The Magic Begins

Margaret was enjoying listening to the bluebird singing, while rocking on the porch swing. She wondered if it was singing to attract a mate. Was it ready to build a nest?

Margaret loved springtime! Flowers bloomed, trees began to bud, some even grew Easter eggs. She laughed to herself, Henry had been so excited making their tree into an egg tree. The grandkids were coming and Henry knew they would love it.

The screen door opened and Margaret turned her head. Henry was coming out the door with 2 glasses of lemonade. Together they sat on the swing, chatting and enjoying a relaxing afternoon.

The grandkids hadn’t even been here for an hour before Luke was running to the barn to find Betsy.

10 year old Luke had been entranced with Betsy since the first day he saw her. They were quickly becoming best buds.

They were able to pull him away to hunt Easter eggs but as soon as he was done he ran to the meadow where Betsy was grazing with her Mama.

Patrick, his cousin, didn’t quite understand Luke’s fascination with Betsy. Sure she was a cute little calf but he would much rather be playing cops and robbers than be sitting with a calf all day!

Luke sat under a shade tree reading a book to Betsy, who was now lying in the grass. He paused and looked up from his book. He could see the other kids playing and he knew Patrick was upset with him, but Luke couldn’t help it. There was something special about Betsy that drew him to her.

Maybe it was her deep brown eyes that looked like they could see right through him! Or maybe he was crazy. Who knew! He didn’t care. Right now sitting in the soft, emerald green grass, patting Betsy’s head, he knew he was exactly where he belonged!

“The End”, he closed the book. Luke wondered how it would have felt to have been Jack and climbed a big beanstalk that led to the sky. Sounded like an adventure that Luke would have loved to go on. He wouldn’t have been afraid of any big giant, even if he didn’t appear to be too jolly.

Lying the book down Luke stood up and turned around to look at the large Oak tree. Its branches went high into the sky. Luke was suddenly struck with an idea. He would climb to the highest branch of the tree. Maybe he would find an opening in the sky that led to a castle, like Jack did!

He started climbing and it took some effort but he was making progress. His heart began to beat faster as he climbed higher and higher. Ooh he better not look down, he was getting pretty high now.

Luke started feeling a little dizzy but he couldn’t stop now, he was almost at the very top!

Margaret heard her daughter yell and everyone looked where she pointed. Oh No! Luke was at the highest branch on their tall Oak tree.

He looked like he was reaching for something as he stood at the end of the branch. His legs were wobbly and Margaret drew in her breath and yelled just as she saw him fall!

Noone could believe it, Betsy was the hero of the day! She had broken Luke’s fall. She had walked right under the branch he was on and stood there moments before he fell. It was like she was waiting for him.

Luke had his breath knocked out of him a little but that was it. When everyone got to Betsy, he was standing up hugging her around the neck as tight as he could.

Henry watched with intrigue. He particularly watched the subtle interaction between Lucy and Betsy. He saw them gazing at each other and he knew he saw Lucy’s head move ever so slightly, as if she was nodding at her. Like she was saying “Good Job!” Henry never knew cows could wink, but he was sure that he saw Lucy give Betsy a wink.

He felt like he had witnessed a silent message passsed between Lucy and Betsy. Plus while everyone was around Luke he noticed something else.

When walking up to Betsy, he noticed the silver cowbell that had mysteriously appeared around her neck. To his surprise there was a bluish glow around it. It only lasted momentarily and then it was gone. Yes, Henry felt it in his bones, there was something truly special about Betsy!

Betsy’s Gift and other Treasures

It seems that for some reason my Part 2 post did not show up on the WP reader. If you missed seeing it, here is the link, Lucy, the Special Cow!  The following story is Part 3 and the conclusion … ( I think) 

 

Henry and Margaret were sitting outside rocking on the hand crafted wooden porch swing. It had been a wedding gift from Henry and served them well through the years. They had whispered words of endearment on this swing and shed tears. They had said words in anger, but also made up while swinging, gradually moving closer to each other. The swing had grown to be a special place throughout the years. 

Crickets were singing and the night air was warm, with the full moon shining bright. Henry was singing softly to Margaret, “You are my Sunshine”.  His voice cracked now with age, but it still worked the same magic in her heart as it had years ago, in their courting days. 

“MOO!” Loud mooing was heard coming from the barn. It sounded like Lucy was in pain. Henry and Margaret both hurried to the barn as fast as they could. Henry opened the door and a joyous sight met his eyes. Lucy was lying down next to her newborn, chestnut brown, spotted calf. Henry and Margaret watched in awe as Lucy lovingly washed her calf off, looking at Henry and Margaret with pride in her eyes. 

After spending some time in the barn with Lucy and her new calf, they left, for the night was late and they were tired. While walking back to the house, Margaret said, ” Did you notice? There wasn’t a silver cowbell around the calf’s neck.” 

“Yes, I saw that. A little disappointing, but one magic cow is really all we need. I am sure that little Betsy will still be a great cow! Plus we are getting too old to travel anyway. Lucy will probably stay around more now that Betsy is here, all will be good, no more wondering about where she is and when she will be back.”  replied Henry. 

