Halley was seething with anger. She was so fed up with the whole stupid bathrobe thing!
“Mimi made the whole story up—anybody can see that. Or have you ever heard of talking bathrobes? She is just so babyish,” Halley huffed.
“It’s not true! Don’t lie!” Mimi screamed, her little hands squeezed into tight fists. “Koby! Tell the truth! Don’t be a wimp!”
Koby was very uncomfortable. He eyed Mimi sternly and said: “Please don’t yell, Mimi. That bathrobe is rather a strange business—”
“It is NOT a strange business!” Mimi bellowed, stamping her foot. “The strange business is that you haven’t got the guts to admit that you’ve seen it yourself. You big chicken licken! You don’t deserve the bathrobe’s help! I’m leaving—you can manage without me and the bathrobe. Alice, come!”
Mimi stormed off toward the forest, the frightened Alice in tow. Koby looked at Halley miserably. He hadn’t guessed that Mimi would get so upset. The other kids looked wide-eyed between Koby and Halley, and at Mimi and Alice getting farther and farther away.
“Bah, let them go,” Halley asserted. “They’ll be back soon. Really, think about it: a talking bathrobe. Stark barking bonkers.”
Leo, Alba, and Jenna chuckled uncertainly. It did sound stark barking bonkers.
But Koby looked miserable. He had a guilty conscience.
“Where were we?” he mumbled.
“The hints and other beings,” Jenna said.
Koby nodded. He picked up the cookie jar in the paper bag off the grass. No sounds came from the jar anymore; it had been quiet all day. That worried Koby a little. What if the fairy-troll was dead?
“I wanted to show you this,” Koby said, taking the jar from the bag. He lifted the jar up in the air for the others to see.
“What is that?” asked Alba, amazed.
“All I know is that it’s an enemy of the monsters. Halley caught it in a net. It had gotten inside our apartment and attacked Minnie’s monster,” Koby said.
“So little and it attacked a monster!” Oscar marveled.
“Is it dead?” Luke asked.
“Don’t think so,” Koby said, worried. “Maybe it’s just sleeping.”
He shook the jar gently, but the creature stayed still. Halley and Mimi had slipped some cotton balls into the jar the day before, for padding, and the critter had fashioned them into a round nest. Then it had rolled itself into a ball in its nest like a tiny cat. Its bulldog face was hidden. Its spiky straw was held tightly in one hand.
“It may be hungry,” Halley said. “It’s had nothing to eat since yesterday.”
“What could we give it?” Koby asked. “We don’t have any monster blood.”
“Yuck, does it eat monster blood?” Jenna asked. Alba wrinkled her nose.
“It also eats candy,” Halley said.
“I’ve got some toffee in my pocket,” Alba said. “Would that do?”
“We could try it,” Koby said.
Alba handed him a piece of toffee. Koby unscrewed the lid carefully. It was possible that the creature was pretending. Maybe it was just waiting for the lid to open slightly so it could bolt out and into freedom. But the fairy lay motionless. Koby dropped the piece of toffee. It clunked on the bottom, but the mosquito-fairy didn’t even stir.
“What if it needs water?” Luke suggested.
“Let’s try,” Koby said.
They drizzled a few drops out of Luke’s water bottle. The fairy still didn’t move. Koby closed the lid.
“I hope it’s not dead,” he said, feeling wretched.
“I’m sure it’s just asleep,” Halley said. “It’ll wake up again soon.”
“Perhaps,” Koby said, defeated.
“We should eat something too,” Halley said. “With a bit of luck, we’ll have time before the monsters bring us their delicacies.”
But that night the monsters stayed away. The children saw neither hide nor hair nor shadow of them. Not a rustle came from the forest. No black-spotted potatoes came, no sandwiches, nothing. There was no sign of the monsters, and the forest was silent and empty.
“Maybe they don’t eat every night,” Koby said finally, when everybody was too tired to wait anymore.
“They’ll be in trouble now,” Halley mumbled sleepily.
“How so?” Koby asked.
