My Songs In Prose: Episode 1 - Bedtime Routine

So the other night, I was putting my daughter, Molly, to bed. It was a fairly normal night. Clean teeth, wash face, snuggle in, read story, sing a song to her, kiss her forehead and turn off the light. On this particular night however, Molly had stayed up and watched an old Attenborough documentary with my wife and I. It was Planet Earth and had loads of different animals on it which she rather enjoyed. The perfect thing for a curious 5 year old to watch.

Anyway. I went upstairs with her to go through the whole bedroom routine but this night she was asking question after question after question. She couldn't help it bless her but all the same it was rather annoying after a while. She asked all the way through cleaning her teeth, washing her face and the snuggling in. Eventually, enough was enough. I told her that there was no more time for questions. She disputed this claim and asked why. "Because you've got school tomorrow!" I replied. "And if you don't go to sleep now you'll wake up late!"

She seemed to accept this notion but still asked questions. I eventually had to tell a little white lie and tell her that I didn't have any more answers. It was time for her to sleep. She asked me to read her a story but I suggested that seeing the documentary was better than a story because she'll have awesome dreams about the animals. She accepted this too. But said that mummy have to read her a story tomorrow night to make up for it. We agreed on this.

As I went to turn out the light, she started telling me that she was scared of the lions that she'd seen on the telly and thought one was going to appear from under the bed to gobble her up. So I obliged in checking under her bed to make sure no lion was hiding under there. "There we are, now you won't have a nightmare because I've scared it away!" She seemed content with this and wrapped the duvet around her.

I always find it cute when she wraps herself in her duvet. Something about it just makes me smile and realise how lucky I am to have her, my wife and my second daughter, Mackenzie. Just in that moment it always happens. And I kind of think she knows I find it cute so she does it on purpose. I don't know. But she's daddy's little girl. They both are really. But as always, I told her I'd have to go now as I have to make sure Mummy doesn't sneakily put on something weird like DIY SOS or something. So I said I'd see her in the morning along with the rising sun. I'm a teacher, so I get up early as does she. So it's a literal thing.

Because of the excitement of staying up past her bedtime, seeing all the animals and the questions she'd been doing, she tried to get me to sing a song instead of leaving. But I just wanted to spend time with my wife to be honest. I said to her "Mol, you have a voice of an angel like no-one's ever had before. But you've definitely got my stubbornness. You need to go to sleep now!" I try not to be firm with her as it doesn't help either of us. But I do lay down some authority. She eventually conceded and settled down for bed.

I looked at her one last time before turning the light off and closing the door slightly. I feel slightly better knowing she's in her room and sleeping because I feel like I've done my job properly. It makes me feel good knowing that bedtime has gone well. It's not long now until the wife and I hit the hay as well. But until that time...

When my wife and I go to bed a few hours after, we both just look in on both of them to make sure they're asleep. We're good parents. We can tell if they're trying to convince us that they're asleep but they're actually. Neither of them were doing it on this particular night. My wife and I look at each other when we see them and smile. Neither of us want them to grow up. We want them to stay just the way they are. We know that's impossible but all the same. We'll always be here to help them that's for sure. Pick them up when they're down but we'd prefer it if they never grew up. I dread the day they bring their first boyfriend home. Or girl. I don't judge and I don't care what they choose to do in that department.

But they'll always be my little girls...

Six Months Go By... (Final Chapter)

Six months had passed since Jackie and Jill's date. And six months more of longing had eaten away at Aisha. She was still totally convinced they'd never be together but she always hoped. Because, for the most part, hope is all she'd had left. The past six months had been eventful for both Jackie and Aisha as well as agonizing.

Jackie and Jill were now together and had been for about 5 months. Which was good. Jill was a slight improvement on Jackie's other girls he'd brought home but, as far as Aisha was concerned, she was still a total bitch.

Apart from this, Aisha had remained single. Sure she went out to try and meet people, even bought a couple of guys home over the period, but nothing serious. And whatever she tried, nothing worked. She couldn't get Jackie out of her head. For better or for worse, she loved Jackie. And probably always would.

Then, the totally unexpected happened. Jackie and Aisha spent the night. Jackie and Jill had a massive argument one night after it was rumored that Jill had cheated on Jackie with another guy and, in both anger and sadness, turned to Aisha for support. The phrase "one thing led to another" is over-used these days but that's what happened. And it was the best night Aisha had ever had at the time. But then the confusion started.

