by Janeta Munro
As the girls watched, a large rotunda with a domed roof was created at the very top of the trunks and a circular tower grew down around the trunks beneath it. At the base of the tower, about halfway down the trunks, thicker vines began to sprout and multiply. While the large vines swept out and around in widening circles, smaller vines frantically bound them all together.
Tilly and Macey were in awe with how quickly the sisters created the intricate and ornate, bell-shaped structure. In less than fifteen minutes, Bellberry Tower had been constructed out of nothing but vines and three tall trunks. It stood as tall as a four-story building, had three arched entrances at the bottom, and a grand set of stairs that spiralled up through the centre of the tower to the rotunda at the top.
“Aren’t they amazing?” Macey looked at Tilly with excitement in her eyes. She had gotten to her feet and was clasping her hands in front of her. “Now it’s time for the best part!”
POP! POP-POP! The air filled with a sound like popping corn.
White, yellow, and orange blossoms started popping out from the vines and formed pretty patterns over every inch of the bell. Lines of colour wound around and around the tower section and outlined the windows and arches. The roof of the rotunda became so crowded with rows and rows of blossoms you could no longer see it, and dark green leaves filled in all the gaps between the colourful blossoms. It was gorgeous!
After the final pop of the final flower, the girls raced through the nearest archway and up the stairs to the rotunda.
“Let’s sit over there.” Tilly pointed to a spot on a woven bench that ran all the way around the inside of the rotunda.
As they sat and turned to look out the window, Tilly said, “It’s incredible how they make Bellberry Tower. Look how perfect everything is!”
They looked at the lattice walls with six large round windows, the floor that was so tightly woven not a gap could be seen and the high domed roof above them. Thousands of yellow, white, and orange blossoms were everywhere.
Macey fingered a nearby blossom, “I don’t know about you, but I’m dying to try one of these.”
“Me too!” Tilly said. “Which one should we start with?”
“I’m going to have an orange one,” Macey said.
They both picked an orange blossom and popped them into their mouths. They were about the size of a piece of popcorn and not unlike it in texture, but they tasted very different.
“Ooh, they’re so good!” Tilly said. She quickly ate a yellow one then followed it with a white one.
Macey stuffed a handful of yellow ones in her mouth. “What do they taste like to you?” she mumbled around her mouthful.
“Well,” said Tilly, “the orange ones taste like peaches, the yellow ones like pineapple, and the white ones … hmm … like lemonade, I think. What about you?”
Macey pondered for a moment. “I think the orange ones taste like apricots this year. The yellow ones like lemons and the white ones … I’m not sure yet, maybe like vanilla.”
That was the really cool thing about Bellberry Blossoms. Every year they had a different flavour to the year before, and no one’s taste experience was ever the same. What might taste like strawberries to one person could taste like apples to another.
Every time the girls picked a blossom, another popped right back in its place. They gorged themselves on blossoms until their tummies hurt then lounged around in Bellberry Tower for a while. It was a good place to sit and look out on Melody Gardens. The only problem was it was starting to get quite crowded as more and more people came up the stairs. They moved over to make space for three teenage boys who plonked themselves down beside them.
Tilly plucked another blossom and studied it closely, “I love Bellberry Blossoms. They are so cute.”
Macey rolled her eyes. “I know! You love everything about Spring Day.”
“All right! That’s enough of out of you,” Tilly protested and threw the blossom at Macey. It hit her on the nose.
Macey laughed then gathered a handful and stuffed them down Tilly’s back.
“Hey!” Tilly protested as she jumped up and grabbed the blossoms out of her dress. Giggling, she threw them back at Macey but … Uh-oh! She completely missed and hit the teenage boy beside Macey instead.
“Whoops! Sorry,” Tilly said as the boy slowly got to his feet.
“You will be!” he said with a grin as he and his friends started grabbing handfuls of blossoms.