“They’re supposed to take care of us, and they didn’t even bring us food,” Halley said, yawning. “Whoever sent them can’t be happy.”
Koby nodded. Halley was right. The monsters had forgotten the children in their care.
Gradually, the camp went quiet. One after another, the kids crawled into their tents and fell asleep without supper.
Only Koby stayed awake, thinking. He couldn’t sleep. Where were Mimi and Alice? Why had the monsters not come? What had happened to the fairy? Was all this somehow Koby’s fault?
CHAPTER 20
The Bathrobe’s Advice
“I’VE NEVER HAD a bath so late before,” Mimi said, diving into the warm bubbles. Alice yawned and sat down on the toilet lid.
“Don’t sit there,” Mimi said. “That’s the bathrobe’s place. Let’s keep very quiet and maybe it’ll wake up again.”
There was a scent of apple bath bubbles in the bathroom. Alice sat down on the cold floor after putting the bathrobe in her spot. They watched as it sprawled lifelessly on the toilet lid. Minutes passed. Nothing happened.
“Alice,” Mimi said pensively.
“Yes?”
“Perhaps it’s scared of you. Would you go somewhere else for a while?”
“Like where?” Alice asked in a very small voice. She didn’t like being alone.
“Like the kitchen. I’ll call you back in a minute.”
Alice stood up uncertainly and took a few steps toward the door.
“Go on,” Mimi said, shooing her.
Alice sighed.
“Shall I close the door?” she asked in her small voice as she left. Mimi didn’t answer.
“Mimi?”
“Come back in after all,” Mimi said, her voice trembling with excitement. “It woke up!”
Alice turned back and gasped with amazement. The bathrobe sat, charmingly lively, on the toilet lid. The sleeves gestured with speech, although there was no sound.
Alice watched Mimi. Mimi was laughing at something the bathrobe was saying. If Alice could have heard the conversation going on in front of her eyes, she would have heard this:
Mimi (relieved): So, you woke up at last!
Bathrobe: Hee-hee!
Mimi: What are you laughing at?
Bathrobe: You’ve dragged me around to some pretty strange places. You should remember that I am a bathrobe, after all. Not a forest picnic robe. Or basement robe!
Mimi: I wanted to keep you with me all the time.
Bathrobe: Hee-hee!
Mimi: I even know how to use the washing machine now!
Bathrobe: I should know. I’m the one who was in the washing machine.
Mimi: Sorry. You were filthy.
Bathrobe: It’s OK. It had to be done. Well, what did you want to ask me?
Mimi: How did you know that I want to ask you something?
Bathrobe: Well, it’s pretty obvious. Let’s hear it. We may be interrupted.
Mimi: What do you mean, ‘interrupted’?
Bathrobe: I mean that if you don’t ask now, there will be no time soon.
Mimi: I see. Well. Last time you said that there were others on the move, apart from monsters. Did you mean the flying spike fairy?
Bathrobe: Probably.
Mimi: Are there still others?
Bathrobe: Well . . . next question!
Mimi: You are so infuriating!
Bathrobe: Perhaps I am. Next question!
Mimi: What was the third hint that you didn’t have time to give me last time?
The bathrobe settled itself in a more comfortable position, as if it was about to tell her a long story.
Bathrobe: The t
hird hint was that monsters live in a different way from you humans. They have no families; they have chains.
Mimi: What do you mean, ‘chains’? Some jewelry, you mean?
Bathrobe: Not jewelry. Listen now. They have monster chains. Each monster has its place in the chain, and they can’t take any other monster’s place. In a way, they are all joined to one another, just like the links in a chain. If you draw one monster to you, you gradually draw them all.
Mimi: I don’t get it at all. They’re not joined together in any way.
The bathrobe chuckled lightly.
Bathrobe: Of course you don’t get it! You are . . . (thoughtful pause)
Mimi: What am I?
Bathrobe: You are a human child.
Mimi: So I am!
Bathrobe: So you are. That is why I chose you.
