The Wonderful Roundabout

by Mandy Olina

this in stories!’ Rosie said.

  ‘Didn’t you know that most stories are true? Just because parts of the world are magic-less, doesn’t mean all of it is. Now climb on!’

  They did as instructed and the hawk immediately took flight. They rose above the fields and could see for miles and miles ahead. A silver line separated the yellow of the corn field from the dark green of what seemed to be a forest.

  ‘Where are we going, Mr. Hawk?’

  ‘See that line? That’s the silver river. That’s where we’re going.’

  ‘Why are you helping us, Mr. Hawk?’

  ‘What better thing could I do? This is not a hard one to figure out. I either help someone or I don’t. Time passes just the same. So I’d like to say and think that I did.’

  ‘Thank you!’

  ‘You’re welcome, Rosie! Now hold on, we’re rising above the clouds.’

  ‘Danny… this is the most wonderful journey ever!’

  THE BOY WHO CHASED THE SUNSET

  PPart IV

  As they started descending towards the river, they could make out more and more of the land below. Not just the waters were silver, like they’d imagined, but the banks as well and the trees next to it and the grass. The rocks were silver as were the bugs flying past them. As they got closer, the hawk’s feather started to change color and he too became silver. They landed and when they looked at another...

  ‘Danny… you’re silver!’

  ‘So are you Rosie!’

  ‘Mr. Hawk, what’s happening? What is this?’

  ‘It’s alright, children. The world is different here. See, for other people passing by this is just a regular river. They cross it over a bridge built downstream. In order to see that the river is silver, we ourselves have to be silver. Now I realize this may not make much sense to you now, but it will by the end of the journey.’

  ‘What do we do now?’

  ‘You have to get to the other side.’

  ‘Why didn’t you fly us to the other side? It’s just over there!’

  ‘The other side of the river is yet another different side of the world. I can’t cross the river, only you can. I have to go now. Good luck, children! Have a safe journey!’ The hawk’s wings started such a rush of air when he rose towards the sky that Rosie and Danny had to hold on to one another just to stay on their feet. After they watched him fly away into the clouds, they turned to one another puzzled.

  ‘Now what, Danny?’

  ‘I don’t know. We have to use the silver acorn, but I don’t know how.’

  ‘Maybe we’re supposed to drop it into the water.’

  ‘Maybe… or maybe crack it open.’

  ‘How do we crack it open? It’s silver!’

  ‘Everything is silver here, isn’t it? We crack a silver acorn with a silver rock.’

  ‘Ok… you do it!’

  ‘Fine. Bring me that boulder there.’

  So Danny sat down and hit the acorn over and over again.

  ‘It’s useless. It doesn’t even have a scratch on it. This can’t be it.’

  ‘Maybe we’re supposed to eat it.’

  ‘Good thinking, genius! And what if that doesn’t work?’

  ‘What if it does?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I don’t think that’s it. What else could we do with it?’

  ‘Let’s see. Drop it into the water, crack it, eat it… Oh, I know! We could bury it!’

  ‘What good would that do?’

  ‘We don’t just bury it, silly, we plant it. We plant an acorn tree by burying the acorn!’

  ‘Ok, we could try that. We can always take it out afterwards if it doesn’t work. Help me dig a hole.’

  The children started digging with their hands, until they had a hole about a hand’s-length deep. They placed the acorn in it and covered the hole back up.

  ‘Now what do we do?’

  ‘Wait here!’ Rosie said and headed for the river. She leaned towards the water and came back with her hands clasped around some silvery fluid, which she gently poured over the dust that covered the acorn. As soon as the last drop touched the earth, a loud crack sounded from below. Then the ground started to shake violently, like it was about to split in two.

  ‘Look, Rosie! It’s starting!’

  A small silver twig came out of the earth and grew taller and taller, until it was the size of an entire tree. Then more branches started to sprout from it, swirling one around the other into a dense weave that advanced towards the river.

  ‘It’s a bridge, Rosie! We’re growing ourselves a bridge! You’re so smart I could hug you!’

  They jumped up and down with joy, hugged screamed and laughed. When the branches touched the other river bank they were almost exhausted from all the excitement.

  ‘We did it, Rosie! Let’s cross! You can climb a tree, right?’

  ‘Better than you can tie your shoelaces! Come on!’

