Molly Bennett sat at the kitchen table staring at the bowl of Frosted Flakes in front of her.  She is dressed in blue jeans and a plain, dark blue sweatshirt and bright red high-top tennis shoes.  Her hands are folded in her lap as she leaned back in her chair just staring at the bowl of cereal.  Her mother walked behind her and ruffled her hair.  She emerged from her stare and smiled at her mother as she sat in a chair next to her.

  “Are you ready for what the day brings you?” Marie Bennett asked her only daughter.  The two women looked alike except, of course, for the age difference.  Both were small in stature, dark hair, light blue eyes, and engaging smiles.

  “I guess so.  It just seems so weird to be going to middle school when I am only in the sixth grade,” Molly stated to her Mom as she reached for the pitcher of milk in the center of the table.

  “I know, but every state or even town, has to organize their school system according to their population.  When we lived in California, we lived in a huge area of people but when we moved here to Missouri, we live in a much smaller community,” Marie tried to explain to her Molly.

  “But I will be going to school with eighth graders.  They seem so much older than me,” Molly said as she set the pitcher down and dipped her spoon into her bowl of flakes.

  “I know, dear, just be brave,”  Her mother said as she poured milk in her bowl of cereal.

  A short time later, Molly stood at the bus stop with her backpack at her feet.  The bus stop was at the corner of her street and a few of the neighborhood gang were there, too.  Harold Jones approached her, removed his backpack from his back and settled it at his feet.  Molly looked at him and smiled.

  “Hey,” Harold simply said to her.

  “Hey,” Molly returned his greeting.  Harold lived across the street from her on Burgos Avenue and was the one person she liked to hang out with since she moved to town in late June.  His sister, June, a year older than the two of them, joined them at the bus stop.  She was wearing a light pink dress and her blond hair was perfectly combed, held back with a perfectly set pink headband.

  “Hi, Molly,” June said.  “I see you got dressed up for the first day of school.”

  Molly looked at her outfit and then back at June and said, “Yeah, I did.”

  A group of three older boys joined them.  They were all wearing bright red sweaters with the golden number ‘05’ centered on the right sleeve.

  “What’s with the sweaters?” Molly asked aloud.

  June shrugged as she looked toward the boys, “Don’t you know anything, Molly.  Those are letter sweaters.”

  Molly continued by asking, “What does that mean?”

  “Those guys play sports and those numbers stand for the year they will be graduating from high school,” Harold explained to her.  “They offer club sports in middle school and players can get themselves a letter sweater to use to indicate the sports they participate in.”

  “How?”  Molly turned to Harold.

  “They earn patches and can put them on their sweater,” he explained.

  “Like badges you earn in Girl Scouts?”

  “Or Boy Scouts, but yes, just like that,” Harold said.

  “Interesting.  I have so much to learn about middle school,” Molly said as she folded her arms across her chest.

  When she arrived at school, Molly found her assigned locker.  She only had to ask a teacher once how to get to Room 101 for the first class of the day called Home Room.  She entered the room and found it partially filled with other kids of all grade levels, sixth through eighth.  A teacher, a man, was sitting at the desk at the front of the room with his hands folded on top of it, patiently waiting.  Behind him was a chalkboard with “Mr. Branson” scrawled on it.  Across from the doorway, where she stood, was a row of windows, slightly open to let in fresh air.  Molly started for a desk at the rear of the room when a bell sounded.  Mr. Branson stood, and the students hurriedly sat at the desks that were in five neat rows of six.

  “My name is Mr. Branson.  Welcome to Home Room.  Those of you who are new to Spanish Lake Middle School, or, as we call it, SLMS, we meet in Home Room once a week for 30 minutes on Monday mornings.  Before one of you asks, I know today is not Monday but it is the first day of school and we use this time to introduce to you the Student Handbook and the rules of everyday life here at SLMS.  We will take attendance now and we will be sitting in alphabetical order, so everybody please stand.  Thank you.  Now, when I call your names, starting with the row nearest the window and the first desk in front, please sit at the next available seat as I call your name.  Understood?  Very well.  Adams, Michael.…”

  Believe it or not, the entire class was seated in a matter of a few minutes.  Molly was sitting in the middle desk of the second row.  After everyone was seated, Mr. Branson turned and quickly opened a metal cabinet that Molly noticed for the first time.  It had been hidden from her initial view of the room behind the door.  She watched as he placed a stack of material to the first person of each row.

  “Please select a Student Handbook from the stack and pass it to the student behind you.  When you get your Handbook, please turn to the Table of Contents,” Mr. Branson instructed as he stood next to his desk and waited.  Molly noted that Mr. Branson was very precise with his instructions.

  The quiet shuffling of students moving and turning as they passed material to the person behind them and opening the handbook to the appropriate page.  The classroom became quiet as the students waited for further instructions.  Mr. Branson calmly waited.  A creaking and scraping of sound entered the silence, interrupting their anticipation of their teacher’s direction.

  “Good morning SL Middle School,” a voice emerged from a speaker mounted on the wall above the teacher’s desk.  “I am Principal Martha Columbia, but you may call me Principal Marty.  To all the new students, welcome to your new school and, to our returning students, welcome back.  We are looking forward to a brand-new school year.  For the newbies, every Monday morning, you will meet in your Home Room for the first 30 minutes and then released to your normal class day.  Normally, a day consists of six class periods of fifty minutes and allowing you just five minutes to get to the next class.  You will also receive 30 minutes for lunch.  However, on Mondays, your class sessions will be only 50 minutes.  The lunch period will be during your fourth hour class which will last for 90 minutes.  You will be instructed by your teacher of that hour when you will go to lunch.  I will let your homeroom teacher explain the rest of what you need to know in a few minutes.  First, I want your Assistant Principals to introduce themselves first.”

  A brief clatter emerged from the speaker when a new voice spoke.

  “Good morning, I am Assistant. Principal Michael Charles and you can call me Mr. Charles.”

  The speaker crackled once again as another voice came on the airwaves. 

  “Hello, my name is Assistant Principal Anna Marvel, but you can call me Miss Marvel.”

  “Miss Marvel,” a male voice spoke up from the back of the room. “What is she, a comic book character?”

  “Mr. Buckley, quiet, please,” Mr. Branson called out from his station beside the front desk.

  Then Principal Marty’s voice returned to the room, “Finally, every day we will begin with the playing of the National Anthem.  Please stand and Go Lakers!”

  The class stood as the cadence of rolling drums came over the speaker followed by an orchestral version of the anthem.  Molly followed Mr. Branson’s example and placed her right hand over her heart but looked around the room noticing that very few of her classmates did the same thing.  The class sat when it was over.

  Mr. Branson lifted a copy of the handbook from the desk and walked in front of it.

  “I will briefly review the five sections of the handbook.  These handbooks are yours.  Please share them with your parents and keep it in a safe place for future referrals.  Afterward, and for the rest of our time together, you may review it in detail and ask me any questions.  Section One is the Code of Conduct….”

  Molly stopped paying attention to Mr. Branson and leafed through the Handbook herself.  It is about twenty pages long containing the rules of the school but what intrigued her was the School Club List that was the very last section of the Handbook.  The School Clubs were described as after-school, or extra-curricular, activities.  Students are recommended, she read, and encouraged to participate but they are not required to do so.  She scanned down the list of the fifteen clubs:

Clubs

* See sport activities below

  Molly was interested in several of these clubs.  She was interested in art and creative writing, but her attention was focused on the last one on the list – Whodunnit Club.  She raised her hand.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mr. Branson addressed her causing her to look up at him.

  “Mr. Branson, what is the Whodunnit Club?”

  Mr. Branson looked at her in a strange, confused way and hastily looked at the Student Handbook.  After reviewing the list for a few moments, he looked back at Molly and cleared his throat and said, “I don’t know.  It is new.”

  Molly nodded and closed her handbook.  The classroom returned to a waiting silence as Mr. Branson smiled uneasily at her.  She raised her hand again.