Mimi: How do you mean, ‘chose’? You’re Koby’s old bathrobe, and as far as I know, Mom chose you at the store.
Bathrobe: As far as you know.
Mimi: Now I’m getting mad!
Bathrobe: Not yet. I’m not finished.
Mimi: Yes, monsters have chains.
Bathrobe: Right. Now concentrate.
Mimi: Tell me!
Bathrobe: Patience. Try to focus. So, monsters have a kind of standing order. Or walking order. Even if they go far away from each other, they must come back to their own place. Do you understand, little friend?
Mimi: No.
Bathrobe: What is it you don’t understand?
Mimi: I’ve seen loads and loads of monsters, and they never stand in any order. And they never come back from anywhere.
Bathrobe: Are you quite sure?
Mimi: Why wouldn’t I be?
Bathrobe: Do you know where they are right now?
Mimi: Probably running around the forest.
Bathrobe: Well. They are not.
Mimi: Where are they, then?
Bathrobe: They are looking for each other.
Mimi: Why?
Bathrobe: If one of their family chain has come to the humans’ world, the others must come after it. They can’t get back to their home until all of them are together. One of them is missing. And yes, maybe somebody wants to stop them from getting back home.
Mimi: That’s crazy!
Bathrobe: Oh well. To each his own. There are always bad creatures as well as good ones.
Mimi: Monsters are not bad!
Bathrobe: Did I say that monsters are bad? I don’t think so.
Mimi thought for a moment before going on.
Mimi: Do they want to go back to . . . er, wherever they came from?
Bathrobe: Naturally. Everybody wants to go back home. They don’t really fit in here. They shed too much of that dust. And anyway, people are afraid of them.
Mimi: True.
Bathrobe: And people usually start to tease and bully anybody who is different.
Mimi: Yuck, that is so mean.
Bathrobe: You have a monster too.
Mimi: But it’s really nice. And we don’t bully it!
Bathrobe: What do you think: does it prefer your hall closet to its own home?
Mimi: What?
Bathrobe: You heard me.
For a moment, Mimi was quiet and seemed to be at a loss. Then she asked hesitantly: “Do you have a home somewhere too?”
The bathrobe burst out in laughter.
“Of course not! I am a bathrobe! But a monster is a monster, not a nanny. Understand?”
“I understand,” Mimi said.
They were silent for a moment.
Mimi: So, where is the monster that’s missing from the chain?
Bathrobe: Ah, yes! Do I know the answer to everything? Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. In any case, I can give you this advice: Use your head! You have all the information you need. And here comes the final extra hint: Look under Koby’s arm.
Mimi: Under Koby’s arm! Have you gone crazy?
Bathrobe: The interruption is coming.
Mimi: What?
Bathrobe: I told you there would be an interruption soon. Mimi! You can solve this! I did not choose you by mistake. Take care of Alice.
At that very moment, a key turned in the front door. Alice let out a frightened squeal. The bathrobe flopped limply on the toilet lid and slid in a blue bundle to the bathroom floor.
“Yoo-hoo, anybody home?” came a familiar voice from the hall. “Koby? Halley? Mimi? Are you in bed already?”
“Who is that?” Alice whispered to Mimi, alarmed.
“It’s my dad,” Mimi replied, surprised. “Invisible Voice.”
“Why does he come home in the middle of the night?” Alice whispered.
“He’s been in a blizzard and had to take an alternative route,” Mimi said, and called: “Dad! I’m in here, in the bath!”
CHAPTER 21
The Angry Newborn
MEANWHILE, IN THE CAMP, Koby dropped off to sleep for a while but then woke up again. He lay in the dark tent, shivered a little, and considered the situation. Next to him, Oscar was snuffling in his sleep. Koby tried to find an even vaguely comfortable position on the thin camping mattress. He was worried about Mimi and Alice. The worry was a pressure like a pinecone beneath him. He did know that Mimi could take care of herself. She and Alice had probably gone home. Grah was likely to be with them. But still. Mom would not like this.