  They skipped from branch to branch and, soon enough, they were on the other side. But just as they touched the ground, the earth started to shake again. They held on to one another and looked as the ground swallowed back the entire bridge.

  ‘I guess there’s no way to go but forward!’ Rosie said.

  ‘Yup! Let’s go!’

  ‘Into the forest?’

  ‘Into the forest!’

  THE BOY WHO CHASED THE SUNSET

  PPart V

  As soon as the children passed the first trees the forest closed up behind them. A row of trees appeared as if out of nowhere, so dense that the light couldn’t even get through.

  The forest was old and dark and there were so many leaves on the ground that they went up to your knees. Strange creaking and cracking could be heard all around.

  ‘Danny, I’m really scared!’ Rosie whispered in a mousy voice.

  ‘Well, don’t be. We got this far, didn’t we? And we got all sorts of help we didn’t expect. We even flew half the way. Something good is bound to happen.’

  ‘But what if our luck ran out already?’

  ‘Stop saying that! I didn’t come all this way to stop, there’s no turning back now. We are reaching that castle!’

  ‘What castle might that be?’ a loud, echoing voice said. Rosie jumped behind Danny in an instant.

  ‘Who’s there?! Show yourself!’

  ‘Just a mere creature of the forest. I didn’t mean to scare you.’

  ‘We’re not scared of anything!’

  ‘Very well, the voice said again. I am coming to meet you then.’

  The moment the creature appeared from between the trees, Danny was more afraid than he’d ever been in his entire life. He tried to stay calm, but started shaking uncontrollably. He forced himself not to run away. Behind him, Rosie’s face went completely white.

  The creature took a step towards them and Rosie almost fainted. Danny felt like his stomach was melting and his instincts were telling him to get as far away from there as possible. When it took another step, the children retreated a few inches and, as if it had suddenly smelled fear, the creature took out its claws and started grinning its teeth. Danny and Rosie met each other’s terrified gaze. Before either of them could think, they started running for their lives.

  The creature chased after them so fast Rosie could almost feel its breath on the back of her neck. They remained just ahead of the creature because they could crawl under the giant roots of the trees instead of climbing over them. They ran and the trees got thicker and thicker until they could barely see ahead anymore.

  Then, the inevitable happened. Rosie tripped over Danny’s leg and they crashed into the leaves, which covered them entirely. The creature sprang right after them and started digging furiously through the debris.

  ‘Rosie, quickly! I’ll tunnel through the leaves, hold on to my shirt and follow me!’

  They started moving slowly but without being seen, the creature right behind them, slashing with its claws wherever it heard noise. They were heading for a hollow under the root of an old, pe
trified beech tree. They were only a foot away when the ground disappeared from beneath them. Danny felt like he was being sucked down a drain pipe. They were going down some sort of chute, faster and faster, like they were headed to the center of the earth. Danny felt the walls loosening, a sudden rush of cold air, and in an instant he realized that he had to swim for his life. He started moving his arms and legs and in a few moments he was drawing breath from the surface.

  ‘Rosie! Rosie! Oh, no! Rosie!’

  ‘I’m here, Danny! Turn around!’

  ‘There’s land behind you. Let’s swim there!’

  They slowly got out of the water, exhausted, scared and cold.

  ‘What now, Danny? What do we do now?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Rosie. I should have never taken you with me.’

  ‘I want to be back home, safe, in front of a giant pudding. I’m terrified. How are we ever going to get out of here?’

  ‘I think this is some sort of underground cave. There’s got to be a way out if there’s water here.’

  ‘But how are going to find it?’

  ‘I’m going to help you!’

  ‘What?! Who said that?!’

  ‘Don’t be scared!’ the tinkling voice said. ‘I am a forest fairy!’

  An orange speck of light appeared before them and grew brighter and brighter, until they couldn’t look its way anymore.

  They closed their eyes and when the light started to fade, a fairy was fluttering her wings right next to them.

  ‘Here I am! I am Lucia. This forest’s fairy. I will take you home!’

  Danny’s heart started to pound like thunder in a storm. In that moment he felt not that he was wet, cold, hungry and tired… But like the luckiest boy alive.

  THE BOY WHO CHASED THE SUNSET

  PPart VI

  ‘Wow, Danny, a real fairy!’

  ‘Indeed I am! Look! Wings and everything! I even have a