Globusz^® Publishing 

eeling like she had been realised directly into the sun, happy to be away from the new teacher in her pink tweed jacket, Sarah looked forward to a long morning adventure in the warm summer air. She and Shonim planned to take the route to the pond to say hello to the fish, however, something caught Sarah’s eye at the fern bed at the edge of the lawn. She walked towards it, and then stopped altogether. Shonim was busy swinging back and forth on Sarah’s hair, as if it was a bunch of long vines, and did not notice she had stopped.

Just in front of the ferns was Virella, Shonim’s mother, engaged in what looked to be a serious conversation with a mouse. The mere fact that Virella could talk to a mouse was not what surprised Sarah. She was surprised for two other reasons. One, the mouse towered over Virella, and its teeth seemed just as big as Virella’s hands, yet Virella looked relaxed and had not even drawn her wand. And two, the mouse was wearing an apron, and stood on its hind legs as it spoke, using its two front legs to gesture in the air, like hands. Looking closer, Sarah noticed that the apron was exactly the same pattern as the kitchen curtains in the house- white with small blue flowers.

The mouse suddenly turned two beady dark eyes to meet Sarah’s big blue ones. The mouse’s whiskers twitched once, then twice, then it fell onto its front legs and scampered into the forest. Virella looked up in surprise.

“Oh hello, Sarah. I am sorry, you seem to have frightened Miss Mouse.”

“Um... miss...”

“The house mouse,” said a small voice in her ear. Shonim had stopped swinging by her hair and moved to her shoulder.

“Does... does she always wear an apron?” Sarah asked, not knowing what else to say.

“Oh, no, only when she’s cooking, but she cooks all the time,” said Virella. “She’s a fine chef.”

“Who does she cook for? Does she live in our house?” Sarah asked, alarmed. She decided that she would check the kitchen curtains as soon as she could, perhaps she was mistaken about them having the same pattern as the apron. Maybe they were just similar flowers.

“Well, I will just have to explain that you know about our tribe, Sarah, and that you wouldn’t hurt her,” Virella said, appearing not to have heard her questions. “Poor thing is probably very frightened, perhaps I better go find her.”

Sarah nodded her head to Virella and said, “Yes, please tell her I won’t hurt her,” as Virella waved her hand and said “of course of course” and wandered off into the forest with a concentrated line above her eyebrows.

Sarah was about to ask Shonim where the mouse lived, and if it was anywhere near her room (she hoped not) when she realised he was no longer on her ear. She slowly turned in a circle, calling his name. Then she checked her hem and her pocket, and ran her fingers through her hair very carefully (so as not to knock him off if he was there). But he was not there. She wondered if he had gone with Virella to find Miss Mouse. But he usually told her if he was going to go off, even for a moment. He would tap her shoe, point and run off, something. Sarah cupped her hands and called more loudly, “Shonim, Shonim” but there was no answer. The birds twittered above, but it was no comfort to Sarah, as she did not know what they were saying. She sat cross-legged on the ground and put her hand in her chin. He couldn’t have gone far, and would surely come back for her.

She tried to sit patiently without worrying, and instead think if she had seen any mouse holes in the house, but the thought, “He is so small” kept running through her head, and she chewed a strand of her hair nervously. Besides, Sarah did not trust the mouse. She did not like mice, and wanted to be fair about giving all creatures a chance, especially one that seemed to be friends with Virella, but what if... what if the mouse had gotten hungry and ran up her back and had stolen Shonim before going off into the forest? Would Sarah have felt that... felt it run up her back... Would Miss Mouse cook Shonim in her next fancy stew, perhaps in their kitchen right under the blue and white kitchen curtains...

Sarah stood up and shrieked “Shonim!” with all her might, not caring if her mother or aunt heard from the house, and the birds took off with loud angry twitters into the sky. She screamed his name once more, and a moment later, just at her eye level, a flash came crashing through the leaves. A silver dragonfly hovered just at the edge of the forest with Shonim sitting on top of it.

“Sarah! Do not scream! You have frightened Priscilla!” Shonim admonished.

“Shonim! I was so worried!” Sarah’s cheeks were red and flushed. Shonim urged the dragonfly up towards her face, but the dragonfly only came slightly nearer and then stopped. It paced back and forth a good distance from Sarah, and appeared to be eyeing her mistrustfully. Shonim began to kick it and strain forwards with his whole body, urging it towards Sarah.