“That is true,” Margaret said, laying her head on Henry’s shoulder, they walked into their house. 

Lucy admired her calf, she was worn out but she loved Betsy and before she went to sleep she had to tell her how special she was. 

“You need to know that you aren’t just an ordinary cow.” Lucy said. 

Betsy opened one eye and looked at her Mama. What did she mean?

“There are many adventures for you to go on, people to help. I have traveled around this world, but I am getting old and its time for me to pass my special gift onto you.” 

Suddenly Betsy felt something around her neck. What was it? She looked down and spied something shiny, oh how it sparkled. Betsy smiled, it was pretty. She wondered what her Mama meant though about helping people? How would she help people and travel around the world, she was having trouble just standing on her own 4 feet. Sighing she nestled in close to her Mama, and closed her eyes. She was too tired to worry about anything right now. Her belly was full of milk and her eyes were heavy, it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. Mother and baby encircled together in love, who knew what adventures awaited. 

The next morning Teressa was afraid to get up. What was her Dad going to say about her Mom being gone? How would she ever explain? She rubbed her eyes and figured the sooner she got it over with the better. She should just get up and go face Dad and tell him the whole story. Oh what made think that it was a good idea that she take the cowbell.  If she never would have done that, she wouldn’t be in the mess that she was in right now and her Mom would be safe at home. 

Teressa got out of bed and brushed her hair, trying to gather up courage to face her Dad. She picked out the outfit that her Dad bought her for her birthday. Any little thing she could do to help ease her Dad’s anger Teressa would do. She also put the cherry red bow in her hair that he had given her a few months back. He had picked it up when looking for treasures to sell and he said that he didn’t want to sell it for he thought it would look lovely in her golden blonde hair. 

Opening her bedroom door she headed for the stairs, she cocked her head. Where was that music coming from? She had never heard such beautiful music. Walking faster she started down the stairs and much to her surprise her Mom was downstairs strumming a golden harp! 

Relief coursed through Teressa to see her Mom and at the same time she was filled with many questions! She rushed downstairs, almost tripping over the last step. 

“Mama! Mama! You are back! Where did you learn to play the harp and how did you get it? Where did you go?” 

“Oh if I told you you would probably never believe me. I had such a fun adventure. I went high up in the sky and found some treasures.” She looked at her husband and winked. 

“Up in the sky … treasures? What are you talking about? Is the golden harp one of the treasures? Do you have the cowbell?” 

“No, I don’t have the cowbell, it was passed on to someone special.” 

“Who? You gave it away to someone, why?”  Teressa implored. 

“I think you should go out to the barn Teressa, gather the chicken’s eggs please. We need more eggs for breakfast..” her Dad said, patting her shoulder. 

Teressa looked from her Mom to her Dad, there was a bowl of scrambled eggs on the table, why did they need more eggs? Something was up.

“But…” Teressa began, but she knew it was no use. Her Mom went back to playing the harp and her Dad started humming along. Starting for the door she wondered if something was waiting for her in the barn. 

With great curiosity and some hesitation she walked to the barn. Her feet were wet from the dew of the grass. She hadn’t taken the time to put on shoes. With curiosity and some hesitation she reached the barn and opened the door. 

There was no cow with its deep brown eyes waiting for her, but what was that sitting on a nest?  She gasped, where oh where did a Golden Goose come from? Teressa couldn’t believe her eyes! Did her parents know about this? It flew up, shaking its feathers everywhere. Scared Teressa, making her heart race, as it almost flew right into her face. Then it settled back down, but Teressa couldn’t believe what she had seen. It had been sitting on large, golden eggs! They sparkled like they were magical. First a magical cow shows up in the barn and now a golden goose that lays golden eggs! Teressa’s mind was spinning, she didn’t know what to think.  There was one thing though, that she did know for sure. She was becoming a strong believer in the fact that their barn had to be enchanted!  

 

 

Lucy, the Special Cow!

This a continuation from Thursday’s post, The Enchanted Barn

 

Finally she heard the sound that she had been waiting for, the sound of a freight train coming. The sound of her Dad snoring. Her Mom slept like a log as soon as her head hit the pillow, and Teressa had no idea how she managed to sleep through the snoring every night. She was glad though for her Mama being a sound sleeper, for now the coast was clear for Teressa to carry out her plan. 

Grabbing her backpack that she had packed with food, money and an extra set of clothes, she headed out of her bedroom. Teressa tip-toed past her parent’s bedroom, towards the stairs. Creeping very softly down the steps, she skipped the 4th one, knowing that had a squeaky board in it. Making it down with her heart rapidly beating she stood still for a moment listening. All was clear, all she heard was the sound of her Dad’s freight train continuing to chug. 

Her Dad’s bag was by the door, with new treasures to add to his cart in the morning, hoping to sell. Teressa reached into it hoping the cowbell was on top but it wasn’t. It must have sunk to the bottom. There was a china doll, some silver spoons, and little bottles of oils to heal almost every sickness you could think of. She laid each thing on the table when pulling it out of the bag. Oh where was that cowbell, thought Teressa.

