Chapter Eleven

    Nothing new on the guitar front, except I got my new hand saws, so hopefully sometime next week I can begin the neck on the classical.  I've been playing a lot of music and working a lot.  Last night I played a gig at the library with Michael Collings.  We played all original tunes.  I got to play some things I've never had a chance to play.  It was great fun.  Here is the Chapter for this week.  I delayed it a few days, so Cliff could get the illustration finished.

Chapter Eleven

Out of the Dark Woods

     Having escaped from Dream World, Polly was anxious to get back on the trail and find Mr. Popper.  She and the girls headed back into the Dark Woods on the trail set before them.  After hiking for several hours due North, the trail came to an end.

     “It looks as though the rhododendrons  have all but taken over the trail.”  Polly said, with a defeated tone.  “I don’t know anything else to do, but go back to the river and try to find another trail that bypasses this.”

     “But, that will take days, and we must be getting close to the Dilleyard village.”  argued Keona.

     “I agree, but this thicket could be miles around, and if we try to make are way around it without a trail we could become hopelessly lost.”  she warned.

     “There must be a way.  Surely we haven’t walked all this way for nothing.”  Keona said, contemplating the worst.

     As they spoke something had begun to happen to Thea.  Polly and Keona were thinking so hard about how to fix the situation, that they hadn’t noticed Thea becoming quite serious.  She began to change colors from her usual rosy complexion to a dull gray.  Her feet went from little girl feet into what began to look like tree stumps with toenails.  A wispy, broom like tail began to appear on her bum, and she began to grow.  Not just a little, but she was getting huge.  Polly looked over just in time to see her serious face begin to change.  Her hair started to thin and become rough like pampas grass and then her nose began to grow... and grow... and grow.  It was a trunk!  She had become the largest African elephant they had ever seen!

    “Look out Keona!”  shouted Polly, as she picked up Una.  “Be careful she doesn’t step on you!”

     Keona ran for cover just as Thea stepped into the thicket, shattering rhododendrons and pine trees as if they were twigs.  She took her trunk and swung it back and forth knocking branches left and right. Then she stood up on her hind legs.

     “What is she doing Polly!”  Keona yelled, through the sound of cracking branches, as the earth shook from her enormous steps.

     Thea, now a gigantic elephant, came down on her front legs with a thundering trumpet, that rattled the Dark Woods.  As she did, fire shot from the end of her trunk.  The fire was so hot and bright that Polly and her sisters had to look away.  It felt as if a blast furnace was near them.  When Polly looked up all she could see was smoke.  It filled the woods and stung their eyes.  Trees and bushes were blackened and smoldering.  Small fires were scattered about.  As the air began to clear and the smoke dissipated, they could see, before them, a sort of tunnel cut straight through the rhododendrons, and Thea had turned back into a little girl.

     “Thea, you did it!’  Polly shouted.  “You made a way through the thicket for us!”  she yelled, as she picked up Thea and hugged her.  Thea just smiled, not saying a word.

     They headed on through the tunnel in the trees and soon picked up the trail on the other side.  After many more hours of hiking, they came out of the woods and stood before a small quant little village.  They had made it to the village of the Dillieyards.

     “We must inquire of their leader, Big Dee.”  said Polly.  “Perhaps he has seen Mr. Popper and the others.  Once we’ve located them we can ask the Dilleyards assistance on our journey.  Keona, go into that little store and ask where we can find Big Dee.  I’ll wait here with your sister, and give Donkeyhotie some water.”  Polly instructed.  “And don’t forget, to be on the safe side, don’t look directly into anyone’s eyes; just incase the luck sucker myth happens to be true.”

     Keona went into the store, which appeared to be a sort of general store.  It had everything from candy and groceries, to hardware and clothing.  But it also had something she had only seen pictures of... guns!  The Savages and the Nautical Noots, as well as most of the tribes she had ever known, had no use for guns.  They didn’t hunt, because they saw the animals as their brothers and sisters.  They didn’t war, because they believed that love was the only cure for hatred.  She found herself being fascinated by the shinny barrels and the sleek smooth textures, and the smell of fresh machine oil.

     “What can I do fer ya, young lady?”  asked the man behind the counter.  He was older, with a scruffy beard and a baseball cap, with the brim curved so sharply on both sides that it almost came together and made a sort of cone.  He appeared to have a wad of something between his bottom teeth and his lower lip.  “Ya don’t look to be from round these parts.” he added, as he spit some awful looking brown juice into a can on the floor, missing the can and mostly hitting the floor.

