Luckily, for the larger part of the time John found that his lessons gained him a lot of special attention and privileges. John did very much enjoy all the special treatment he received. He liked to make a big deal about how important his tutoring was. He would very dramatically prepare the supplies for each lesson, making sure to catch the attention of everyone within ear shot. This also allowed him to drop hints of new things he just had to have for each lesson, which resulted in many trips to the store.
John, who due to the family’s tight budget rarely got anything new, now had a desk full of new art supplies. After those lessons where he would complete a project, that is have something to show for his efforts such as a new painting or drawing, a great fuss was made by everyone. James and Thelma would gush over his talent. Relatives had to be called and pictures taken to be shared with them all. Wilhelmina would often stop by to see John’s latest creations. Once Helga even stopped by to see his latest work. John ate up all the attention.
Annie never really trusted Mr. Caramel. She couldn’t explain it, but something about him gave her the creeps and it started with that eyebrow raising. She knew he was hiding a secret. At first, she had tried snooping around outside John’s room during his lessons just hoping to hear something to confirm her suspicions. That was a dismal failure. It was hard to hear anything unless she put her ear right up against the door. If she had her ear up against the door it made it hard to keep a look out for Mommy and Daddy. After the little disagreement during John’s first lesson James and Thelma had told Annie not to bother Mr. Caramel or disturb her brother’s lessons. So, Annie gave up her pursuit.
This turned out to be very beneficial for Annie. After all she could do all the things John was not allowed to do. She liked that she was allowed to splash around in the creek when John was not. She liked to tease her brother by bragging how good the cool water of the creek felt on hot days. Annie even liked the paintings and drawings John made. Especially the one John made for her with her and Zindle. She had Daddy hang it above her bed. What she liked best of all was that she got to spend more alone time with Mommy during the summer and now Daddy while John was shut away in his stuffy room with the stuffy tutor. Other than these benefits, Annie no longer showed any interest what so ever in John’s tutoring.
Thelma had not worked since John was born but this had made money very tight. Now that Annie was in 1st grade Thelma had gone back to work fulltime. She made more money than James working full time. So, he cut back his hours working only half days as a consultant. Then he could be home with Annie and John every afternoon. At first this was a rough adjustment. John and Annie were used to the way Mommy did things and Daddy’s cooking left much to be desired. As a trade-off, they did get to go out to eat more often. There was also more money to do fun things, like go roller skating or to the movies every now and then. Both children also agreed that Daddy told the best stories. Annie especially liked the ones that Daddy said Great Grandma Chambers had told him. They were always about amazing and magical things. Annie used the time while John was in his lessons to persuade her father to tell her these fantastic tales over and over again.
Things went on like this for most of the year. Everyone in the family had settled into roles they were very pleased with. One spring day at the end of their usual lesson Mr. Caramel announced to John, “Our next few lessons will be very special. They will be the most important we have ever had. I will be teaching you a new and unique way of writing poetry. It is something no one else can teach you. I assure you of that.”
John couldn’t have been more excited. After Mr. Caramel left John was bursting with chatter about his next lesson. “…and Dad, he said that no one else writes poems the way he’s going to teach me. What if I get to be famous because I’m the only one that does it? It’s so cool. I’ll learn something no other kid at my whole school knows.”
James was glad his son was excited about his next lessons but, he quickly shooed him out of the kitchen so he could try and save what was left of their dinner. Gray smoke was already curling its way out of the oven. James still had not gotten the hang of cooking.
John happily bounced out of the kitchen in search of his sister. He found her in the living room. Usually he was very sweet to her, but today he was in a mischievous mood. He began to taunt his little sister. “Mr. Caramel is going to teach me something special. Since he’s the only one who can teach it you’ll never get to learn how to do it. You’re too little anyway.”
Annie frowned. “I don’t want to learn anything from that stuffy old man. It’s probably too boring,” she retorted with a scowl making her little face look much older.
“Ha ha ha, you are such a baby. I get to learn cool stuff and you don’t. I’m going to be cooler than you are forever.” Johnny sang in mocking tones. This made Annie furious. Her face turned very red, she clenched her little fists and stomped her foot as hard as she could. John loved every minute of it. His sister looked so funny when she was mad. He opened his mouth to begin to taunt her again but, this time nothing came out. Correction, no words came out. Instead of words a large bubble was forming on the end of his lips. The large bubble rose in the air and popped with a great burp. This caused both children to laugh in spite of themselves. At first John’s laughter came out as a series of small bubble burps that faded to hiccups. In a matter of moments, he found he had his voice again and he was laughing louder than his sister.
“Did you eat soap?” giggled Annie.
“I don’t think so.” laughed John. They both agreed however it happened it was very funny. They also agreed that there was no point in telling their parents because they would never believe them. John thought his mouth tasted a little like soap and went upstairs to brush his teeth.
Annie looked at Zindle lying in the corner of the room. “Zindle, we have to figure out a way to get into that lesson. It won’t be fair for John to learn something if I can’t. I know I can learn it. I’m not too little!” She sat with Zindle and hatched a plan of just how to be there for John’s next lesson. The closet seemed like the best place to hide. It was large and had an old door with a large old key hole she could use to see everything.