   “Yes?” he addressed her nervously.

  “When do these clubs meet?”

  Again Mr. Branson cleared his throat, “That is up to each club, but the first meeting times are posted on the bulletin boards at the entry of each school hallway.  For new students, there are three halls off of a main hallway at the front and back of the school so there are six bulletin boards.  The school offices are on the front hall and cafeteria is off the back hall.  There is a map on the very last page of your Student Handbook.”

  A bell interrupted his speech and he breathed a sigh of relief.  Mr. Branson smiled and said, “See you next Monday.  Have a nice day.  You are dismissed.”

  The room exploded with the sound of chairs scraping across the floor and the students scampering to file out of the door.  Molly patiently waited until the doorway cleared and she entered the crowded hall.  She pulled her schedule from the front pocket of her jeans and looked at it to verify her first class on Wednesdays.  It was English in Room 203.  She headed toward the front hall and turned right to the second hallway and turned into it.  She looked at the two rooms on either side of the hall to orient herself.  Room 201 was on her right and 202 on her left.  So the odd numbered rooms are on the right.  She walked to the next two rooms and found that she was correct.  She hitched up her backpack and entered Room 203 for her first official class of middle school.

  As she stood in the doorway,  an older woman was standing next to the door and smiled at her.  She was wearing a long yellow dress and a white sweater.

  “Hello.  Come on in and please sit anywhere,” she said to Molly.  She had a pleasant voice.

  Molly smiled back and decided to guess where she would be sitting alphabetically and headed for the third seat in the second row.  She stood next to her chosen desk and looked around the room.  There weren’t any windows in this classroom, so it seemed smaller.  She removed her backpack and placed it beside her desk and sat down.  A squeak of the desk beside her caused her to look at it.  Beverly, Bev, Matthews was smiling at her.  Molly met Bev the first day she moved to Missouri.  She lives on the street behind her home.

  “Hi, Molly,”  she said.  “How’s it going?”

  “Hi, Bev.  It’s going okay.  How have you been?”

  “Oh, I am okay, too.  I didn’t know we had English together.  Why didn’t you tell me last night when we were on the phone?” Bev questioned Molly.

  “Oh, I don’t know.  Why didn’t you? And what’s with the dress?  I thought we decided to dummy down?”

  The bell rang before Beverly had a chance to answer.  The teacher quietly closed the door and walked to her desk.  Behind her on the chalkboard in giant block letters was the words, English 01 – Mrs. Chesterfield. 

  “Good morning class.  I am Mrs. Chesterfield, and this is English 01.  I am telling you this to make sure everyone is in the right class.  There is usually some confusion on the first day, so everyone please get your schedule and make sure you are in the right place.”

  From behind Molly, a desk scooted, and a boy headed for the door.  Mrs. Chesterfield smiled and waited for the door to close behind him.

  “Okay.  Get used to your seat because it will be your home for a couple of weeks until I learn your names,” she said as she walked around the desk and sat in her chair.  “I need to create a seating chart for myself so be patient with me as I call your name.  When I call your name, raise your hand until I say stop.  Afterward, we will pass out our books and get started.”

  As the morning went on, Molly learned this was the routine for the teachers of her classes until fourth hour.  It was her American History class with Mr. Dalton.  Bev was in this class as well, but they didn’t sit next to each other because Mr. Dalton did seat the class alphabetically. Afterward, he informed that they have lunch during the second lunch period at 11:00.

   “I hate having second lunch period because it just makes it hard to teach American History.  Here will be our routine,” Mr. Dalton was sitting on top of the desk and continued.  “Before lunch, I will put page numbers on the board, and it will be your assignment to read it from our textbook.  After lunch we will talk about it.  Today, however, let’s just talk as we pass out our books.  You people in the first seat of each row go ahead and get enough books for your row from the bookshelf in the corner over there.”

  Chairs squeaked as the students obeyed.  Molly groaned inside her head as the thought of another book in her backpack is going to kill her.  She decided she had to go to her locker during the lunch hour and dump some of them there.

  “So American History,” Mr. Dalton said over the noise of activity.  “How many know anything about it?”

  As Mr. Dalton released them for their lunch period, Molly and Bev walked out the door together.

  “I need to go to my locker first,” Molly told her friend.

  “Okay,” Bev said as they turned right into the hallway.  “I went to mine before this class.  It is in this hall.  Where’s yours?”

  “It is in between hall 1 and 2 just around the corner.  So what do you think of middle school so far?”

  “It’s school but I do like going to different classes and being with kids I wasn’t with before.  Seeing Steve Freeberseyser everyday wasn’t incredibly fun last year.”

  Molly laughed as she stopped at her locker.  She spun the combination and quickly opened it.  She plunked her backpack on the floor at her feet.  She pulled all the books from it and placed them in the two upper shelves at the top of the locker.  She shut the door and pulled the backpack on her back.

  “That’s better,” she said to Bev.  “Let’s go to lunch.”

  “Want a piece of gum?” Bev offered Molly.

  “No,” Molly laughed as she began to walk.  “We are going to eat lunch, aren’t we?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Bev said and returned the stick of gum to her backpack and followed Molly.

  The two girls were sitting together at a table eating their lunches when Harold dropped his lunch tray beside them.  They jumped, startled, and he laughed as he sat down.

  “Well, how is it going girls?” Harold said as he centered a plate with a pizza slice on it in front of him.

  “Fine,” Molly said.  “You?”

  “Oh it is a great day!  First day of school, you know.   I am surprised though, that we aren’t in any classes together.”

  “We are,”  Bev said.  “Second period, math.”

  “Not you, silly,” he said through a mouthful of pizza. “Molly.”

  “Maybe we do.  I have Biology next hour with Easton,” Molly said to Harold.

  “Well, I stand corrected.  We do!” Harold raised his arms to the sky.

  “Listen. I have a question of you two.  Did you guys see the list of clubs?”

  “No,” Bev said as she ate a french fry.

  “What about them?” Harold asked her.  “June was in Art Club last year.  They painted a picture on one of the walls in Hallway 03.”

  “Did you see the list and the last one, The Whodunnit Club?  I wonder what that one is about?” Molly asked them.  “I might want to go to that one.  Do you want to join me?”

  Bev looked at Harold who simply shrugged his shoulder and took another bite of pizza.

To be continued…

“Who’s the Army Man?” Harold yelled in frustration.  Olive could see that Harold’s fists were clenched at his sides.

  “Harold,” Olivia said.  “It will be all right.”

  Steve stepped around Olivia, who had to move back a long way so he could get around her.  He is a stegosaurus after all.  He looked at Harold and said, “He is a friend of ours.”

  Harold looked at Steve and shook his head and turned back to Ricky.  He took a deep breath and said to him, “Ricky, what did he say?”

  “Well, I told him that I was keeping the key in a safe place until you guys came looking for it and he said he was going to keep it safer by hiding it,” Ricky explained.

  “Where did he go?” T. R. roared from behind them.

  Ricky turned to T. R. and explained, “He went out the side door.”

  “The side door?” Harold asked.

  “Yes.  It is over here,” Steve said.  “Olivia, get on my back.”

  “The side door is right here.  We could have skipped all of the spiders?!” Harold was yelling again.

  “I want to go home,” George said.

  “Oh George,” Ricky said to him.  “We will get you home.  Do you want to ride on my back?”

  “Sure!” George said all excited. “I would love to ride on a velociraptor!”

  Harold walked over to T. R. and saw that Grandpa was already  on top of T. R.  He quietly stood beside the dinosaur as he bet down.  He climbed on T. R.’s back slightly in front of his Grandpa.

Ricky was the first one out of the side door, followed by Steve and finally, T. R.  The sun was bright, and Harold had to squint his eyes as they started on a path that led them back down the mountain.  They crashed through the trees as if they were blades of grass.  Suddenly, Ricky started running ahead of them.

