He realised as he walked away from Hexagon Prison that the experience had worried him more than he had thought. He had smiled so much when he pretended to be punished in the pillory and it's true that he had enjoyed himself. He noticed however that the thoughts about being locked away had upset him. He noticed that even the act of pretending hadn't been one of pure joy. His smile wasn't just a smile but contained many of the elements of a brave face.
If he was completely honest with himself he was a bit sad and his little heart kept pounding in his chest and he couldn't get the thoughts out of his head that he was in trouble and would be thrown into the darkest cell in the building. He wouldn't like that.
Blob asked his person if they could move away from the prison.
As quickly as possible.
Away from the place of suffering that, in Blob's appreciation, still had it's history of sorrow oozing from the walls, pervading the air with a darkness punctuated by tears, by loneliness and by a thousand men struggling each day not to be broken on an ancient and harsh wheel of justice.
Blob wanted to leave. Fast. And not look back upon that place.
Fortunately, Blob's person agreed. She promised him that they would walk on, find themselves some lunch and then find, if possible, a quiet place to eat. She didn't know if it could happen. The streets of Hexagon seemed noisy and crowded and she knew that Blob needed some time away from them. Where could they go? She had an idea. It would be a longer walk than the streets but she had spotted on her previous Hexagon visit, years before, that there was a park. Maybe there would be some peace in there for Blob Thing to regain his mental composure and for everything jumping wildly in the anxiety of his overwhelmed mind could settle.
Blob said that he would probably be able to cope with that and as they walked away from the high walls of the prison - with some great speed and urgency - he already felt a little better about things.
With a cheap lunch bought the pair walked on to the park. It was much greener than the streets, which was great. But there was a problem. For Blob, a big problem.
He was in need of quiet, of a time in something as close to silence as he could find.
And they were mowing the grass in the park.
Several large ride on mowers.
They were noisy and noisy and noisy all of them. Blob wanted to cry. He felt that he would weep and weep until all his insides had fallen out of his eyes and that in this world the peace he didn't just want but desperately need could never happen.
Blob Thing began to panic. It was horrible for his person to watch and she wished she could do more for him. She held him tightly for a while and placed her hands over his ears. They sat on a bench and, for a while, rocked together.
Then Blob's person had another idea.
She said to Blob, "Let's walk further with our lunch. Let's leave the lawnmowers behind to do their work and let's see what lies beyond the walls of this park. Maybe we will receive a wonderful surprise. And at the very least we won't be able to hear the mowers."
Blob looked up at his person. There were tears in his eyes and he wouldn't have been able to smile at all at that moment if his smile wasn't sewn in place. Slowly, he nodded his head and whole body and said it might be okay. As long as Blob's person would carry him. He nestled himself tightly against her for safety.
Blob was carried through the far wall of the park. He hid his face, pressed against his person's chest. He couldn't help thinking that things could get worse. Sometimes being Blob Thing is very difficult. It's a stunning example that he smiles so much and is usually joyful and full of encouraging words even though it can be so difficult for him. It's a stunning example too that he is prepared to publicly say, without shame or guilt, that it is hard. Hard. HARD!
On leaving the park there was a wonderful surprise. Blob's person was surprised by the wonderful surprise even though it had been her who suggested it might happen.
The path from the park led out into a big field and the grass in that field led to the top of a hill.
There was nobody there.
There were no lawnmowers either.
There was just grass and a few flowers.
And a view. A lovely view.
Blob's person sat down and unpacked the lunch they had bought. She told Blob that things were better now and that he had a quiet place in which to recover from both the prison and the noisy mowers.
Slowly, slowly, he moved his head from his person's chest.
He could hardly dare to believe that she was right, that there would be relief for him.
He turned himself round to look outwards and opened his eyes.
And then he started to cry. Tears of relief. Tears of knowing that it would all be okay.
He sat. He breathed many deep breaths, inhaling life from the air of the hill. He felt the grass and the earth under his body and it was as if strength and peace rose up from the wisdom of the ground and filled him.
In those moments, life became joy again.
There. Joy displayed. Isn't that a picture of a pefect moment?
Blob and his person sat and rested and smiled at each other. They ate their lunch - which tasted okay but had, by this time, gone cold. That was okay. And then it was time to move on. Blob decided that they should explore and adventure in a different direction and not go back through the park on their way back into Hexagon. If they walked another route down the hill they might find some more surprises.
That's what they did. Anything to avoid the lawnmowers that had caused so many problems for an already anxious person.
Blob's person walked down the hill. Blob walked too. Except Blob rolled some of the way which was very enjoyable indeed. His person decided that she wouldn't roll down. It wouldn't have been comfortable at all and with a rucksack it would have probably hurt a lot.
Near the bottom of the hill they crossed a bridge over some water. It was wonderful to see.
They were even happier to discover a path leading down by the water. Blob's person took a lot of photos and she wants to blog about them too if she can ever get her hands back on her computer at a time when she's not typing the things Blob tells her to say. Blob wants you to know at this point that he didn't write the previous sentence. That was just his person having a little moan. Blob's person wants you to know that Blob uses her computer at times when his blog isn't being typed and that she doesn't get to use it for herself nearly as much as she wants and that there are a lot of pieces of writing she would want to get on with if Blob let her. Blob Thing wants you to know that he's finding all of this very funny.
From the path by the water Blob and his person walked up another little hill. There they found Hexagon House. From the grounds of Hexagon House they could see Hexagon Abbey - which Blob wants to tell you about on another day. And in the grounds they found something Blob Thing enjoyed immensely. He wants to tell you about that tomorrow.
[1339 words]
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