When a powerful Welsh legend comes to life and creeps its way into a hospital, suddenly everyone begins thinking of miracles. When Alun wakes up from the terrible darkness, he can't tell where he is - doesn't really want to know where he is, or what has happened. His wonderful bike has gone, that's for sure, the bike his father had saved so hard to buy. The rest of his nightmare only gradually unfolds, as his new friends in the hospital ward bring warmth back to his cold, cold heart. Then there's the story that starts out as just a piece of schoolwork, but which gradually takes hold of everyone in the ward: Sara, in her wheelchair; Huw, hobbling on his crutches; even Morgan, the brainy one who scoffs at first. When the power of the legend begins to work its spell, everyone will be thinking of miracles. This story is set in west Wales. The Black Mountain, only a car-ride away from the hospital, is the westernmost edge of the Brecon Beacons, and is the setting of the ancient Welsh legend, The Lady of Llyn-y-Fan Fach.

 

At first Alun didn’t know who he was. He struggled up from some dark prison, deaf, blind, bars over his legs and ankles. Then he heard muffled sounds and a sharp anxious voice he recognised. It was Mam’s voice pulling him up and up as if its sharpness cut cords and sent him floating above the prison. ‘Alun, Alun, I can’t wait much longer!’ He opened his eyes and knew immediately he was Alun Roberts. But he didn’t know where he was or why he was there. Mam smiled and he felt happy, because for some reason he had been expecting her to frown. She stood beside his bed, holding her handbag tightly, upright in her close-fitting black dress. Her hair was fairer than he expected, her mouth thinner. ‘I just had to make sure you were . . .’ She paused. ‘You look a right sight with all those bandages and no hair to speak of and so pale. But at least your eyes are open and that’s the main thing. Tony will be in next. Before I go, is there anything you want?’ He watched her move to the end of the bed. His steel padlock floated into his mind, his little key. At least he remembered they were safe in his bedroom in the second drawer down, under the tee-shirts they had bought at the car rally in Cardiff. His secret drawer. Where did it come from, this sudden clear flash of memory? Mostly he remembered nothing. His voice came out in a whisper: ‘My padlock.’ Mam nodded. ‘I’ll tell Tony to bring it in. It’s all that’s left, I can tell you that.’ What did she mean, all? He struggled to remember, but she was going, and he couldn’t find words. ‘I must get going,’ she said stiffly, waving goodbye. He shut his eyes again and felt he was drifting back to the prison, where pain tapped like a stick in the dark. ‘Don’t go to sleep,’ said a cheerful voice. The young boy in the next bed was holding out a doughnut. ‘For tea. Don’t you want any?’ His friendly voice cut away more of the mystery. ‘The food’s good in this hospital.’ Alun lifted his head. It felt heavy. A bandage stopped just above his eyes. His right arm was in a sling. His legs were held down by weights. His voice scraped like an old man’s. ‘How long have I been here?’ The boy shrugged his shoulders. ‘Mrs Parry told me you had your op yesterday morning. But you’ve only been next to me since last night.’ Alun watched the boy eat his doughnut and drink his milk. He wore a red rugby shirt decorated with a giant leek. He was sitting on the bed with an exercise book on his lap. ‘What’s your name?’ asked the boy. ‘Alun. What’s yours?’ ‘Huw. Huw Gwynne. I broke my left leg playing rugby. Now they’ve found something wrong with the other one.’ Alun tried to sort himself out though it was not like him to ask questions. ‘I know I’m coming up fourteen,’ he said slowly, ‘but I don’t know where I am.’ ‘Glan Tywi – the hospital school ward. You know, near Carmarthen –’ Alun looked at the green pipes along the ceiling and the red flowered curtains drawn back at the bottom of his bed. Beyond there was a row of beds and beyond that the sound of babies crying. With difficulty he turned his head to the right. He saw a tall chest of drawers by the window and a big old cupboard with a glinting mirror against the far wall. A small thin lady bustled among a group of children, collecting books and putting them into brown bags. One girl with fair hair was in a wheelchair with her legs covered. She looked familiar. Others were sitting round a table, talking loudly.

 

 

 

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