A frightening thought struck her, what if her Dad had taken it into the bedroom with him. He couldn’t stop looking at it last night and telling Mama all that he would buy for her with it. Mama had rolled her eyes at him. She did not believe the story about it being magic and didn’t think he would be able to get anyone to pay the large amount that he wanted for it. She called him a dreamer! 

When Teressa began to give up hope of finding the cowbell, her hand touched something cold and metallic. Yes, it was the cowbell, she had found it! Her heart sparked with joy as she pulled it out of the bag. Now there was nothing stopping her! She drew in a deep breath, was she really brave enough to do this? To let the enchanted cowbell take her away, having no idea where she would go. Yes, she could do this, what an adventure it could be. One like no other that she ever had! 

Suddenly hearing footsteps and a squeak, she jumped, dropping the cowbell on the floor.  Her heart fell at the sight before her. Mama was on the stairs, standing on the 4th step, looking at her curiously. 

“Why are your Dad’s trinkets spread out on the table? What are you doing?” her Mama asked, as she came down the stairs, and over to where Teressa stood. 

“What are you doing up Mama?” Teressa asked, ignoring her Mom’s question. 

“I needed some hot milk, my stomach wasn’t feeling right and your Dad is snoring so loud, how can I sleep through that? ” 

Teressa didn’t mention to her how she seems to sleep through it just fine every night. Of all nights for her Mama to have a stomach ache, thought Teressa. Now what was she going to do? 

Teressa’s Mom bent down to pick the cowbell up from the floor. “Your Dad is so crazy, thinking anyone is going to believe that this is a magic bell. You all did a good job of concocting up a story, you and your Dad have wild imaginations.” 

“But it really is magic!” said Teressa. 

“Well if it really is magic, perhaps it can cure my stomach ache. You shake it 3x right?” 

“Yes, but…” 

“1,2,3…”  Pink and purple smoke billowed around the room. 

When it cleared Teressa stood there with her mouth agape and a sinking feeling in her stomach, realizing that her Mama was gone! This was not how it was supposed to be! What would her Dad say when he found out what happened and where oh where did her Mama go? 

Henry walked into the farmhouse with a big smile on his face. He tugged on his wife’s apron strings while she stood at the stove with her back to him. 

“Henry! She turned around holding a spatula, looking into Henry’s twinkling blue eyes. 

“What has you so cheerful this morning?” she asked as she retied her apron strings. 

“Lucy is back in the barn. Our special cow came back home and I think she is close to giving birth!” 

Margaret’s face lit up, “That is wonderful news!”  She placed the eggs and biscuits and gravy on the table for breakfast, and they both sat down. 

“Do you think her calf will have the same magical powers that she does?” asked Margaret. 

“I have no idea, but I would think its very possible! Oh Margaret who would have thought that Lucy would turn out to have such magical powers? Remember how mad at me you were when I first bought her?” 

Margaret blushed. “You will never let me live that down! But yes, I thought you were a true dummkopf for giving away the last of my beans to get a cow! Telling that poor boy, Jack,  that they were magic beans. You should have been ashamed of yourself. I was going to use those beans for our supper. Then that cow got into my bag of beans and ate them all!” 

“Oh yes, you threw quite the fit! But then we woke up the next morning and Lucy had a sparkling cowbell around her neck! We both were touching it, wondering where it came from when Lucy shook her head 3x and … “

They both smiled at each other thinking back over the years of all the places their sweet Lucy had taken them. They had traveled the world. Apparently those beans that Lucy ate, really had been magic beans! 

 

 

 

 

The Enchanted Barn

Image from Pinterest

What was that noise coming from the barn? She was kicking herself for coming home so late. If only she would have insisted for Joe to take her home sooner. Who was she kidding though, she had no desire to leave him sooner, she longed for the day when they would be together always, in their own place. Through the night she could lay in his arms.

Standing there still, Teressa was unsure of what to do. Was it safer to go investigate what was in the barn, or to enter the house and face her Dad’s temper? This was the 3rd time this week that she was late coming home! With a thumping heart she headed for the barn. When she got closer she was startled to hear what sounded like a cow, but they didn’t have any cows, only chickens.

Her heart slowed down a little, for she would much rather face a cow than a stranger in the barn. Slowly she walked towards the freshly painted red barn and opened the wooden latch.

“MOO!”

Teressa was speechless, she had been right! She couldn’t imagine how a brown and white cow got in here, but it was standing right before her own eyes. The cow was quiet once it saw her. There was something about its eyes that drew Teressa closer to it. She was standing right in front of it when she noticed the shiny silver cowbell hanging around its neck. Moments passed as they stared at each other in silence. The only sound was the one that the chickens were making.

Teressa was thinking this could turn out to be a really good thing that she found this cow. Surely it would distract her Dad from being angry with her for coming home so late. At least momentarily! She had just started to turn around to go to the house and get her Dad when she heard a voice. “Leaving already?”

