Aphrodite was bored with standing in the north corner of Tylers park; she was cold and tired and had been there for 134 years, two months and three days. Ever since, in fact, the philanthropist, William Adolphus Alexander Clarke had commissioned four statues to be placed at the corners of the park, for the erudition, entertainment and enjoyment of the residents of Shoreditch.
If she peered hard through the foliage of the rhododendron in the centre of the park, she could occasionally catch a glimpse of Neptune in all his naked glory but it was rare to see him these days, for the shrub was so overgrown. In days gone by there were two gardeners constantly at work tending the lawns, flower beds and shrubs. Now, however, they only came two or three times a year. She was more likely to see children and young men kicking a ball about, trampling down the flowers or carving their names on the tree trunks. Even worse some of them had taken to decorating the statues by spraying paint on them in strange designs; it was so embarrassing and undignified. In recent months old men had started appearing with their bags full of clothes and bottles. They would sit and drink for hours until finally they fell over in an alcoholic stupor.
Oh how she wished for the old days, when the gentlemen and their ladies all dressed in their finery would stroll through the park admiring the plants and stopping at each of the four statues to discuss their merits. Those elegant people understood the skill of the sculptor who had lovingly created her and the others in his studio at Eton. It was all so long ago when she had first been given form and it was the last time she had seen Venus and Mercury, for after they had been brought to the park in that horse drawn cart, each statue had been placed in its own individual corner, never to move again.
It was well into the night when Aphrodite felt a drop of rain on her left shoulder and then another on her head. She did not mind the rain at all for it washed away the grime of the city that constantly settled on her and if it rained hard enough, it would probably clean off most of the droppings that those cursed pigeons had left. The old men were gone for they never stayed when it rained.
Within a few minutes the rain had become a torrential downpour drumming on the leaves of the trees and shrubs and on the roof of the derelict seat shelter. The wonderful cleansing water streamed down her taking away the dirt and filth and making her feel whole again and for a little while, she did not mind the cold. Behind her in the distance she heard the sound of thunder growling across the sky, then again and again. She could not see any lightning flashes but it seemed as if the storm was creeping closer.
Soon she became sure that it was approaching, for the thunder claps were becoming very loud and frequent and the lightning, although still at her back was beginning to illuminate the night sky.
With an ear splitting roar the sound and the light came together and the darkness vanished. Almost immediately it happened again but this time, the lightning bolt snaked diagonally across the park then split the rhododendron in two and set it ablaze. The flames roared up, then just as quickly died away, doused by the intensity of the rain. She felt herself shake upon the pedestal and for a moment felt as if she were going to fall. Instinctively she put out her arms to balance herself and although she felt wobbly, she remained upright.
The shock suddenly hit her; she had moved her arms for the first time in the whole of her existence. She looked down at her right hand as she slowly lifted it up and turned it over so that the raindrops fell into her palm. She stretched her fingers and watched the rain run through them and drip onto the ground below. If she could move her arms and hands, maybe she could turn her head too. A twinge of pain shot across her shoulders and down her back but, yes she could move her neck and look in a different direction. She peered toward the east corner and in a sudden stab of lightning saw the shape of Mercury. Was he moving too? The period of brightness was too short to be sure.
Inspiration struck her. If she could move then maybe, just maybe she could step down from the pedestal and take a walk around the park. The thought was too big and she stood there trembling as the rain poured down and cascaded over her breasts and splashed on the pedestal. She gathered her courage and moved the toes of her left foot, then those of the right. "Yes, you can do it," she said aloud almost falling over with the shock of hearing her own voice.
Carefully she leaned forward and stepped down into the overgrown grass. Her back and limbs were stiff and she ached all over but the exhilaration of being able to move after so many years overcame the pain. Carefully she began to walk, stumbling occasionally with the newness of it and once she almost tripped over when she stepped on a discarded bottle lying in the grass. She made her way onto the perimeter path, listening with pleasure at sound of the gravel crunching beneath her feet as she walked along.
"Well, well look who's discovered some new found freedom. Strutting around as if she owns the park."
She peered through the gloom for her first sight of Mercury in 134 years. "If we don't own the place after all these years, I don't know who does."
"Probably Neptune. He always thought he could boss us around."
"That was because he was the first to be sculpted in the studio and considered us to be latecomers," said Aphrodite.
"Let's go and see if he can move around as well," suggested Mercury as he stepped lightly off his pedestal. Then, after flapping his ankle wings a couple of times, strode out along the path toward the south corner of the park.
The thunder storm had moved away, although it could still be heard rumbling in the distance and the rain was easing. After the initial excitement of discovering that she could move around, Aphrodite realised that the wind blowing on her wet body was making her feel cold. She wrapped her arms around her chest and shivered.
"Hey, don't do that," said Mercury. "For over a hundred years all I have been able to see are a few trees and shrubs and the occasional building and now, when at last I have something decent to look upon, you cover it up."
