Can I help you&;#063;

Can I help you?

"Can I help you?" asked Molly, to the elderly couple that were looking
at the vegetables. She was hoping they would say yes, and then maybe Mr
Hulan would notice her, and want to use her more often!

"No thank you dear" said the elderly lady as she reached for a bag of
carrots.

"Well, if you need me, I'll be just over here" she said, pointing to
the cereal section.
She moved off quickly, glancing around to see if He was watching.
This was Molly's first day working at the local shop, which was just a
few minutes away from where she now lived with her mum. They had moved
there only the previous week, and Molly was very glad to have found a
job so quickly. Her Mum had said she could have a part-time job as long
as it didn't interfere with her schoolwork, and Molly had soon noticed
the sign in the shop window asking for Saturday staff. She was coming
to the end of her shift, and she desperately wanted to impress Mr Hulan
with how hard she was working. She ripped open a huge box of ALL-BRAN
cartons, and started to stack them neatly on the shelves in front of
her, remembering what He had said about 'stock rotation'.
"Old stock at the front, new stock at the back" she muttered to herself
like a mantra. She had soon finished the first box, and was starting on
the second when she was interrupted by a quiet coughing behind
her.
She turned round to see Mr Hulan standing there with a smile on his
face.

"You've done well today Molly" he said, "I've been keeping an eye on
you and I'm quite impressed with what I've seen." Molly didn't quite
know what to say so she kept quiet and smiled nervously. "If you want
it, the job is yours!" Mollys face broke out into a smile.

"You really mean it Mr Hulan?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course!" said Mr Hulan. "I've spoken to your mother, and she
assures me you're very hard-working, so I'll see you again next
week!"
So Molly happily went to get her coat from the backroom.

"Thank you very much Mr Hulan" said Molly, "Bye now!"
Molly left the shop and started on the walk home.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and on the way home, Molly passed
by the old church. On her way past the churchyard gate, she caught
sight of two squirrels playing by the entrance to the church, so she
decided to sit down in the shade of a great oak tree and watch them for
a while. As she opened the gate the squirrels stopped and looked at
her.
"You don't mind if I sit down here for a while do you Mr Squirrel?" she
said. The squirrel stood and stared at Molly with it's bright brown
eyes. Molly arranged herself under the old oak tree and rested her head
back, listening to the twittering of the birds above her. The sound was
so relaxing, so decided to close her eyes just for a moment...

"Old stock at the front, new stock at the back" she muttered to herself
like a mantra. She had soon finished the first box, and was starting on
the second when she suddenly stopped what she was doing, and turned her
head to look behind her. A few seconds later Mr Hulan came walking
around the corner.

"You've done well today Molly" he said, "I've been keeping an eye on
you and I'm quite impressed with what I've seen." Molly looked puzzled,
hadn't she been here before? "If you want it, the job is yours!"

"You really mean it Mr Hulan?" she asked.

"Of course!" said Mr Hulan. "I've spoken to your mother, and she
assures me you're very hard-working, so I'll see you again next
week!"

Molly went to get her coat from the backroom, feeling more and more
perculiar.

"Thank you very much Mr Hulan" said Molly, "Bye now!"

Molly slowly left the shop and look up into the sky. The sun was
shining on a perfect afternoon. She hesitantly started on the walk
home, passing the old church. As she did, she noticed a figure through
the churchyard gate. A woman lay underneath the old oak tree, wearing
the same clothes that Molly herself was wearing. As she watched, the
woman sat up, looked straight at her with eyes as blue as Molly's own,
and waved.
Molly automatically raised her hand and waved back. They stared at each
other until the women smiled. Molly wanted to go and talk to the women,
but her legs would not move. The women looked at Molly for a while
longer and then stood up, turned and walked off into the trees. Molly
blinked a few times and, finding she could now move, turned and ran as
fast as she could. As she reached the front door to her house, she
noticed two squirrels playing in the garden.

She turned and went in for tea.