The spot

Painting by Shawn Mc Lean

The spot

James had a spot on his trousers. It was so tiny that he didn't bother to clean it before he left for a walk with his dad. Such a little spot can't do any harm, James thought. But when they were strolling in the woods the spot started to grow. "How dirty you have become," his dad said. James looked at his trousers and saw that the spot covered his entire knee.

James' dad picked up a handkerchief and started to rub the spot. "It has become too big," he said. "I can't remove it without soap." "Maybe we ought to go back home," James said. While they were hurrying back to the car, the spot grew until it covered his trousers and jacket all the way up to his neck. "Help," James shouted. "The spot is about to swallow me." Dad pulled off James' clothes at the last moment and threw them in the trunk.

The spot continued to grow, and by the time they reached home it had almost covered the whole car. James and his father hurried into the house and locked the door. But the spot came after them. It slipped in underneath the door and spread at high speed. It covered the floors and carpets and the furniture, so James and his father had to escape by the back door.

James father got angry. "I will not tolerate to be thrown out of my own house, at least not by a spot. I'll go in now and wash it away!" Dad tried to open the door, but it was stuck. The house started to shake. Suddenly the kitchen window broke, and the spot came oozing out.

"The spot is coming after us - we have to run," dad cried and took James by the arm. They ran to the bus and got away just in time. From the bus window they saw how the spot covered the roads, the cars, houses and gardens. Poor people, James thought.

The spot grew almost as fast as the bus drove. When they came to the city, they entered a speed-train to get away. But that wasn't fast enough either. From the train window James saw the spot covering whole towns with churches, skyscrapers and everything inside.

At the airport James father bought tickets on the first plane possible, in order to escape the spot. As they fastened their seat belts they saw the spot entering the tarmac. The plane accelerated with the spot rushing after them. Just as the plane was taking off, the spot caught the landing gear. But when the pilot gave full throttle, it had to let go.

From the air they could see the spot covering most of the country and heading for the sea. "If the spot doesn't stop we can't land," the captain said. "We don't have enough fuel to stay airborne much longer." James was afraid and looked at his father. "Dad? What can one do with such a spot?" "The only thing that helps is strong soap," his dad said. "But the soap is in our house," he sighed.

Then James went to the cockpit. "You don't have some soap, do you?" The captain rubbed his chin. "There's a box of CleanShine in the cupboard," he said. "But do you think it will help?" "We have to try," James explained. "If you circle the spot, I'll sprinkle soap powder on the edges."

The captain shook his head. "It will never work out, but you may try if you want." He opened a hatch in the plane floor. James got down on his tummy and started to sprinkle soap. "You have to wash away such spots while they are small," James dad said sceptically while he watched the soap powder fall towards the earth. "When they get to be as big and aggressive as this one, there is probably nothing to stop them any more."

But James was right. Where the powder hit the spot, the spot disappeared. The soap ate op the spot so that it shrunk and became tinier and tinier. The captain flew in shorter and shorter circles until James shook the last soap powder out over their house and car, deep down on the ground.

"We have to land now," the captain urged. "There's no more fuel." "That's all right," James replied. "The spot is gone!" When the plane landed, James was received as a hero. He told everybody how he had killed the spot with washing powder, and how important it was to remove spots while they are small. But he did not tell anybody that it was on his trouserknee the spot had started to grow.

The first thing James and his dad did when they arrived home was to take James clothes out of the trunk - and wash them thoroughly.