     “My name is Keona.  I am from the tribe of the Savages, and we are looking for Big Dee.  Could you direct me to where he might be found?”  she asked the odd man.

     “Well, we don’t get too many a them Savages round here.”  he said with a smile.  “Specially them lil uns.  I’zle die-rect yuns ta the fi-ancy place where Big Dee does his bidness.”  he said walking toward the door, Keona not really sure what he had said, but hoping he would help.  “If ya look o-vare, you’ll be a seein his place.”  he said pointing to the biggest building in town.  “Yuns go in the front and ask Lucinda if yawl can see him.  She’ll take care of ya.”

     “Thank you sir.”  Keona politely replied.

     “You’re quite welcome little lady.  Come back.”  he added, not really wanting her to come back.

     Keona lead the way as they all headed to the building where they hoped to speak with Big Dee.  They tied Donkeyhotie to a hitching post outside, and headed in with the Little Debbie cakes they had brought as an offering.  Inside they saw a woman behind a desk.  Thea thought she was lovely in a maternal sort of way.  Her hair was piled high on her head and her face was painted with the most welcoming colors.

     “Well look at them darlin young-uns.  I bet thems mean as snakes.”  she said, smiling at the girls.  The girls shyly returned her smile, not sure what she mean’t by the snake remark.  “My name’s Lucinda.  What can I do fer ya today.”  she said looking at Polly.

     “We have come along way, and would like to inquire as to whether anyone has seen two men and a dog recently.  They would be strangers in these parts.”  Polly replied.

     “I aint seen no strangers in town, but if ya tell me where yuns might be a stayin, I’ll let ya know if I hear somethin.”  Lucinda said.

     “Thanks so much, but we don’t know where we’ll be staying, or for how long.  We need to ask a special favor of Big Dee.  It is very urgent.  Could we possibly have a meeting with him?

     “You sure can sweetie.  Just go in through them big doors.  If he’s a sleepin, just open one a them Debbies and he’ll wake right up.”

     “Thanks so much for your help.”  Polly said as they made their way through the doors.  Once inside the air grew dank.  It smelled of old fast food wrappers and cigarette  smoke.  It was quiet and dark and all they could hear was loud snoring coming from the front of the room.  As they got closer they saw a most rotund man sitting in a great green leather chair.  He had on a ball cap like the man in the general store, with the bill curled in the same way.  His fingernails were thick and yellow and smoke billowed from his nose as he snored, slumped in his chair.  Polly and the girls walked right up to his great throne and Polly opened a Little Debbie cinnamon bun.  As she tore the wrapper Big Dee began to stir.  He sniffed the air without opening his eyes. He smiled, waking, and then began to have the most horrendous coughing spell.  Smoke blew from his mouth and curled from his nose and ears as he continued to hack.

     When he was finished his eyes had teared up.  He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said,  “Well now, yuns caught me a nappin.  What can I do fer ya mam, and fer them lil-uns?  I bet thems as mean as snakes.”  he added, laughing and then began to cough and hack again; the girls still not sure about the snake thing.

     When the smoke had cleared, Polly began with the offering.  “We are Savages, from the tribe South of here and we have brought you a gift of these cakes.”

     “Well that was right nice of ya.  If I could get one a them lil -uns to go in the back room, o-vare,”  he said as he pointed to the back of the room, and get me a Dew to wash it down with, it would be much appreciated.”

     Polly instructed Keona to go in the back room and see if she could find a soft drink and bring it back.  She brought the drink and the Debbie cake, and gave it to Big Dee.  He took a large bite from the cake and chewed it with his front teeth, like a rabbit.  Then he took a long drink from the soda bottle, set it down and began to cough and hack.

    “Well, that was mighty thoughtful of you-ns to bring me them Debbies.  And that Dew washes em down so good.  So, what is it I can do fer ya.”

    Polly began, “I am looking for my husband, Mr.Popper, who is with a wide bodied black dog, and another man.  We are trying to find the den of the Tigers.”

     “Whoa, there little lady!  I ain’t seen no body with no black dog, but findin that Tiger den is sumpen you aughten not be a doin.  Theys some dangerous critters.”

