The Memory Book

“He should’ve never been born!” cry my parents from the other room as I watch on in fear. My father is drinking again. Dad’s been going down to the pub ever since I turned 2. He started hitting my mother, calling her ‘fat’ and ‘useless’. My mum has a brilliant body, yet she’s still trying to keep in shape with her diet plan. She’s been trying hard not to eat any cakes or sweets, as she had a proper diet of protein foods before she gave birth to me. Then Mum started hanging out with this other man named Ron, and Dad couldn’t take it anymore. He committed suicide while I was at preschool, and when I got back, the first thing I saw was my dad, hanging by a noose in his room. Mum couldn’t take it anymore, so she phoned care, and there I was in a care home. I lived there for five years, and the other kids would refuse to be my friend. They wouldn’t even let me share the toys and snacks they had in the home. ‘Huddy Nuddy’ they would call me sometimes. One time, a brash older girl called me ‘Huddy Nuddy’ right in front of my face. I was so angry that I punched her in the face, so I had to be sent to my room. In fact, I was locked away for a whole week, with only my soft Bluey toy to keep me company. They brought me food in trays, and they never even let me go to school.

However, a ray of hope came when I turned 7. My social worker found this lovely woman called Angel, and they arranged for her to be my foster mother. I was glad to be out of this bewildering foster home prison. I ended up in this lovely house, with velvet curtains and pure white sofas and a bedroom of my very own. There was a fishtank on the bedside table with little goldfish swimming about, football posters hung up on the walls, Manchester United and Aston Villa and others, and soft toys of Mickey Mouse and Winnie The Pooh on my crisp blue bed. Angel was a tall, thin woman with blonde hair, pink lips and sapphire green eyes. There was also a TV in my room so I could watch Bluey. I took my Bluey toy with me when I transitioned into the care home, then into my new home. Bluey was the only comfort I could take in my life, as everyone in the care home was very annoying and loud and often laughed at me. Bluey featured simple lessons of friendship and family, and I try hard not to cry at the episodes where Bluey made a new camping friend or baby Bluey took her first steps towards Chilli. However, I do shed a tear thinking of my old mum - now that she’s with Ron, they’ve moved about somewhere, living in a flat and smoking fags over the loss of their dear son. Mum’s thinking of me too.

Years passed, and I made lots of new friends, and I’ve even been to a brand new school. Angel and I have made lots of memories together, and when I reached the age of 12, I had already started secondary school. “It’s time.” said Angel as she went into my room. I was sitting on my bed playing my Fifa ‘22 video game on my Playstation. I switched off the games console and and TV and swivelled round to face my foster mother. “Time for what?” I asked. “For me to return to the foster home?” My eyes filled up with tears. I didn’t want to go back to that dreadful place, neither did I want to get teased by those…those kids I used to call ‘my friends’. I couldn’t go to my old school either, because it was miles away. I dropped the game controller and ran to Angel, pounding my fists on her legs. “No! No, no!” I sobbed, “Please don’t take me back to the foster home! They’ll bully me and call me fat and everything!” Angel just laughed. “Why would I want to take you back to the foster home? Listen: we’re going to make a memory book of all the times you spent with me. Your Aunt Matilda is coming to visit tomorrow, and I want to remind her of all the times I spent with you as a foster mother. It’s lucky I printed out some photos I took with my phone, so you’ll know which ones go where.” I wiped away my tears and smiled. “Can Bluey help too?” I asked. “Yes, Bluey can help.” smiled Angel.