Teressa froze, was the cow just a distraction? Was there a stranger hiding in the barn? She gazed at the cow, and then practically fainted as she realized that it was the cow who had spoken!

“Never saw a talking cow before? I am the only one, so of course you haven’t. I am a very special cow, you know. I may look ordinary to you but don’t let yourself be fooled, for I am way beyond ordinary!”

Teressa was at a loss for words. She had never seen a cow looking so proud of themselves before, much less talking!! She kept staring at the cow, mesmerized by its deep brown eyes.

“I like to travel around, so I never stay in one place for too long. See this shiny bell around my neck?”

Teressa nodded.

“All I have to do is shake my head 3x like this and …. ”

POOF! The barn was filled with pink and purple smoke and when the smoke cleared the cow was nowhere to be seen. Teressa turned around looking for it and was stunned to see her Dad standing in the doorway.

“Your Mom will never believe this!” her Dad said, shaking his head.

“Dad look!” Teressa found her voice as she noticed that the silver cow bell must have fallen off the cow’s neck! It was laying right where the mysterious cow had been standing.

Her Dad’s face was shining holding the cowbell in his hands. “A magical cowbell! This would go perfect in my collection of treasures! It will of course have a hefty price tag on it!” her Dad said, he was a peddler and had all kinds of knick knacks that he sold.

Teressa didn’t want him to sell it though, she wanted to try it out herself! This was the most amazing thing that she had ever seen! She watched her Dad proudly holding onto it, like it was a million dollars. She could see the dreams in his eyes of what he would do with the money. Somehow she would have to get her hands on the cowbell before he sold it. Her eyes gleamed in anticipation and her heart felt as light as a feather while following her Dad into the house. This night had turned out quite well after all!

Getting Even

The following story is the conclusion to Wednesday’s post. One Strange Night 

 

“Do you have any fish? I am feeling rather hungry.” the cat looked at Starla, who still stood motionless, looking back at the cat in wonder! 

The cat jumped up onto the white leather couch, tearing a hole in it with its claws. Starla winced as she yelled, “What  are you doing?”  

“Oh, so you can talk! Good to know, now can we get down to business.” replied the cat, totally ignoring her question, as it stretched out on the couch. 

Starla was shaking her head as she sat down. “What are you talking about , why are you here?” she asked.  

“I need your help!”, at least I am hoping you can help me!” 

Starla didn’t say how she didn’t have a real helpful feeling right now, looking at the hole that he had put in her couch. She didn’t want any other holes in her couch, but she was feeling intrigued. Why would he think she could help him? 

“Do you have magical powers at all?” the cat asked. 

“No, can’t say that I have any magical powers.” Starla replied, thinking that if she did, she would make her annoying co-worker Jeff disappear! 

The cat leaped up, digging his claws into the couch as Starla groaned. “Get down now!” she yelled, which he promptly did. 

“Well I see that I had you pegged all wrong! I should have known that you know nothing!” 

“I most certainly don’t know nothing! You know you are getting annoying, why do you need magical powers?” Starla asked. 

“Look at me! I’m a cat! Starla do you not recognize me?” 

“Recognize you? I don’t know any cats!” she retorted. 

“Its me Jeff, from work.” 

“Jeff??? But how??” Starla was trying to contain her laughter.  Now that he mentioned it, his voice was familiar. It was a voice that she tried to forget and one she never thought she would hear coming from a cat! 

“I was out the other day taking a hike in the woods, and I came to this really beautiful waterfalls. Rested there awhile and then the next thing I know I am opening up my eyes to some real scary fairy looking at me and chanting something. Suddenly I was a cat! I ran out of there as fast as I could!”

“Oh, so that’s why you didn’t show up at work today. The boss was pretty mad!” 

Jeff groaned. “I need your help! I can’t stay a cat.” 

Starla could no longer hold back her laughter, as she started shooing him out of her door with her broom. 

“Hey! Be nice!”” Jeff meowed. 

“Maybe you should have been nicer at work.” With those words she swung the broom and sent him flying out of her room into the hallway and closing the door. 

Starla was so amused. Most likely this was a dream. Maybe she was more tired then she thought she had been. She would probably wake up tomorrow, go to work and see his annoying face again, but for now she would savor this moment! Even if it was a dream, she didn’t know if she would be able to look at him with a straight face tomorrow, and starting to laugh again she headed to her bedroom to go to bed. 

Rowing in the Moonlight

Drifting down the river under the moonlit sky, Flynn felt like time was standing still.

Having dropped off his last passengere, he rowed his gondola slowly through the rippling water.   Being alone with his thoughts, Flynn found himself singing “Moon River”, in his rich baritone voice.

He thought of his ex-girlfriend,  Tracey, he hoped she was doing okay. It had been a mutual breakup but was still hard, for they had been together for over a year.

They both had come to the realization that the spark had gone out of their relationship and they were headed down different roads. He sincerely wished her all the best. Perhaps someday he would hear her singing on the radio. She was off on her pursuit  of finding fame and fortune.

