Chapter 3

We now move forward several years: Karen is ten and Billy is twelve. With a fairly ready supply of fresh food and a supply available for the winter months, Billy only needed to go out at night infrequently. But this wasn't what made the year so significant.

Both were of course aware that their bodies were changing: being two years older, Billy was always quite a lot physically bigger than Karen, but now she was filling out in places that differed from him. She had a distinct difference in size between her waist and hips, a fleshier, rounder bottom, rudimentary breasts, and even a little hair on her pubic region and under her arms. Billy's penis and testicles were larger and his chest broader, although he still lacked pubic hair anywhere on his body.

Karen had never been to school and although she shared a dorm with older girls for two years, although she may unconsciously have been aware of their puberty, she spent most of the time with Billy when he wasn't at school. So it came as a bit of a shock to them both when she started to become aware of the regular changes as her hormone balance shifted. First she just felt a little unwell some days, then the tummy aches got a bit worse. They were both puzzled, as they ate the same things all the time but it never affected Billy at all. And then one day they were swimming in the lake and she was startled to see the blood that was slowly coming from her body and colouring the water.

"What is it, Billy?" she exclaimed.

"I don't know!" he replied, somewhat anxiously, "Let's get out of the water and see if you've cut yourself without realising."

She stood shivering on the island while Billy looked to see where the wound was, but he couldn't see anywhere, and then several drops of blood dripped onto the ground from between the tops of her legs where the pee came out. He was more scared than she was.

"I'll have to take you somewhere, Karen—that can't be right," he said, with a concerned tone in his voice. She loved him more than ever at that moment, if that was possible. But Karen was a very intelligent, mature, ten year old and something in her brain intuitively made the connection between growing up, the funny feelings and the tummy aches. Smiling, she stroked his cheek:

"It's all right, Billy, I think it's normal: it's just what happens to girls when they get bigger. I think I remember some of the older girls had to go and see the nurse sometimes, I remember hearing them say it was their period, or something, but I didn't know what that was then. I'm not sure what we have to do, but I'm sure it will sort itself out."

And of course it did and by the time a few more months had passed she knew that this was going to be a regular thing in her life to deal with. It is funny how people adapt to things and are affected by social conven­tions: in some societies a lot is made of these natural changes, while in others hardly anything at all. For Karen and Billy it became, like nudity, a normal state; all Karen did for those few days a month was ensure that the blood didn't go where she didn't want it to inside the shelter, although outside and in the water it was never even mentioned. And of course, if during her cycle she felt a little poorly or dispirited, Billy was always there to be even more affectionate and considerate than he usually was. They always slept cuddled up together and if Billy did go out in the evening, Karen never felt truly relaxed until he returned and got under the duvet beside her.

When Karen was about thirteen: it was only an approximation, as measured time had little meaning for them and she had long forgotten the little birthday celebrations that the carers always had for those in their care; they were sitting in the shelter, which by now had been enlarged and improved upon several times. Billy's exact birthday was never known, so his day was always the one that he was first brought to the children's home, although he was already some weeks old by then.

"Karen," he said, seriously, "we're getting older and people must have stopped looking for us a long time ago, I was wondering if it was time to think about leaving here for good. We are too old to be separated now, and life must be easier somewhere else during the winter. What do you think about that?" She moved over and sat in front of him and pulled his arms around her.

"Not yet—unless of course you're getting fed up with just me!" He knew her so well that it was obvious that she was just being playful. That being the case, he held her a little tighter and smiled: "You know that will never be true, Karen!"

Later on they were lying down, facing each other in bed, cuddling and softly kissing each other on the lips, when Karen became aware of something between them, rubbing against her belly: she giggled.

"What's that, Billy!" He looked a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, er, that happens sometimes—" She lifted the duvet to get a better look, then she giggled again.

"I've never seen it that big before! When does it do it—is it like my periods, every few weeks?"

"—Er, no—it can do it anytime, but it's usually—" He hesitated.

"Go on!" Karen urged, "Usually when?" Billy was still reluctant to say, although they usually shared everything.

"Well—it's when I look at you, or sometimes just think about you." He was all of a sudden strangely coy: "I think—I think it's how grown ups make babies." Karen moved even closer to him, feeling his hardness sandwiched between their bellies.

"That's good," she whispered, "—I think we're going to make babies one day, Billy."

Always close, now that their growing sexuality had been acknowledged, it became more open. Perhaps inevitably, they discovered that kissing in a far from platonic way was very enjoyable and the more they did it, the more other parts of their bodies were affected—although they were still unsure how to act upon these strange feelings. Both continued to grow and develop until, although still relatively young, their bodies had developed into those of sexually mature young adults and they explored and did everything but fully consummate their physical and emotional urges.

And then one day the thing happened that was the next great shaper of their destinies. It happened that one early summer day, in what must have been Karen's sixteenth year, Billy, who had been out early, gathering edible berries from the hedgerows of the lanes not far from the island, returned to find Karen still in their shelter. He thought she was still asleep, but when he tried to wake her she was shivering violently, although she was obviously hot—very hot. He tried to rouse her, but she seemed unaware of his presence. Luckily, apart from winter colds, neither of them had ever been really ill before, so Billy just didn't know what to do. For most of his life, it seemed, Karen had been his sole reason for being, so he knew that he must make the right decision or risk losing her.