     “We will find them with or without your help.  It would just be so much easier if you could help us.”

     “You don’t know what you’re askin.  Them Tigers is a fierce bunch.  We been a-huntin them fer years.”

     “That’s why I need your help.  You know how to track them.  You know all about them.”

       “Well that’s right, but we can’t take no lady and a bunch of kids to do somethin so dangerous.”

     “We are quite capable of taking care of ourselves.  We all have our own special talents.”

     “I’m sure ya do, but we’re talkin bout some mean critters.  Somethin you aint never seed, besides what do ya want with the Tigers anyway?”  he asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

     “The counsel has sent us.  They believe the Tigers have stolen the Music Water and we have come to retrieve it.”  Polly said with an air of authority.

     “So, that’s why I aint heared no banjos in a while.  Cleatus aint been able ta get nothin out of his squeeze box, and Britney Nicole caint get no sound out of her tamborine.  Church aint been the same without it.”  he said with a look of fond remembrance.  “But I caint spare the time to ponder all this.  I’ve got too much ta worry about, what with all the Dilleyards ta look after and all.  So I’d like ta help ya, but y-uns will just have ta find them Tigers on yer own.”  he said as he opened another Little Debbie.

     “Now that’s where I can help you.”  Polly exclaimed.  “You see I’m a professional worrier.  If you’ll let me I can worry for you and give you a break.  You’ll be free to rest and think of any thing you like.  You won’t have a care in this world.”

     Now the look on Big Dee’s face was one of skeptical interest.  Like watching a magician do his craft.  “Well I don’t know.  What would I have ta do?”

    “ You don’t have to do anything, but give me permission to take your worries for awhile.”  Polly explained.  “You’ll love it, and what have you got to lose?”

     Big Dee stared at Polly, like she was crazy.  He frowned and took of his cap to scratch his head.  After pondering the situation he finally said, “So all I have ta do is say I give ya my permission?”

     “That’s all.”  Polly said firmly.

     “All right then.  I give ya my permission.”

     With that Polly closed her eyes.  Her forehead wrinkled up and her eyebrows moved close together.  She was totally quiet.  You could see the utter concentration on her face.  She began to look older, and more tired than the girls had ever seen her.  Her curly hair began to move.  It was slowly growing.  I say slowly, but for hair it was growing quite fast, because you could watch it.

     The look on Big Dees face went from skepticism, to shock, to what can only be described as bliss.  The wrinkles around his eyes seemed to disappear and his yellow complexion became rosy.  His eyes became clear and focused and a smile began to appear on his mouth.  It started off small and shocked, and ended with the look of a man in love.

     After about thirty minutes Polly opened her eyes, and looked at Big Dee.  He had fallen asleep, but not like before.  This was the sleep of sweet peace.  Polly’s youthful look began to return, but her hair had become big.  It was sticking up on top, and long on the sides, and curled so tight, that Thea thought it looked like it must hurt.

     “Oh bother,”  said Polly, “I’ll have to cut my hair again.  Una, would you please wake Big Dee and lets see how he feels.”  she said with a smile.

     Una walked over to Big Dee’s chair and whispered in his ear, “It’s time to wake up Mr. Big Dee.”

     With a long drawn out yawn and some serious stretching, Big Dee opened his eyes.  His countenance had changed.  He looked like a new man.  “Well, I aint slept that good fer years.  Not since I was a boy.”  he said, almost in disbelief.  “You have got some kind a special powers there Miss Polly.  I should like ta keep ya on here for awhile ta help with my worryin.”

     “I should love to help, but our business is much too urgent.  When we have completed our mission, I would be glad to come back and give you several worry sessions on the house.”

     “Well that aint helpin me now.  I need the rest right now.  I tell ya what I’ll do.  If ya stay here for seven years and do all my worryin, I’ll send my boy, Tee, and he’ll take ya to them Tigers.  That’s the only way I’m a gonna help y-uns.”  he said, with his mind made up.

     Polly looked shocked.  Seven years?  The world without the Music Water for seven years?  What could she do?  What should she do?  How she wished for Mr. Popper.  He would know what to do.

     Behind them, she could hear the sound of the doors opening and footsteps coming toward them from behind, but she was too stunned by Big Dee’s request to look.

     “I have a proposition to make to you.”  a man’s voice exclaimed.  “I think it would be well within your interest to hear me out.”

