Street Kid (30 page)

Today Judy still works tirelessly to keep her centres flourishing. When she is not in South Africa helping her co-workers she is fundraising in Great Britain. For more information about Judy, Pegasus Children’s Trust and her work in South Africa visit www.streetkid.co.uk.

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I used to wake up icy and wet. I still remember the terrible cold. We’d cuddle together in one bed as soon as it got dark, as there was no light or heat in the house, and I suppose I must have wet myself most nights. I have another memory too, of being alone in the dark, standing halfway down the stairs. I think I must have been looking for somebody but there was nowhere to go in the dark and you couldn’t ask for anything because there was nobody there. It was pitch black at the bottom of the stairs so I didn’t dare go any further but I couldn’t see anything at the top either. I was stuck there, in the freezing, scary darkness and there was nowhere to go and I knew that it was no use crying because no-one would come. I suppose in the end I must have fallen asleep on the step but I don’t remember.

I can see Speedy beneath me, roaring along the track. We’re all spinning round, lit up brightly against the night sky, and the sheer force of the wind almost knocks the breath from my body. I have six seconds to move into position and let go. I don’t look down but I know the ground’s far, far beneath me.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

My hands leave the trapeze and I’m flying. With nothing but my ankles to prevent me from falling. But I’m not going to fall because I’m an eagle. And I can hear, through the wind and the noise of the engine, the roaring of ten thousand spectators.

Pegasus Children’s Trust

For information on Pegasus Children’s Trust and how you can help please visit www.streetkid.co.uk or write to:

Pegasus Children’s Trust
PO Box 5711
118A Bruce Gardens
Inverness
IV1 9AN
Scotland

Email: [email protected]

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Copyright

HarperElement
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Published by HarperElement 2006

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© Judy Westwater and Wanda Carter

Judy Westwater and Wanda Carter assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN-13 978-0-00-721375-7 HB

ISBN-10 0-00-721375-1 HB

ISBN-13 978-0-00-722200-1 PB

ISBN-10 0-00-722200-9 PB

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition © NOVEMBER 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-27999-9

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