Seven for a Secret Never to be Told

‘You’re still trying to find out about the crying boy aren’t you?’ said Safi as they sat in the shade of the pagoda in the school garden at lunch time.

‘How do you know it’s a boy?’ asked Mia.

‘It just seems more likely…the boy that spoke to me in school, the photo, the dream you had…’ Mia pressed her lips together, she didn’t want to say anything that would upset Safi in case he had another asthma attack. There was a quiet moment then Safi said. ‘I’ve had an idea.’ Mia didn’t reply, she looked at him curiously. ‘The day I saw the boy in the photograph he asked me how to get to the hall. Well, there’s been a school here since Victorian times but my classroom with the patio doors to the playground wouldn’t have been built back then. It probably didn’t exist at the time the boys in the photo went to school either.’ Mia was puzzled. ‘Don’t you see? He didn’t know the way to the hall. If he was a village boy he probably came to school here…but back then my classroom didn’t exist.’

‘So…’

‘Ask yourself Mia – why did he want to go to the hall?’ Mia shrugged. ‘Think about it. What’s in the hall?’

‘Um…nothing. It’s a hall.’

‘What’s on the wall?’ Mia suddenly realised what Safi was talking about.

‘Photographs. Old photographs of kids that came to the school.’

‘Exactly, what if the boy is trying to tell us where to look for clues. And what if one of those photographs holds a clue?’

‘But where are the clues leading?’ asked Mia. Safi shrugged.

‘Maybe we’ll find out who the crying boy is and why he’s crying.’ Safi got up. Mia was reluctant to move.

’But…you said, ‘Leave it alone’ – you said it was dangerous. And what about you? I couldn’t bare it if…’

‘Mia. You’re not going to leave it alone are you? And me? Well I know I’d feel happier knowing what’s going on.’

‘Ok then…’ Mia stood up. ‘You don’t know how much better I feel knowing you’re helping me Saf. Let’s go look in the hall.’

The last dinner sitting was almost finished and nobody took any notice of Mia and Safi. The photographs were displayed on the back wall. They were sepia coloured and mounted on cream card with plain, dark wood frames. The date and names of the children in the photograph were printed on a card below.

There were about 15 pictures and the dates were random.

‘When was the Second World War?’ asked Mia. ‘I’m sure Miss Jaggers said that’s when they used to play on the field. When the brick works had been abandoned.’

‘That’s the 1940’s I think,’ said Safi.

There were only three photos for the 1940’s and none showed the boys from the history group’s photograph.

‘Look.’ Mia pointed at a photograph dated 1950. There were 7 boys and 5 girls in the photograph. None of them wore a school uniform and they were aged between about 10 and 13. ‘Here’s the boys. All of them. How come they’re in the same class?’ She was puzzled.

‘It was only a small village,’ said Safi. ‘Probably had to put different age groups together.’ He was looking at the words printed below the photographs. ‘Here’s all their names...’ He began reading the boy’s names out loud. ‘…Bernard Jaggers, Dennis Gregory, Paul Marshall, Colin Keyes, Gerald Manders, Bobby Bassett and Tommy Bassett.’ He sighed - ‘I think we just discovered the owner of our wooden token Mia. It’s him.’ He pointed at the sullen looking boy in the picture. ‘Or him…’ he pointed at the twin.

‘Tommy Bassett,’ she sighed. ’The letter T cut into the back of the token. It’s for Tommy. It’s almost like he wanted us to know who he was. He came to you asking where the hall was didn’t he Saf? Why would he do that unless he wanted to give us a clue, a clue to find out who he was? I think it’s about time I asked Nan if I could visit Bobby Bassett in the old people’s home. I think it’s time to find out the truth about the crying boy.’