The Entrance....

The sky was a flat, slate grey, dramatic, naked trees spilt the sky, Lauren marched through the post Christmas dank, cold air.

The rest of the family had gone shopping. Lauren had grown tired of endless stuff and glittering lights, she wanted to think. Lauren looked down at her trainers, they were her old ones, bored of the path by the new housing estate she started to stomp through mud and grass. She enjoyed the small adventure away from her loud tribe, she felt truly herself away from the visual noise of endless selfies from mates, gossip and claustrophobic drama of her life.

Lauren took in the morbid beauty of a field. Every colour was dull but she enjoyed it.

Lauren felt a sudden nervousness, she looked everywhere, the warnings of rapists and bad people chimed in her mind. There was no one around. She sensed a buzz, a vibration that never turned into a noise. She heard singing, it sounded odd sung minor keys and an unfamiliar, discordant tunes. Lauren was drawn to the sounds and walked a little faster so she could work out where the singing was coming from.

She marched through the field with new purpose, the grass got a little longer and the ground became rougher. The wet was soaking through her jeans but she carried on. A crowd of oddly dressed people gave Lauren empty smiles.

A small man in glasses and red robes hugged Lauren, Lauren stood stiff. The man stepped away.

“What’s your name?”

Lauren asked, it seemed the obvious thing to say

“My name doesn’t matter here.”

“OK”

Replied Lauren.

“Where am I?”

The man replied with an empty love in his eyes

“Hatefield”

Christmas in Hatefield

Lauren slowly opened her eyes, she noted her head felt fuzzy, she noted she couldn’t remember the day before and she wasn’t sure where she was. She felt ties on her arms and something was stopping her legs moving. As Lauren opened her eyes she could see flashes and gaudy colours, the colours of Christmas. She turned her head and was relived to see her boyfriend, Rob, at least someone who loved and trusted was in this fever dream with her.

The room put itself together in her perception. There were paper chains, tinsel and lights, Lauren sat at the table with her Auntie Pat, her cousins were there too. Lauren looked down at her hands, they were tied together with strings of tinsel and flashing Christmas lights, she looked down on her legs and they were wrapped like a gift with tiny Santa’s that seemed to be grinning sarcastically at her.

“What the hell? Pat what is this., you’re crazy.”

“I just wanted you to have a happy Christmas.....”

“I’m tied to a chair, you madwoman”.

Her round faced cousins had their phones pointed at Lauren.

“Great, you two, I have evidence, I’ve been kidnapped, listen you lot, someone call the police, I been drugged and kidnapped, that’s illegal you lot, illegal.”

“Keep going, you nutter, this is well funny.”

Laughed Lauren’s cousins.

Lauren turned to Rob..

“Rob do something, get us out of here.”

Rob was being untied.

“Nah, they’ve put so much effort in, I mean the dinner,the music and this  Duck looks lovely.”

“Rob you’re vegan, don’t eat that bloody duck.”

“ Stop nagging, your auntie put so much effort in, anyway, it would be a shame not to enjoy it.”

“We knew this would happen, Pasty, get the drip.”

Demanded Auntie Pat.

Pat and Patsy tipped the chair over, the held her thrashing limbs and then attached the drip full of sweet sherry into her arm.

The whole room started to chant

“Merry Christmas Lauren, Merry Christmas Lauren, Merry Christmas Lauren”.

Eventually her senses became dimmed, later they untied Lauren and she had a very Merry Christmas.