Flynn was content being a gondalier for now, he didn’t know what else he would do if he wasn’t one. Looking at the beautiful moon , a peace flowed through him. He loved being out on the water. Always had since he was a little boy. Going out on his Grandfather’s gondola was one of his earliest memories of being on the water.

Breaking into song again he watched the moon’s reflection dancing on the water.

Wait! What was that? There was something else moving on the water besides the moon.

It was a person! Flynn rowed quicker towards the person swimming in the water. When he got closer he saw it was a man.

“Here hop in.” Flynn said, reaching the man with his gondola. The man gratefully climbed over the side and hopped in.

“I am so glad to see you! Thank you!” The man said as he sat down on the bench.

“I am glad I spotted you and hadn’t gone home yet. May I ask why you were in the river? Did something happen to your boat? My name is Flynn by the way” and he reached out to shake the man’s hand.

The man shook his hand, “I am Lawrence and I wish I knew how I ended up in the river.”

Flynn stared at him as Lawrence started emptying his pockets. Taking out what he had, putting it beside him to dry out. One thing grabbed Flynn’s attention. Was that a silver cowbell?

“Is that a cowbell?” Flynn asked.

“Yes, I found it when I was in the park and ever since strange things have been happening to me! I am a magician and I have never heard of magical cowbells before, but there is something certainly strange about this cowbell!”

Flynn was silent. He and his brother had heard stories of his great grandmother’s magical cowbell, since they were little. She had told how a peddler had given it to her long ago.

At first she had been disappointed by it. Why would she want a cowbell, she had thought, and she shoved it in one of her kitchen drawers. She forgot all about it until one day. Could this be the same bell or was there more than one magical cowbell?

A Day Like No Other!

This is the conclusion to Saturday’s post, The Foggy Magic , I hope you enjoy it! 

                                                       A Day Like No Other! 

Walking closer Jillian pinched herself to make sure she really wasn’t dreaming. Dare she go closer?  She didn’t think he had noticed her yet, he was too busy stirring whatever was in the huge pot in front of him. Smoke was billowing out of it. Was he truly a wizard? He had a wizard’s hat on his head. At least the kind of hats that Jillian had seen Wizard’s wear in movies, she had never actually met one face to face. His hat looked almost as tall as him.  Could he really work magic spells?  Hmmm … what kind of magic spell would she ask for if she got the chance? 

He turned his gaze toward Jillian when she was almost up to him. A wide smile crossed his face. “Hello! Not used to seeing other people around here, but I always enjoy company.” He lifted his spoon from the pot and sipped from the greenish orange liquid. “Ahh! Just about right.” 

What strange concoction was he making? Jillian wondered. 

“Oh, pardon me, I didn’t mean to be rude. Would you like a sip of my soup?” 

“No thank you! I’m not hungry.”  Jillian replied. Her stomach was growling, but there was no way she was taking anything from that pot. 

“That is too bad, but I guess it leaves more soup for me.” he said, lifting the spoon up again for another sip. “Perfection!” 

Jillian rubbed her eyes, looking again, now the liquid was purple! He had grabbed a bowl and was dipping soup out of the pot into the bowl. Each time he dipped the spoon into the pot the liquid was a different color. 

“What is in your soup?” 

“Chameleons of course.” he replied, and Jillian almost gagged, feeling very relieved that she hadn’t tried the soup! 

“Here, have a seat, and we can chat, while I eat.” snapping his fingers, 2 chairs appeared, much to Jillian’s astonishment. This guy really was a wizard! 

Jillian sat down on the chair, with her head all full of questions now. “How long have you lived here?” she asked. 

“Oh, I been around for a long time, many years, lost track of time. I really don’t know my age anymore. If I had a calendar that might help me figure it out, but I don’t really need to know, do I?” and he smiled at her as he cocked his head, waiting for her to respond. 

She was intrigued with this man. He seemed a little quirky, but in a fun sort of way. 

“What kind of magic can you do? Can you make anything appear with just a snap of your fingers?”  Jillian asked. 

“Well, depends what you want. Some things are more difficult than others.” He started laughing to himself. “Once I messed up with a poor animal, but she didn’t seem to mind. I wonder whatever came of her. I imagine that she is the only singing, long neck hippo around!”

Jillian started laughing now. A singing hippo, with a long neck, that would be something to see! What should she ask for? She did always want a horse for a pet, so why not give it a try. 

“I would like a horse to ride please!” 

The wizard closed his eyes as if to concentrate. He had them pinched shut awfully tight, he turned around 3x and did a cartwheel and then snapped his fingers 3x and suddenly in front of Jillian there was a …. neighing donkey! 

“Oops!” the wizard said. “Let me try again!” Meanwhile the donkey went running off.  This time he did a little twist and jumped up and down 3x and then snapped his fingers 3x and a great, big, wolf with spots appeared, making Jillian jump back. Then it  opened its mouth to howl but all that came out was a squeak like a mouse! The wolf kept squeaking as he ran into the woods. 

The poor wizard was getting flustered now,  as he started jumping around and muttering to himself. 

“No more animals, forget the horse! Its OK!” Jillian said. 

