She came over, as she does, to show herself off to me. She could never resist lording it over me, just because her father was employing my father. Without him, we would be on the streets as father would not be able to find work anywhere else.
“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Little Ellen Little.”
The room went quiet, dreadfully quiet. The lull before the storm, tense, expectant.
“Please do not call me that.”
“Why ever not? It is your name, or not? Do you like my dress? It cost Daddy what your father earns in a year. Nice, isn’t it?”
Nice! Every girl in this room was envying her. I wanted that red dress more than anything in the world.
“Lovely,” I replied.
“Shame about your dress though, I mean falling in your pond before you came here, brings down the whole tone of the party.”
I was going to say something back, something clever but before I could think of anything, the tears spilled over. I could not hold them back any longer and once they started, they just would not stop.
“Ahh, the ‘Little’ baby has started crying, poor thing. This party is for adults only.”
That was it. My evening was already ruined so there was not much point staying. I hated Rosanna so much; she could always spoil a good party. She always had lots of money so her father could afford all her pretty things. It was so unfair! I stormed out and headed for the nearest bus stop, my mother was coming to collect me in an hour or so. I could catch the bus home before she started out.
As I waited for the bus, I started plotting my revenge. I wanted that dress so badly, but more than that, I wanted Rosanna not to have it. She did not deserve it. She did not have to cook, clean and look after a baby brother; she had a maid and the family had a chef, a couple of house cleaners and a butler. Her father did not have to go off to war. My father had to and now look at him. She has everything and I have nothing. Why couldn’t my family be richer, then they would have the money to buy me all the pretty things I wanted, just like Rosanna had. My life was pointless.
I could hear the bus, clunking along, before I saw it. It was dark and it was travelling especially slowly tonight. I had heard that there had been an accident in the next village during blackout; it was hard to see anything in the dark. The bus journey to my house was not far, about a mile, so it was not long before my bus stop was approaching.
Just before I got off the bus, something changed in the sound of the engine; I thought it must have just been because the bus was getting old and it had to work a bit harder now. It rattled and banged as I got off and I watched it fade into the desolate blackness, listening for the sound to fade with it. Finally, it stopped, “pfut”, and there was complete silence.
So silent, not even the rustle of wind in the trees or of owls hooting. So silent I could hear my heart beating.
Something dropped from the sky. I stopped listening to nothing and started running, running for my life. No good. I fell and saw my hands before me, I thought of my family and how much I was needed, loved. The red dress seemed insignificant now, except it wasn’t: if Rosanna had not worn that dress, I would not have ended up leaving the party early and I would still be safe in the hall - not here on the grass. By the light of the flames, I looked down and saw my dress; I could just make out a dark stain, spreading across it. Dark, blood red. I thought of the irony: my red dress had found me - my envy had been my enemy.
