Maelwen was sitting on a bench at the railway station reading a book of poems by Charles Kingsley
Her train was not due for an hour
Or maybe two
She lived in Ash Vale with Roger Roger and Anna
It was a pleasant house
Roger Roger and Anna were at that very moment counting Brillo Pads that they had stolen earlier that day
Maelwen knew that they each had cameras attached to their chests which at the command of an eye would record an image
She removed her shirt and looked at her chest which did not have a camera attached
A businessman sat next to her
Sir why do I not have a camera attached to my chest as my siblings do why am I so different
I can see not camera but you have a beauty that they do not possess
Do you know my siblings sir
Of course I do I am your father
Will you then read me this poem
My train is due
If your train is due would you then just read the first verse to me
Oh blessed drums of Aldershot
Oh blessed South-West train
Oh blessed blessed Speakers clock
All prophesying rain
The businessman’s train arrived and he kissed Maelwen on the forehead and boarded the nearest carriage
Maelwen waved as the train left for London
Roger Roger and Anna had also removed their shirts and were photographing each other
Anna posed by the beds of flowers that brightened up a nearby roundabout whilst her brothers posed next to the railway
Maelwen’s train is late
It never runs
Never on a Tuesday
Ashamed that she did not have a camera attached to her chest Maelwen had put her shirt back on and was pacing the stations long platform
It was a hot day
There were no clouds in the shy
Rain was not expected
On the opposite platform a train arrived and Maelwen was surprised to see only chimpanzees alighting both white and black
They massed on the platform and caused a great deal of mischief
Do not worry Maelwen they will not hurt you at all they know no other behaviour
A voice came from behind Maelwen
She turned and saw a man with quite prominent features
Then why am I so different to my sibling’s sir
You are more advanced as we are against these unfortunate creatures
I have no camera attached to my chest
You are not in need of a camera
Please explain your argument sir
You say that your siblings have cameras attached to their chests so that they may take photographs at will
They do
And that you do not have this facility
Yes I have my breasts but no camera to join them
Do you desire a camera
Well in truth I think they look a little odd and my siblings do get stares from the uneducated
You have your answer Maelwen
I am still confused
Do you think that these primates could have built the train that they have just travelled on or this splendid station
No
They can do only the most simple of tasks like picking insects from their fur if you look over there one of them now lies dead as it did not have the sense to move from the railway lines
But my siblings do have sense they would not stand in front of trains
I agree they are not like the primates but they differ to you
I love each of them
Your love is not in question it is an abstract emotion the fact is that you are more advanced than them
Became I do not have a camera
Exactly
There was a great man many generations ago who wrote of this I suggest that you visit your nearest book seller and purchase his book
I will
Another train approached the platform and the man with prominent features began to herd the errant primates into order so that they might enter the carriages safely
It was then that Maelwen noticed that her book had been stolen
She searched the nearby area but found no trace of her blue book
It was as the train left the station that she noticed that one of the chimpanzees was standing the carriage window ripping the pages from her book
Do not be alarmed my dear as the destruction of the book it likely to be the summit of that primates ambition
The man with the prominent features was leaning dangerously out of the carriage window
Just think only the violence of his actions shocked you
Only the violence shocked me
Within the hour Maelwen’s train had arrived and she travelled home without regret
That night Roger Roger and Anna were making patterns on their bedroom ceilings by using the flash of their cameras
They told Maelwen
to lie on her back and to see if she could engage in their light display
Although she tried hard nothing happened
This was a frequent jest
That they all enjoyed
Later that night as she lay looking at the dark celling Maelwen began to understand what the man with the prominent features had explained to her and why he had been condemned to travel with hordes of chimpanzees for the rest of eternity