It was as if the wizard couldn’t hear her though, he just kept jumping around and muttering to himself. Jillian was beginning to think that she should go back to her canoe, for who knew what this crazy wizard may do. Then stopping suddenly, he looked directly at her. He got very close to her and she felt his eyes boring into her, making her feel slightly uneasy. Was he trying to cast a spell on her? 

“Perhaps I could make you into a horse, maybe that would work?” 

Jillian started backing away, but he was circling around her and chanting. Oh, she never should have got out of her canoe! 

POOF! 

“Jillian, Jillian, are you awake?” 

Jillian saw her Mom standing over her looking very concerned. “When you didn’t answer your phone I thought I would just come over, but then you wouldn’t answer your door and I got worried, for your car was still in the driveway. I can hardly breathe in here, how did you sleep? Don’t you know its really bad to breathe in fresh paint fumes for too long. You didn’t have any of your windows open, I had to shake you awake!” 

The room was still kind of spinning as Jillian tried to focus on her Mom and on what she was saying. Why was she in bed? Hadn’t she just been in her canoe and … she couldn’t remember anymore, her brain felt like it was in a fog.  Her Mom helped her out of bed and said, “Lets go, I am taking you out to breakfast, and letting your house air out for the day! What would you like to eat?” 

“A cheeseburger.” Jillian replied, grinning. 

“For breakfast? Those paint fumes really did get to you, didn’t they?” 

Once Jillian felt more balanced, and the dizziness went away she got ready to go out with her Mom. They were walking out the door when her Mom said, “Perhaps you can explain to me why you chose the colors you did for your room? Purple and orange? What were you thinking of, a chameleon?” 

 

 

 

 

                                                             

 

 

 

The Foggy Magic

This photo was taken by Jason, and he is kindly letting me use it. I hope the story does it justice! You can see more photos of his at https://jasonfrels.com/2021/02/28/6644/

It was a foggy morning to go out in her canoe, but Jillian was eager to do it. She had tossed and turned all through the night. When she realized that she wasn’t gong to win with the battle of trying to go back to sleep, she decided that she may as well get up and start the day. Stepping into her newly painted kitchen with her fuzzy hot pink bathrobe on, she turned on her coffeemaker.

The past week had been a busy one consisting of re-painting the rooms in her house. She was so relieved to finally be finished. As she looked around her kitchen she was pleased at how it had turned out. When she was in the paint store and saw the tiger orange paint she knew that was the color she wanted. Her friends would probably shake their heads over the color, but they were used to her unique taste with color combinations. She laughed to herself imagining their expressions when they saw her bedroom. A pale lavender shade with fiery orange spots.

Jillian finished her coffee and blueberry English Muffin and got dressed to go out for a morning of rowing. She knew exactly where she wanted to go, it was her favorite spot. Putting on her bright orange jacket she went out the door, eager for a peaceful morning.

Ahh! She was glad that no other rowers were around. Coming under this bridge was a refuge for her and a place where she let herself dream as she stopped rowing, enjoying being still. This place almost felt magical, like she could row away into another world. After awhile of letting dreams fly through her mind, she looked at her watch and realized that she should probably soon go home. Later today she was supposed to meet Gary for an early supper at the at the Aki House restaurant. Her mouth was already watering thinking of the delicious food they had there. Picking up her oars she began rowing once more.

A strange feeling started washing over Jillian. She should be out from under the bridge by now. Many times she had been here, and she didn’t remember it ever taking this long before to row out from under it. She must have just rowed in farther than she had thought. Trying to ease her nerves she started singing as she rowed.

There was no denying it now, she looked at her watch and she had been rowing for quite some time, but she was still under the bridge. Stopping for a moment, she lay the oars in her lap, as her hands shook and her insides began to feel a bit like jiggly jello, but at the same time she had a sense of excitement. Jillian had always been someone that was up for adventure, not afraid of trying new things. Whatever was happening was bound to be a great story to share with her friends. With a sudden spurt of courage she picked up the oars and started rowing again, who knows where she may end up? Perhaps this really had been a magical place all this time and she was only experiencing it now! Or perhaps her lack of sleep was catching up to her and she was dreaming all of this? No, she had extra strong, dark roasted coffee this morning, surely she was awake!

Jillian hoped she didn’t run out of strength as she kept rowing. It was good that she worked out at the gym, to help keep her energy up. Rowing more she felt adrenaline pumping through her, and then before she knew it, she realized she wasn’t under the bridge anymore. She wasn’t under the bridge anymore but where was she, was the question that now weighed on her mind.

She was staring at a grassy meadow. Rowing to the meadow, she got out and drug her boat up onto the land. Well the sun was still high in the sky, what was to keep her from exploring? She saw woods in the distance, and started walking towards them. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, looking in shock at the sight before her. Now that was certainly something that one didn’t see every day!

… to be continued …

The Magic of Happiness!

The following story is continued from Monday’s post, Love without Words . I get inspirations from lots of different things for my stories. Sometimes by pictures, which is how I wrote Monday’s post and sometimes by suggestions made by my “followers”. Thank you to some of my “followers”, who inspired some of the ideas weaved into the following story. 