“Shonim... are you... are you hurting it?” Sarah wondered.

The dragonfly appeared to have had enough of Shonim kicking her. She began to spin around and around so that Shonim was turned upside down and rightside up again, and they became one flash of spinning silver. Finally Shonim lost his grip and fell to the ground, opening his wings at the last moment so that he could slow his descent, but he did not slow down enough, and tumbled in a somersault when he landed. The dragonfly shot off into the forest.

Shonim lay flat on his back and looked quite dazed. He tried to sit up but could only manage to prop himself up on his elbows, and he stared with his green eyes grown huge.

Sarah helped him up to a sitting position with just one finger. He nodded to her with a wobble and said, “I’m OK.”

“But where did you go? I was worried! That mouse, I thought it had stolen you...” Sarah said, a bit angrily, though she still held her finger at his back in case he flopped back down again.

Shonim shook his head as if to trying to clear it, and said “Miss Mouse is a friend. She has us for teas and cheese.”

“But but... why did you just... disappear...”

At this, Shonim appeared to forget his dizziness, and pulled himself to his feet by Sarah’s thumb. “Oh no, Sarah, it’s terrible! The fireflies are much upset!” He hung on to her thumb firmly, with both arms, and Sarah had the impression he would just fall down again if she moved her hand, so she held it still.

“Do you mean... the dragonflies?”

Shonim shook his head. “No, no, fireflies, the ones that light at night? One is missing, a child!”

Sarah asked, “Missing? Did he run away?”

“No, they do not think so. Taken, lost, they do not know. Priscilla came to me on your shoulder, I jumped down and could not say bye, she moved so fast! I am sorry. I knew you would worry and call. I told her but she took me anyway and she did not care.”

“Priscilla is the dragonfly...?”

“I named her. Do you like my name?”

“Well, yes, I suppose ... but... why did she come for you? I mean, your mother was standing there as well...”

At this Shonim let go of Sarah’s thumb and he appeared to puff up. His face scowled. “Why me? Why not me? Because I am small, is that why not?”

“No, no! Of course not... I am so sorry, that came out all wrong. I meant to say,” Sarah said thinking fast, “did you know him... I mean... the missing firefly... it’s a him isn’t it?”

Shonim appeared to relax, but his eyebrow was still raised. “Firo is my friend, yes. He gives me light sometimes when I read before bedtime. Last night he was there. But he did not come home.”

Sarah said before really thinking, “You can read? But what...”

“Yes I read!” Shonim shrieked, angrily now, not dizzy at all, stamping a foot as his green eyes flashed. “I can read, why? Why do you have a surprised face? I... I...”

Shonim choked at this point and could not seem to speak. All Sarah wanted to do was take back the last conversation completely, and start again, but could only stare at him, as she did not know what to say. He started to pace back and forth, then looked at her with a betrayed expression and said, “I named you too. Shimeral, I named you. See, even though I am small, I’m not stupid! You and your school!” Then he ran into the forest.

“No! Shonim! I never meant...,” Sarah gasped, and then stared at the green ferns and leaves which were still shaking from his quick exit through them. She waited there, peering around the stems, but he did not appear. Finally she heard her name called for lunch, and as she walked across the lawn she had to wipe her cheeks dry and breathed deeply to calm herself before entering the house.

However, as soon as she walked in her heart began to beat wildly again. There was her teacher in her pink tweed jacket, standing in the kitchen, talking to Sarah’s mother! Her bun looked even tighter from the back. Sarah did not want to face another discussion about classes or her future, so hurried into the living room, where Aunt Maude was crouched very low in the armchair with the unicorn book so close to her face she appeared to be inhaling it. She had already gotten most of the way through the book, Sarah noticed. She wondered where the book had come from, as Aunt Maude had not gone into town for some time, and Sarah had a feeling she probably wouldn’t have asked Sarah’s mother to fetch it for her.

“Sarah, dear,” Sarah felt two hands on her shoulders as her mother came up behind her. “Mrs. Clemens is staying for lunch. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Um, yes,” Sarah said as she noticed Aunt Maude stuff the unicorn book behind the pillow on the armchair, and smooth out her frazzled grey hair.

