Extract from ‘The Constant Tin Soldier’ in the style of McCarthy

The little boy ran into the street to look for the tin soldier but could not find him.  He returned inside.   It started to rain.  When the downpour stopped two boys noticed the tin soldier and decided to make him a boat.  They made it out of newspaper and placed the tin solder inside.  The tin soldier sailed down the gutter.  His boat went into a drain under the road and he was consumed by darkness. 

What would the darkness matter if the ballerina were with me now? Thought the tin soldier.  He stood firm and held his musket tightly.  His boat sailed past a rat.  Travelling fast now.  Soon he could see daylight in the distance and could hear the sound of rushing water ahead.  The tin soldier fell deep into a canal and the boat began to disintegrate.  Paper mush. The tin soldier began to sink and was engulfed by a fish.    

It was darker now. Dark and damp.  The tin soldier lay still.  The smell was hideous.  He did not know how long he lay like this.  Some time later something sharp flashed through the fish.  Fresh air and daylight.  He welcomed them like old friends.

Look! It’s the tin soldier! Someone exclaimed.  They washed the tin soldier and took him upstairs.  He found himself in the same room he had been in before.  He stood on his one leg and looked around.  The same children.  The same toys.  His brother soldiers.  The ballerina.  Everything was just as he left it.  As if he never left.  He looked at the ballerina and she looked at him.  They did not speak. 

One of the children picked up the tin soldier and threw him into the fire.  No-one knew why.  The tin soldier stood among the coals.  He could see the ballerina through the flames.  She was watching him.  The tin soldier felt himself melting.  He shouldered his musket and stood firm.  A gust of wind flickered the flames and the ballerina was blown into fire beside the tin soldier.  For a second they were together.  In a burst of flames she was gone.  The soldier stood firm until he had melted into a solid lump.  The next morning the maid cleaned out the ashes and found what remained of the tin soldier.  A little tin heart.