Aisha's mind went into overdrive with confusion. She'd slept with the guy she loved...but had no idea if it meant anything or not. She knew full well it was likely not to have meant anything but she couldn't help but hope a little more. 90% of her felt used, dirty and like a whore but 10% had hope. And that's all she needed.

Jackie however, also had confusion. You may not have thought it but it shook Jackie too. He was guilty because, even if Jill cheated on him or not, he'd cheated on her. But he wasn't sure how to approach it. He was lost in himself. And he had to make a painful choice...

So to the present day.

Aisha is in the flat all alone. She's eating Ben&Jerry's while watching EastEnders still feeling sad and confused about what had happened a few weeks earlier. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door.

"Not in". She shouts towards it.

The knocking continues.

"IM.NOT.IN" She said very sternly again.

The knocking continues. Aisha eventually concedes and walks towards it. She groans as she does. She opens it to see Jackie standing there in the cold December night. They look at each other confused.

"Hey, Aisha".

"What the hell? You have a key don't you?"

"Yeah but I haven't used it in a while. I wasn't sure if I was still welcome here..."

Aisha chuckled sarcastically. She stands out of his way.

"It's your flat..."

The atmosphere is incredibly frosty between them but still they continue chatting. Jackie comes in and takes his coat off as well as the bag he's been carrying.

"How have you been?"

Aisha looked up angrily.

"Don't you even dare...you know exactly how I am! We haven't spoken in 3 weeks and I've been falling apart here so don't you dare ask me how I am!"

"I'm concerned!"

"You weren't that concerned the morning you left".

"I didn't know what to do. I wasn't expecting that to happen".

Aisha wasn't having any of it.

"Oh didn't you? Well it sure seemed like you were angling for it!"

"Aisha, I promise you I wasn't".

"How can I believe anything you say? Do you know how I felt after you left? I didn't mind the fact we'd done what we'd done! Because..."

Jackie looked confused.

"...It doesn't matter. But I felt like a whore! I felt used, dirty and...and...decrepit! I felt like a rag doll tossed aside like its use had expired".

"I'm...I'm...Aisha I'm so sorry..."

Jackie looked like he was trying to say something to her but Aisha wasn't having any of it.

"Don't be. I learnt from that mistake. It's a mistake I intend not to repeat believe me!"

"Aisha..."

"So just do what you need to do. But just so you know...I'm moving out!"

"Oh come on, that's a bit drastic isn't it?"

"DRASTIC? Jackie, I don't feel comfortable living under the same roof as you anymore!"

"Aisha..."

"Because what happened really got to me! It got to me so much but I can't do this anymore!"

"Aisha..."

"And I'm assuming Jill doesn't know? I'm assuming you've kept that well hidden. Well don't worry. I won't say a word. I'll stay well away from you in future..."

Jackie had had enough.

"AISHA! WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME FOR JUST ONE MOMENT!"

Aisha was taken aback by the outburst, but soon regained decorum and humored him.

"Aisha, I've just come back from Jill's. And I've brought everything back. That's what the bag is. Everything".

Aisha looks at him confused.

"I don't understand..."

"Jill and I have broken up. I've brought everything back here. Jill and I won't be seeing each other any more".

Aisha isn't sure how to take the news.

"Well...why have you two broken up?"

Jackie takes a deep breath.

"I told her what happened. I told her what happened with us. And, understandably, she went ape-shit. Then I broke up with her".

Aisha looks confused.

"YOU broke up with HER?"

"Yes. Because, I realised something".

"What? That you'd screwed two lives over?"

"No. I realised something that, thinking back, I've known for a long time. Something I've wanted to say but have never had the courage to until now".

"And what's that?"

Jackie freezes.

"I don't want to say it..."

Aisha had just about had enough.

"Well if you're going to be a fucking coward and not be honest with me then screw you..."

"Aisha..."

"No. It's cool. Whatever you've realised I hope it serves you well!"

Aisha starts to walk away...

"I LOVE YOU!"

Aisha freezes. She stops for a moment and turns around to look at him. Jackie is shaking with nerves.

"What did you just say?"

"Aisha...I love you. And I think I always have done. But I was too afraid to say it because we were friends and I wasn't sure how you felt about me. So I stayed quiet all this time".

Aisha walks back into the room, holding her gaze at him.

"You're lying..."

"I'm not. I promise you I'm not. I love you more than anything in this world. And I've hurt you. I realise that but I'm so sorry. I love you..."

Aisha still wasn't sure.

"I...I..."

Jackie was waiting.

"I...I love you too...I have done for ages..."

