The Kid
in the Batman Suit by Suzanne Bull
Let me just reply to this text message – “I’m o.k.
I’m safe. I’m in a pub with a kid dressed in a batman suit and his
mum”. Press send.
There you go.
All three of us are trying to work out how we will make our
way home through the chaos, the smoke and the sirens.
I’m with a boy dressed in a batman suit. “What’s
happened?” he asks. “A bad man has done a very bad thing”, his mum
replies, “but don’t worry because, see that nice policeman on the other side of
the road, he is going to make sure that everything will be alright”.
But the little kid knows something is very wrong.
Despite his mother’s reassurances, he knows that they’re not going to
make it to Heathrow Airport. The pub landlord tells us that all public
transport has been suspended until further notice. I haven’t got as far
to go as the kid and his mother, but it’s a long walk from Baker Street back to
Bethnal Green. In fact, I have no idea how far it is.
Outside, the sirens get louder and a serious-looking man off
the telly tells us all to stay where we are. I use my sleeve to rub a
small circle into the dirt on the pub window. All I can see are uniformed
police with loud hailers and ambulance men. Then someone passes me with
soot covering their face, choking into a tissue. I shift back round in my
seat. I’m scared to look anymore.
Inwardly I’m starting to panic. My breathing gets
shallower and my fingers start to twitch. I close my eyes and start to
imagine my sitting room. I picture the family photos on the wall - us all
together, smiling in the sunshine at my sisters’ wedding. Will I ever see
anyone I love again? I imagine the anxious phone messages; loved ones
ringing to make sure that I’m o.k.
Little Batman taps me on the shoulder. I open my eyes
and he smiles. “I’m bored. Want to play, I-Spy?” he asks. I
nod – anything to pass the time away. I shift up closer to
him. I pretend that I’m his big sister or his auntie. Even
though the continuous public announcements scare me, being close to this little
boy and his mum makes me feel like I belong. This is my newfound family.
We’ve been flung together in a moment of madness. However temporary
this situation turns out to be, all we’ve got to rely on is each other.
Will this Caped Crusader protect me? After all, isn’t Batman
the superhero of all time? Any minute now, I expect the little boy to
spring into action and take command of the situation. “Batman is here to
save us,” I’ll shout, “And what’s more, we’ll all be home in time for tea!”
Then everyone will cheer.
It dawns on me that I’m a useless Robin. I’m meant to be
assisting my super hero in his fight to save the world, but I’m a coward.
In the here and now, it’s me, the adult, who should be comforting the
child. I’m relying on the kid in the batman suit to have all the answers.
Yet looking at his long, black, rubber ears, and the mask that
obscures his little innocent face, I know that he hasn’t got any power.
None of us have.
So, for the time being, my home is a little pub, stinking of
fags and booze. This pub has been turned into a temporary shelter, which
offers sanctuary, security, friendship and family. All we can do is wait
for the next piece of public information, on this very surreal summer’s day.
Copyright Suzanne Bull 2006
The Kid in the Batman Suit was read by Suzanne Bull at the
Lyric theatre in 2006, part of
Shepherds Bush
Writers Group's contribution to the Westwords festival.
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