Salima

By James Denison-Pender

Salima is a short fantasy novel intended for children aged 8 - 12. The central character is Jo, a bright ten year old girl who loves stories. She and her favourite teddy bear Lucas have a frightening encounter in the woods near her home, and this is the start of the biggest story of her young life. A strange new friendship prompts her to a simple act of kindness. This leads her into a colourful tale from long ago and far away. It is a story of conflict between the love of learning and the demands of a harsh and dark religion which still has resonances in today's world. But for Jo it is above all the story of a deeper friendship than she has ever experienced before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Denison-Pender
• Release date: Oct 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310568305

James Denison-Pender

James Denison-Pender is a glass engraver by profession. He was born in London in 1942, and worked there in the computer industry for 12 years before taking up glass engraving as a full time career, becoming a Fellow of the guild of Glass Engravers in 1985. He and his family moved to Cumbria in 1973, and between then and 1989 spent many months in Kenya, particularly at Lake Baringo. He moved to Scotland in 1993 and now lives near Edinburgh. The Tin Boat is his second novel. His first, a children's fantasy called Salima, is available on Amazon.

Book preview

SALIMA

A Fantasy

Written and Illustrated

by

James Denison-Pender

About the Author

James Denison-Pender lives near Edinburgh and is a glass engraver by profession. The idea for this book first came to him in a dream some forty-five years before he wrote it in its final form.

© 2013 by the author of this book. The author retains sole copyright to his contribution to this book.

SALIMA

Contents

Chapter 1 The Wanderer

Chapter 2 The Little Friend

Chapter 3 The King of the Clearing

Chapter 4 A Visitor at School

Chapter 5 End of Term

Chapter 6 The Gift

Chapter 7 The King’s Story

Chapter 8 The Bride

Chapter 9 Salima

Chapter 10 Quest for Peace

Chapter 11 The Farewell

Chapter 12 Sleep

Chapter 13 Translation

CHAPTER 1

THE WANDERER

It was a cold December day. The sun had never climbed very high, and was already beginning to sink again. A bitter east wind was freshening all the time. In such bleak conditions nobody had ventured up onto the treeless land above the cliffs. If anybody had been there they would have seen a strange sight.

The figure of a man, dark against the winter sky, was walking wearily along the cliff’s edge. His clothes were of the orient, and not of this age. A turban was wound around his head. His huge cloak blew about him as he walked with the wind in his back. His head hung low. His steps were uneven, almost stumbling, as if he was exhausted but could not stop. The frightened sheep scattered at his approach. The seagulls cried their alarm. As the sun set the man reached the highest point on the cliffs. He stopped and looked down at the waves breaking below. Then he shook his head and turned away.

*******

Next morning Jo looked out of her bedroom window to see if any damage had been done by the storm in the night. Sure enough the gale which had kept her awake had left branches scattered all over the lawn. She couldn’t see any big trees down, though there could be some deeper into the woods beyond the garden. She would have loved to have gone exploring after breakfast, but she knew she had some serious work to do over the weekend. She was nearly eleven, and she was in her final year at primary school. On the last day before the Christmas holidays she was going to perform in the school play. Miss Dixon, her English teacher, had put together a little play based on Beauty and the Beast. Jo had been given a small part as one of Beauty’s sisters. But yesterday everything had changed.

In spite of not having a major role she had sat in on all the rehearsals because she found that she enjoyed the play so much. It seemed to her that there was something different about it from other fairy stories. It wasn’t just about the most beautiful girl falling in love with the most handsome prince. There was a real goodness about Beauty’s love, a love born of pity for the poor old Beast. How wonderful to be that sort of person, she thought. I’m not sure I could ever be like that.

The two boys who were playing the parts of The Beast and Beauty’s father were doing really well, but there was a huge problem. Jo’s great friend Emma had been asked to play Beauty because she was tall and blond and beautiful, but she simply couldn’t, or wouldn’t, learn her lines. By yesterday Miss Dixon had become really frustrated.

Emma, we can’t go on like this, she had said. You’re holding up all the rehearsals and it’s not fair on the others. Go away and learn your part properly. This is your last chance. I’ll take over your part for today.

Why not let Jo do it? Emma had replied to everybody’s surprise. She knows it all.

Miss Dixon had turned to Jo. Is this true? she had asked.