I ran downstairs and heard the whirring and whizzing of the printer as Angel printed out the Bluey memory book from my favourite show’s official website. Then we sat at the table with some Pritt Sticks and turned to the first page. I saw a line of blue, pink and yellow balloons and bunting, with a duck cake on the corner of the page. I smiled remembering. Bandit had tried to make the duck cake for Bingo’s birthday, but was on the verge of failing until Bluey cleaned up his mess. My favourite part of the episode was the montage of Bandit making the duck cake and Bluey cleaning up her zoo hospital. Angel took out a photo from the box and I saw a photo of me at 8, sitting at the table of a birthday party at my friend Wesley’s. We were all wearing red and yellow party hats, and a Spider-Man cake was placed right in the middle of the table. Wesley loved Spider Man, as he was his favourite Marvel superhero. He told me he wanted to be an actor for Marvel Studios someday, but that was at school. I remembered all the Spider-Man decor in his house, all the happy noises and all the party squeakers blowing. I got him a new Snuggle Up Chase plush, as he also likes Paw Patrol. When we played Pass The Parcel, there were multiple Spider Man wrappers leading to a Marvel Superhero Bubble Blower. The birthday tea was among delicious. We had sausage rolls, pork cocktail sausages, grapes, bananas and delicious Spider Man and Paw Patrol cupcakes. When the Spider Man birthday cake was laid out, everyone sang Happy Birthday and clapped loudly as Wesley blew out his red candles. Everyone got a piece, and I had to chow down on it. I never had a birthday cake this scrumptious before.

Angel and I turned over the next page, and it was lined with blades of wavy green grass, with Rusty and Jack dressed in their ‘Army’ attire. Army is the one I don’t cry through, and I like to spot all the little details that happen to the other kids at Rusty’s school, like Mackenzie sitting alone on the hill and Bluey and Honey gazing at the water trough. The next photo Angel took out was of me in my school uniform, with my Bluey backpack over my shoulder. I remembered my first day at my new school. I was so nervous I wanted to go home, but then this girl called Aliyah came up to me. She had brown, flowing hair and was wearing the same uniform as me, with pink, sparkly shoes like she’d been to Oz to retrieve them or something. She was wearing a Barbie backpack over her shoulder. “You don’t have to be nervous,” she said, “I was nervous too, until Mum said I could make some new friends.” “I’m Hudson,” I introduced. “You must be..er…” “Aliyah?” asked the girl, and she giggled shyly. I reached out a hand nervously. Aliyah reached out her own hand and held mine. We then skipped off through the school gates as I waved goodbye to Angel. I spent the whole day with Aliyah and came top in all my lessons. I didn’t mind making mistakes, especially when I spilled my lunchtime mug of milk all down my shirt and everyone in the dining hall laughed. I went into the changing room and found a new shirt right then and there. I told Angel all about it, and she just laughed and said, “Oh Hudson, those pupils do know your sense of humor. You should grow up to be a comedian someday.”

When Angel turned over the next page, I saw no sign of Bluey or her friends or family anywhere, but instead a huge monorail train that zipped over the page like it was in the famous Superman phrase. Angel held up another photo for me to see, this time it was of me with my Aunt Matilda and Angel. I remembered my first Summer away from my new school. Angel packed the car and we went off to Aunt Matilda’s house for a Summer visit. The drive was long, and there were various stops on the way to feel sick or use the toilet, but Angel didn’t mind. She knew what was best for me, as I was her foster son. Angel always wanted a child, but suffered fertility, which means she didn’t want something she always wanted in her life. I’ve heard the Bluey episode ‘Onesies’ dealt with fertility, and when I saw that image on my phone of Aunt Brandy playing with Bingo before she ran away like a wild cheetah cub in her mother’s pyjamas, I remembered how baby Bluey walked towards her mother in Baby Race. One child goes towards her parent, one child leaves. This is what sent many Australian people into tears. We had to stay in a hotel, and a one-room suite was booked for both of us. I had a bath in this small tub, and then brushed my teeth and slept in the most comfortable bed I could ever sleep in. One of the hotel staff left a chocolate on my pillow, and I took it with me to Aunt Matilda’s. It was a Mini Milk Chocolate Orange. We saw many sights along the way - people selling things at markets, people going about their business, we even saw The Sea Odyssey Giant Spectacular at one point. You know what? I’m scared of that wooden giant little girl puppet. I ducked when I saw her - I thought she was going to step on our car and squash us until we were pancakes for her breakfast. Luckily, she didn’t, and we made it to Aunt Matilda’s in time. It was nice being at Aunt Matilda’s. I could watch TV whenever I want, have takeouts from Domino’s Pizza or McDonald’s every Tuesday and take baths with hot water and lavender bubble bath before bedtime.