     Polly turned to see Mr. Struggles, Bon Bon, and the voice she knew so well, Mr. Popper.

     

Chapter Ten

     It has been a crazy week.  I worked six days and have been trying to keep up with an online music theory class.  I'm having to order some tools to proceed with the guitar I'm building, so it may be a few weeks before there's any action on that front.  But here is chapter 10 of the story for those who are keeping up.  It is a step back in time to explain how people travel from one place to another in Middleland.  Cliff was too busy to do illustrations, but sent me this email, that I think explains the idea of thin spots quite well.  You'll understand this more after you read the chapter.  Here is Cliffs letter, "Is the thin spot the place where memory and emotion travel in a non-linear fashion? The electromagnetic energy is the love. So the love could dispel the light energy if it was strong enough. It would create a thin spot in time because of the pureness of love. Love moves one to higher dimensional levels. Time is relative to the speed of light. The speed of light increases at each dimensional level. Love is faster than light. That is why science can measure protons but not electrons. Protons are the light electrons are the love and neutrons are the awareness. ….who needs a large hadron collider when we got Mr. Popper and Mr. Struggles?

Chapter Ten

Thin Spots

     “Mom, when we step into the Thin Spot, will we see Polly and Mr. Popper right away, or does it take time to get there?”  Keona asked her mother.

     “You’ll see some bright, beautiful lights.  Then everything will spin, up and down, left and right, and side to side.  The air will feel thick like water, and you’ll see the other travelers going to their own particular destinations.  It will take, maybe ten minutes, after that.  It’s like riding on a fast moving stream of air.”  she said.  “Oh, Polly and Mr. Popper will be so glad to see all of you.”  she said as she looked down at Una and Thea.

     Every summer, for as long as she could remember, she had wanted to go and stay with Polly and Mr. Popper.  This time she was getting her wish.  Not only was she going to see them, but she was going to take her sisters with her, and best of all, she was going to spend the whole summer with them in the village of the Savages!

     “I’m so excited to go.  I can’t wait to see grandma and grandpa.”  Keona said.

     “You’ll have so much fun.  Polly and Mr. Popper are always off on some kind of adventure.  It will be a summer to remember.”  Skyla Barns Nautical Noot said excitedly.

     Skyla Barns, was the mother of the girls.  She was of the tribe of the Nautical Noots.  They were a tribe that lived by the sea.  They lived off of what the sea could provide.  They were great fishermen.  They were hard workers and also loved to farm the earth.

     Skyla Barns was a young lovely women.  Tall and slender, but muscular from the hard work she did in the village.  Her shoulder length brown hair, complemented her eyes, like the moon complements the night sky.  But her smile was the thing that would captivate you.  She had a smile that was welcoming, and at the same time mischievous.  As if perhaps, she knew a secret that, if you tried hard enough, she might just tell you.  She was a master of Reflexprophecy.  If you were unsure of where your life was headed, you could make an appointment with her.  She would come to your house with her special lounge chair, that she would unfold, and have you recline in.  She would then massage different places on your feet.  This would cause you to see things that might be.  I say might be, because once you would see these things that might be, you could change them, by changing your behavior.  For instance, if you loved to eat candy and drink soft drinks, and you saw that by the time you were thirty all your teeth would be gone, you could stop drinking soft drinks, and cut down on candy, and you would change your destiny.  She also loved to work with the earth.  She made waterfalls and caves, and courtyards with talking cobblestone.  She once made a flower garden that was nothing but dirt in the morning, but by evening was a veritable jungle.  Then the next morning would be gone and grow anew each day, always different.

     “I don’t think it’s much further to the Thin Spot, girls.  I know we’ve traveled for a long time, but it will be worth it.”  Jessewheatzer said.