For a moment, Koby considered going home, but he couldn’t leave the camp without telling anyone. Best to wait until sunrise. Which would happen soon. One of the advantages of Nordic summer nights.
In addition to his worries, Koby was utterly disappointed. He had been quite certain the monsters would come back. Where on earth were they? Why had they not returned last night? Their job was to stay close to the children. Everything had gone just as Koby had thought it would, until suddenly everything had started to go completely wrong. Koby’s first monster theory had been ruined, and he couldn’t stop turning the matter over and over in his mind. Which bit had he misunderstood? Which, which, which?
Sleep just wasn’t happening. He sat up and dug a flashlight out of his rucksack. He rolled up a blanket under his arm, picked up Runar’s book, and crept out of the tent. Outside, he wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and sat down on the dewy grass. It was silent, lonely, and cool. It was the moment closest to darkness on a summer’s evening. Koby looked around, and the night stared back at him. Why did you come here, what for? the night seemed to be asking.
Koby had nothing to say to the night. He pulled the blanket over his head to make his own little tent, clicked the flashlight on, and opened Runar’s book to the table of contents. His eyes stopped at the chapter title “The Monster’s Human-like Habits.” Were there some? Koby leafed through to the correct page number and realized immediately that the chapter was particularly short. Interesting. He began to read.
It is indisputable, even abundantly clear, that the monster resembles humans to a degree. Its appearance points to primates: the coat, strength, certain animal behavior, more on which in the next chapter. In terms of its mental faculties—one could say spiritual qualities—however, the monster is undoubtedly closer to humans than chimpanzees.
As I write this, the psychology of the monster is naturally still a mystery in many ways. It cannot describe it itself, at least not in any language we understand. Does it speak some other language, one of its own? Do monsters have their own culture, even their own works of art or beliefs? In my view it is possible, even likely. The monster’s mental faculties are sufficient.
It is also evident that the monster is capable of interaction with humans. It is capable of cooperation. On the other hand, it has emotional weaknesses that are also typical of humans: the monster may feel upset, become bitter or even vengeful. It remembers the good and bad things it has experienced for a long time. It clearly likes some people more than others. As an example, I may cite the case of the new housekeeper I related before, which could have had a very sorry ending had I not intervened.
/> The monster easily learns to understand human speech. Based on my own experience, though it is limited, I would say that the language skills achieved by the monster are of a sufficient level for it to live in the human world. The monster also learns easily to do many of the jobs in the human world. For example, in farming or gardening, these strong and tenacious creatures could be a great help to humans.
However, the crucial question could be whether or not monsters themselves have any natural need or desire for it. Given the choice of company and habitat, it would hardly choose coexistence with humans. The disparity between the two species is too great. An equal environment would not be possible. The monster would not choose to be slave labor for humans. Regular human work would be alien to its free, wild nature.
Slave labor! Koby stopped reading. Had Grah been forced to come to them against its will? But who could force monsters into anything? Every monster had the strength of at least ten humans, and monsters were not afraid of anything. Except perhaps that spike fairy creature.
Koby’s eyes scanned the next chapter title: “The Monster’s Animal-like Habits.” This chapter was considerably longer, many pages of dense text without any pictures. Reading by flashlight made his eyes tired. Koby closed his eyes and thought of perhaps trying to sleep a little after all.
Suddenly he heard a strange noise coming from somewhere nearby. Koby opened his eyes and listened. It was a very small, scratchy, metallic sound. There was also slight rustling, barely discernible crackling, like thin ice cracking. Ice in June?
Koby switched off the flashlight and took the blanket off his head. There was the noise again, close. Then a new noise. A little bigger, a different clatter. Something fell down. Very close. Then, suddenly, the frightened, sleepy voice of Oscar from the tent: “Ouch! What was that? Koby, careful, that hurts! Ahh!”
“Oscar, I’m outside,” Koby said, puzzled.
“Ow! Something bit me—are there bugs in here?” Oscar’s frantic voice was accompanied by the sound of fierce sleeping-bag rustling.
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