 

A few weeks has passed and Lawrence was still scratching his head. feeling very perplexed! One minute he was practicing his magic show with his white bunnies and the next minute they were all gone and they hadn’t returned. Where did they vanish to? It had taken him a long time to train those bunnies, he was greatly fond of them and he missed them. They were his pets. Each day he awakened with the hope that maybe today would be the day that they returned, but each night he felt the sting of disappointment. His house felt emptier without the cute balls of white fluff running around. 

He guessed that he never should have gone to the park to practice, but he thought he would let his bunnies run around some in the thick emerald green grass. He never dreamed that they would disappear into thin air. It was no magic trick of his this time, they were really gone. Lawrence had lost his bunnies and he didn’t know where to find them. 

“You know that really wasn’t nice of us to leave Lawrence like we did?” said Toffee. 

“Well how exactly were we going to explain to him that we had to leave for a temporary time? He would have fainted as soon as we spoke one word, and he surely wouldn’t believe that we are Easter bunnies. That needed to leave to get all the eggs ready for Easter.” replied Caramel, the head bunny. 

The other bunnies murmured in agreement. “I still feel sorry for him though”, said Toffee, the tender hearted bunny. 

Caramel spoke up, “Well you have to stop thinking of Lawrence right now, for we have another problem. We have Molly to think about now. Whose bright idea was it to work our magic in having us come to her aid? We are supposed to be in the Honey Breeze Woods right now working on eggs.” 

No one spoke up, and then Toffee felt everyone’s eyes on her. “I couldn’t let her be all alone! She had been abandoned, she didn’t have anyone. The vision came to me of the car dropping her off by the side of the road, and I knew we had to do something.”

The bunnies were silent, they all knew that Toffee had a special gift of seeing visions at times, and they couldn’t deny that Molly was a sweet, little girl. 

Finally Caramel spoke up, “I understand, and you were right to make the choice that you did, but what do we do now? She loves us, so she would be sad if we leave, but she does seem to be in good hands with Detective Kimberly. 

Before anyone could say a word, Molly and Kimberly walked into Molly’s bedroom. It was time for her nap. The bunnies all gathered around her on her bed and they knew that for now they had to be quiet. They would talk later, when the humans weren’t listening. 

Kimberly grabbed a book and went to sit down for a little bit of quiet time, but after a few chapters she closed it. She couldn’t keep her mind from wondering about Molly. Kimberly had contacted Jacob, to help her find where Molly might have come from, but so far he wasn’t having any luck either. It was like she had just dropped out of the sky. Kimberly wondered more and more if she had been abandoned due to not talking. That maybe she really couldn’t talk and that sadly her parents didn’t want her. She hated to think that, but she knew that it was possible. Some people had no heart! It made her sad for Molly but it also gave her hope that if that was true, that Kimberly could adopt her. Each day that went by she found herself secretly starting to hope that they didn’t find who Molly belonged too. Kimberly wanted Molly as her daughter. A daughter that she thought she would never have. 

Kimberly looked out the window as she thought about the past years, and what had happened in her life. The memory of that fateful day from 3 years ago came back to her. The day she received the horrible news from her Doctor, that she would never be able to have children of her own. Where once she had dreamed of marriage she didn’t anymore. She became more isolated, afraid to date, and fall in love, only to be possibly dumped by the guy when he would find out that she couldn’t have children. Yes, she could adopt and she would be open to that, but she knew that not everyone felt the same about adoption. She didn’t want to risk the battle about it with a guy. So she closed herself off to long term relationships, and was doing pretty good on her own. That is, until sweet Molly came along.  Having Molly had opened up a part of her heart that had been closed off and Kimberly didn’t want to lock it up again. 

Hearing the door open Kimberly looked down the hall. Molly was coming out of her room holding her blanket in one hand and rubbing her eyes with her tiny little fist. Kimberly’s heart melted at the sight of the sleepy-eyed girl with her tousled hair. Opening up her arms, Molly came and crawled up on Kimberly’s lap and they snuggled for a bit. 

The phone rang and Kimberly picked it up, it was Jacob. Kimberly’s heart gave a little lurch, did he have news?

“Hi Kimberly! I still don’t have any news for you but I was wondering if you and Molly would like to join me for some pizza and ice cream tonight?” 

Kimberly smiled as her heart relaxed. It had been good to renew her acquaintance with Jacob again. He was becoming a good friend. 

“Sure, sounds great, what time?” she replied. 

“I will pick you girls up at 6 in my pumpkin carriage, but we have to be back by midnight.” 

Kimberly laughed. “I think it will be way past a little girl’s bedtime by midnight. We will see you at 6.” she said and they talked a little more and then both said goodbye. 

Molly crawled off Kimberly’s lap and started getting out some of her toys from the toy chest. Kimberly watched her and tried to tell herself to breathe and just take one day at a time, but she prayed that one day Molly would be her little girl. 

Once Kimberly and Molly had left the house the bunnies started talking again. “I say we do it now.” said Strawberry. 