Before long Bellberry blossoms were flying in every direction. Tilly and Macey squealed and laughed as they got plastered by the boys. More and more people joined in on the blossom fight and before long, Bellberry blossoms were piling up everywhere.
“Oh, my goodness!” Tilly said as she copped yet another handful in the face. She collapsed into a pile of blossoms then looked around for Macey. She saw her just as she was about to shove a handful of blossoms down the back of a boy’s shirt. She was absolutely covered from head to toe in blossoms.
Crawling on her hands and knees, Tilly made her way over to Macey and grabbed her by the arm. “Come on, Macey, let’s get out of here before we look like a couple of piñatas!”
Ducking and dodging fistfuls of blossoms, they raced down the stairs and out into the sunlight.
Chapter 10
“Gotcha!” Roger had finally found the missing grasshopper. “I got him, Mum!”
His mum had cornered him the moment he’d walked through the front door and he’d had to do some pretty swift talking to get out of being grounded for the rest of the day. He’d hurried through all his chores then spent the rest of his time searching the house for Skitter.
“Where was it?” his mum asked as she came into the room.
“Under the lounge chair,” he replied. “Mum, is it OK if I go outside to let Skitter go?”
He had no intention of letting Skitter go but he didn’t want his mum to know that. She wouldn’t let him out again if she knew what he really had planned.
“Yes, but be more careful this time. Don’t go falling out of any more trees.”
Already his eyes were turning black from the whack Tilly had given him, and his nose was still swollen. He’d told his mum that he’d fallen out of the tree, but there was no way he would let her know his black eyes were caused by a girl. That was way too embarrassing.
“Yeah, I’ll be careful,” he said as put the grasshopper in his coat pocket and ran out the door.
The Chime Maker raised her cane and was about to tap on the door when it burst open.
“Oh, you startled me, Roger!” she said when he came barrelling through the doorway. She raised her hand and placed it over her heart. “Actually … I’m glad I bumped into you,” she said once she’d recovered. “There’s something I was hoping to discuss with you.” She raised an enquiring eyebrow while she gauged his response.
“Ahh…,” Roger faulted as he made eye contact with the Chime Maker. All of a sudden he felt very uncomfortable and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. There was something about the Chime Maker that always made him feel uneasy when she trained those kind, yet penetrating eyes on him.
“I really gotta go, Chime Maker.” He tried to think up a good reason why but failed. “There is … umm … something I have to do.” He groaned inwardly. That sounded lame even to him.
He glanced towards the stairs. He desperately wanted to run down those stairs and get away but she was blocking the way. He looked at his toes, the footpath, trees in the park, but it wasn’t until he looked back at her that she spoke again.
“You know, Roger,” she said gently, “I feel I need to encourage you to rethink what you are endeavouring to do. Even though you have reason to be upset and feel justified in your revenge, the outcome you are hoping for may be very different to the one you experience. It would be far better to forgive the girls now than to continue on with your plan.”
Roger looked away and frowned as his brain ticked over. How did she know what he was about to do? His skin started to crawl. Maybe she real
ly could read minds.
He glanced back at the Chime Maker then quickly looked away again as his conscience started to prick. He didn’t like the feeling very much. He rubbed the back of his neck as he considered what the Chime Maker said.
No, he decided. There was no way he was going to forgive the girls. They deserved everything he was going to dish out to them and…. Wait just one second! Who did the Chime Maker think she was and what right did she have to tell him what to do?
Roger lifted his chin and gave the Chime Maker a defiant stare. “You can’t tell me what to do!” he said. “You’re not my mum and it’s none of your business!” He crossed his arms and planted his feet.
He half expected her to yell back at him but instead, she just smiled a sad little smile.
“Ultimately it’s your choice,” she said gently, “but I must warn you. If you do choose to continue down this path, I fear it won’t go well for you.”
Roger didn’t know what to say to that. He certainly didn’t expect her to be nice or to care what happened to him. And as he looked her in the eyes, he could see her love and concern were genuine.