The next page was covered with glowing stars and moons, and had a smartly dressed Bluey and Bingo guiding their cousin Muffin along the page. Muffin never fails to make me laugh. Sure, she can be loud and aggressive, but sometimes she can be well-behaved. On the page, she looked like she drank 10 bottles of whiskey and then went for a night out on the streets with Bluey and Bingo. It was my turn to hold up a photo. It was of me and my friend Jack during my sleepover. I named my friend Jack because he hasn’t known his name yet, neither had his mother and father. The best thing about staying at Jack’s house was that he had a drumkit and guitar in his bedroom, so whenever we hung out, we wrote rock songs and formed our own band, pretending to engage in band practice every single day. One time, we entered the school talent show with our original song, ‘Blue Fur’, which was a rock n roll tribute to Bluey. Guess what? We won first prize! Jack also had a trampoline outside, and he also had a dog called Sparky. Well, at least Sparky had a name, but Jack didn’t have a name yet. So, I had to go with Jack. On sleepovers, you can do whatever you want - at least, that’s what I found out from watching Horrid Henry on TV once - flooding the bathroom, bouncing on the bed, doing spraypainting…with Jack, it’s twice the fun. Trampolining and rock n roll - awesome! His father is a lead guitarist in a local band, and they travel round the country in a huge blue and yellow van with graffiti on it. He always drums at the dinner table using his drumsticks, and this sends Jack and me into fits of giggles. Jack’s bed has a Paw Patrol cover on it, and it has a few biscuit crumbs at the bottom, but Jack doesn’t mind sharing it with me. I had no sleeping bag anyway, so I just have to make do with Jack’s bed, his Paw Patrol covers and my own football pyjamas.

When I took out the next page, it was beautifully laiden with whitish-pink shells, and Bluey was in the corner, wearing suncream and zinc like she had transitioned to tribal life, and holding a shell in her paw. I looked at the next photo - it was of me in the forest by myself. I remembered that day. Angel and I went for a walk in the forest. I was holding Angel’s hand, but she told me she was a big boy and could walk across the forest by myself, so I let go, and just like that, I marched across the forest confidently and proudly like a big boy. Along the way, I spotted some things that would be found in nature, such as pinecones or twigs or leaves.Angel followed far behind, so that I could keep track of where I was going. Along the way, we met a dog-walker with a friendly yet daft dog who kept ripping up grass and eating it. I also found a pile of leaves. Our walk took place during Autumn, so I jumped in and played and wiggled about in the leaves, having such fun that I instantly forgot about my terrible start in life. We also had a picnic of sandwiches and lemonade, and then we got back in the car, and I felt really sleepy, so Angel had to carry me all the way home.

The final page had Bluey and Chilli in the corner. Bluey was pointing at her ears, while Chilli was wearing a towel, had a pink stripe on her ear and had hair clips in her fur. This was from Hairdressers - you know, the one where Bluey and Bingo give Bandit severe nit treatment. CBeebies cut out a scene where Bluey and Bingo flourbombed Bandit because they didn’t want anyone trying this at home. The final photo was of me sitting in a car seat at Kidz Kutz, with a new hairstyle. I remember going to Kidz Kutz. For those older parents reading this, you may recognise Kidz Kutz from shows on CBeebies like Something Special and My First, but it felt like I was with Justin in that Something Special episode set just there. I was seated in a yellow Spongebob Squarepants chair as they shampooed my hair with kid-friendly, apple-scented, nit-free shampoo. They washed, dried, rinsed and combed my hair until it shone like a golden treasure hidden under the sea. After my haircut, I smelled so fresh it felt like an apple tree was planted in my brain and then grew out of my head. Everyone at school adored my new haircut, and I even played fashion models with Aliyah, Jack and Wesley during free play time.