  “What is he doing?” T. R. said to them.

  “I don’t know,” Harold answered him as he watched the raptor race ahead and then suddenly turn back toward them.

  “George wanted to go fast!” Ricky yelled up at them and returned to lead them again.

  Harold began to see where they were going now as the lake appeared ahead of them.

  “Are we heading back to where we started?” Harold asked to no one in particular.

  They pushed through a line of trees and sitting by the fire they had left earlier in the day was the Army Man.  He turned toward them and waved.  The three dinosaurs lowered their passengers to the ground, and they all approached the man.

  “Hey, Man,” Steve called out.

  “Hi Steve,” the Army man said as he returned to pushing a stick through the fire.

  “Where’s the key?” Harold asked the man dressed all in green and he wore a helmet on his head.

  “It is safe,” the man stood up and walked around Harold and stood in front of the group.  “A very safe place.”

  “I want to go home!” George whined again.

  Ricky stepped to the Army man and slowly lowered his head to be directly in front of his face.  He slowly grinned at him displaying the rows of his shiny teeth.  He looked from the man to George and back again.  The Army Man took a step backward, but he ran into something hard.  He looked above him and saw the jaws of a tyrannosaurus rex open wide.  He turned to his left and a stegosaurus stepped in front of him.  He realized he was surrounded, and he slowly raised his hands.

  “Where is the key?” Harold asked again.

  “It is there,” the Army Man pointed at Grandpa.

  “Me?” Grandpa said.  “I don’t have the key.”

  “Yes, you do,” the Army Man insisted.  “I hid it on you myself.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Grandpa insisted.  “I was riding on top of T. R. and just now met you for the first time.”

  The Army Man stepped toward him and said, “I put it in that robe pocket.”

  Grandpa slowly placed his hands inside the two robe pockets.  A look of surprise appeared on his face and he very removed his right hand from his pocked holding a key!

  “How did that get there?” he exclaimed.

  “Magic!” Olivia squealed as she jumped up and down with joy.

  Harold grabbed the key from Grandpa’s hand and turned to T. R. and asked, “Where’s the door?”

  “What’s happening over there?” George yelled in surprise.

  Harold turned to where George was pointing.  A door started to appear in the middle of the trees.  It first seemed to be dim, but it slowly grew bigger and darker until it seemed to be a solid door surrounded by trees.

  “There’s the door,” T. R. said.

  “Yes,” Steve said as he shook his head.  “It’s time for you to get back home.”  He turned to face them.  T. R. walked and stood by Steve.  Ricky joined them.

  “I guess so,” Harold said as he walked toward them.  Grandpa placed his hand on his shoulder as Olivia and George walked bide him.

  “It was an amazing adventure,” Grandpa said to the dinosaurs.  “It was so nice to meet you.”

  George left Harold’s side and walked to Ricky and said, “Raptors are my favorite dinosaurs.”

  “Mine, too,” Ricky said shaking Georges hand.

  Olivia was patting Steve’s head and bent forward and kissed the top of it and said, “Good-bye.”

  Harold looked up at the tyrannosaurus rex and smiled.  “You are the best, T. R.”

  T. R. smiled at him or, Harold thought so.  Who could tell when a T-Rex was smiling or not?

  Grandpa simply waved at everyone and glanced at the Army Man who was still standing by the fire.  “Let’s go home, Harold.”

  Harold led his Grandpa and his two best friends to the door.  He slid the key into the keyhole and turned it.  The door slowly opened, and Harold turned back to the dinosaurs.

  “Magic,” T. R. said and slowly disappeared.

  “Harold!  Harold, wake up!”

  Harold slowly opened his eyes and saw his Mom looking down at him.  She smiled.  “There you are sleepy head.  Wake everyone up and come down for breakfast.”

  Harold slowly rolled over and saw Olivia, George and Grandpa looking at him.

  “Was that real?” Olivia asked him.

  “Nah,” George said.  “It was just a dream he said knowing that they had all shared the same dream.

  “You mean I didn’t really ride on a raptor?” George asked him.

  “no, it was only a dream,” Harold said again.

  “Okay,” Grandpa said.  “You heard Harold’s Mom, it’s time for breakfast.”

  The children stood up from the floor and Olivia and George left the room.  Grandpa stood up from Harold’s bed and tightened his belt and said to Harold, “Let’s go.”

  Harold put his hands in his robe pockets and stopped in his tracks.

  “Grandpa,” he whispered.

  “What is it, Harold?”

  Harold pulled his hand from his robe pocket and in his grasp, he held up a key.

The End

Gregory A. Jenkins & Lincoln Bledsoe – November 28 – December 6, 2020

Before they knew it, the dinosaurs paused, and everyone climbed off their backs.  In front of them was a cave opening that was taller than T. R. and wider than all of them if they held hands in one straight line.  Harold stepped forward to enter the cave.

  “Wait a minute!” T. R. roared.  “You better let me go in first.  Remember about the spiders.”

  Harold nodded and looked around for a weapon of some kind.  Olivia had picked up a branch that was as tall of her from those that were laying all over the ground.  Harold, Grandpa and George did the same thing.

  “Ready,” T. R. asked them.  They all nodded to him and he started into the darkness with Steve being the last one inside the cave.

  Harold thought it would be dark inside but once they had all stepped inside, a string of light bulbs slowly switched on causing a light orange glow to guide their path.

  “Light bulbs!”  Harold said in surprise.  “How is that possible?”

  “What?” Do you think we are uncivilized here, Harold?” Steve said to him.  “It is possible because this place is magical.  Remember?”

  “Yeah, don’t you remember,” George added.

  “Shhh!” T. R. cautioned.  “We must be quiet.  I see spider webs in the corner up ahead,”

  Slowly, they crept on tiptoes as T. R. led them around a corner.  When Steve walked around the turn, something whispered behind them.  They turned to see a giant spider fall from a thread from the ceiling and scramble toward them.  Steve turned toward it and started to swing his tail back and forth.

  “Easy, easy, Steve,” the spider stopped in its tracks.  “I was just wanting to see who was with you guys.”

  “Just some friends,” T. R. stepped forward.  “Nothing for you to be concerned about Martin.”

  “I just heard it was some humans.  I heard Harold was with them.  I wanted to meet him because I have heard so much about him.”

  “You have?” Harold said as he stepped forward,

  “So you are Harold,” Martin said as he took a few steps toward him.  “T. R.’s Harold?”

  “I guess so,” Harold replied.

  “Step a little closer.  This light is so dim, I would like to see you better,” the giant spider said to him.

  Harold took a step closer when the spider shot a stream of webbing at him.  But Harold was on his guard and side-stepped it just as Steve crashed the end of his tail in front of Martin.  T. R. roared a frightful roar.

  “I think you better leave us alone, “Harold said.  “Or I will let my friends take care of you.”

  Martin hissed, turned, and headed down the tunnel.

  “Wow, Harold,” Grandpa ran up beside him.  “That was very brave.”

  “Well, T. R. said we should be careful of the spiders,” Harold said as he clapped his hands together causing an echo throughout the cave.  “Shall we find Ricky so we can go home?”

  The group turned back around and followed the tyrannosaurus rex deeper inside the cave.  It seemed like they walked forever when the dinosaur suddenly stopped.

  “Do you hear that?” T. R. asked the team.

  “It sounds like someone crying,” George said.

  “I think you are right,” Harold said as he stepped around the larger dinosaur.

  In a dimly lit corner sat a velociraptor but it wasn’t what he had imagined.  This dinosaur had a rounded snout with large blue eyes, a large tail and it was covered in feathers!  They looked like peacock feathers!

  “What are you looking at, Harold!” the dinosaur, err, bird said to him.  Harold did notice that it had a mouthful of sharp teeth.

  “Hello, Ricky,” Steve said when he entered the room.  “Why are you crying?”

  “Where’s the key?” Harold asked him as Olivia and George stepped beside him and Grandpa stood behind him.

