On a cold winters day in early February a crisis was happening on a street, in a house. Alfred, a tortoise, was suddenly and abruptly thrown into darkness when his heat light blew it's fuse. Scared and alone, he cried out for help. Luckily for him, his supermum was in the next room. Looking at his sad little face, in the cold, dark tortoise box; she knew what she had to do.
Wrapping up, tucking her vest into her knickers (advice from Odd Sox), she opened the front door to be blown back by the bracing wind. Nothing could deter her from reaching the pet shop though. So she stepped out, slipping on the ice. Finding her balance she leant forward and walked. She walked and walked, all the time people yelling from their windows "Go back!", "You'll never make it!". Ignoring their cries, she continued on her way. Passing a frozen tramp and his dog, she tightened her scarf and kept going.
Finally the pet shop was in sight, just over the snow covered brow of the hill. As she stepped through the door, the heated air washed over her and the little bell rang. Up the stairs she climbed and looking through the shelves a fit of panic got her... they had no lights! She ran to the counter, praying with the salesperson to have some, somewhere, anywhere! Luckily, although they are no longer stocking them, they had one left in the bargain bucket. Phew. She bought it and slowly walked towards the doors. Knowing what was ahead of her. Looking at her photo of Alfred, she had carried with her, to remember her purpose. She stepped back out into the cold air, and began the trek home.
It felt like days had passed, before she finally reached her front door. Her nose was bright red, her cheeks with a thin layer of ice covering them, her hands barely able to turn the door handle. She entered her warm, cozy hallway and leant against a radiator, weary from the cold. Remembering the reason she had gone, she ran up the stairs and replaced the bulb in Alfred's lamp. And there was light, and heat, and he slowly popped his head out of his shell and dragged his little, cold body to bask under the glow.
THE END
This story is based on true events
