"Helen, why do you always ignore me?"
Again she stopped. This time she did not look around. She knew. "Yes.
You are right. It is me. I have finally gotten up enough courage to talk to you. It has taken me years. Can"t you turn around just this once and smile at me? It won"t hurt you. You are so lovely, more lovely than even the moon, the stars, and all the flowers in the world. Today I am going to die. Yes! Really! I am so happy. It is such a special day. I knew I was going to die three days ago, and I prayed to G.o.d that, before I died, I could just see Helen smile. He gave me the "gift" of speaking into your mind for just this one special day. And He promised that I could speak articulately if what I said came from the heart. I know you can hear me. Please. I love you so much ... Won"t you turn and smile at me? Just this once?"
Helen stood rooted to the spot. She knew she was experiencing something abnormal. She was frightened. _How does he know he is going to die?
That"s impossible! But it"s also impossible to hear a voice inside your head, and I know I"m hearing it! Oh, G.o.d! Dare I do it? Can I look at him? He"s so ugly--so unbearably ugly! But how sad. It was a beautiful thing he said to me. What if I do smile? Will he expect me to smile every day? No! I can"t do that. Next he"ll ask me to come up to the porch and chat. I couldn"t bear it. I couldn"t!_ Yet her heart went out to him. _What loneliness he must feel. I"ll smile just this once, and then tomorrow I"ll take the other route_. She gathered all her willpower and slowly turned around, smiling. At that moment she could feel a tremendous surge of love radiate towards her and envelope her entire being. The sun was shining so brightly that it momentarily blinded her, so she really couldn"t see his face, but nevertheless she kept smiling for a moment or two. Then she turned and continued on her way.
It was now several weeks since she had changed her route. By now she was convinced that she had only imagined the voice. Yet she could not bring herself to walk down his street again. It was another glorious day.
Helen had the day off and was going shopping. She was standing at the checkout counter when she felt a light touch on her arm. She turned and drew in her breath. It was HIS mother!
"h.e.l.lo," said the mother in a soft voice. "I don"t want to trouble you, but I just want to tell you something I promised my son before he died."
Helen"s heart skipped a beat. "He died?"
"Yes, dear. He died several weeks ago. He had been sitting out on the porch as usual when he called out to me and told me you had smiled at him. Dear, you made him so happy. He asked me to tell you something.
Then he slumped over and died. Just like that. Don"t feel sad, dear. It was a blessing. He did not believe that death was the end. He believed that he would receive a fine new body."
"What did he say?"
The mother looked up at her, the most pleasant smile crossing her face.
"He said to thank you for your smile. And to tell you that someday he will meet you again and it will be a different story. Your smile made his life worthwhile, and he died a very, very happy man."
Helen felt a sadness creeping over her. _It was only a smile_, she thought. _Now I am sorry I didn"t smile before. It was such a little thing for me to give. But from now on I will smile more often. I"ll do it for him_. "Thank you for telling me," she said aloud. "Your son must have been a good man in his heart. If there is anything I can do, please let me know." They both smiled at each other, for each knew that she had found a new friend.
The End"
"What a lovely story," Graham said. "Don"t you think so, Telly?" he asked, turning to his friend. But Telly was crying like a baby. Tears were flowing in gushes down his screen and splashing off his metallic boots.
Dore produced a wad of tissues and dried his eyes. "You"re likely to get a short circuit," she said. "By the way, I"d be delighted to have you join me for supper before you continue on your journey." With that, everyone went inside, with Telly asking question after question. After supper, everyone went out to the porch to talk. Graham sat on one of those swinging seats and became lost in thought as he swung gently back and forth. "Penny for your thoughts?" said Dore, sensing that the boy was a little sad.
"Oh, I was just wondering if I will ever find a way to get home. I think Oz is a very interesting place, with lots of incredibly wonderful people (except for that old Witch), but I am getting very homesick, and I miss my family terribly. Not only that, but they are probably worried sick and have probably called the police about their missing child."
"Well," replied Dore, "you just happen to be in the right place ... You see that old well where you quenched your thirst? Well, it"s a wishing well. A real, true wishing well. And if you throw in a coin and make a sincere unselfish wish, your wish will come true instantly. Of course, you only get one guaranteed wish, but if you make a second wish, you have an eighty percent chance of that coming true, also."
Graham immediately perked up as Dore"s words sank in. Then he became crestfallen as his eyes fell upon Telly"s forlorn face, not to mention the disappointment reflected in the faces of the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger. He had made a wonderful new friend in Telly and was just getting to know the others, and now they were going to be separated--perhaps forever.
Dore, quickly realizing what the situation was, offered her condolences but a.s.sured Graham that if he were to make that second wish with great sincerity, there was a very good chance he could come back for a visit.
With that, Graham shook hands with everyone and gave them each a big hug. He then threw a penny into the well as he made his two wishes. "I wish to go back home," and "I wish to come back to Oz someday for a visit." Then, as he waved goodbye to everyone, he slowly became invisible, only to reappear for a second, then slowly disappear again.
This happened two or three times as Dore explained to Telly that the magic was working all right but that Graham"s mixed feelings on the matter were delaying the final teleportation. Just then, there was a large black shadow overhead and a sudden WHOOSH! as a projectile whizzed past Graham"s head. Back and forth it went, to reveal none other than the Wicked Witch on her broomstick, grabbing for Graham as she pa.s.sed him.
"SO, LITTLE MAN. THOUGHT YOU"D ESCAPE FROM ME, EH? I DON"T THINK SO, MY FINE FEATHERED FRIEND!" She wailed like a banshee as she finally grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him as he desperately tried to escape. In the distance Graham fancied he could hear his mother"s voice calling him.
"Graham! Graham!" His eyes--which had been shut tightly as the Witch shook him--opened to see with great surprise his mother"s face as she also shook him. "Wake up! Wake up! Don"t you know it"s twelve midnight?
And you haven"t even done your homework! Your father will be having serious words with you in the morning, young man. Now, up to your room immediately!"
Graham had not been expecting to come home to such a tongue-lashing, but he was very happy to finally be back home after so many harrowing experiences. Ever since he had first been abducted to Oz, he had considered it his mission to get home again. The wishing well had made it possible.
But as Graham turned out the light beside his bed that night and laid his head against his pillow, he began to think over the events that he had experienced in Oz. Of course he had wanted to get home to his family. It only made sense that he would. He was only twelve and he needed them. Not only that, but they would be worried sick. He had made a sensible wish. Or had he? As he lay on his bed, it occurred to him that he might have used his penny to wish away the wicked witch and save Oz.
A feeling of guilt began to gnaw at him. Had he actually used his penny to desert his friends when they needed him most? He realized then what a selfish act that had been. _Not entirely selfish_, he thought. _I was thinking of my family as much as myself_. But he knew that he was making excuses and that he should have wished more wisely. As he slowly drifted off into a troubled sleep, he saw images of the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, Telly, Jeanne-Marie, MacDonald Lindsay, Dore, and many other Oz folk pa.s.s before his eyes.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
The following day, Graham"s mother was sorting the boy"s dirty clothes for the wash when she noticed an ink stain on his shirt pocket. She checked the pocket and found a piece of paper with some kind of smudged drawing and words below the sketch that she could not make out without her reading gla.s.ses. It looked like, something ... speare. Without a thought, she crumpled it up into a ball and threw it in the trash.
TO BE CONTINUED ...