  “George, is that you?”  Ricky said and rose to his feet.   He put his face into George’s face.

  “Y-yes,” George said.

  “Oh boy!  Can I shake your hand?” the raptor reached out his clawed hand and George shook it.

  “Where is the key!” Harold yelled at the raptor.

  The raptor turned and looked at him with his large blue eyes.  Harold took a step back, running into Grandpa.

  “That,” Ricky started to say. “Is why I am crying.  The Army man stole it from me!”

To be continued…

“Are you guys hungry? “ Steve asked the group before they settled around the fire. “How about we go fishing instead?”

  “Fishing?” Harold asked.  “How do we go fishing?  Do dinosaurs even fish?”

  “I do!” T. R. announced.  “I find it relaxing.  I have some fishing poles over here.  George, can you help me go get them?”

  George laughed and ran over to the tyrannosaurus rex who lowered his head to allow the six-year-old boy to climb on his back.  They turned and walked into the woods.

  “So what’s going on?” Harold turned to Steve.

  “Well, it’s like this,” Steve turned toward Harold, Olivia, and Grandpa.  “There is this key that will get you back home.”

  “Wait, wait,” Harold cautioned and took a few steps to the stegosaurus.  “First of all, where are we?”

  “You are where we live, Captain Obvious!”  Steve shook his head at him.

  “Aww, you are so frustrating!” Harold yelled at him.

  “Be nice!”  Olivia ran and stood in front of the dinosaur protecting him from Harold.

  “But how did we get here!”  Harold screamed at Steve and Olivia.

  “Okay, now, calm down, Harold,”  Grandpa went over to Harold and stood beside him.  “Maybe that isn’t important right now.  Tell us more about this key, Steve.”

  The ground shook again, and the trees crashed behind them as T. R. and George returned.  In George’s arms were several fishing poles.

  “Let’s go fishing!” T. R. yelled as he passed them and stopped near the shoreline.  Harold looked at Steve who turned and followed T.R.  Grandpa shook his head and smiled at Harold and then led the two children to the lakeside.  Soon, two dinosaurs, Grandpa, Olivia, George, and Harold were holding fishing poles that had fishing lines in the water.

  “I didn’t know dinosaurs went fishing,” Olivia said.

  “Not all dinosaurs do,” Steve replied.  “Just T.R., Ricky and me.”

  “Yeah, it’s relaxing,” T. R. added.  “Oh, I have a bite.” 

  He quickly yanked the pole with his small arms and pulled.  A huge fish with a large sail on its back flew into the air ad T. R. pulled it onto the ground behind them.  He laughed and the hook suddenly released from the fish’s mouth. T. R. threw the hook back into the water.

  “I have a bite, too!”  Olivia announced.  She pulled her pole and a smaller white fish flew into the air.  She pulled the pole over her head and her catch landed next to the first fish.  Her hook, too, magically released from the fish’s mouth.  Behind her, she heard George laugh as he pulled a fish over his head and it landed next to the other fish.

  Harold was not interested in fishing at all.  He dropped his fishing pole on the ground and stomped toward Steve.  He stopped in front of him, crossed his arms and said, “Who’s Ricky?”

  “He is our friend.  He is part of our group.  Right T. R.?” Steve raised his fishing line and redropped it into the water.

  “Right.  Oh, I have another bite!”  T. R. yelled.

  “What is this key?” Harold continued to ask Steve.

  “The key allows us to get from one place to another.  If we can find the doors.”

  “Doors?” Harold asked.

  “I think that is how you got here, through one of the doors,” Steve shook his head.

  “What kind of doors?”  Harold asked another question.

  “Magic doors.”  Steve said and faced Harold.  “They show up and, if you have the key, you can go through it.”

  “So, first, you have the key and now you think Ricky took the key,” Harold summarized for Steve.

  “Yes,” Steve answered.

  “Where is he then?!” Harold yelled at the dinosaur again.

  Steve bent down and put his face right in front of Harold and said, “You do not have to yell.  I am right here.  I think he is up in the cave at the top of that mountain.”  He raised his head and looked across the lake at the mountain in the distance.

  Harold sat on the ground and sighed.

  They ate supper.  Grandpa helped T. R. get all the fish ready and Steve cooked them in the frying pan on the fire.  Afterward, Harold and Grandpa leaned up against the T-Rex who laid down on one side of the fire.  Olivia and George settled against Steve, who laid down on the other side of the fire and they all fell asleep.

  They woke up the next morning when T. R. went hunting and returned with a huge egg.  Steve scrambled it in the frying pan.  They all ate scrambled eggs from the one egg.  Harold and Grandpa crawled up on the back of the T-Rex as the other two children got on Steve’s back.  They were heading for the mountain.

  “How long will it take to get there?” Harold asked.  “It looks so far away.”

  “It’s not that far away,”  T. R. said.  “You are riding on dinosaurs!”

  T. R. started to run, and Harold was afraid that Steve would not be able to keep up.  He didn’t have to worry because when he turned back to see where Steve was, he was running right behind them.  As they broke into a clearing in the woods, Harold saw a lot of tiny dinosaurs walking toward the lake.

  “What are those dinosaurs, T. R.?” Harold asked.

  “Those?  Those are Aquilips.  They won’t hurt us, they could, but they won’t.  Hello, James!” T. R. called out.  “Where are you guys headed?”

  “For a swim in the lake,” a small squeaky voice answered him.  “Where are you guys going?”

  “We are looking for Ricky.   We think he is in his cave.”

  “He is.  Bob said he saw him yesterday.”

  “Where did you see Bob?” Steve yelled from behind them, surprising Harold.

  “Up ahead, in his usual spot.  He loves those trees.  See you later!”

  The two dinosaurs continued through the clearing and returned to the trees.

  “Who’s Bob?”  Harold asked T. R.

  “Another friend of ours,” T. R. answered him.  “And there he is!”

  Harold looked up ahead of him and saw a brontosaurus.  Actually, he saw the bottom of a brontosaurus as it stood in front of several tall trees.  A small pond was nearby, and the two dinosaurs stopped and let the people on the ground.

  “Bob!”  Steve yelled up into the leaf covered ceiling.  The ceiling started to crumble as a long neck pushed through it and small, pleasant looking face bent down to look at them.

  “Oh hi, Steve.  What’s up?” the brontosaurus asked the stegosaurus.

  “We’re looking for Ricky.  Have you seen him?”  Steve asked.

  “He is in his cave.  I can see him.  Need anything else?” Bob asked.

  “A drink?”  Harold asked.

  Bob looked at him and said, “You are Harold, and is that Olivia and George?!  Nice to meet you.  Grandpa, you are here, too?  It is a pleasure to meet you all.  Yes, you can have a drink, but you guys use the pump I just put in.  The well water is much colder than the pond.  Well, my neck is starting to hurt so I will see you later.”

  “Thank you!” Olivia called.

  After they all drank some water, Harold asked Steve. “How much farther?”

  “Not much but I have to warn you.  It’s a spider cave and the spiders here are mean and huge. Still want to go?”

  “We need that key,” Harold told him.

  A short time later, the two dinosaurs and their riders were at the base of the mountain.

  “The cave is near the top,” Steve said.  “So let’s make a plan.”

  Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

  “When we get to the entrance, you guys will get off of us and we will walk ahead of you to take care of any spiders, okay?” Steve asked them.

  Again, they all shook their heads, yes.  The two dinosaurs started up the side of the mountain walking on a path that looks like they have been on at least once before.  They were heading to Ricky’s cave.

To be continued…

“Who’s Steve?”  T. R. repeated the question.  “You know who Steve is.  Stop kidding around.

Come on, let’s go.”

  The giant tyrannosaurus rex turned, and his tail almost knocked them over like dominoes.

  “I don’t want to go,” George said.  “I want to go home.”

  “I think we have to go with him George,” Grandpa told him.  “He might know what is going on. Or maybe Steve knows.”

