As
I write new short stories, or tales, they will be posted here.
Some of these tales will be ultimately end up being woven together.
Some stand on their own. *No material here may be copied, posted
or published in any way without my consent. See Terms of Use at
bottom of "About Me" Page.
When Billy woke up he could feel the magic in the air. The light
coming through his bedroom window was a little bit brighter that
morning, making the toys on his shelf seem to glow happily. This
was going to be a special day, he just knew it. When his favorite
song came on the radio while he was brushing his teeth, he smiled
so wide the toothpaste ran down his chin. Something great was
bound to happen today, but what? He thought about all the possibilities
as he got dressed, each more fantastic than the one before. Maybe
he would finally find his pocket knife. No... too small. He wouldn't
get chased by the dog from up the street. He was hoping that would
be true, but thought it still might be too small. Maybe he would
meet a talking dinosaur at the park. Yeah, that had to be it.
What could be more magical than a talking dinosaur?
"Billy" his Mom called, "Come down for breakfast".
Billy grabbed his backpack and raced downstairs, wanting to get
the day started as quickly as possible. After eating, he kissed
his mother and said, "I'm going to the park, Mom. I'll be
back for lunch".
His Mom smiled. "Alright, honey. Be careful and have a good
time."
When he got to the end of his driveway, he looked up and down
for Apollo, the dog from up the street. But this morning everything
was quiet, except for the birds, and no dogs were out to chase
him. "It really is a magical day", he thought. Grinning
from ear to ear, he stepped onto the sidewalk and headed off toward
the park. The back end of the park was only a block away and in
no time he was stepping off the sidewalk and into the trees.
Although there were only fifty or so trees at this end of the
park, it always made him feel like he was in a deep forest, the
very branches of the trees full of mischievous life. It was his
favorite place in the whole world. And better yet, nobody else
ever came to this side of the park. The play area was at the other
side, and all the kids called the little forest spooky. He didn't
think so at all. There was a tree that had a branch that made
a perfect chair and he loved to sit for hours, reading his books.
Another tree was bent and twisted and looked just like the gardener
his parents had hired. If there was ever a spot in the whole world
to meet a talking dinosaur, this had to be it.
Billy spent the whole morning searching behind boulders, looking
under rocks, and climbing through the branches. He was sure that
at any moment something would jump out and greet him like a long
lost friend. He had a wonderful time, but was a little disappointed
by the time he had to leave for lunch. Nothing magical had happened.
Maybe it would happen later, he thought.
After lunch, which his mother said he ate too quickly, he ran
back to the park barely able to contain his excitement. The day
was already half over, so the magic had to start soon. Again,
he searched and searched. Finding nothing out of the ordinary,
he finally decided to wait in his favorite tree. Sunset would
be in an hour or so and he didn't want to miss a thing. But when
he got there, to his surprise, there was already somebody sitting
on his branch.
"Um... Hello", he called nervously. There was never
anyone else in this grove and though he couldn't make out the
figure on the branch, he could tell it wasn't a dinosaur waiting
for a chat.
"Hello". The reply had a familiar sound to it.
Oh great, he thought. A girl... This couldn't be happening. She
would scare off the magic, and he would miss his chance to meet
something wonderful. Everyone knew the only magic that would come
near girls was fairies and unicorns and other things that he couldn't
stand. She was going to ruin everything. He had to fix this quickly.
"This is my spot. Get down"
"This is your spot?" As she asked it, the girl leaned
forward. The shadows parted, exposing her face and lopsided smile.
Her eyes were the same color as the grass and her hair was like
fire. She looked like she was around the same age as Billy and
his throat suddenly tightened up. Not so sure of himself anymore,
he backed away slowly. And tripped over a root.
"Hey, are you ok?", she asked as she hopped down from
the branch. She held out her hand to him saying "My name
is Jenny".
Blinking quickly, he opened his eyes wide and realized he had
been dreaming. He sat up, now fully awake. He had that dream a
lot these days. That day in the woods had been sixty years ago
and Jenny was sleeping peacefully next to him. He brushed her
now grey hair away from her eyes and smiled. He really had found
the magic in the woods that day. And, like all real magic, it
was something he had never expected but would always be grateful
for.