     Jessewheatzer was the son of Polly and Mr. Popper, and the father of the girls.  He had met Skyla Barns, when he had left home in search of the things that young men go in search of, and then meet young women.  After which, they can’t remember what they were searching for.  He had fallen in love with her instantly and they married.  He stayed on with the Nautical Noot tribe and raised the girls there.  He became an Au Courant Aggregator; a fancy title for someone who collects the present.  People would hire him mainly for weddings and special events, but some would hire him just to document their lives.  An Au Courant Aggregator, of which there are few, and Jessewheatzer is one of the best, capture pieces of the present and store them in books.  If, say, you hired him to capture your wedding, he would take a moment of the bride’s wedding dress, and maybe, a moment of her hair shining in the morning sunlight.  Maybe take a moment of the scent of the bridal bouquet and the warm wet feel of the first kiss.  And maybe take a moment of hearing the bridal procession and the laughter of the guests at the reception.  If the two were preoccupied enough, he sometimes could capture a moment of pure love.   Later he would put these in a book.  When the book was opened, whoever opened it would relive these moments as if for the first time.  They would feel the kiss.  They would laugh with the friends.  They would wear the wedding dress, and they would love and be loved.  It was a special gift and an awesome responsibility  to be an Au Courant Aggregator.

     He was tall and ruggedly handsome, with a muscular physique that was wrought by hard work.  His eyes were blue like Polly’s, with the same depth of vision.  His hair had tamed down from when he was a child. At that time it looked like a dandelion ready to blow away in the wind.  Now it laid down, mostly, except when there was an electrical storm brewing, and then it would stand up as if so alarmed it wanted to fly away.  The Nautical Noots would always know when a storm was coming, simply by looking at Jessewheatzer’s hair.

     “Are we almost there Dad.”  said Thea.  Hours earlier she had seen the clearing in the tree line on top of the mountain that they were now on.  She had thought it was a clearing, but it was actually a hole in the sky.  This was a Thin Place.  There were several of them throughout the world.  They were hard to spot.  From a distance they looked like clearings when they were on a mountain top.  In the woods, or on water they were much harder to see.  A hole in the dimension of space and time does not look like a hole in the ground, or a doorway.  It really doesn’t look at all.  It just is.  The shamans of old had found this one on Mt. Washington.  There happened to be another one just outside the Savage’s village, and so, this would be the portal for the girls to see Polly and Mr. Popper.  The shamans had used these thin places to travel to the City of God, where they would inquire of Him for their tribesmen.  People like you and I began to use theses places as a portal to our loved ones.  

     “I see the clearing up ahead.  It should be here somewhere.”  Jessewheatzer replied.

     As they got closer there was a most unusual place directly in front of them.  They could see through it, yet things behind it were slightly bent, or skewed.  If you weren’t looking hard enough for it, you would walk on by and never know it was there.

     “Is that it!”  shouted Una.

     “I think it is.”  Skyla Barns replied.  “It’s time for you all to enter the thin place.  We will be in touch with you when we can and we will be here on the first day of September to bring you home.”  she said with a tear in her eye.

     “Remember, when you enter the thin place hold hands.  Keona will be in charge, because she is the oldest.”  Jessewheatzer reminded them.  “Keona, remember that you will need to think about Polly and Mr. Popper with all your might, in order to get to the right place.”  he warned.

     When you entered the portal, it would take you to wherever your heart’s desire lie.  If you traveled in a group you would hold hands and choose a person to lead.  That person would have to concentrate on their heart’s desire and that is where you would end up.  Keona knew this would be a breeze, because she had wanted to spend the summer with Polly and Mr. Popper for so long.

     “Give us hugs and kisses, and off you go.”  said Skyla Barns, choking back her tears.

     The girls all gave hugs and kisses to their parents, and then walked toward the thin place holding hands.  Keona first, then Una, followed by Thea.  Jesseswheatzer and Skyla Barns watched as the girls walked closer to the portal and then suddenly disappeared.

     Inside it was so bright that they had to squint to see.  There was a swirl of colors in every direction that made them all dizzy.  They couldn’t tell if they were right side up, or upside down.  They didn’t know if they were standing on the ground or the sky.  Una started to feel sick, and then it stopped.  It was calm and they could feel the movement beneath their feet, even though they were simply standing still.  It felt like they were floating in a gentle river.  The air was thick like water, but comfortable.

     “Look at the people!”  Una said.

     All around them were people of all races and tribes.  Strange looking people with odd clothes carrying bags and baskets.  Some with families, and some by themselves.  Some with dogs or cats, and some even with elephants and ostriches.  Everyone standing completely still yet moving by in every direction on all sides.

     And then with no warning, and nothing but a familiar feeling, they were there.  Keona could feel the hot humid summer air on her skin.  She smelled the familiar fragrance of honeysuckle and lilacs, and then there she was.

