Full Circle In The Wheel Of Life Part One

Quote:

The Circle of life is like driving along enjoying the view,

one minute the wheels are eating up the miles of road,

next you hit something sharp, get a flat Tyre and it needs fixing.

 

 

Walnut Avenue was renowned for its affluent society, with its huge mansions situated along both sides of the tree lined road. Only the roofs could be seen due to the high walls and even taller trees within the grounds. None of these stately homes had numbers, but each was named after a tree, due to the area's rich history that was steeped in antiquity and could be traced back to Roman times. Being an area of great woodland beauty and wealth where many species of trees once grew, there was much mystery. But the mystery that lie within this story, wasn't with the past, but with the here and now and a young boy by the name of Jacob.

 

Sitting in the back of the plush, black Rolls-Royce, Jacob gazed out of the window after his long trip back from boarding school, glad to be going home for the holiday. It had been a long time between Christmas and Summer, now it was nearly the end of July and he'd be back for four glorious weeks. The trees were now covered in leaves, a different picture from Christmas, when all that could be seen were bear, tangled branches weaving their way along the avenue.

 

Oakley Manor was the boy's home, he could never recall a more amazing place for adventures as they pulled up to the driveway gates.

The driver pressed a button on the dashboard and spoke. “Phillip's here with Master Jacob.” Immediately the gates automatically opened. Jacob felt the excitement build as Phillip's drove in through and up the driveway.

 

On one side it was like a jungle of lush, tall ferns and rhododendrons that sat above a tall rockery. Jacob had loved playing in the front when he was younger, with all its nooks and crannies for hiding in, but his parents were always telling him off, saying that the back garden was for playing in, not the front. The boy never realized at the time it was for his own safety, it was only later that he came to understand how dangerous it was with people coming and going. On the other side of the drive were tall hedges that separated the boundaries between them and the mansion next door.

 

Further up the drive, they reached a circled lawn area with an approach to the front door. Elsa the housekeeper stood dressed in her usual attire of starched white blouse tucked into neatly, ironed black trousers, she always preferred to be seen in formal wear and would take pride in her appearance at all times. The woman smiled and waved frantically as the car drew nearer.

 

Jacob was so excited he could hardly wait for the car to come to a halt, but as soon as Elsa opened the door, he jumped out and gave her a hug. “Master Jacob, it's good to have you home.” She said taking his satchel and telling him to run along indoors.

 

Jacob didn't need to be told, he was desperate to see his two brothers, Oliver and Joshua. Oliver was the same age as Jacob and Joshua was two years younger. Jacob and Joshua had been adopted when they were babies, but where as Joshua had knowledge of his mum, Jacob never knew who his real parents were. His adopted parents William and Monica had told him his mum died in childbirth, but that they never knew who his father was. Jacob had accepted this and put it to the back of his mind, thanking his lucky stars, here he was at thirteen and being given such a privileged life, he never took any of it for granted.

 

As the boy entered the huge hallway, the two family dogs came bounding across the slippery floor to meet Jacob. Max was an Alsatian that William and Monica had acquired from the Police. Molly was a Labrador that belonged to Monica, she'd managed to save the poor dog when it was a puppy from being put down.

 

William was a top plastic surgeon, it was his dream to see people walk out of his place of work feeling better than when they walked in. This probably had something to do with his love of adopting children, it just pleased him no end to give a child a better start in life and see them flourish.

 

Monica was a Medical Practitioner who worked long hours in a local surgery and was always on call. It was at University that they both met and fell in love. They also had a daughter Lucy who was twenty three and living in London, she was now well on her way to becoming a solicitor and her dream was to start up her own company.

 

Oliver had gone to a different boarding school to Jacob, the parents wanted their two sons to grow up making new friends, feeling that if they'd sent them to the same boarding school, that they wouldn't have made the effort to find their own way.

 

After giving the dogs a mighty hug, Jacob bounded up the stairs to Oliver's room. The landing was quiet as one of the staff came from making up a bed in the spare room. “Oliver's not home yet!” She uttered carrying some towels across the landing and disappearing into the bathroom.

 

Jacob hadn't seen her before and presumed she must be new. He decided to go to his own room and wait for someone to bring up his case. He thought he would play on his computer for a while, but then decided to go for a swim instead. He knew he'd have to ask if it was okay first, so he got undressed and put his trunks on hardly giving himself time to think, he grabbed a towel from the bathroom and raced out the door and back downstairs.

 

“Hey! Slow down!” Declared Phillip's bringing in the boy's suitcases.

“You'll have an accident running like that.” He called for one of the helpers to carry the boy's luggage up to his room.

 

“Sorry Phillip's, but I gotta get some of this energy out of my system and the pool is calling me.” He then saw Elsa. “Is that all right if I go swimming?” He asked, panting away.

 

Elsa tutted and nodded her head. “You've only just got back, don't you want to get some food?”

 

“Nah!” Replied the boy. “I'm not hungry at the moment. Just want to swim.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Elsa let him go and went about her duties, while Phillips went to the kitchen to grab a sandwich. They'd been on the road for at least four hours and he was starving.

 

The swimming pool was huge and had all the amenities you could wish for, with a steam room and a Jacuzzi. Next to the swimming pool was another door which led into a gym where William and Monica kept in good shape, this was their domain and was always kept locked so people didn't just go in when they felt like it.

 

Jacob was a strong swimmer and loved diving in, he had no fear of water at all and had achieved his diving and underwater certificate when he was eleven. His parents took the family on vacations to Hawaii where they would spend time snorkeling. Jacob thought the underwater experience was the best,  with all its pretty corals and amazing creatures that seemed alien to look at. He really hoped they'd go back again soon. Him and Oliver had also made some good friends out there who they kept in contact with on face book. There life out there was so easy going, everyone made them feel welcome.

 

As the boy continued to swim length after length, he had no idea he was being watched from the main pool door, as a figure stood peeking through a crack and surveying his every stroke.

 

To be continued...