So, leaving her in the shelter, he gathered some clothes together in a plastic bag and then swam over to the shore. Leaving the clothes, he swam back and carried Karen to the water's edge, then he towed her across before quickly drying himself and her off and dressing her in as many layers of clothes as he could. They had no shoes but his feet were hardened, so picking her up in his arms he hurried to the nearest place where he knew there were people who could help him: the cottage where he had often gone to raid the fruit trees at night. When he got to the front door he knocked loudly.

"—Please help me!" he said, when the occupant answered. The woman, probably in her middle age, stared open eyed at her caller.

"Whatever is the matter!"

"—Please, it's Karen, she's ill and I don't know what to do!" Billy said, pleadingly.

"Well, you'd better come in then. Take her straight up to the bedroom on the left—I'll call the doctor."

Billy did as he was told. He laid Karen on the bed, carefully worked the covers back, then undressed her before covering her up again. That done, he lay down beside her, his head next to hers.

When the woman came upstairs she took in the scene that confronted her. It took her a few minutes, but then she recognised the strange assortment of clothes that Billy still wore and Karen had been wearing, but for the moment she said nothing.

"I know the young lady is Karen—do you have a name, Young Man?"

"—Yes—it's Billy."

"And is Karen your sister, Billy?"

"—No, not my sister." He searched his knowledge for the right word: 'friend' came to mind, but somehow it seemed inadequate. "—She's my wife."

The woman smiled; she wasn't sure how old he was, but the girl was surely too young to be anyone's wife. That they were close was obvious, so she let it go for now.

"Well, the doctor should be here shortly, he'll look after Karen. Do you live around here, Billy, do you and Karen have parents?" Billy frowned, but the woman had been kind and he felt the need to tell her something:

"We have no parents—only each other. We don't live far away, but I can't tell you where—I'm sorry—"

"Listen, Billy, the doctor will ask you some questions about Karen, then he might say that she has to go to hospital, or he might say that she has to stay here, but whatever he says, it's for Karen's own good. Do you understand?" Billy nodded. He was sensible enough to know that he couldn't look after her on his own; but whatever the doctor said, he wasn't leaving her.

"Now I think it might be better if we tell the doctor that you are both staying with me and that Karen was taken ill here. I know where you got your clothes from, Billy—it's all right, but I think you ought to change before the doctor comes, I have some pyjamas that used to be my husband's. My name is Eileen, by the way, Eileen Ryan. I'll tell the doctor I'm your aunt."

She took a pair of men's pyjamas from a drawer and Billy unselfcon­sciously took off his odd assortment of clothes and put them on. Mrs Ryan also gave him a pair of socks to put on his dirty feet. She then gathered up all the discarded clothes and put them in a closet. A short while afterwards a car could be heard stopping outside the cottage. Eileen Ryan let the doctor in and showed him up to the bedroom.

"This is Billy, my nephew, on my late-husband's side, and the young lady is his girlfriend, Karen. They have been staying with me and this morning Karen didn't come down to breakfast: we thought she was just having a lie in, but when Billy came up to see, he found her like this."

"Has she complained of feeling ill before today, Billy?" the doctor asked him.

"No, she was all right yesterday, Doctor."

"Very well; if you wouldn't mind giving me a few minutes, I'll examine her." Billy looked at Mrs Ryan.

"It's all right, Billy, we'll wait downstairs until the doctor's finished." He followed her downstairs and into the cottage's kitchen. "I'm sure you're worried, Billy, but you should try and eat something."

"No—no thank you—" He sat opposite her at the kitchen table, just staring ahead at nothing in particular. Mrs Ryan looked at him, quizzically.

"I remember leaving those clothes out for collection—it must be, what, ten years ago; not long after my husband passed away. And I always thought that someone was helping themselves to my fruit: was that you, too?"

"Yes—sorry! Will the doctor be much longer—she will be all right, won't she?"

"I'm sure she will, Billy—you were right to bring her here, you know. I'm sure you do a good job looking after her usually, but sometimes we have to let other people help us. I won't force you if you don't want to, but perhaps later you'll tell me your story: I think I might already know some of it, but I'm sure the rest will be very interesting. And I promise that I won't tell anyone else that you're here."

"I'm finished up here, Mrs Ryan," the doctor called down the stairs. Billy let her go up first. "I think it's a viral infection: you can sometimes get them without realising, from water, or a scratch, or an insect bite—does any of that sound familiar, Billy?" He nodded.

"We swim a lot when it's warm: but I'm not sick—"

"Well, it doesn't quite work that way, but if you do feel ill, you must let me know right away," the doctor said. He then addressed Mrs Ryan. "I've taken some blood. I recommend just bed rest and also keep an eye on her. I'll give you a call when I get the blood results back."

"I'll see you out, Doctor Morrison," Mrs Ryan said, "Are you going to wait up here, Billy?" He nodded and then said:

"Thank you, Doctor." The doctor smiled.

"You're very welcome, Billy!"