The Return

Ethel stood in the aisle of the supermarket before the selection of porridge.

“What am I doin’ ‘ere?” she muttered to herself, before realising she was soaked to the skin and didn’t have a penny on her. She looked over to the tills where she noticed her long-time friend staring back at her.

“Have you fallen in the river again, Et?”

“Don’t you start that again, Eunice McGee – you know full well that you shoved me in last time. And, for your information, this time I haven’t.” Ethel walked over to the till where Eunice worked. It was quiet as the shop had only just opened.

“So, Ethel, what brings you to the shop this fine, bright, warm sunny morning all wet and bedraggled? It’s too early for them kids with the water pistols – but by the looks of things you’ve had several buckets thrown all over you.”

“That’s the odd thing, Yoo, I don’t know what I’m doin’ here. I mean I feel like I shouldn’t be here…”

Eunice was about to speak, concern etched across her face, but neither woman could continue due to the clatter from the door. They both looked over and saw two, rather tall, women struggling over the door. Quite literally. The first one had pushed the door off its hinges and had fallen over it, into the shop. The other one was doing a bad job in helping her up.

They too were soaking wet.

Eunice looked back at Ethel. “Have we had a sudden downpour when I wasn’t looking?”

Ethel didn’t answer her question; instead, she mumbled “I’m goin’ doolally Yoo. I know them, but don’t. I mean I feel like I do, but ‘aven’t the foggiest where from.”

The first woman, now standing, noticed Ethel.

“Ah, there you are! Aph, we’ve found her!” Athena grabbed Aphrodite by the arm and pulled her urgently over to the till. “Ethel, you shouldn’t run off like that – we’re too early!”

“It must be just gone seven…” Ethel nonchalantly advised, noticing how quiet the shop was, which was usually bustling after 8am.

“No,” Athena interrupted, “we shouldn’t be here today – we’ve overshot and got back a day early.”

“I don’t think yer the only doolally one, Et.” Eunice commented with a smirk.

Ignoring Eunice apart from leaving the kind of glare that only a Goddess can give, Athena looked toward Ethel. Eunice pretended she was cleaning her till. “Come outside, Ethel. We’ll fill you in. Hez is with Gerald and Jean back at the carriage, none of us could believe that you’d just got up and wandered off as you did.”

“I erm… can’t…” Ethel blinked. “Gerald.” She started to remember, but only snippets.

“See you later, Yoo. I’ll call round later and let you know what’s gone on.”

All three then left the shop, without even mentioning the broken door they walked over.

Eunice walked over, and lifted the door off the floor, propping it against the wall as she watched her friend walking away with two other women who were almost double her height.

“Never a dull day in this shop!” she said and walked back to her till.

This is the next instalment of my almost forgotten Legendary Circles storyline! The previous part can be found by clicking here, and the whole story so far can be reached by following the links in my Storylines Menu. Obviously, the tale is in turmoil, completely out of time and order, but eventually, hopefully, and sometime soon, things will start to level out. Well, one can hope…