Well, sort of, Miss Dixon, Jo had replied rather reluctantly.

She does! Emma had insisted. She’s been trying to help me learn my lines but she’s much better than me. I can’t get the words to stick in my head.

Jo, come up and show me what you can do, Miss Dixon had said. Start from where we left off, where Beauty has just revived the Beast after she thought he was dead.

"Ah! What a fright you have given me!" Jo had begun. Dear Beast, I never knew how much I loved you until I feared that you were dead – yes, dead, and through my fault! But I believe, if you had died, I should have died too.

Miss Dixon had put up a hand to stop her.

That’s very good! she had said. I found that very moving, the way you spoke those lines as if you really meant them. Jo, if you want the part it’s yours.

But Miss Dixon, Jo had protested, I just don’t look like Beauty the way Emma does.

Nonsense, you’ll see, Miss Dixon had reassured her. In your costume and your make-up you’ll look lovely. And besides, if you speak your lines as beautifully as that everyone will believe in you as Beauty. Jo had looked anxiously at her friend.

Go ahead. Don’t mind me, Emma had said. I’m cool with it.

So Jo had been given the part, and now she had to practice her lines before the next rehearsal on Monday. She had the words pretty well in her head and she had spent enough time listening to Miss Dixon trying to get Emma to speak them properly to know how they should go. But speaking them all out loud was a new challenge. She found it difficult addressing them to thin air, so she had hit on the idea of speaking them to Lucas and pretending he was the Beast.

Lucas was a very old teddy bear with hardly any fur left on him. Jo had often told herself that she was really too old for teddy bears. She had lost interest in all her other animals, but Lucas was such an old friend. She felt that he knew all her secrets. She just could not do without him.

You’ll have to help me, she said to Lucas. We’ll get started straight after breakfast.

Over breakfast her father and mother and her little brother Ben, who was six, were talking excitedly about the storm.

Perhaps there’ll be enough wood for a bonfire, said Ben hopefully. I love bonfires. They’re brilliant!

It would be fun for the children, their mother agreed.

Well, let’s go into the woods and see what we can find, said their father. I’ll bring the chain saw. There may be some good burning wood for the living room fire, and we’ll pile up the rest in the woods and have a bonfire this evening. Are you coming, Jo?

I’d better stay inside and practice my part for the play, said Jo. She was a little bit disappointed because she loved being outside. In the summer she and her brother would be taken down to the beach where the river meets the sea or high up on the downs where the wind was warm and the larks sang. She missed all that now that winter was here, but she was still happy to put on boots and warm clothes and get out into the fresh air.

What is this big part you’ve got? asked her father. It sounds very exciting.

I’d rather keep it a surprise until you come and see the play, said Jo.

Well don’t work too hard, said her mother. Have a break after tea and come and enjoy the bonfire.

So Jo spent most of the day going through her lines with Lucas. She couldn’t quite understand why Emma had found it such a struggle. Although it was the main part it wasn’t hugely difficult. But the truth was that Jo loved English. She had become keen on reading books at a very early age and had even started to enjoy writing her own stories. She knew Emma didn’t quite share the same enthusiasm. Her life revolved round mobile phones and pop music. I suppose I’ll get into all that one day, she thought, although at the moment she secretly thought that it was Emma who was missing out.

*******

The lone wanderer in his strange oriental attire had found little shelter the previous night. His few moments of sleep had been broken by the need to keep moving in the cold wind, which had become stronger and wilder as the night wore on. Finally just before dawn it had begun to subside. In the morning he had turned inland towards the next ridge of the downs. Still wanting to be alone, he kept to the high ground and made his way east again towards the beacon. From that highest point he hoped he would be able to see somewhere below where he might spend a warmer night.

*******

How are you getting on? Jo’s father asked her at teatime.

Not too badly, said Jo.

So you’ll come to the bonfire?

Oh, yes! said Jo. I don’t want to miss that. But I think I’ll bring Lucas with me. Then I can keep practising my lines by saying them to him.

Well, look after him, said her mother. You know you’d be miserable if you lost him.

*******

On reaching the summit the lonely wanderer had finally allowed himself to rest. He sat with his back against the stone beacon so that it shielded him from the wind. He felt in the pocket of his tunic for the little glass flask which he always carried with him. He knew that just a single drop of the liquid it contained would give him