Violet stopped for a moment under the gleaming gold sign, Archer Brothers Prescription Spectacle Makers to catch her breath. She was about to push open the polished wooden door when a sudden thought hit like a brick to the head.

Her mother was right. She had IDDCS. She had never heard of it before, but in that moment, she was one hundred percent sure she had it. Of course she was a disobedient child, Mrs. Moody was right. Beatrice, how could she have been so mean to Beatrice, breaking the rules like that in the middle of the school yard. Embarrassing. The pencil, she blushed as she thought about the pencil. Bending down under the desk like that without even thinking of asking teacher, what must the class have thought. She really was a bold child but all that was going to change. She turned around and walked straight back home.

With each stride her new thinking got weaker and by the time she’d reached her home she’d changed her mind again and was back to herself. She sat down on the steps and tried to work out what had happened. Her change of mind had been so quick it scared her.

“THE PILLS!” she shouted jumping up so fast she knocked off her glasses.

Her world went fuzzy. Quickly she sat back down and felt around for the frames. Her hand moved faster as the panic of losing her sight took hold. Suddenly something stirred close by.

“Don’t take the pills,” a voice whispered in her ear.

She just turned to face the voice when footsteps raced towards her. She was knocked from her spot onto the gravel below scraping her hands and knees. There was a scramble around her and she crawled away as fast as a blind person could. She’d just reached the grassy edge of the lawn when the voice spoke again.

“Here,” he said, shoving her glasses into her hand.

Then there was a rush towards the bushes behind the house. Violet lay still for a while. When all the commotion stopped she put back on her glasses. The yard was empty. Maybe she was going mad. She turned over her hands, her palms were bloody. Her school tights were torn and her knees were bloody too. She got up from the grass and dusted off her uniform. She had to find her Dad. There was something going on in Perfect and she needed to convince him to leave. She had proof now, bloody knees and palms should be enough to get his attention. She headed off on her third trip of the afternoon and marched back towards the Archers shop.

This time she didn’t stop outside, she turned the polished brass knob and pushed open the door. A bell tingled above to announce her. The shop was empty.

“Mr. Archers,” she called.

There was no reply so she took a look around. The shop amazed her just as it had done the first time. The rich browns and golds shone brighter than anything her mother polished and her mother polished a lot in Perfect.

Violet ran her fingers across the walls as she explored. When they danced over an unusual bump in the smooth cherry wood she stopped for closer inspection. There was a thin break in the wood from ceiling to floor dividing the wall in two. She pushed on one of the panels and the wall gave way to a narrow hall behind. Quickly she slipped through the gap. She heard voices coming from behind a door at the end of the hall and tiptoed towards them. It was the Archers. They were fighting. There was a third voice too and she was sure it was her father’s. The fight sounded ugly, she hated hearing adults fight. She didn’t want to disturb them so quietly she tiptoed back towards the gap.

“Violet Brown!”

She turned quickly and stood nose to nose with Edward Archer.

“I’m sorry Mr. Archer, I heard voices and I was looking for my Dad. I thought it was him,” she stuttered.

“How did you find that door young lady?” Edward Archer said, nodding behind her.

“Oh I wasn’t snooping. It was an accident I was just looking around the shop and I found it. I thought Dad might be in here.”

“He’s just stepped out Violet. I’m afraid you’ve missed him.”

“But I heard him, he was talking to you in there,” she pointed behind the stout man.

“Mrs. Moody was right, you really are quite the handful,” Edward Archer smiled.

“I em...I’m sorry Mr. Archer,” Violet said, stepping slowly backwards, “I must have imagined it.”

“What happened you Violet?” Edward Archer asked, taking in her untidy appearance.

“Oh I fell. It’s nothing,”

“Violet have you taken your pills dear?”

She stepped back further.

“Your mother told me,” he smiled, as if reading her mind, “It’s a serious condition Violet, it mustn’t go untreated.”

“Did William have it too?” she snapped, suddenly filled with anger.

She clasped her hands to her mouth. Edward Archer glared at her. His ferocious anger made him seem bigger.

“What’s going on here?” George Archer said, stepping into the hallway behind his brother.

“Nothing,” Edward barked, still glaring at Violet, “Violet was looking for her Dad. She’s just leaving.”

“Oh I’m afraid you’ve just missed him dear,” George Archer smiled, walking to his brother’s side.

“Okay thanks,” Violet replied, then quickly turned and ran.

Once outside and a safe distance from the shop, she stopped to breathe. Edward Archer scared her. She shouldn’t have brought up William. She didn’t know what had happened to him. Maybe he’d died, though Edward had looked more angry than sad.

Avoiding home, she walked towards town. The past few hours jumbled in her mind. Maybe she really was going mad, the endless sunny days affecting her mind as well as her sight. First it was her mother and the pills, then her strange change of heart, her glasses, the voice and finally the Archers and their odd behaviour. Worst of all she was certain it was her father’s voice she’d heard in the Archers shop. Why didn’t they tell her the truth? Had they done something terrible to her Dad?

She walked round the old town, head down avoiding the faces of Perfect. She had no friends and now it seemed she was losing her family. Her parents were all she had. They weren’t like normal parents either, not in the way other children’s parents were. They gave out to her if she was bold but usually they were great, more like friends than parents. Perfect had changed all that.

Violet knew she couldn’t go home. If she went home her mother wouldn’t listen. She used to listen. Before they could sit for hours talking about anything but since moving to Perfect things had changed. Her mother didn’t notice her anymore. She didn’t notice anything.

Her Dad wouldn’t listen either. He used to be great fun, always playing tricks. Her Mam said he was a big kid. Violet agreed because most of the time she couldn’t tell the difference between her Dad and the boys in her class. Since moving he was angry a lot. He’d be angry with her now for sneaking around the Archers. He was also strict when it came to manners and Violet hadn’t been at all mannerly to Edward Archer.

She definitely couldn’t go home. She saw a bench and sat down to get her bearings. She’d been in this street before. On the wall almost directly opposite sat a sign The Birth Place of Messrs George, Edward and William Archer, first sons of Perfect. It rested on the only house in the town that didn’t look quite so clean.