Village Shepherd

Mike was fed up. He had so been looking forward to the Easter holidays, and now everything had gone down the drain. His parents had booked to take Mike to Euro Disney in Paris for four days, and Mike had thought of nothing else since Christmas.

Several his friends had been, and had come back with glowing tales of the rides and the spectacular shows and processions and even the hotel. But Mike's grandmother had fallen down and broken her leg, and she was in hospital. Since she lived a long way away in Scotland, Mike's parents had had to travel up and stay near so that they could visit her each day. She lived alone and had few friends, and apart from Mike and his family there were no other relatives.

Of course Mike was sorry that she'd had an accident and was in hospital, but he couldn't help wishing it had happened at some other time. In fact, he couldn't help wishing that it had happened at any other time! He was to be farmed off to his cousin Rachel in the country, and he didn't want to go. Quite apart from missing Euro Disney, he couldn't stand cousin Rachel. The last time he'd seen her three years ago, she'd played endlessly with Barbie dolls and had spent hours getting dressed up if ever they had to go out. Mike had been bored out of his brains and had never wanted to see cousin Rachel again. And now he had to endure a whole week there by himself.

When he got off the train and saw the tall, slender girl standing on the platform, Mike wasn't immediately sure who it was. He remembered Rachel as being short and stumpy, yet this girl was almost as tall as he was himself. Yet she had the same straw-coloured hair, even though it was now loose and hanging well down her back instead of in two ugly pigtails.

But she wasn't smiling. Mike felt even worse when he saw how cross Rachel looked. It hadn't occurred to him that she might have disliked him just as much as he disliked her. He tried to smile at her, but she just tossed her head and motioned to him to follow her.

It wasn't quite so bad in the car, for Mike's uncle and aunt made a great fuss of him, but Rachel simply ignored him. When they arrived at the other end, she showed him into his room then said abruptly, "We're all going away tomorrow, but I'm not allowed to tell you where. It's to be a surprise. Just as if you're still a baby," she added.

Mike glared at her and threw his bag on the bed. Then he said, "Look, I don't want to be here any more than you want me. But we're stuck with each other for a week, so we'd better make the best of it. If you make a real effort, perhaps even you can be pleasant for five minutes."

For a moment Rachel scowled at him, then to his surprise she threw back her head and laughed. "Maybe you're not quite as bad as I remember," she conceded.

After that, they began gradually to get to know each other all over again. And they each discovered that the other had changed enormously over the past three years. Rather reluctantly, Mike was forced to admit to himself that he really liked Rachel. She had a sharp wit and could be very funny at times - and there wasn't a Barbie doll in sight.

The next day they all travelled down to the sea, and the weather was warm enough to have a great time on the beach. To his amazement Mike found he was really enjoying himself, and after two or three days he forgot about Euro Disney altogether.

By the end of the week he had become close friends with Rachel, and his uncle and aunt enthusiastically invited him to return in the summer. Mike was delighted, and it was clear Rachel was delighted too.

As he returned home on the train, Mike's heart was singing. He might have lost Euro Disney but he'd found a new and very dear friend, and he'd had a fabulous time. "I'm glad!" he thought wonderingly to himself. "I thought it was the end of the world, but actually it was only the beginning. It's amazing how God brings something even better out of the worst possible scenarios. And I can't wait until the summer holidays!"