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CHAPTER ONE

The painting

The story started the day that Helen's mother bought the painting. It was December, there was snow on the ground and most people in the village were getting ready for Christmas. It always snowed in HoIIybrook at Christmas. Always! The old ladies of the village said that it snowed when they were young too. Helen, her mother, Julia, and step-father, Bob, lived in a small cottage. Helen went to school from Monday to Friday, to the swimming pool twice a week and to piano lessons on Wednesday evenings. Bob was a photographer and often worked away from home. Julia worked part-time in an office in a town not far away and came home in the afternoons. That day, after work, she had to go to the tiny village super-market. HoIIybrook was a quiet village and there wasn't much to see, so when she noticed a new antique shop in place of the old book shop she couldn't resist looking. It had the name 'Oak Tree. Antiques' in curly black letters above the door.

The window was full of beautiful old objects; lamps, crystal vases, little china statues, clocks... Julia went in. There wasn't much room in the shop as it was so full of things, but she noticed the painting immediately. For some reason it wasn't with the other paintings but almost hidden by a pile of old books. For some reason she went straight to it. She couldn't say why but she knew she had to buy it... and she did. When Helen arrived home from school later that afternoon the painting was already hanging on the wall in the living room between the clock and her first school photo. 'What's that?!!' 'I bought it from the antique shop. Don't you like it?' Helen stared at the painting. 'It's old. It's dark. It's too big It's...'

Helen stopped. There was something about it that disturbed her but it was impossible to say what. It was the portrait of a young woman, a girl really, not much older than she was. She was sitting in a dark room wearing a long white dress and a gold-coloured necklace. She had dark, wavy hair and blue eyes, similar to Helen's own. Her nose was quite long and she had a sad kind of expression on her face, similar to Helen's... Suddenly she understood why the painting seemed so strange. It was her. The painting was of Helen! She didn't know what to say. 'But Mum... Why did you...' 'I'm sorry you don't like it,' said Julia, offended. 'It just jumped out at me. I had to buy it.' 'But where from? Why?' 'I told you, that new antique shop opposite the post-office. Don't you remember, old Mr Church's second hand bookshop closed a few weeks ago? He left in a great hurry and some of his old books are still there... Well, now it's an antique shop.' Helen knew where it was. She walked past it every day on her way to and from the bus stop when she went to school. 'But Mum!

It's me. Look!' Her mother looked up at the painting, as if for the first time. 'You're right, darling! What a coincidence! It does look like you.' Then she turned and walked out of the room. 'I'm going to get dinner ready. Remember to do your homework...' Helen stood in silence looking up at the girl in the portrait. The girl in the portrait stared back, her big blue eyes looking sadly down at Helen's. Helen shivered. She knew it was only a coincidence but it was strange all the same. Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw that it was her cousin, Will. 'Hey Will! You OK?' 'I'm alright... Your voice sounds terrible. What's up?' 'No, nothing's wrong. Mum's just bought something really weird. I'll show you when you come round.' 'OK... By the way, it's your birthday next week, isn't it? Are we doing something or not?' That's right. She was going to be fifteen years old. She looked up at the painted girl again and wondered how old she was. 'Helen?... Helen?...' 'Are you still there?' 'Sorry, Will, I was thinking about something. Sure, we'll talk about it at school tomorrow, OK? See you.' In silence, and with a sadness she couldn't explain, she turned and went up the stairs to her room.