The Stone Soldier

• Charlotte Skelton, Grade 5, St Augustine's Primary School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

The stone soldier that stood in the centre of the park looked so realistic. Children cowered behind their parents as they passed it. All except for a little homeless infant called Sophie. Leaning against the statue, she would confess all her secrets. She didn’t have a family so the statue would keep her company. The statue would question as to why Sophie would tell him all this. Was he special? What did he mean to her? He would talk to the birds that would perch in the trees above his head and ask them why little Sophie would sleep on the hard wooden bench beside him. “The girl is homeless,” they would reply.
Exhausted, Sophie collapsed in a heap on the bench. She tried to stand up but her body was too limp. Her eyes closed as the sound of people walking past faded away. Her skin was a deathly white and her body was undisturbed and silent. The statue perceived a rush of sadness overcome him. He felt his heart thump in his chest. His only wish was to help poor little Sophie. He looked around to see if there was anyone who could help Sophie. But the park was empty. It was all up to him. Sophie’s life was on his shoulders…
The soldier stumbled over to the bench where Sophie lay. With outstretched arms, he seized Sophie and hauled her up onto his shoulders. The sun was setting as the street lights flickered on. Plucking up his courage, the soldier carried Sophie down the street, stopping after a while to rest against a pole. A huge building loomed above him, a big red cross plastered across the front of it. He climbed up the stairs and pushed open the door. The soldier laid Sophie down on a chair and made his way over to the front desk. He rang the bell, waited a second then walked out the door.
A man with blonde curly hair stepped out from around a corner, a clipboard in his hand. The waiting room was empty apart from little Sophie, pale and limp, asleep on a chair. The nurse rushed over to Sophie’s side. He lifted her off the seat and carried her into the closest room. Sophie’s eyes suddenly flickered open.
Meanwhile, the statue’s muscles tightened as he retreated back to his pedestal. He was turning back into a statue. Climbing back onto his pedestal he thought about Sophie and what she would be doing right now…
Sophie was transferred to an orphanage but it wasn’t far-off before she was adopted into a humongous perky family. And to this day, Sophie still comes back to visit the statue.