  “I want to know who Steve is,” Harold started running after the T-Rex as he was getting farther and farther away from them.

  “Wait!” Grandpa called after hm.  “We need to stay together.”

  He grabbed Olivia’s hand, pushed George in front of him and they began to follow Harold.  Harold eventually got tired of running and waited for the three of them to catch up.  It so happens that it is easy to follow a T-rex because they leave a huge path of trees that they have knocked over.  The four people walked in the middle of that path.  Olivia and Grandpa also found that walking in the mud with their slippers wasn’t easy.  Harold and George were lucky because they had their boots on.  The best thing that happened is that the ground stopped shaking and it was easier to walk.

  “Why did the ground stop shaking?” Olivia asked.

  “Probably T. R. is either too far away from us or he stopped somewhere,” Harold answered as he walked with his head down.

  “Who’s T. R.?” George said.  He was holding Grandpa’s hand now.

  “He said his name was T.R.,” Harold turned on his friend, walking backwards.  “Don’t you listen?”

  “Now, now,” Grandpas said.  “He just forgot, Harold.  Be nice.”

  “Grandpa?” Olivia spoke up.  “Where are we?”

  “Well,” he began to say.  “I think we are, mysteriously, in the time of the dinosaurs and everything is much bigger.”

  “Where did the house go?” George asked.

  “Now, George, that is an interesting question that I don’t know the answer to…yet.” Grandpa answered George.

  “Maybe Steve knows,” Harold said.  “Whoever he is.”

  Suddenly the ground began to shake again and up around the corner, T. R. looked around a very tall palm tree.  He clapped his hands and started walking toward them.

  “I forgot that you guys cannot walk as fast as me because I am so much bigger than you,” T. R. said when he got closer.  “Do you want a ride?”

  Harold did not hesitate, “Sure!”

  Grandpa, who was holding not only George’s hand but Olivia’s hand, too.  When T. R. lowered his head , Grandpa led them as he followed Harold and they climbed on the dinosaur’s back.

  “Now hold on tight to my spines and away we go!” T. R. said as he started to walk. 

  The shaking of the ground wasn’t as bad because they were now making them and soon, they found themselves laughing as they rode on top of the dinosaur.

  Harold could now see that T.R. wasn’t making a path but following one.  In the distance, he could see a mountain rising up from the ground before them.  It was still far away but because it was so big, it looked closer than what it really was.  The trees and grasses were tall, and he was sure he saw smaller dinosaurs and he wondered what kind they were.  As they turned a sharp corner, and a lake appeared in front of them.  The dinosaur began to slow down.

  “Okay,” T. R. said to them and he lowered his head.  “It is time to get off of me and I will go tell Steve that you are here.  He will be so happy to meet Olivia.”

  Harold, Olivia, George, and Grandpa stood by the lake and watched the tyrannosaurus rex disappear around the corner of the lake.  Harold left the three of them and began to look around.

He noticed that behind them that a small fire was burning in a small fire pit.

  “Grandpa,” Harold called. “Look, here is a fire.”

  Grandpa and the two other children walked to where Harold stood, and they stared at the fire.  Resting over the fire was a framework of metal that had triangles at each end with one thick rod between the two of them.

  “What’s that?” Olivia asked as she pointed to a pile next to the pit.

  Harold walked over to the pile and bent down.  He started pushing through the pile of items and said, “It’s pots and pans and a kettle.  Here are some metal plates and forks, spoons and knives, too.”

  “Where did they come from and who started this fire?” Olivia wondered out loud.

  “Strange,” Grandpa said. “Very strange.”

  At that moment, the ground began to shake, and they turned to see T. R. walking toward them.  They could  see behind him was a shorter dinosaur but wider with these huge, flattened plates all along the ridge of its back.

  “Steve is a stegosaurus!”  Olivia screamed and ran toward the dinosaurs. 

  “Wait!” Grandpa called after Olivia and he started to run after her.  Harold and George ran close behind them.

  Harold quickly ran past Grandpa and ahead of Olivia.  He stopped in front of T.R. and asked, “Is that Steve?”

  T.R. clapped his hands together and said, “Yes, it is Steve!  Steve, this is Harold and that little boy is George and that old man is Grandpa and this, is Olivia.”

  Steve the stegosaurus bent his head to get his eyes to the same level as Olivia and said, “So you are Olivia.  It is so nice to finally meet you. My name is Steve.”

  Olivia stood very still and said to the stegosaurus, “Hello.  It is so nice to meet you.  How do you know my name?”

  “Oh, we all know who you are, but I know that you are a very kind person,” Steve said to her.  He raised his head to look at the others and said, “It is so nice to meet all of you.  Welcome to our home!  Was the fire the right size?  It seemed little to me, but I was hoping it was right for you.”

  “You made the fire?” Harold asked surprised.  “How?”

  “I will not share our secrets.  How about the cooking vessels?  Are they adequate for cooking?”  Steve asked as he walked toward the fire.

  “Yes, they seem to be,” Grandpa answered.

  “Stop!” Harold yelled and everyone turned to look at him.  “I, we, have questions!”

  “Well,” Steve said.  “Let’s go sit around the fire and I will tell you everything.”

To be continued…

Olivia and George came for dinner at Harold’s house bringing their pajamas and dinosaurs for the sleepover.  After they ate, Grandpa joined them in Harold’s room, too.  They first rearranged the room.  Grandpa would sleep on the bed and the kids spread blankets and pillows on the floor.  Then they played with their dinosaurs.  Harold had his T-Rex.  George played with his Velociraptor and Olivia brought her Stegosaurus.  Grandpa sat on the floor and he had a small Army man.

  “George, you are the bad guy and we are trying to capture you,” Olivia said.

  “Why do I have to be the bad guy?” George asked.

  “Because you have a raptor and they are the meanest,” Olivia explained.

  “No they aren’t.  T-Rex’s are the meanest,” George said back to Olivia.

  “No, they aren’t,”  Harold joined the discussion.  “They are the king of dinosaurs and the king is always the good guy.”

  “All right, all right,” Grandpa laughed at them.  “I will be the bad guy and you have to find me.  Turn around and I will hide my Army man and you three will have to work together to find me.  Turn around now.”

  The three children turned away from Grandpa who hid his Army man. 

  “Okay turn around and start looking,” Grandpa said.

  “Roar,” said Harold growled.  “Follow me, I am your King so follow me.”

  “Lead on,” Olivia moved her stegosaurus to follow the tyrannosaurus rex.

  George moved his velociraptor in another direction and growled back.  “I think we should go this way.”

  “George!” Harold raised his voice.  “You are not playing right!”

  “Now, now,” Grandpa interrupted from where he lay on his bed.  “Let’s settle down and talk about getting along.”

  The three children looked at him.  Harold leaned against a wall near him and sighed.

  “Are the three of you friends?” Harold’s grandpa asked them.   They all nodded, yes. 

  “Good friends?” he asked.  Again, the three children nodded, yes.

  “Well, then, you need to show me,”  he said and waited.

  Harold crawled back to Olivia and George and said,  “Sorry, guys.  Let’s make a plan to find our enemy, G.I. Joe.  He is hiding somewhere in our forest.”

  “I think we could make more time if we split up to cover more ground,” George said.

  “I think we should stay together so we can protect each other,” Harold said.

  “I think we should hide and make a trap and have him try to find us,” Olivia said.

  “Oooo!” George said.  “I like Olivia’s idea.”

  “Me, too,” Harold agreed.

  “Now, that’s how friends play,” Grandpa smiled at the three of them.

  They continued to play until Harold’s mom came in and told them it was time to go to bed.  The three children spread out on the floor.  George was under the window; Olivia was in the middle of the room and Harold was closest to the door.  Grandpa covered each one with their own blanket and covered Harold last of all.

  “Grandpa,”  Harold said.  “Thanks for playing with us.”

  Grandpa looked down at his grandson and said, “You are very welcome, Harold.”