     “Polly!”  Keona yelled, letting go of her sister’s hand, as she ran and jumped on her grandma.  

     “You’re here!”  shouted Polly as she picked up Una and hugged Thea and Keona all at the same time.

     “What about me.  Don’t I get any hugs?”  said Mr. Popper, pretending to look sad.

     With that, all the girls jumped on him and they hugged each other and laughed.

     “That seems like so long ago.”  Keona thought.  “Who would have thought that only two weeks ago we came to see Polly and Mr. Popper.  That was before the Music Water was stolen; before we volunteered to help; before we crossed the Great Tuffaluktee and got separated from Mr. Popper, and before we met Pesadilla and escaped from Dream World.”  she pondered silently to herself, as she sat with her sisters on the edge of the pool, while Polly hunted through Donkeyhotie’s saddle bags for something for them to eat.  “Mom said, Polly and Mr. Popper were always off on some kind of adventure, but I never thought it would be like this.  I can’t think of a better way to spend my summer.”  she thought with a smile of contentment on her face.

     

     

Chapter Nine

     I went to Wilmington to do a job last weekend, and went to Durham to see Pat Metheny this weekend, so I'm behind on everything.  The Metheny concert was one of the best I've ever been to.  We even got to see him super glue his fingernail back on to play his final tune.  Needless to say, I haven't gotten any guitar work done, but I did recieve the rest of the wood.  It is beautiful.  I hope to start on the neck this week.
     I waited an extra week to give Cliff time to do the illustrations for Chapter Nine.  I think they came out great.  Very odd and twisted.  Not unlike a nightmare.  This is a scary one.  Proceed at your own risk.

Chapter Nine

Pesadilla’s House

     The girls and Polly made their way down the mountain side, heading for the valley below.  The air was hot and the breeze had stopped.  It was deathly calm and quiet.  The storm clouds had moved in, but just hung overhead, watching them in silence.  The faces of the clouds had grown old, with dark black circles where their eyes used to be.  

     After some time they made their way into the valley.  It was a sea of green grass, outlined with oak trees and the mountain they had just walked down, on one side.  It should have been a pleasant place, except for the total quiet and the dark clouds, and the feeling of things that might be watching from the woods.  It felt as if something was brewing.  Like the calm before a storm.  And now the clouds had begun to smile, but not a happy smile.  There seemed to be something malevolent about it.   As if they knew something, or someone was coming to do the girls harm.

     “There she is.”  whispered Thea, pointing to a dark figure walking toward them.  “I recognize her.  She is in my bad dreams at night.  I don’t want to talk to her.  She scares me.”

     “I know her too, but I haven’t seen her in a while.”  said Keona.  “She has been in my dreams too.”

     “I shall talk with her and you girls stay behind me.  Don’t get close to her and don’t speak to her.”  Polly cautioned.

     “You must listen to her and do as she says, if you are to ever leave here.”  Philemon said.  “She knows the way.”

     The dark figure moved closer and closer.  As it did, Polly began to see her features.  She was tall with long, straight black hair that fell to her waist.  She looked to be Mediterranean, but her complexion was very pale, and she was much too thin.  Like a concentration camp survivor, or a cancer patient.  Her eyes were black and deep set, and she wore blood red lipstick and nail polish.  She was wearing a black robe with a blood red fur collar to match her lips.  She appeared to be floating on the grass, although her robe was too long to see her feet, and she had, what looked like, a hairless tail, like a rodent, wrapped around her and sticking out from the front of her robe.  There was something hideous about her, but also beautiful.  Polly had a faint recollection that she may have seen here before.

     Una saw her and began to whimper.  She opened her mouth to let out a loud scream , but nothing came out.  She was frozen with fear and held on to Polly’s leg.

     “Good afternoon ladies.”  Pesadilla said, with the same wicked smile that the clouds had.  My name is Pesadilla and I am the princess of this corner of Dream World.  I have watched you since you entered by the pool.  We don’t have many who come here lucid.   Have you had a safe journey thus far?”

     “It has been fine, but we really must be going.”  Polly answered.  “Philemon informed us that you could show us the way out.”

     “Yes, there is a way.  It is close by, but whether you can find it, is up to you.  I can only point you in the right direction.”  she said.  “You must go to my house.  The door is open.  That is where you’ll find the way out, if you are brave enough to face your fears.”  Pesadilla instructed. 

