forever home is like what we have, Ollie. It’s where you stay forever with the same mummy and daddy.”
“Oh,” said Ollie, not really sure he understood. “So is Mollie’s foster mum Mollie’s forever home now?”
“Well, sadly not. You see, some lovely people just look after children while the people in charge can find them forever homes, but they haven’t found Mollie a forever home yet.”
“Why not?” Ollie asked. “Is it because she is so sad and grumpy all the time?”
Ollie’s mum laughed. “Oh, Ollie, in a way yes and in a way no. You see, Mollie is sad and, yes, a little grumpy because she doesn’t have a forever home, somewhere she can call home with a new mummy and daddy who will always be there for her. The fact she is sad and grumpy might not be helping her find that home because some parents that might like a little girl to be their daughter might be worried that she will always be sad and grumpy, and they might not want a daughter like that.”
“Well, she had best stop being sad and grumpy then!” said Ollie.
“It’s not that easy, Ollie. How would you feel if we did not have each other and you were moved from house to house all the time, having to make new friends and get to know new people? It’s very hard for Mollie, you know.”
“I wouldn’t like it very much,” said Ollie, “but I would be happy all the time, so that someone would want me to be their forever Ollie!”
“Well, Ollie, I think you and I should do all we can to try to help Mollie feel safe and happy while she is with us – what do you think?”
“I think it will take all my superpowers,” said Ollie, “because she is very grumpy, and she is a girl!”
Ollie goes back
to the library
The next day Ollie’s mum and Mollie went off to the hospital to see Mollie’s foster mum, and they dropped Ollie off at the old people’s home. Mr Wilcox was playing cards with Mr Green.
“Hello, lad, how are you and how is little Mollie today?”
“She is grumpy,” said Ollie. “I think that’s the only superpower she has!”
Mr Wilcox chuckled. “Now, now, lad, that’s not true, it’s just that Grumpy is trying to protect her, so he is being quite big at the moment.”
“How can Grumpy protect her? Grumpy is stopping her getting a forever home,” said Ollie.
“Well lad, Grumpy is protecting her because by making her grumpy he is stopping people getting too close to her and stopping Mollie from getting close to them so that she doesn’t get attached to people.”
“That’s daft,” said Ollie. “She will never find a forever home like that!”
“Maybe not lad, but you see our superpowers are always trying to protect us, and Mollie’s superpowers know that it might be a long time before she finds a forever home, and that every time she is given a new foster mummy and moves to a new place, it makes her really sad when she has to leave. So, by being grumpy people aren’t as nice to her and she doesn’t get attached to them, and then it doesn’t hurt so much when she has to move onto another home and school.”
Ollie looked puzzled. “But if she was nice she would get a forever home, and then she wouldn’t have to move again!”
“Yes lad, you’re right, but I think young Mollie has been moved around a lot, and every time she moves somewhere she grows to love the people looking after her, and then she is moved on, and that must hurt an awful lot. So by being grumpy she thinks it will stop people loving her, and if people don’t love her, she won’t love them. Also I guess being grumpy helps to keep people away from her and not call her names or say horrible things.”
“How does that help?” asked Ollie.
“Well, children can be very cruel sometimes and say cruel things. I would guess some children have said things about Mollie not having a mummy and daddy that hurt her, so by being grumpy maybe she hopes it makes her scary and will stop others daring to be horrible to her.”
“Humph,” said Ollie with a very confused Confused on his shoulder. “Girls are weird!”
Mr Wilcox laughed, “It’s not just little girls, Ollie. Little boys can be confusing sometimes, too. Now come on lad, I think it’s a perfect time for you to earn your next stripe. This is one of my favourites! It’s called resilience!”
“Resilly what?” asked Ollie.
“Resilience, emotional resilience.”
“What’s that?” asked Ollie.
“Well lad, it’s like a very special suit of armour like a knight might wear. It protects you from invisible arrows that try to hurt your superpowers!”
“Invisible arrows, hurt my superpowers. How, what,” muttered Ollie as he hurried along behind Mr Wilcox towards the kitchen. When they reached the kitchen Mr Wilcox said, “Right lad, off we go. Close your eyes and think of your library.”
Instantly, Ollie and Mr Wilcox were back in Ollie’s library. All the little superpowers were busy putting all the things Ollie was learning into boxes. The librarian was having a cup of tea. All the little chaps waved at Ollie. The librarian looked up and put his tea down.
“Morning, Ollie, how are you today?”
“I am OK,” said Ollie. “How are you?”
“Very well. Thank you, young man, but I would be even happier if you would help us by emptying another black box while you’re here. You’re learning so much that we are running out of space!”
Ollie gulped. “A black box,” he said nervously, and Nervous appeared and hid behind Ollie. “I thought I was here to get some special armour like a knight!” said Ollie.
“Oh, resilience armour,” said the librarian. “Well, yes, I guess it’s time you did get that, but that will take more learning, so we need the space.”
Ollie was not happy – the black boxes made him very nervous.
“Come on, lad,” said Mr Wilcox. “Let’s pick the right team to help you first.”
Instantly Calm and Brave appeared beside Ollie, and they cuddled Nervous, so he began to shrink. Mr Wilcox and Ollie walked off down the lines of shelves towards the back of the library where the black boxes were kept. As they walked down through the shelves Ollie could hear a lot of loud banging up ahead.
“What’s that?” asked Ollie. The banging got louder and louder as they neared a small door Ollie had not