He quickly looked away and fumbled around in his brain for some way to justify his desire for revenge. He wasn’t so sure of himself anymore and he began to wonder if it was such a good idea to continue on with his plan for revenge. Then he felt his grasshopper move in his pocket and the memory of Gus getting squished popped into his mind.
“You know what?” he said through gritted teeth as he glared at the Chime Maker, “Those girls are the ones responsible for my dead grasshoppers and I don’t care what you say. I’ll do whatever I want and you can’t stop me!” With that he barged past her and ran down the stairs.
The Chime Maker grabbed the handrail to steady herself then turned and watched Roger run across the street and into the park.
She shook her head as she slowly made her way back down the stairs, “I tried, Old Mai.”
Roger couldn’t help but rehearse his conversation with the Chime Maker over and over in his mind as he started his search for the girls. He recited what he could have said and should have said but couldn’t shake the feeling that the Chime Maker was just trying to do him a favour. Sighing, he decided to forget the whole thing. Squelching his conscience, he determined to get on with his plan.
“Where are those dumb girls, anyway?”
Chapter 11
Already Melody Gardens looked very different from what it had when Tilly first looked out her window. More than half the trees had either leafed-out or blossomed. Thick green grass carpeted the entire park and other weaver trees had created amazing structures you could either ride on or sit in.
One of these was the Coaster. Woven by four trees, it consisted of a complex rail system made of vines that rose and fell at random intervals and eight small carriages that were pulled along the rails. It was not a ride for the fainthearted because the unexpected drops and sudden lifts made your stomach lurch and, at times, could be quite frightening. Standing in front of it was a line of brave townsfolk waiting for a turn.
“Do you think we have time for a quick ride?” Macey asked hopefully as she shook a heap of blossoms from her curls. She turned and plucked an orange blossom from Tilly’s dress.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Tilly said. “I think the Melody Creepers will be coming up anytime now.” She motioned to the blossom in Macey’s hand. “Are you going to eat that?”
Macey tossed it in the air and caught it in her mouth. “Yep!”
Tilly grinned at her. “I want to go and check on the Melody Creepers before we do anything else.” She plucked more blossoms from her dress. “I’m sure it has to be getting close to sprouting time. We can come back for a ride after, Ok?”
“All right,” Macey said as she shook the blossoms off her own dress, “but let’s not stay too long.”
Roger halted mid stride. He’d been heading towards Old Mai when he spotted Tilly and Macey standing in front of Belberry Tower. He looked around for somewhere to hide and ducked behind a couple waiting in line for the Coaster.
“Boy, is she ever gonna’ scream when I put you down her back,” he said to the grasshopper in his pocket.
The couple he was hiding behind looked at him strangely then the man said, “Excuse me?”
“Oh … nothing, I was talking to my … ah … never mind.” Roger quickly moved behind the next couple.
He waited until Tilly and Macey drew even then slipped out of the line and started running.
“Look out!” cried Macey. She saw Roger out of the corner of her eye and grabbed Tilly’s hand. “Roger is coming!”
Tilly squealed and they took off.
“Over there!” Macy pointed to the entrance of the Weaver Cafe. They ducked inside the busy cafe and hid under the table of an empty booth.
“I know you’re in there,” Roger taunted as he came and stood in the entranceway.
The people drinking their Weaver Sodas looked on in interest as Roger started walking towards Tilly and Macey’s hiding spot.
“There’s another way out over there,” whispered a woman sitting in the booth opposite them. She discreetly pointed towards the far end of the cafe.
“Thank you!” Macey mouthed and jumped up just as Roger got level with them.
“Whoa!” Roger didn’t expect the girls to jump up right in front of him and let out a shout.
He tried to grab Tilly as they ran for the exit but he tripped on one of the benches and missed. As he stumbled headlong, he grabbed the nearest thing he could to steady himself. It just happened to be the arm of a woman walking past with a tray laden with Weaver Sodas. The tray, cups, and soda went flying through the air as she and Roger tripped over each other then crashed to the ground.