  Grandpa turned off the light and closed the door, leaving it open just a crack and got into bed.  Shortly afterward, the room was quiet with three sleeping children and one grandpa.

  The next morning, Harold woke up first and he quietly left his bedroom.  He tip-toed down the stairs and her went into the kitchen.  The light coming in through the kitchen was different.  It was kind of bright, but it wasn’t.  He went to the cabinet below the sink, opened it, and took out a box of corn flakes and took it to the table.  He then noticed how quiet it was in the house.  There weren’t any sounds at all.  He walked down the hallway toward the front door when a dark shadow crossed in front of the living room’s large picture window, and he froze in his tracks.  Suddenly, a very loud roar shattered the silence of the house and he screamed.  Harold turned around and raced back up the stairs to his parents’ room.  He pushed the door open and it banged against the wall and he ran to their bed.  He jumped up to wake them and…they were not there!  Where did they go!

  “Grandpa!” he yelled as he jumped off the bed and ran to his room.  He pushed the bedroom door open only to find Olivia, George, and Grandpa still asleep in their beds.

  “Guys!” Harold yelled from the top of his lungs and all three of them sat up and said, “What!”

  “My parents are gone, and I heard a roar!”

  “What?” Grandpa asked as he through off his blanket.  He stood up in his bright blue pajamas and pushed on his slippers.  He left the room in a hurry and Harold followed him.  Olivia pulled on a bright pink robe over her pale green pajamas and her fluffy slippers.  George pulled on his blue jeans and boots.  Together, they raced to follow Harold and his Grandpa.

  They find them in the kitchen where Grandpa was looking around and Harold was waiting near the kitchen table.  They stopped by Harold and waited.

  Grandpa turned, looked at them and said, “everything is fine.  They must be getting eggs from the chickens.  Harold get some shoes on then we will go outside and take a look around the house.”

  Harold walked to the kitchen door where his boots stood waiting for him.  He walked over to them and slipped them on.

  “Okay,” Grandpa said.  “Let’s get our coats on and go out the front door.”

  The group turned and trudged down the hall toward the front door.  All of their coats were hanging on hooks on the wall where Harold’s Mom hung them the night before.  After they had pulled their coats over their pajamas, except for George who had put on his blue jeans, Harold opened the door.

  As they walked out on the porch, they couldn’t see the barn or Olivia’s house or George’s house either because there were giant trees with giant leave all over the place.

  “Wow,” George whispered.

  “Where did those come from?” Olivia asked.

  “Grandpa?” Harold asked.

  “I don’t know,” Grandpa said as he shut the door.

  When the door clicked shut, something weird happened.  The four people tumbled to the ground and the porch and,  the house it was attached to, disappeared.  As they sat on the ground, they looked at each other.

  “What happened?” Harold asked them.

  “I don’t know,” Olivia answered him.

  “I want to go home,” George said.

  “Me, too!” Grandpa said.

  All of a sudden, the ground began to shake and the huge tree around them began to sway.  The four people jumped to their feet and huddled around each other.

  “Get behind me!” Grandpa yelled and the children did as they were told.

  The two huge trees in front of them were separated by, of all things, a tyrannosaurus rex!  It stopped when it saw him and bent down for a closer look.  The four people huddled closer together.  The dinosaur raised his head and started to jump and down and clapped it little hands.  The ground below them jumped up and down with each jump of the dinosaur.

  Finally, the animal stopped and bent down toward them and this time it said, “Hello.  I am so glad I found you guys!”

  The four people were stunned with surprise as a T-Rex was talking.”

  “You talk?” Harold asked the dinosaur.

  “Of course I do, Harold” he replied and laughed aloud.  And it was loud.

  “You know me?” Harold asked.

  “You are so funny, Harold.  I know you and Olivia and George.  I even know Grandpa, too!” the dinosaur answered Harold’s question.

  “Who are you?” George asked bewildered.

  “My name is T. R. – for Tyrannosaurus Rex,” T. R. answered George. “Steve will be so excited to see you guys and really surprised that I found you!”

  “Who’s Steve?” Olivia asked.

To be continued…

Dear Readers,

  This next story was created for and with my oldest grandson, almost eight-year-old, Lincoln.  It started with a phone call with a challenge for me to write him a story.  Together, we developed a plot including the genre of it, a mystery, , the main characters and their names, and the number of chapters, five. (It actually has six chapters, so I failed him in that respect.  He didn’t mind.)  Just like I do with you, dear Readers, I provided him the story one chapter at a time and upon his completing it and his his approval, which he said he loved it, he titled it, Dinosaur Clueless Key, but I am renaming it, simply, Dinosaur Key.  He also gave me permission to share it with you.

Lincoln and I hope you like it, too!

Chapter 1 – Surprise!

Harold was walking home from school with his best friends, Olivia, and George.  Harold was the oldest at eleven years old then came Olivia was eight and George was the youngest at six years old.  They were neighbors who live on Spencer’s Hill.  It was called Spencer’s Hill because the first man who came here first had a dog named Spencer and named the place after his dog.  That’s what Harold’s grandpa told once when he visited one summer.  His mother laughed when Harold asked her if it was true.  It was autumn and the leaves were almost gone from all the trees and had spread out on the ground.  Harold and his friends crunched the leaves as they walked.  The school was located at the far end of a line of buildings that formed the Main Street in the town that was called Spencer.  The trees they were walking through surrounded the town and they were making a short-cut around the town to get home.  Besides, it was more fun.

  Main Street was made up of six buildings.  On one side of the street was a General Store where food and most everything else was, a Stable where people can have their horses taken care of by the blacksmith who lived there, and the school.  On the other side of the street was a bank with a post office in it, a hotel where visitors could rest on their way to Madison and a restaurant where anyone could eat.  On the outskirts of town, on the other side of the woods, were dairy farms.  Harold, Olivia, and George lived at the largest farm just on the other side of town.  George’s father owned the farm and Harold and Olivia’s parents help him and live in houses spread out across the farm.

  “Do you guys want to come to my house to play with my dinosaurs?”  Olivia asked the two boys as they came through the trees and stepped on the dirt road that led up to the farm.

  “Sure,” George said as he dropped his book bag on the ground and dragged them behind him using the rope he had used to tie them together.  “I love dinosaurs.”

  “I have to go home first,” Harold said as he pulled on tree branch that hung from a tree.  “I’ll bring my T-Rex.”

  “Great!  I’ll have Mom get a snack ready for you guys,” Olivia started to skip with joy.

  Up ahead the farm buildings came into view and the three children ran to their own homes.  Harold climbed up the porch steps, banged the front door open and ran upstairs to his room.  He threw his books on his bed and looked around his room for his T-Rex.  His grandpa sent it to him on his birthday.  He looked in his closet where his toy box was expecting it to be there.  But it wasn’t there!  He looked under his bed and there it was!  He grabbed it, stood up and ran back downstairs, heading for the front door.

  “Wait a minute, mister!”  his mother said as she waited for him at the bottom of the stairs.  “Where are you going?”

  “I am going to Olivia’s.  We are going to play dinosaurs,’  he explained as he stopped on the middle of the stairs.

  “You have to do your homework first,” she told him, so he trudged back upstairs to do his homework.

  A half hour later, he was running back down the stairs heading to the front door.

  “Wait!”  his mother’s voice stopped him as he reached for the front doorknob.

  “Mom!” he trudged to the kitchen.  “I did my homework!”

  As he entered the room where she was, he saw her back as she stood at the stove.  She turned to face him and smiled as she said, “You have to take your Grandpa with you!”

  Sitting at the kitchen table was his grandpa and he cried with joy.  George ran and jumped his grandpa’s waiting arms.

  “Grandpa,” Harold said as he hugged.   “Your hair is whiter than I remember, and your beard is longer, too.”

  “You are right, Harold!”  Grandpa said as he set his grandson down on the ground.