“Oh please, “ the woman with the bun approached them, “call me Emily.”

“Oh, well, then you must call me Lily,” Sarah’s mother chimed, now twisting Sarah’s hair into a knot.

“She has such wonderful hair. A natural blonde!” Mrs. Clemens spoke.

“Oh yes, but it does hang so straight. I am always after her to curl it,” her mother answered.

“Oh, but it does suit her face. But Sarah, remember, beauty isn’t everything, a girl must have brains. Though, you are lucky to take after your mother! Lily, how do you get your skin so clear and smooth?”

“Oh, I um, oh it’s nothing. Just a special soap! I can show it to you if you wish.” Sarah’s mother blushed slightly. Sarah looked at Aunt Maude who rolled her eyes. Aunt Maude was 18 years older than her half-sister, and when she thought Sarah was not listening she would call her “Silly Lily”, which would make Sarah cover her mouth with her hands and giggle into them. She had told Shonim about this, and he had laughed about it almost all day. Then he had admonished her for making fun of her mother, but then had started to laugh again, saying “Silly Virella!” over and over.

The table on the patio had been laid for lunch, and Sarah peered out again towards the ferns, though she knew Shonim spent his lunchtime with his mother, and in any case she would not be able to see such a small fairy from all that way. “...nothing special, I’m afraid,” Sarah’s mother was saying, “just sandwiches today and a tomato soup. But we do have some ice cream and fresh blackberries for dessert.”

“Oh that sounds lovely, and I love a good sandwich.” Mrs. Clemens clapped her hands together. She looked at Sarah, but her head was hung down, as she was thinking about how much Shonim liked fresh blackberries.

“Sarah, dear, don’t hang your head so!” Her mother spoke. “Come, tell us what you have been doing all morning.”

Sarah then looked up with huge eyes and her mind went blank. Usually her mother and Aunt Maude discussed bills or the neighbors, or her mother talked about her work with the magazine. When Sarah was occasionally asked about her morning, she would describe some birds she had seen or a new path she had found through the forest. However, between the mouse and the dragonfly, and Shonim stamping off, she could not think of what to say.

Aunt Maude looked at Sarah’s blank expression and said, “Did you enjoy your book, Sarah? I saw you reading from the window there.”

“Oh yes!” Sarah spoke excitedly, her voice shooting up very high so that Mrs. Clemens actually jumped and put a hand to her breast. “I enjoyed it very much! It was nice to read in the sun, on the grass, just there.” Sarah pointed to the tree at the edge of the yard.

“And what was your book about, Sarah?” Mrs. Clemens asked.

Again Sarah paused, and then said in an unnaturally high voice, “A unicorn. And a fairy. And, and a firefly that went missing!” Sarah said, and then looked wide-eyed at Aunt Maude, who looked confused.

“Oh dear, fantasy. I see. Well I never liked those sort of novels myself, always wanted to learn history or science instead of those make-believe stories, but I suppose to each her own?” Sarah noticed that as Mrs. Clemens said this, Aunt Maude’s lips grew thin.

“I prefer magazines, myself,” Sarah’s mother spoke. “They reflect the real world, current events, what’s really happening out there.” Sarah looked at Aunt Maude and tried to raise her eyebrow (though she couldn’t quite do it). Aunt Maude rolled her eyes again. They both knew Sarah’s mother mainly read fashion magazines.

“Well, as an editor I can well imagine you have to know what the market is!” Mrs. Clemens said, helping herself to a small half-sandwich without a crust.

“Oh, you know, I do have to stay on top of things!”

They both started to emit high pitched laughs among such statements, though Sarah was hardly listening anymore, and was picking apart her sandwich which appeared to be made of cucumbers and mayonnaise. Aunt Maude leaned forward and whispered, “Would you like a baloney sandwich, dear?” Sarah nodded but her mother had heard and put a stop to the idea, saying it was important for children to try different foods, especially “cultured” foods and Mrs. Clemens laughed again but agreed furtively.

The entire meal continued along the same vein, and at the end Sarah seriously hoped Mrs. Clemens would not join them for lunch anymore. After lunch Sarah walked slowly across the lawn with her book and sank down to read by the ferns, in case Shonim appeared. She did not see him, but could not focus on the book either, and read the same sentence over and over and stared into the ferns until the sun was about to set and Sunday was over.