“There! That’s just about it!” said Angel as we stuck the last photo in. “Are there any more?” I asked. “We’ll do some more someday, Hudson. Now get some sleep. We need to be well rested if we’re set to see Aunt Matilda tomorrow.” We sat down to watch some Bluey on Disney+, then we had beef burgers and mash for dinner. I had to sit Bluey at the table too, because she loves eating dinner with her family. I remember in Bedroom there was a montage sequence which featured Bluey talking to her family at dinner, and then during the ending montage in Curry Quest there are two sequences set at dinner: one which featured Tiger Bingo and Bandit talking with Chilli and Bluey about their little adventure, and another during Bandit’s work trip with Bluey, Bingo and Chilli eating dinner at the table. I remember once they video called Bandit too. I once wrote a story for class about me living with Bluey and Bingo and aiding them in games to help them cope while Bandit is away. I also remember re-doing the fair scene to have Bingo as a butterfly, me as a lion and Bluey as a seafaring pirate. In my story, Bandit was also struck down with malaria, but was given a vaccine and everything was better. I later had a bath, brushed my teeth and clambered into bed. I said goodnight to Bluey, my goldfish and finally Angel, whom I whispered: “Thanks for everything.”

The next day, Aunt Matilda came and greeted us with hugs and kisses. “Hello, love, what have you been up to this week?” asked Aunt Matilda. “We’ve been working on a project to show how much memories we made since I adopted Hudson.” Angel replied. “Ooh! I love a good memory book,” smiled Aunt Matilda, clapping her hands like a seal in a circus, “Let’s have a look, shall we?” My pages were already laid out on the table. Aunt Matilda was moved seeing all those happy memories: my party at Wesley’s, my sleepover at Jack’s, my first day at a proper school, my road trip, my first time walking in the woods by myself and my haircut at Kidz Kutz. Once she saw all this, Aunt Matilda gave Angel a hug. “Thank you so much for including Hudson in our lives,” she smiled, shedding a little tear, “I’m just so glad he’s come to stay.” “I know, he’s had a bad start in life, but with him in my care, I feel like I’ve earned something I’ve wanted.” “Oh yes, I’ve heard terrible news about fertility these days, some mothers can’t be bothered to have children.” “Or maybe their babies are born small!” I piped up. “Born…small?” asked Angel. “What he means is, you wanted something, but you could’ve never gotten married. You were single. Still, it’s fun having him around, and he will be your son forever more.” advised Aunt Matilda. Hearing this, I ran to Aunt Matilda and Angel and gave them both a big hug. “Forever?!” I cried, “You mean, like, forever and ever and ever? Happily ever after?!” “Yes, of course.” smiled Angel. “Hooray!” I cried.

Later that evening, I wrote a letter to my support worker, whose named Tammy. The letter went:

“Dear Tammy,

Thank you so much for taking me in with Angel. She is a really nice woman and over the past few years we’ve had lots of fun. Sleepovers, parties, walks in the woods, road trips, almost anything that brought us together. Most families have hard lives. Mine had, but you were here to pick the perfect foster mother for me. I’m so happy, and you should be too. Thank you once again for giving me a happy life. I love Angel, and I send my best wishes to you.

Love,

Hudson.”

Angel and I sent the letter off the next day. Tammy was having her morning coffee when she heard the post come clattering through the door. She put down her sky blue mug and ran to the door to get the post. The letter was coloured blue, like her mug, and addressed to her. She opened the letter, and read my thanks and wishes to her. She was deeply touched, and moved to tears by what she had read. And Tammy, Angel, Aunt Matilda, if you’re reading this, I have one more word of thanks to tell you whilst I’m still breathing:

Keep on being the best people that can support me, no matter what.

THE END.