlett laughed for the first time that day! Horsmarlonerpool was crazy! She really, really liked it. And she especially liked the SMashberry ice cream! It was creamy and soft, but fizzed on your tongue, and tasted like rhubarb, apples and pineapple all at the same time.
But then she spotted the girl from the train station walking up to the cafe and asking for an ice cream from Mr Dennis. She still looked sad at having waved goodbye to her friend, and so Scarlett told her mummy and daddy that she was going to say hello.
“I’m Scarlett,” said Scarlett. “I’m from the Skylands. I’ve just arrived here.”
Vaila gasped. “I’m Vaila,” she said. “My friend Herc has just gone to the Skylands for his Christmas holidays.”
“I know, I saw you at the station,” said Scarlett. “Are you feeling okay now?”
Well at that precise moment, Vaila knew that she had met a really good new friend. And Scarlett felt the same. In fact, they arranged to meet up in Peacock Park the very next day at ten o’clock in the morning.
Well the next day, Scarlett was there ten minutes early and laughed when she saw that Vaila was ten minutes early too. They both liked being early! Vaila took Scarlett on a whole tour of the town and then they sat down at a cafe on Cherrypie Arcade for lunch.
“Were you at the ball at the Palace this year?” asked Scarlett. Vaila certainly was. Everyone in Horsmarlonerpool had gone to the Skylands for the ball at the palace.
“Prince Barnaby and Princess Agnetha are very funny bunnies, aren’t they,” said Vaila, and Scarlett laughed so hard that she blew the froth from her coffee up into the air!
“Oh!” I’ve got an idea, said Vaila. “Let’s climb right up Lomberstack Mountain and see Belvedere. You can see the whole town from up there!”
Well, Lomberstack mountain is out to the west of the town, and it’s a very hard climb indeed. Through a forest, past White Star Lake, and on further to the snowy peak where Belvedere lived.
Scarlett had never met a monster quite like Belvedere before. She’d met the Toilers in Marblegow, who were also huge and furry, but they didn’t have the big friendly eyes that Belvedere had, and they looked upon her kindly as she and Vaila sat in his snowy house on top of the mountain and he put down three bowls of hot chocolate to warm them up.
Scarlett told Belvedere and Vaila all about her school, and the train journey down, and then also - and at this moment she felt a little sad and looked at the table - about how all her friends would be playing in Satinshine park and swapping presents.
Then Vaila told Belvedere that her friend Herc had gone to the Skylands, and so she wouldn’t be able to swap Christmas presents with him, either.
Belvedere flung his head back and laughed, which Vaila and Scarlett thought was a bit mean.
“You don’t have to be standing in the same park or even in the same town to swap presents. Have you not heard of snowmail?”
Vaila and Scarlett looked at each other. “Snowmail?”
Belvedere led them outside to the snowy peak of Lomberstack Mountain and scooped up a huge ball of snow in his enormous paws. “Right, and you pick up as much as you can, too,” he instructed, and Vaila and Scarlett did so.
As the three of them stood there with three big handfuls of snow, Belvedere said “Now look at the snow very carefully. Look for just one little crystal or flake.”
Scarlett and Vaila looked as closely as they could. “Now think of a friend, and put their face on the crystal. Think of as many friends as you like, there are millions of crystals to choose from just right there in your hands.”
Vaila thought of Herc. Scarlett thought of Theo, Alex, Rene, Cyrano, Erwin and Elly.
“Right,” said Belvedere. “Now very gently, put your snow onto mine, here…” Scarlett and Vaila laid their handfuls of snow on top of Belvedere’s huge handful. “And stand back…” said Belvedere as he crouched down and then flung his huge weight in the air and launched the snow skywards, blowing upwards sending the snow skyward further before it would fall back to earth.
And across from the mountain the snowflakes flew. And along the railways tracks where Sir Betjeman the engine had steamed through the blizzard the snowflakes flew. And down through valleys the snowflakes flew. And towards the Skylands the snowflakes flew, until -
In Satinshine park in Marbleglow, Herc had made new friends called Theo, Alex, Renee, Cyrano, Erwin and Elly.
It began to snow, and everyone ran around trying to catch the snowflakes. But Herc spotted one snowflake drifting down towards him that was purple. And when it landed in his hand, he saw Vaila’s face smiling back at him. And when Theo, Alex, Renee, Cyrano, Erwin and Elly caught their snowflakes, they saw Scarlett’s face smiling back at them.
But what was the present? As the snowflakes melted into their hands, they felt a big warm hug. As if their friend was standing right there.
“Happy Christmas, Vaila,” said Herc.
“Happy Christmas, Scarlett,” said the others.
And back on Lomberstack mountain, Vaila and Scarlett stood looking out over the little town of Horsmarlonerpool down below as Belvedere went inside to make more hot chocolate.
Scarlett knew that she would like it here, and both she and Vaila knew that they would be best friends forever.