Jackie smiled. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly!"

Jackie smiled even more. He was overjoyed. He couldn't believe the two of them had waited this long for it all to come out. Jackie moved over to Aisha and moved close to her. Aisha didn't put up any contest. He leaned in and kissed her. That was it. The first proper kiss they'd shared. No complications, no consequences, no nothing. It was a nice kiss. It was the best they'd ever had. And that was that. The rest was history.

And they lived happily ever after.

Oh, I've forgotten one thing.

As they kissed on the sofa shortly after the protestations, Aisha smiled at Jackie.

"There's something I need to tell you..."

"What is it?"

She chuckles. She's nervously chuckling. She in fact has no idea how to say what she needs to say next. So she just says it.

"I'm pregnant..."

Jackie looks shocked.

"Excuse me?"


THE END

Tumblr (A Kids Story About The Importance Of Feels)

"Are you sitting comfortably, Molly?"

"Yes, Daddy"

"Good. Then I'll begin. Which story would you like me to read to you tonight?"

"Ummmm...a new one?"

"A new one?"

"Yeah! A new one!"

"Well, I don't know many more..."

"Make one up! Please Daddy?"

"Ok. Because it's you. But we mustn't wake Mummy or Mackenzie!"

"Ok!"

"Ok...let me think...I know...I know one that will make you laugh, make you cry...but will scare you a bit too..."

"Uh oh..."

The Tumblr by Joshua Frampton (with some help from Molly)

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Let's call her...oh...I don't know...Alice...

"No, Daddy. Alice is in Wonderland!"

"Oh ok, well...what shall we call her?"

"Molly!"

"But that's your name...we can't use YOUR name! Can we?"

"Yeah! Please Daddy?"

"Ok. On your own head be it..."

Once upon a time, there was a little girl and she was called Molly. She was a very happy girl and did everything she wanted to do. She went to school, she saw her friends, learnt about LOTS and LOTS of cool stuff and ate...ummmm...peanut butter sandwiches!

"Eurgh!"

"Work with me here, sweetie".

But Molly liked something else. One thing she loved more than her friends, more than school, more than peanut butter sandwiches, even more than her Mummy and Daddy! And that was television. She loved all kinds of tv shows! Because each one was like a little story where she could run away for a while and forget about everything. But these weren't ordinary TV shows!

"No?"

No they weren't. Because these shows had something not many other shows did! And they were called 'Fandoms'.

"Fandoms? What are they?!"

Fandoms were groups of people who like a certain TV show. Normally, people stick to just one. But Molly was one of the awesome people who could move into different ones because she loved so many different shows! She didn't like every single one but she loved loads! Her favourite shows were...Doctor Who...

"Yay!"

...Merlin...

"Yay!"

...Sherlock...

"Huh?"

...Supernatural...

"Daddy..."

"Yes?"

"I don't know those..."

"I know you don't. But the Molly in the story does!"

But she loved numerous different fandoms. Molly and her friends would talk all day about the programmes. 'Oh did you see the new episode of Doctor Who? The Daleks were back! AND the Weeping Angels!'

"No Daddy...not the Angels!"

"Yes! The Angels!"

And they would talk about it for hours and hours. They enjoyed watching the shows because it gave them emotions they don't normally use in real life. 

"Do you know what emotions they could use watching the shows?"

"Ummmmm...happy?"

"Happy. Definitely."

"Ummmm...anger?"

"Anger?"

"Yeah! Because, people will get angry if the show is left on a...left on a...hanging cliff!"

"Haha. Ok. Anger. But other emotions such as sad, confused and surprise!"

But, one day, something would happen that would change them all.

"What is it, Daddy?"

"Well I haven't got to that bit yet..."

One day, they were talking about their favourite TV shows in school, when suddenly, a boy appeared!

"A boy? Eww!"

"Oh sweetie...stay 5 forever..."

A boy appeared! He came over to the girls and started talking to them. He knew about the same TV shows too! He was a big Doctor Who fan too and he was also part of the fandom. 'Did you like the last episode?' He asked. 'Yeah!' Molly replied. 'I did! The Angels scare the heebie jeebies out of me!' 'Yeah and me' the boy replied. 'Mind you', he said, 'I missed the episode originally, I saw parts of it on Tumblr!'

"Tumblr?"

"Uh huh!"

'Tumblr?!' Molly asked, 'what's Tumblr?' 'Tumblr', he said, 'it's a website where people share stuff about their favourite tv shows, films and stuff!' The girls all looked at each other. 'That sounds like a good idea!' Molly said. 'I might start to use it!'