  “Do you want to come with me to Olivia’s to play dinosaurs?  I will got get my Raptor for you to play with!”  Harold told him.

  “No, I need to rest.  The wagon ride from my house to yours is a little bumpy,” Grandpa said to George.

  Then Harold had an idea and he turned to his Mom and asked, “Can I have a sleepover tonight?”

To be continued…

This is my Christmas Story for 20202 – Enjoy!

“I think I will be a pirate this year, Mrs. Claus,” Santa informed his wife at the breakfast table on the bright sunny morning of the Monday before Thanksgiving.

  The woman across the table from him slowly put down her magazine she had been reading.  She looked at him through her tiny reading glasses that were perched on her nose and said, “Okay, but you never dressed as a pirate in the past.  Why now?”

  “The elves need to have some fun.  Why not celebrate Halloween?  Most of the world does so, why not us, too?” he explained to his wife as he rose from his chair.

  Mrs. Claus watched as he paused and started stroking his beard.  Santa started to walk across the room and returned to where he began with his hands behind his back.

  “What are you up to, dear?”  Mrs. Claus asked.

  “Shhh, Mrs. Claus, can’t you see I am thinking?”  he grumbled at her.

  Mrs. Claus shook her head, put down the magazine, rose from her chair and called in a pleasant voice, “Maurice!”

  A few minute later, an elf entered the room.  He wore a bright green jacket over a bright white shirt and brilliant red pants.  His hair was as white as Santa’s and he was nearly as old as him, too.

  “Hello, Maurice,” Mrs. Claus said smiling pleasantly at the old elf.  “I think Santa is going to need you.”

  She walked out of the room.

  A few days later, Santa and Mrs. Claus entered the huge entry way of the main shop building and stopped to observe the room.  It was transformed into a giant banquet hall.  Rows and rows of tables were lined from one end of the room to the other end.  Each table was decorated in red or green tablecloths and held plate settings for eight people.  In the middle of each table sat a platter of turkey, bowls of mashed potatoes, dressing (or stuffing), green bean casserole, mac and cheese, candied yams, and fresh green salad.  Elves flitted around each table and, frankly, around the room, in organized chaos finishing the setting of each table.  Each elf was dressed was dressed in some sort of Halloween costume.  Santa, as promised, was a pirate, with a hook on one hand and a patch draping over his right eye. Mrs. Claus was attired in a princess gown with a crown atop her head.  An elf dressed as a skeleton approached the couple.

  “Ah, Maurice, I see you are showing your age,” Santa commented to his right-hand elf.

  “Very funny, sir,” Maurice shook his head.  “But yes sir, I was trying to be funny.  Very nice costume, Mrs. Claus. We are about ready to begin.  The head table was put on the side of the stage.  Let me take you there.”

  “It is amazing, dear, that this room will soon be the place where your sleigh is packed and away you go to all the good boys and girls of the world,” Mrs. Claus said to her husband as they followed Maurice to their table.

  As they proceeded, they would occasionally stop with one of the elves and comment on their costume.  Santa knew each of them by name and he laughed with each one.  The head table traditionally was not only where Santa and his charming wife sat but also the cast of the play that would precede the banquet.  All of the seats were empty when they arrived, and Santa and Mrs. Claus made their way to their seats in the center of the table.  Maurice followed them and stood next to Mrs. Claus.  Santa paused in his pirate costume, raised the eye patch that was drooping down across his right eye, raised his knife from its spot and struck the side of his wine glass.

  The quiet tinkle of each strike rose across the room and the elves dressed in their colorful costumes quieted and went to their tables and stood beside their chairs.  At the rear and on each side of the room, giant video screens displayed Santa who was calmly waited for the room to quiet.  He looked out on the sea of witches, goblins, and princesses then he smiled.

  “Happy Thanksgiving all!” he began, and the room erupted in cheers and applause.  “I hope you like our tribute to Halloween, too.  We are on our final days to lift off!  Nice costumes all!  Today, when we leave, each of you will receive a goody bag of treats that Mrs. Claus and her staff have put together for you.  Thank you dear.”

  Another eruption of cheers rose from the crowd as Mrs. Claus bowed and waved to everyone.

  “I think we should wear costumes every year to our Thanksgiving and Christmas kickoff meal.  What do you think?” Santa asked and was answered with another round of cheers.

  “Now, down to business, shall we pray,” Santa said.  “Heavenly Father, we thank you for all that you do for us and for blessing us with the opportunity to spread the joy of Christmas all around the world.  We must never forget why we do this every year, to remember the greatest gift of all, Your Son.  Bless the elves who prepared this meal and for the elves who are about to perform for us, and for their tireless work all year long.  In Jesus name we pray, amen.”

  Suddenly the room grew dark as the sound of chairs being pulled out and people sitting in them.  A spotlight lit up the stage and the curtain slowly opened.  The scene before them revealed a nativity scene stage right, empty, save for the reindeer surrounding the manger, dressed in costumes of various farm animals   High above them, on a platform, sat a reindeer with his red nose glowing, obviously the Christmas star.

  Stage right, a small group of elves clustered together dressed as shepherds were sitting and staring at another elf standing on a platform above them dressed as an anger.   A voice sounded throughout the room, “An angel appeared to them and they were afraid.  But the angel said to them…”

  The angel began to speak to the shepherds on the stage, “Don’t be afraid for I have great news for you!  Today in Bethlehem a baby is born who will bring the world great joy.  He is the Messiah, the Lord.  Go, you will find him in a manger.”

  A small group of angels joined the one and they began to sing. 

  At the table on the side of the stage, Santa took Mrs. Claus’ hand in his and smiled.

The End and Merry Christmas to all! – Stay safe!

Greg – Christmas 2020

Protector lowered himself to be gliding right above Deke.  The goose noticed and looked up at him.

  “Sentries up ahead.  I make out three.  I think they are on the lookout for you,” the eagle called down.

  “Yeah, you are probably right.  Do you want to go ahead of us and let them know we are on our way?” Deke called back to the eagle.

  Protector nodded and raced ahead of them. 

  As he watched the eagle get smaller and smaller, Deke said aloud, “Did you hear that?”

  The geese behind them called out in recognition and Deke nodded.  He continued to lead them at the same altitude and at the same speed.  They were at a casual speed and occasionally they floated on the warm air rising beneath them.  Deke could see the eagle was returning to them.  They all watched the big bird rise above and circle behind them.  Protector coasted above them and flapped his wings to match their speed.

  “I was told to tell you that we are to go to the Meeting Place upon arrival.  Yes, Simeone, even you,” Protector explained to them. 

  The trees ahead of them separated and they all knew the plateau above the cave was almost upon them.  Protector raised his tail feathers to cause a slight stall, and he fell in behind them as Simeone flew up to his side.  Deke led them over the plateau and into a slow circle around their home waters and lowered carefully into the water.  The eagle and the sparrow flew ahead and disappeared into the mouth of the cave.  The six geese spread out into a line and slowly swam toward it, too.

  “I think Daniel and Ack need to go in first and the rest of us will wait outside,” Deke suggested.

  “Why?” Jake asked from the far left of the formation.  “Why not go in together?’

  “I think they have some reporting to do and we will just be sitting around waiting for them to finish.  How boring,” Deke replied.

  “I hate to say it, but I believe he is right,” Daniel said to them as he swam ahead and turned to face them.  They slowly enclosed themselves into a circle and Daniel continued,  “You completed the assignment of The Quest and found Deke.  Not only did you do that, but you also asked him to come home and he did.”

  “I did,” Deke said looking over at Liza who was directly across from him.  She was looking at him, too.

  “Ack has to report to the Wist since he is a member of that group and I will have to explain myself to Ki.”

  “I get it,” Mattias spoke up.  “but I have to go to High.”

  “I know,” Ack said to him.  “Go and I will explain your absence to everyone.”

  “Good luck, Daddy!” Drifter teased Mattias.

  Mattias turned to leave the circle but then looked back at Deke.  “I am glad you are home with us.”