"Just keep that wicked mind of yours concentrating on walking, otherwise you will trip over and smash yourself to smithereens. As it happens I am freezing cold and I need to warm up soon or else I might break apart." She paused and listened as a groaning sound came from the path ahead of them. "What on earth is that?"
"Search me," replied the messenger of the Gods. Then, looking down at his naked body added, "Not that it will do much good."
The groaning sound was repeated and they quickened their pace in an effort to discover what was causing it. Before long they came upon the source. Neptune was sitting on the edge of the pedestal, running his hand through his beard and looking down at his lap mumbling to himself. "What have they done to me, what have they done?"
"Whatever is the matter, Your Majesty?"
He looked up, startled at the question. "Who's that?" Then recognition dawned, "Oh it's you Aphrodite and Mercury as well, have you seen Venus? Has she been given the power of movement too?"
"We were on the way round when we heard you groaning, Your Majesty."
Neptune shook his head and said irritably, "Please don't call me that, I am just a statue the same as you are. I have never been given any subjects to govern; just placed in this run down patch of wasteland that used to be a park." He looked down at himself again, "Look what those vandals have done to me," he said standing up.
The other two stared at the unhappy Neptune and burst out laughing. Somehow he no longer looked regal with his bits and pieces sprayed blue. A look of thunder spread across his face, "How dare you laugh at me like that!" He pointed at Aphrodite's backside with his trident. "Just look at the state of you my girl."
She looked back over her shoulder but was unable to see what he was talking about. "What's the matter with me, the sculptor gave me a beautiful bum."
Mercury walked round behind her and sniggered, "It might have been beautiful once Aphrodite, but now it has an archery target painted on it. Just wait there while I fetch my bow and arrows."
"Oh no you don't, you nasty minded messenger," she responded and sat down on Neptune's pedestal. "Anyway, you can't talk, you have a monkey's face painted on your back."
Mercury too sat on the pedestal. "We can't go around like this, we must find something to cover ourselves."
The rain had become heavy again. "I quite agree," said Aphrodite, shivering. "Let us go and find Venus and then see if there are any clothes available in one of the buildings outside the park."
The three of them continued along the path to the west corner of the greenland area . The pedestal on which Venus had stood was empty and on the ground in front of it lay the remains of what had been the most beautiful statue in the park. It was shattered into pieces split asunder by the same bolt of lightning that had given the others life. Neptune stood looking at the wreckage and a tear formed in the corner of his eye. "What a waste," he said shaking his head in disbelief. "She was so beautiful."
Aphrodite said nothing. She had always been jealous that he had fancied Venus more than her but, now she could only feel sorry for him.
"Let's go," he said gruffly and walked toward the gate that was situated beyond Venus` pedestal. They others followed quietly, unwilling to break into his grief. The wind drove the rain into the faces of the strange trio as they made their way along the path past the sodden flower beds and out into the pavement that bordered Tylers Road.
The road was rarely busy even at the best of times and in the intensity of the storm nobody was around except a down and out sheltering in a shop doorway. He peered through the raindrops at the statues as they crossed the road, blinked, then took two large swigs from the bottle in his hands. The three naked sculptures slowly walked along the parade of shops and when they passed the figure in the doorway, he blinked again, shook his head and emptied the bottle in a single swallow.
"Look in there," said Mercury as they passed a department store with tailor's mannequins in the window. "There are statues wearing clothes."
"Then let's go in," answered Aphrodite. "I'm freezing."
They pushed at the door and the window but there did not seem to be any point of entry. "There must be a way in somehow," growled Neptune, prodding the window with his trident. It yielded no result and he became angry and prodded it harder. Still no result. "How did they get in?" he shouted and slammed the trident's base at the window, which shattered and crazed into thousands of pieces. "There," he said, "Where there's a will.."
They pushed their way through the remains of the window and crushed the fragments of glass into the floor of the showroom as they made their selection of clothes. Mercury had the most difficulty as he tried to pull his trousers up over his ankle wings but, eventually folded them close enough over his feet to get the garment on. "I don't know why I have to have these things, they are no use to fly with and just get in the way."
At last they were all dressed and had covered up the work of the graffiti artists. Aphrodite felt warm and comfortable. She yawned then found herself lethargic and stiff. Soon she was back in her original pose unable to move and as dawn broke upon the city, they other two became immobile as well.
*
"I cannot understand it at all," the store manager said to the police. "The vandals must have broken in during the night but they seem to have taken nothing. All they did was bring those three heavy statues from the park into the shop and dress them. I must say though, they make wonderful tailor's dummies."
"I'm afraid, they'll have to go back to the park," said the sergeant, "but we'll need a crane to lift them." Then he chuckled as he recalled the Wino who claimed that he had seen the statues walk across the road by themselves and break into the shop.
If you enjoyed reading this story, you may be interested to know that Jack Windsor has published an anthology of 40 of his stories. It is called 'Secret of the Lake'. Published by Braiswick you can order it from your local bookstore or buy online from Amazon.com
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