"Uh oh..."

"Uh oh indeed..."

So that night, Molly went home, spoke to her mummy and daddy, spoke to her little sister, then went to her bedroom. When she got into her bedroom, she went on the computer!

"No..."

"No?"

"I can't go on the computer in my room! I don't have one!"

"Yeah...get used to that..."

She went on the computer and typed 'Tumblr' into Google. It came up as the first result, so she clicked it. Suddenly, her screen filled with...with...EVERYTHING!"

"EVERYTHING?"

"Ssssh...mummy and Mackenzie..."

"Sorry..."

She saw EVERYTHING she could possibly want to do with her favourite shows. Pictures, videos, GIFS...

"GIFS?"

"Magical things..."

"Tumblr has magic? It's a computer thing!"

"Who's telling this story?"

"You. But computers aren't magic!"

"They are tonight, sweetie..."

She looked around the site for ages and looked at everything she could find. It was like a pot of gold! She saw lots of things from her favourite TV shows. Lots of pictures and GIFS from Doctor Who, Merlin, lots of different things! She laughed for ages. And, at first, she seemed to enjoy checking the site out. She stayed on it for most of the night. Way past her bedtime!"

"I'd never do that, Daddy..."

"Oh give it time..."

She went to school the next day and told her friends about the wonder of Tumblr. All the things they'd seen and how they were going to go back on it that night. And they did. Molly came in, spoke to mum and dad, little sister, then went on the computer. Back onto Tumblr. And that's when things started to go horribly wrong...

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes..."

The pictures she saw yesterday were still there...but so were some others. But these new pictures weren't happy or funny...they were sad. They gave things away about the next episode! And they showed things that happened that made Molly very sad...

"Oh no..."

She kept looking through but all she saw was sad images. Like, The Doctor and Rose saying goodbye, Arthur dying...

"Arthur dies?"

"Huh?"

"Arthur dies?"

"Ummmm...no...That's just what the images showed..."

Suddenly, Molly started to feel sad all over again! She was sad when she first saw the show but now she was sad all over again over the same thing! Tumblr had turned on her! She realised that Tumblr wasn't a wonderful site...but it was PURE EVIL!

"Evil?"

Evil. Worse than any witch in any story. Worse than Morgana, worse than the Daleks! Pure evil. And Molly had been sucked in by it! She soon started to realise the Tumblr was really an evil thing that fed on her tears! And the tears of every other young girl who liked tv shows like Doctor Who and Merlin! Because everyone has a little thing in them called 'Feels'. And this, along with the tears, is what the evil Tumblr fed on. It sucked the feels out of her and ate it so that it filled it's big evil belly. Because Molly wasn't the only person whose feels it had eaten! It had eaten hundreds of people's feels! It was Tumblr's main diet!

"Molly's losed her feels?"

Molly had lost her feels. And she needed to get them back! Or else she'd never be able to watch another tv show again!

"Oh no!"

She had to get her feels back somehow. So she called out to all of the other people across Tumblr. 'Help!' she screamed. 'My feels have gone! Help me!' But no-one answered. And it seemed like her feels had gone for good. 

"No! Molly needs her feels!"

"I know!"

But suddenly, something wonderful happened. Someone came to her rescue. Somebody sent her a video. She opened it with caution...in case it was another evil trick by Tumblr to finish her off!

"What was it, Daddy?"

"Wait and see..."

She opened the video...and it was the best thing she'd ever seen.

"What was it?!"

It was a video of a kitten that looks surprised! She kept watching right until the end and she started to cry with happiness as it was SOOOOOOOOO cute. And that's when Tumblr started to fade...Tumblr knew it had been beaten. The sight of a cute kitten was too much for it and it went away.

"It went away?"

"It went away".

Molly, realizing her feels had been saved, turned off the computer and never went on Tumblr again. The End.

"So...kittens saved Molly?"

"Indeed they did! Cute little soft kitties save Molly's feels!"

"Yay!"

"Anyway, sweetie, it's time for you to go to sleep! I've sung you your lullaby, i've told you a story and now it's time for you to sleep. Ok?"

"Ok."

"All tucked in?"

"Yep. Ok. Give us a kiss then! There we are. Sleep tight Molly. Love you!"

"Love you too, Daddy!"

"Night, sweetie".

"Oh, Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Tumblr real?"

"Yes it is. Why?"

"I'm never using it. I want to keep my feels..."

"Haha. Good girl. Night Molly..."

THE END