  Deke nodded and then Mattias hurried away from them as he headed to the far side of the large body of water.

  “Let’s go,” Liza said.  “Let’s get on with it.”

  Ack and Daniel nodded at the remaining geese, turned, and headed toward the mouth of the cave.   Drifter followed them and Jake started to follow but turned toward Deke and Liza and asked, “Tell me something, Deke, why did you decide to return with us?”

  Deke smiled at Ki’s best friend and looked at Liza.

  “Ah,” Jake said. “I thought so.”  He bowed to the two of them and turned toward the cave.

  The two remaining geese silently drifted side by side watching Drifter and Jake laugh with each other.  A sentry approached them from inside the cave and they looked at each other.

  “Shall we?” Deke said to Liza.

  “After you,” she bowed to him.

  The Meeting Place was dark.  The quiet splash of water echoed around the huge room as they swam toward the beach where the Wist waited for them.  Ki was at the center, Ack was to his right and Daniel on his left while the others stood behind them.  Perched above on the roots of the trees that hung from the ceiling were Protector and Simeone.

  “Welcome home one and all, especially to you Deke,” Ki said to them.  “Believe me, I am so glad to see you!”

  Drifter laughed aloud and Jake nudged him.  He shook his head back at the larger goose.

  “I was just informed of your little adventure, guys, and I wish I were with you.  Mattias swatted an enemy in mid-air?  I would have loved to see that.  His little nest of goslings will love to hear that story.”

  “Not High,” Liza replied.

  “Wait?” Drifter said.  “Did you say goslings?”

  “I did,” Ki laughed.  “He has five hatchlings and they hatched just today.  I knew you were on your way home when I heard about that.  It was kind of a sign, I guess.”

  The cave grew quiet for a moment.  Ki entered the water and approached Deke.  He paused in front of hm, bowed his head, then turned to Protector and Simeone asking them, ”Can you hear me from here?”

  The two birds nodded in affirmation.  Ki looked at Ack and Daniel who were still on the beach and signaled to them to join him.  They entered the water and when they were beside Ki, he turned, and the geese formed a circle.

  “First, thank you all for risking your lives to be part of this Quest.  I know it was selfish and not becoming of a Leader to ask for help, but I really appreciate it.  All of you,” he turned again to the birds perched above him and bowed.  They bowed in return.

  “It takes a good Leader to ask for help,” Deke responded.  “I always did.”  He looked knowingly at Daniel, Protector and Simeone.  “Everyone needs help once in a while.”

  “That’s why I wanted you here, at home, with us,” Ki said to Deke.  “To help us.  To help me.”

  “Of course,” Deke bowed to him.  “It was wrong of me to leave.  Forgive me.”

  “No need to be forgiven.  I get it.  Well, I get it now.  Being the Leader is a huge responsibility even with the help of Daniel and the Wist, it isn’t easy.”

  “No, it’s not but you are going to be a great Leader of The Flock,” Deke said as he swam toward him.  “Do you want to know why?  Because you have a lot of help from all of us here, and also from those outside.”

  Ki nodded and bowed to Deke.  Suddenly, the inside of the cave erupted with noise as the birds inside announced their agreement.  The two Sentries at either side of the entrance to The Meeting Place looked at each other and smiled.

  Later, in a quiet corner on the far side of the pond, two geese huddled together head to head.  After they had left the Meeting Place, they joined the others to meet High and Mattias and their five goslings.  They silently left them and made their way to this interlude where they were drifting together, head to head.  Liza lifted hers and smiled.  Deke looked at her for a few moments with a look of wonderment in his eyes.

  “What?” Liza asked him.

  Deke continued to gaze at her noticing the way the Bright Light reflected off of her feathers dazzled him.  The sounds around him remained soft as he heard the waves hit the shore, the wind rustling the tall grass that hid them, the occasional honk of a goose, the croaking of a frog, and the buzzing of water bugs skimming just above the water.  He looked up into the sky and spotted way up high, an eagle with wings spread out wide, floating on the warm updrafts of air circling in wide turns, vigilantly watching over The Flock.  He sighed and returned his gaze to Liza, who was still looking at him, and he said, “It’s good to be home.”

The End

Gregory A. Jenkins – October 20 – December 22, 2020

Chapter 16 – Daniel and Deke

The two geese enter the maze of tall grass with Daniel leading the way.

  “How far does this go?” he asked Deke who laughed behind him.

  They finally emerged into the open pool of water and floated, circling each other quietly.

  “So how have you been, my friend?” Daniel asked.

  “Pretty good,”  Deke answered.  “You, on the other wing, look tired.”

  “I am.  I never expected that you not being in charge of The Flock would be so hard.”

  “We knew it might be, remember,” Deke swam toward his friend.

  “I remember.  I just thought it would be me be having a problem getting along, not you.”

  Deke shook his head and swam around the larger white goose.  He came to a stop in front of him.  “We can never plan for what happens in life.  We just have to live it the best we can.”

  “See,” Daniel chuckled.  “That’s what I miss, your little quips.”

  Deke chuckled and then stopped.  He looked directly into Daniel’s eyes and asked him, “Why did you come on this Quest, Daniel?”

  “It was simple.  I just simply missed my best friend and I wanted to see him again.”

  Behind them, a commotion sounded.  Geese were shouting and the cry of an eagle sounded loud and clear.  Deke and Daniel jetted through the grass as quickly as they could swim and when they emerged, they spied a streak of red crashing in the water.  Five geese were taking turns attacking it with quick darts with their beaks, jabbing and stabbing at it.  The eagle was rising high above them and suddenly started to dive toward the center of the colliding water.  As it neared the water, the geese cleared the area leaving the soggy red form exposed.  The eagle’s talons stretched wide and snapped on the wet, red fox and rose into the air.  As it disappeared overhead and into the woods, Deke and Daniel continued to the group of geese who gathering around one of them.

  “I am fine,” Drifter said.  “It just scared me.”

  “You should have been more careful!”  Liza said to him as she swam around him looking for any signs of an injury.

  “What happened?” Deke asked them.

  “Oh, the idiot went over there by himself and got too close to the edge…”

  “And the enemy jumped at him,” Jake said.  “Mattias must have seen it because he hit it in mid-air.”

  “I got lucky,” Mattias said. 

  “No, you didn’t get lucky,” Ack observed.  “You were vigilant.  Like we should all be, Drifter!”

  “He looks ok,” Liza said as she stopped her swim around him.

  “Thanks guys,” Drifter said.  “Why does it always happen to me?”

  They all remained silent, drifting, and looking around at each other.  Falling from the sky, Protector returned to a nearby branch.  Simeone also returned and perched beside the bigger bird.

  “Where have you been?”  Protector asked Simeone.

  “I left when that animal dived at Drifter,” Simeone replied.

  They all laughed.  Again, they settled into a quiet silence as the water birds simply floated while the two birds in the tree watched them.  The Bright Light was presenting them with a beautiful day as a slight breeze softly rustled the new green leaves on the trees.

  “I am glad everyone is okay and that you protected each other.  I guess we should go home,” Deke broke the silence.  “I think Ki might be missing us.”

  “So you have decided,” Liza said to him.

  “Yes, I have.”

  “Good,” Drifter said.  “I was getting bored.”

  “Who is going to lead us home?” Ack asked.

  “Who else?” Daniel answered.  “It has to be Deke.”

  The small brown goose chuckled and started to swim around them.  He gave a side glance to Protector who spread his wings and rose from the branch.  As Deke finished his circle around them, he started swimming toward the open water flapping his wings and rose into the air.  Behind him Daniel and Liza flew to his left and right, followed by Ack and Jake and then Mattias and Drifter.  Finally the sparrow flew at a short distance behind them all.  With the eagle soaring high above, the entire group of birds flew in a complete circle around Deke’s hatchling home and turned toward the Bright Light to head to the waters of The Flock.

To be continued…