Chapter 3
The day of John’s next lesson finally arrived. Annie was always home from school well before John. John was in the school guard which meant he had to stay after school to help the crossing guards make sure everyone got home safe. She told her father she was going to be playing with her dolls in her room, but she snuck into John’s room instead. She put pillows and cushions in the closet to make a comfy place to sit. She put a small flash light in the closet too. Then she sat at the top of the stairs and waited to hear John come home. Zindle lay at her side.
“Remember Zindle, we need to get in the closet before John comes up to his room so he won’t know we’re there. We’ll have to be very quiet for a very long time. OK?” She looked a Zindle. He lifted his head and licked her hand. She smiled and took this sign of affection as his agreement that he understood what they must do. They sat at the top of the stairs for what seemed like hours. Finally, they heard John’s footsteps coming up the walk. Annie jumped up and ran to the closet with Zindle close at her heels. She settled herself in the closet with Zindle snuggled alongside her and shut the door tight. It was very dark and she was very happy to have her little flashlight and Zindle for company.
John galloped up the side walk. He was very excited. It was a very special day. His tutor was finally going to teach him what, he promised, no one else would know. Something so special it had never been used before. He had thought poetry would be so boring, but the way Mr. Caramel talked about it made it seem very exciting. He couldn’t wait to find out about the special way they would be creating poetry. He swung open the front door and tossed his book bag at the bottom of the banister. He ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. He took a quick glance around the room. It didn’t look too bad. He just needed to make the bed. He quickly ran around the bed tugging the covers this
way and that until the bed looked respectable. He checked his desk. He needed the special paper and pencils he had his mom and dad buy him. John rushed down the stairs, again taking them two at a time. As he ran down the stairs his foot slipped and he missed a step. For a fraction of a second he found himself stretched across three steps. He tried to bring his feet together but his back foot caught the edge of the second step. Down he tumbled, head over heels, to the bottom of the staircase landing with a loud thud.
James heard the racket and came running to see what had happened. John lay at the bottom of the steps by the banister trying to catch his breath. James helped his son up and began to look him over for any significant injury. John twisted and wiggled to get out of his father’s grip.
“I’m okay Dad, it only hurt for a second. I have to get the stuff for my lesson. Mr. Caramel will be here soon.” John pleaded.
“Calm down son. I just need to make sure you’re alright. That was a bad fall. There are more important things than your lesson, like your health!” responded James in an annoyed tone as he finished checking all of John’s limbs for broken bones. “Okay, I think you’ll live.” said James, his tone much lighter now. “You can finish getting ready but, SLOW DOWN! The things we bought last week are in the drawer in the kitchen.”
James let John go. John, of course, paid no attention to his father’s warnings. As soon as his father released him he sped off toward the kitchen. As his feet hit the slippery kitchen floor he nearly fell again. This time he was able to regain his balance grabbing on to the closest counter top. James just shook his head as he watched his son.
Neither his tumble down the stairs nor his little slip in the kitchen did anything to slow John down. He scrambled to the drawer and snatched up his supplies. He half ran, half slid back across the kitchen floor and into the hall. He ran back up the stairs taking them two at time again. James shouted several more warnings at his son, all of which John ignored. He was in too much of a hurry to be bothered by his father’s nagging. Parents were always worrying over things like that he thought. Besides he didn’t get hurt. Dad needs to calm down and stop worrying so much. He thought his father had been more fun when he worked full time. Of course, Mom was always on his back then. O’ well, he needed to finish getting ready.
He pondered over just the right way to set out everything on his desk. He looked around to make sure his room still looked neat and orderly. Finally, he laid back on his bed trying to calm his heart. It was beating so fast it felt as if it would fly right out of his chest. He listened carefully to hear when his tutor arrived. It seemed to take forever. Finally he heard a familiar knock at the front door. His father and Mr. Caramel exchanged a greeting. Then John could hear his tutor ascending the stairs.
Annie, who was sitting in the closet, was beginning to get a little stiff and restless. She had heard all of the banging and yelling. It was hard to sit stay put and not run to see what was going on. She also heard the knock at the front door. Someone that sounded heavier than John was coming up the stairs. Her heart began to beat very fast and she held her breath. Zindle, who had been asleep and did not seem at all bothered by the tight quarters, lifted his head. He again began to lick Annie’s hand. “Shhh, Zindle, we have to be quiet now I hear him coming” she whispered. Zindle seemed to understand. Both sat listening intently as Mr. Caramel entered the room.
John popped up off the bed opening the bedroom door to greet Mr. Caramel. “Ah Jonathon, I see you are ready as usual,” said Mr. Caramel looking very pleased. He entered the room and took his usual seat in the corner on the desk chair. “Now I want to explain to you a little of what should happen when you’ve mastered what I will teach you about poetry.” Mr. Caramel paused looking John up and down. He seemed to be deciding if he could trust John with the information he was about to divulge.
“This poetry is very powerful. It can do spectacular things. It can influence people, including yourself, to see things or believe things that are not true. They are only illusions.” He looked at John. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, I think so.” John answered with some hesitation. He was not entirely sure he did understand.