“Hey!” yelled a man seated at the counter. The cold soda sloshed all over him and his girlfriend beside him.
“Yeow!” said another man when the tray hit him in the back of the head.
“Oy Vey!” said a woman seated in a booth when a cup landed in her lap.
Amid the chaos that followed, Roger hastily jumped to his feet. People were waving and shouting, looking for someone to blame. Slowly he slunk back down to his hands and knees then scrambled for the exit. By the time he’d crawled through all the patrons’ legs and found the way out, the girls were gone.
There were so many people milling about the park now, it was going to be hard to spot them again. He looked to his left then his right. No sign of them. He started walking straight ahead towards the Skipping Tree.
“Ah-hah!” A flash of green and purple caught his attention. There they were, threading their way through the crowd gathered around the tree.
“Pah! You think the Skipping Tree is going to save you?” he said as he ran towards the crowd, “Think again.”
All around the perimeter of the Skipping Tree, people were cheering on the children who were jumping and ducking in and out of vines that whipped and whirled in every direction. Tilly and Macey were laughing and obviously having a great time as they ran the gauntlet of swinging and swirling vines.
Roger hesitated at the edge. He’d never really got the hang of the Skipping Tree. It required a level of coordination that was a little beyond him. He usually got creamed by the thick, unforgiving vines that seemed to come out of nowhere.
He was on the verge of chickening out when Tilly and Macey waved at him.
“Grrr!” Roger growled. “They are so smug in there, thinking I won’t go in after them. Well, I’ll show them!”
He circled around the tree looking for a less complicated area to enter. He decided on a section of slower moving vines and charged on in. He managed to duck the first vine and jump two more but a thick, fast moving vine that came from behind caught him completely off guard. It whipped his legs out from under him, flipped him over, and dumped him on his stomach. “Oof!”
Groaning he lay where he was until he could get his wind back then looked up to get his bearings. W
hack! Right across his forehead flicked a whippy little vine. It got him twice more before he managed to duck out of the way. Whack! Whack!
“Yeow!” he yelped and slapped his hand over the quickly developing welts. He got on his knees and elbows and, despite the vines that whacked at him from every angle, scrambled commando style as fast as he could. Once out from under the vines, he rolled onto his back, shut his eyes, and groaned.
He sensed a presence close by and popped his eyes open. There, looming over him was the Chime Maker. Groaning, he rolled onto his side and sat up waiting for the ‘I told you so’ speech. It didn’t come. Instead the Chime Maker bent down and gently rubbed his back.
“Are you all right, dear?” she asked.
When he looked up, he saw sympathy in her eyes. Her soothing touch and softly spoken words were too much and for a moment he was tempted to give in to tears. But then he spotted Tilly and Macey whispering together a few feet away. Scrambling to his feet, he told the Chime Maker he was fine and shrugged off her comforting hand.
“Don’t do it, Roger,” she warned as he took a couple of steps towards the girls. He didn’t listen. Instead, he let out an almighty yell and charged.
Tilly had felt a bit guilty when she’d seen Roger getting a beating from the vines so had come out of the Skipping Tree to see if he was all right. But now, with Roger charging at her like a wounded bull, she knew better than to hang around.
“This way!” Tilly grabbed Macey’s arm and barged through the crowd of onlookers. “Melody Creepers, here we come!”
Roger lost sight of the girls again as they disappeared through the crowd. Huffing and puffing he ran for as long as he could then slowed to a walk. They were a lot faster than he was and he wasn’t up to a run in the park at the best of times, especially not now when everything hurt so much.
“Dumb girls!” he muttered, “More trouble than they’re worth.”
He bent over with his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. He rubbed the various welts forming on his legs and arms. The ones across his forehead hurt the most. He gently pressed on either side of his pounding nose then soothed his throbbing temples.