     “But what do we do when we enter your house?”  Polly questioned.  “Is there a passage way somewhere?  How will we know where to find it?”

     “The first thing I would do, if I were you, is lock the doors and make sure all the windows are latched.”  she warned, and then looking down the trail she added.  “It looks like they have caught your scent.  You should probably be going.”  

     Down the trail Polly and the girls could just make out the shape of something heading toward them.  It had begun to grow dark and the wind had started to pickup.  It was hot like a summer fever and the clouds began to quietly moan. 

     “Polly, I think they’re wolves, but they’re walking on their hind legs like humans!”  Keona shouted.

     Polly knew what they were, because this had been her childhood fear.  “They’re werewolves!”  she yelled.  “We must hurry!  Where is your house Pesadilla?”

     Pesadilla turned, and with a calm malicious smile, she pointed up the trail to an old ,two story, run down house.  The house was dark and foreboding.  It was set in a clearing with oak trees around it and a small graveyard on the right side of the property.  There was something about the house that disturbed Polly.  Had she read about this house in a book?  Had she seen a picture of it somewhere?  She couldn’t put her finger on it.  But now, there was no time to think.

     “Run girls!  We must get inside that house!  The werewolves are coming!”  Polly commanded.

     “I have lead you as far as I can!”  Philemon yelled after them.  “Face your fears and you’ll find the way!”

     As they ran they could hear the growls and barking behind them, like a pack of wild dogs, but these were more cunning.  They were huge like grown men, with sharp teeth and claws, and wild dark empty eyes.  But the worst thing, was that they had hands, which could open doors and windows, or pull loose siding boards from a house, or even climb to a rooftop to find other ways in.

     They made their way to the house and ran up the large porch.  Polly opened the front door and the girls ran in.  She latched the door behind them and looked around.  It was cold.  Like a dark basement on a summer day.  It smelled of mold and was lit with candles on the end tables and oil lamps placed here and there.  

     “We must do as Pesadilla suggested and make sure all the windows and outside doors are locked.”  Polly frantically said.  “I’ll check the upstairs windows and you girls check the downstairs.  Una can stay with me.”

     Polly climbed the old spiral staircase, that squeaked with every step.  She and Una checked the windows and the door to the attic and made sure they were secure.  As they walked down the hallway to head back downstairs, Polly saw a wood carving hanging on a bedroom door.  She took the oil lamp and held it up to read the inscription.  It said, “As a great fish swims between the banks of a river as it likes, so does the shining Self move between the states of dreaming and waking.  The Self is free from desire, free from evil, free from fear.”  She pondered this as she carried Una down the stairs.  

     Back downstairs, Polly checked on the girls, who had checked all the doors and windows on the first floor.

     “I think we’re secure in here for now, but I must find the way back to the other side of the pool.”  Polly said, as she heard the first of them hit the front door.

     There was a loud thud as the first werewolf hit the door with its huge paw.  Then began a terrible scratching noise from all around as the others arrived and tried to find a way in.  They began to howl, and the clouds began to wail causing the wind to pick up outside.  It became darker and darker and the girls clung to Polly’s legs.

     “We must search the house for the passage back!”  Polly shouted over the noise from outside the house.

     They began to walk from room to room and as they did so, they could see the werewolves, through the windows, trying to get in.  As they passed by the large picture window on the right side of the house, they could see the graveyard lit up by the last rays of the evening sun.  Thea stared out the window.  “What is that?”  she thought.  “What are those things rising from the graves?”  although she knew what they were,  but didn’t want to believe, because they were her greatest fear.

     “Polly!”  Thea shouted.  “Look at the graveyard!”

     As Polly turned her gaze on the picture window, she saw what appeared to be people floating up from the graves into the air.  They had clothes on from long ago.  Hats and dresses that no one wears anymore.  There were old people and children.  And they were coming toward the house.

     “They’re ghosts!” cried Polly.  “We must continue to look for the passage!  We haven’t much time!”

     They started up the stairs, staying close together.  “Perhaps the passage way back is up here.”  said Polly.  “It didn’t appear to be downstairs any where.”  Just then there was a large crash from the basement.  “Girls, did you lock the cellar door?”  Polly asked anxiously.

     “I didn’t know there was a cellar.”  Keona answered.

