Part of a wondrous tapestry
from Mirta’s Woven Dreams.
Pollywogs young and fair
Not yet full grown sprites
Working with such special care
To get there before night.
Ahoy!
Pollywogs, brave and stout
Running to and fro.
Hear the pookah captain shout,
“Steady as she goes!”
Trevor was swimming up through water. As he broke the surface, he gasped for air and woke up, but the singing continued.
The Passage River’s deep
So sail it with great care
Bring to the Golden Realm
The wood from trees so fair
The wood will form our looms
To make the sails for ships
To carry on the merchant trade
On daring future trips.
He opened his eyes and the singing stopped. When he turned his head, Amber was sitting on the tapestry watching him.
“Good morning,” she said. “I was beginning to think you were going to sleep till sunrise, which isn’t too far away.”
“Was that you singing?”
“Who else? But we’re short on time. We’ll need to skip the pleasantries and get right to the plan.”
He sat up. “What plan?”
“Mrs. Hayworth’s garden...finding the Changeling Plant...making it safely to the woods...how long does it take you to wake up?”
“I’m awake.”
“Good. Now, tell me the plan. How do you get past the sentinels?”
Trevor tried to remember all the things the pookah had told him. He remembered the part about being unenchanted, but the rest of it blurred. “Electrum is thinking up some dust to distract them.”
“That might work. So do you gather the plant while you’re small?”
He hesitated. “I think I do that before I shrink.” He still wasn’t clear as to how he was going to get the dust on Mrs. Hayworth without getting it on himself. “Once I shrink, Brownie will carry me to the woods. Then Electrum will do whatever he does with it to turn Silverthorn gold. He said he found a way to break my enchantment. It will work, won’t it? It’s not just a trick?”
“You needn’t worry about that. A pookah always keeps his word, and Electrum is a Grand Pookah.”
She stood up and he saw she had been sitting on a small bag. She placed one foot on the bag and leaned on her knee. “It sounds like they haven’t planned for any details or mishaps. One should always be prepared for the unexpected.”
Trevor chuckled. “Like a Boy Scout?”
“Like a merchant.” She pointed to the bag. “Something to carry the dust and the leaves. It can be strapped to your back when you’re small.” Her smile was smug. “I made it myself.” Chanting in a singsong voice she began opening pockets and tying and untying straps. It was like watching a professional salesman give his pitch on the shopping channel.
She showed him a large knife for cutting the plant. Then she pulled out a thin string that looked like fishing wire. “I also threw in some rope. Light, strong, supple. Never know when you might need some rope. Mirta wove it. You won’t find any finer. You’d trade dearly for this at market.”
“Uh...thanks,” he said.
She sat down and ran her hand over the tapestry. “This was woven by Mirta too. It was on the ship?”
He nodded.
“I didn’t see the ship in the yard. Were you able to rescue it or did it dissolve?”
“It’s under the bed.”
She nodded. “And the rest of the cargo?”
“Still on board. The rug is the only thing I took off.”
“Why this?”
“The crate was already open. There were several bundles. The covering on this one was torn.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Already open? You mean it had broken open.”
He shook his head. “No, someone had opened it. The lid was lying several feet away.”
“You didn’t see anyone on board?”
He shivered. “Just a spider. I hit it with one of the glowing rocks.”
“Impressive. You have more courage than I thought. You must have found the barrel of glowstones. They’re quite valuable. Mined in the Gold Realm you know. One of our chief exports. The other major trade item is our weaving. Mirta is the best. This tapestry is one of hers.”
“Who is Mirta?”
“A master weaver and the one who raised me. She weaves her thoughts into the fabric. This piece is strong with her dreams.”
“Then it belongs to you,” Trevor said.
Stretching her wings she said, “Keep it safe for me. I will send someone to pick it up tomorrow night.” She flew over to the window and slipped through the hole in the screen. With a wave she flew away.
Trevor dressed and walked downstairs thinking about the tapestry. He slid into his chair at the breakfast table. Instead of the cereal he was expecting, a paper lay in his bowl. It was folded into the shape of star.
He picked it up. “What’s this?”
His dad looked up from his astronomy magazine. “Looks like a star to me. Why don’t you open it?”
Trevor unfolded the paper and smoothed it out.
His father watched over the top of his magazine. Trevor could only see his eyes, but they had crinkles at the edges and he knew he was grinning. “Well?” his father asked.
Trevor scanned the paper. It was a flyer for an eclipse party at the high school in three days. “An eclipse party?” he asked.
His dad put down the magazine. “Overwhelmed aren’t you? I knew you’d be excited. There will be telescopes set up all over the field. Food, prizes, video games, all with a galactic theme. They’re even raffling off one of the telescopes. I already signed us up. Isn’t it great?”
Trevor felt panic rising inside. “What time does it start?” he asked.
“We won’t miss any of the fun. The eclipse begins just when it’s starting to get dark. We’ll get there just before twilight.”
“Twilight?” Trevor squeaked.
“I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry.” He winked and whispered. “I’ll handle your mom. She won’t think twice about you being out after dark.”
But what would she think about him being six inches tall? The high school was blocks away from Mrs. Hayworth’s garden. It would seem like miles once he had shrunk.