“But she will be so sad,” said Toffee. 

Carmel looked at Toffee, “I know, but we really need to get to the woods for think of how many little girls and boys will be disappointed if we don’t get their eggs to them in time.” 

Toffee hung her head, she knew Carmel was right. “Okay, but I will miss her.” she replied, with a soft voice. 

Months passed and Kimberly’s heart was full. They had tried very hard to locate Molly’s parents, but no one had been found. A date was set in court now for Kimberly to legally adopt Molly and she could not be happier. Molly still didn’t talk, but Kimberly had her seeing a speech therapist to see if that would help at all. Molly was also now under the care of a well recommended pediatrician. He was so good with Molly and Kimberly was glad she had found him. 

Molly sat on her bed petting her white bunny. Oh how she loved her. She had been really sad when all her bunnies had disappeared. They had come home to their front door open and the bunnies gone. Molly was devastated and then she saw her. One little white bunny was buried under the covers on Molly’s bed. Molly threw the covers off of her and the bunny came right to her. She was so happy and every night she slept with her little arm around her precious bunny. 

Lawrence was in the park once again with his bunnies. He was still in shock at how they had just showed up one day. He had been sitting on the park bench wondering what he would do now. He decided that maybe he would stop being a magician for he didn’t have the heart to train more bunnies and then suddenly his bunnies were smack dab in front of him! All of them! Well, he thought it was all of them, after counting he realized one was missing. That was okay though, he was beyond grateful that the rest were back.  

They had all seemed happy to see Lawrence again and there were many snuggles given to each bunny. His house was a happy place again as they ran around. Now he was letting them run in the park once more, enjoying the clear blue skies on a warm, spring day. He was watching them scamper and hop around on the grass when something in the grass caught his eye. It looked like it was something silver, he thought, while walking over to it. He picked it up. What was a silver cowbell doing in a park? Hmmm … he stuck it in his pocket, wondering if perhaps there was a way that he could incorporate it into his magic show. One just never knew what you could do with a bell. 

 

 

 

 

Flying Home!

The conclusion to yesterday’s post, Rescuing Cupcake

 

Image from Pinterest

The 4 unsung heroes held their breath, waiting for the Queen of the dark fairies to pronounce their fate. She rubbed her hands together and cackled some more. “Yes, that would be the perfect spell.” she said to herself, as she looked at the guys with merriment dancing in her eyes.

“How would you all like to be my pet guinea pigs, you would each have your own individual cage to roam around in. Doesn’t that sound exciting?” The heroes looked at each other and sighed, there were no words.

“What? No comment?” laughed the Queen. “Well stay right here and I will be back, I have to find my spell book.” With those words, she turned around and left the poor heroes standing there in fear. She wasn’t very worried about them going anywhere being that they were all tied up in knots.

“Guinea pigs!” they all said, once the Queen was out of sight. “We have to get out of here!”

“If only one of us was the great Houdini, we could be out of these ropes in no time! I should have practiced more magic tricks when I was younger.” said the one.

“I wish you would have!” said another.

“A diet of pellets doesn’t sound too exciting to me!” said one, and the rest sadly agreed. “Pellets and lettuce! Oh yay!”

“Oh No! No more coffee!” one piped up. This made them all even more sad, well except for one. He wasn’t a very big coffee lover to begin with. He preferred water, but now the Strawberry Marshmallow coffee that Kendra’s grandma made was pretty good, he had thought.

“I am not sure which is worse, quacking like a duck or squeaking like a guinea pig! Perhaps I shouldn’t have complained so much about being a duck, at least I could splash around in the water!”

They were all silent as they contemplated how their lives were about to change. In a short time the Queen reappeared with her book. Unfortunately their hopes of her falling into a deep hole hadn’t happened, she had returned and was as cheery as ever.

“Okay, are you all ready now? Oh you guys are going to look so cute being all furry”, she crooned.

She opened her book, and our unsung heroes eyes filled with despair, when suddenly there was the loudest “MOO!” that they ever did hear!

The Queen jumped, dropping her book, when she caught sight of a large brown cow with the deepest, darkest brown eyes that they ever did see. The cow was looking so intently at the Queen that it made her nervous.

The cow then turned and grabbed the ropes in its mouth, chewing right through them in no time. The Queen stood still, too startled to move.

Suddenly she was snapped out of her frozen state and she yelled when seeing Cupcake out of the corner of her eye. Cupcake was heading towards the guys. The Queen started to move towards Cupcake until the cow blocked her way by standing in between them. The cow let out a loud “MOO!” once again, staring down the Queen.

The guys quickly jumped up on Cupcake’s back and away she flew, back home to Fairlight. Our heroes let out big sighs of relief, feeling forever grateful for the strange cow that appeared out of nowhere!

“Hey”, said the one guy, “Did you all see what the cow had around its neck?”

“Yes! I did.” the one hero replied, and the others shook their heads.

“It was the shiniest cow bell I ever did see. She must be a pretty special cow to be wearing such a nice, shiny bell.” They all agreed, and smiled, as they continued flying through the air.