     “I think the werewolves have found a way in through the cellar.”  whispered Polly.  “Be very quiet.  Don’t let them know where we are.”

     From down stairs they began to hear the scratching and growling of the first werewolves to enter the house. Thea saw, through the hall window, that the ghosts had surrounded the house and were trying to open the windows.  Polly heard the first creak of a foot on the staircase and then felt the paralyzing fear, of looking straight into the eyes of a werewolf.

     “Quickly, in here!”  Polly shouted as she opened the door to the room with the wood carving on the door.  Keona and Thea ran in while Polly picked up Una in her arms and closed the door just as the werewolf lunged at her.  She fumbled with the door latch, but got it closed before the creature could turn the knob.  Now the werewolves were in the hall. They began to scratch and claw and pound on the door, with howls of rage.  Thea went to the window to see if there was a way out.  She pulled open the curtains and  screamed.  She was  face to face with a ghost!  It had floated up to the window and called it’s friends.  “Now they know where we are!”   Thea cried, as she closed the curtains tightly.

     “Polly, what should we do!”  cried Keona.  And then came a noise from inside the closet.  It was the sound of something moving around.  Keona ran to the closet and pushed a chair under the door knob.  Whatever was inside turned the knob ever so slowly and tried to open the door, but the chair kept it inside.  “Quick!”  shouted Keona, “Help me hold the door shut.  I think there’s a monster inside.”  She knew this, because this was her greatest fear.

     Polly and Thea came and sat in the chair, but the thing on the other side was strong and it would be impossible to hold it back forever.  The bedroom door was also wearing thin from the werewolves clawing their way in.  And the ghosts had been loosening one of the panes of glass, and would soon be in.

     “Help Polly!  What should we do!”  shouted Keona.

     “Perhaps the answer was on that plaque on the door.”  Polly said.  “Maybe the power that Pesadilla has over us, we have given her by giving into our fears.  This is a nightmare, but we are awake, so we can choose it’s outcome.  If we can move from dreaming to waking and, the Self is free from desire, from evil, and from fear, then we must be ourselves. We must conquer our fears by meeting them face to face.  We must be who we truly are... Savages!”  she said as she got up off of the chair and moved it from the closet door.

     “What are you doing Polly!”  Keona shrieked in fear, as she braced the door with her back.

     “We must all face the thing we fear the most, Keona.  Pesadilla is nothing more than part of our subconscious mind that is trying to tell us something through our nightmares.”  Polly said.  “I think the way out is through that door.”

     “But I’m afraid!  I don’t want to open it!”  Keona cried

     “We all have our doors to open.  And we will be here with you.”  Polly said  “There seems to be no other way.  You’ll have to trust me.”

     “Alright, but stay by me.”  she said and took Polly’s free hand.  Polly’s other hand was holding Una, and Thea was clutching onto her leg.

     Keona slowly opened the door.  The thing on the other side grew quiet and all Keona could hear was her own heart beating.  She peered into the darkness and found a little girl looking back at her.  Not just any little girl, but one that looked just like her. It was her.  She was looking into a mirror.

     “I don’t understand.  It’s just a mirror.  There’s nothing scary in here.”  she said relieved, but perplexed.

     “I think I understand.” said Polly.  “Go open the window, Thea.”  

     Thea was reluctant, but trusted Polly and did what she asked.  She slowly opened the curtains and could see the ghosts trying to get in.  She unlatched the window and quickly raised it, closing her eyes tight as she did so.

“Thea.  You can open your eyes.  It’s alright.”  said Polly.

  Much to her surprise she also saw a little girl.  It was Thea.  She was looking at herself in a mirror instead of a window.

     “You have both faced your fears and now it is my turn.”  said Polly heading to the bedroom door with Una in her arms and the girls holding on to each leg.

     “Polly, don’t do it!  They are still out there!  We can hear the howling of the werewolves, and even smell them on the other side!”  Keona hollered.

     “If I’m right, and I think I am, this has been nothing more than a chance to face our fears.  None of this has been real, anymore than a dream is real while you are dreaming it.  What is important is what we have learned about our fears and how they cripple us.  They keep us from being who we really are.  They keep us from seeing the shining Self.”  she said as she turned the knob on the door and opened it.

     The howling and scratching had disappeared along with the werewolves and ghosts,and they found themselves standing on the edge of the pool looking at a most welcome sight, Donkeyhotie.