Then Mr. Caramel raised his eyebrow. John had to try not to laugh. Mr. Caramel always did this when they were talking about serious things. Every time Mr. Caramel raised his eyebrow it made John think about his angry little sister stomping her foot and yelling. The raised eyebrow look was always followed by the ‘I know what you’re thinking’ look.
“Let me explain a little bit further. When someone tells you a story you picture it in your head. If this poetry is written and read correctly what happens is something like that. The difference is that this poetry can make people think they see things happening in real life. That is why it is very important that you never use this poetry outside of this house or without my supervision.” He looked at John and again raised his eyebrow this time followed by a look of satisfaction. “Now let us get down to business as they say.” said Mr. Caramel.
“One of the most important things about this poetry is the way you put the words together. Certain word placed next to each other will invoke very specific reactions or cause very specific illusions. If you change the word order even by one word it will affect a totally different illusion or may result in no special effect whatsoever.” Mr. Caramel studied John’s reaction for a moment and then continued. “John, please take out a notebook and something to write with. I want you to write down the word pairs I give you. Be very careful not to write them into sentences. Writing sentences and putting them together to form a poem will need to be a lesson all its own.” said Mr. Caramel very firmly.
Annie sat in the closet listening intently. She wished she had thought to bring something to write with. Mr. Caramel droned on about specifically which words went well together and which did not. He took time and went into detail about exactly what kind of illusion might be caused when certain words were paired together. Annie was very bored but, forced herself to pay close attention.
If John was learning something cool she just had to learn it too. She listened for what seemed like hours of, this word has to go with that and never put that one next to this one. It was very specific and it was a lot to absorb in one sitting. Even just adding an ‘s’ to the end of a word might ruin the whole thing. It was boring with a capital B! Annie also knew that it was very important to take in everything the tutor said if she want to do the same stuff as John.
By the time Mr. Caramel finally finished his list of words to put together John’s hand was really beginning to cramp. John didn’t think he would ever be able to write again. His hand was hurting a lot. This was not at all what he had in mind when Mr. Caramel had told him they would begin the special poetry lessons. Mr. Caramel raised his eyebrow studying the look on John’s face again. “Now, John, I know this has not been the most exciting lesson. You must understand, it is not a simple thing I am trying to teach you. You will need a good foundation in order to execute it properly. I promise, in the end, it will be well worth it.” He smiled and patted John on the head.
Annie’s brain was just swimming trying to hold all the information she had heard. Now she noticed that her legs were beginning to hurt from being cramped up in the same spot. Zindle also seemed to be getting stiff. She listened carefully with fingers crossed that Mr. Caramel and John would both leave the room soon. “We really need to get out of this stupid closet.” she whispered to Zindle. Zindle gave a slight whine in response. Luckily Annie only had to wait a few minutes before she heard John walking with Mr. Caramel down the stairs to the front door. Good thing Mr. Caramel always insisted that John use good manners and walk him to the front door when he was leaving after their lessons.
Annie could hardly get the closet door open fast enough. Zindle was so pleased to be out of the closet that he began to turn in circles as if chasing his tail. Annie laughed at this. Then she noticed John’s notebook lying on the bed. What luck! She snatched it up and ran to the door of the roo
m. She was about the fling the door open when Zindle gave her a little nudge from behind. “Oh’ yeah, thanks Zindle.” she said in a hushed tone. “I almost forgot. We had better be careful to make sure no one standing at the bottom of the steps sees us.”
She carefully cracked the door open and took a peek. The coast was clear. She ran quickly over to her room with Zindle right on her heels. She ran right to her toy box and began tossing things aside. She had a notebook in there somewhere. She found it near the bottom amongst pieces of broken toys, old crayons, and a lot of appendages belonging to baby dolls that were tugged on a little too hard.
She grabbed one of the crayons with the notebook and took everything over to her bed. She open John’s notebook. Wow, there were a lot of really big words written inside. Good thing she had his notebook to copy. She never would have been able to spell these words on her own. She copied everything into her notebook as quickly as possible. It made her hand hurt a lot but, she kept writing through the pain. She had to get John’s notebook back in his room before he noticed it was missing.
Just as she was finishing the last words she heard her mother’s car pull up to the house. Then she heard her father yell, “John, your mother’s home and dinner’s ready. Please get your sister and sit at the table. She’s been playing in her room all afternoon.”
“Sure thing Dad!” responded John.
O’ no, John was coming up the stairs! How was she going to get the notebook back to John’s room? She ran out of her bedroom door to the hall. He was coming up the stairs. His bedroom door was open. If she ran across the hall he would see her for sure.
Then she had a great idea. She grabbed an old stuffed bear lying on the hall floor. “Zindle fetch!” she called as she threw both the stuffed bear and notebook into John’s room.
John reached the top step just in time to see Zindle disappear into his bedroom chasing after the stuffed bear. “Annie why are you throwing things into my room?” John asked. He looked in his room. “Look! Zindle knocked my notebook off my bed. It’s got really important stuff in it Annie. It could have gotten messed up!” John complained as he picked up the notebook.
A Mystical Journey Page 2