ONE

Winking.

Twinkling.

Splendidly sparkling.

Something lay shimmering in the tall grass beckoning investigation.

Elodie nervously tapped her bare foot as she stared across the indigo lawn. Was it a fallen star? A faery ring? A firefly in distress?

Curiosity ate at her, but she remained glued to the porch. Who knew what was hiding in the shadowy woods? Wolves, bears, and hairy, brown spiders the size of a beach umbrella lived there.

Night time brought other terrors, such as the bats that fluttered crazily back and forth catching mosquitoes – of which she was thankful, scratching a fresh welt on her ankle with a toe. The lonesome howling of a neighborhood dog always sent chills down her spine. And then there was the unknown... The horrible unknown of the forest. What else lurked in the darkness?

And still...

Twinkly-twink. Twinkly-twink.

It wasn't that she was afraid of the dark, necessarily. Oh, sure, she had a night-light in her bedroom, but who didn't? That didn't brand her a sissy. Besides, she was a pretty fast runner. Everyone said so. She could make it around the house in less than a minute. She knew she could make it to the middle of the lawn and back in a flash.

The big, fat moon shone like a creamy pat of butter, providing enough light to bolster her courage. It was now or never. Holding her breath she darted from her perch, feeling the prickle of dew-coated grass beneath her feet as she raced to the glinting object.

It appeared to be a charm bracelet. Thrilled by her good fortune and forgetting all about standing in the middle of the garden, she began to inspect it. A fine, silver chain with a delicate clasp held a circular object that ended in a point. At the top was a sprinkling of green stones and the body of the charm cast a lavender glow. As Elodie swirled the charm before her to get a better look she heard the screen door slam and the voice of her younger brother.

“What’re you doing out there?” he asked, starting off the porch. He was fearless.

Elodie slipped the treasure into the pocket of her red, ladybug sweater. “Nothing, just watchin’ the fireflies,” she answered.

Didier turned back towards the house, calling over his shoulder, “You better come in now. Mom says it’s time for bed.”

Elodie raced inside, keeping her hand tucked securely in her pocket.

“Whoa there, whirly girl! Where’s the fire?” her father called as she dashed past him and down the hall towards her bedroom. Elodie leapt over Didier who was struggling to put on his pajamas without assistance or much success and closed her door. Once inside it was safe to remove the object for closer scrutiny.



It was quite beautiful, but she wasn’t sure what it was exactly. It reminded her of something – a radish? A strawberry? Something she had seen at the Farmer’s Market. As she inspected it beneath her lamp she noticed that there was a tiny hinge in the middle. Using her thin fingernail she pried it open and a small key tumbled out. Elodie gasped in delight, “Oh my gosh – what a little key!” She turned it over in her palm and saw a curly letter P engraved on it.

Mrs. Verlaine interrupted her thoughts as she called from the hallway, “Elodie! Have you brushed your teeth yet?”

Placing the key back inside and snapping the hatch shut, Elodie desperately looked around for a hiding place. Beneath the pillow was a bad idea because her mother was a notorious pillow-plumper. Her crumpled sweater, hastily tossed to the floor, was dangerous because it would be gathered for the laundry basket. She couldn’t put it under the bed because of the possibility of monsters. One could never be too careful about monsters!

“Elodie!” her mother called impatiently, heading for the bedroom door.

As the door swung open Elodie tossed the bracelet towards her dollhouse and prayed that it landed safely amidst the clutter.

“Didn’t you hear me calling? Come on, tomorrow’s a big day. You’ll be starting first grade, isn’t that exciting? I want you to get in there and brush your teeth.” She sighed as she surveyed the room, “Oh, just look at this room! Your toys are everywhere. How many times have I asked you to keep this room tidy?” Mrs. Verlaine stared at the dollhouse in disgust.

“I’ll straighten it up, Mom, I promise!” Elodie pleaded.

“Hmmm.” Her mother had already started toward the mess with her hands on her hips. “There’s no time for that now, young lady. Get in the bathroom and brush those teeth. I’ll take care of this.”

“NO!” Elodie shouted in a panic.

Her mother didn’t turn around as she began picking up the dolls. “Don’t shout, Elodie, and do as I ask.”

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. What could Elodie do? Her mother would find the bracelet and wonder why Elodie was keeping something that didn’t belong to her, and suggest putting up signs throughout the neighborhood or calling the police and Elodie would never, ever have a nice bracelet for as long as she lived! Her lip trembled as she fought back tears.

“Why are you still standing there? Hop to it!” Mrs. Verlaine said, holding a doll by her matted hair in one hand and a star-spangled, purple pony in the other. “Honestly, I don’t know why we bother to buy you nice toys when you just destroy them. Look at this doll; her hair is beyond repair.”

Elodie stared toward the dollhouse that was quickly getting organized. Her mother approached and turned her toward the bathroom. With a gentle swat she propelled Elodie down the hall. “You’ve wasted enough time tonight, so don’t fool around in there.”

The toothpaste oozed out shakily as Elodie stood on her stool at the sink. As usual, she had squeezed out too much. She could hear her mother humming as she rummaged through the pile of toys. Suddenly the toothpaste sputtered from her lips as she heard her mother say, “What on earth could this be?” Elodie raced from the bathroom, foam dripping from her mouth, saying, “It’s mine, it’s mine, I found it, it’s mine!” Mrs. Verlaine turned and Elodie could see that she was holding a wrinkled piece of paper with a poorly drawn yellow bear on it. Or was it a cat?

“You found this? Well, it looks like your artwork to me. Oh, now look at the mess you’re making! Get back in there and finish up. I’m tired of repeating myself.”

Elodie finished brushing her teeth and ran back to her empty bedroom. Her mother had finished sorting the toys, the pillow was fluffed, the bed turned down, and her sweater was gone.

She wandered over to the dollhouse, which was now as neat as a pin. The dolls were sitting in a perfect semi-circle, then the stuffed animals, and finally the strange collection of accessories that were essential to the land of make-believe. She looked for the acorns and reindeer moss and found them in a shoebox along with a speckled, blue eggshell, a cracked teacup, pennies, wooden spools, and an assortment of broken crayons. There was also a clump of ribbon that still contained strands of doll hair and a comb with most of its teeth missing. The bracelet, however, was nowhere to be found.

“It’s all there,” her mother said from the doorway. “I wouldn’t throw away your precious robin egg, though goodness knows why you’re saving it. You collect more junk than your brother.”

Elodie jerked her head up in surprise.

“Come on, now.” Her mother patted the bed. “Let’s tuck you in and find a nice story to read.” She grabbed the first book in the night stand drawer.

Mrs. Verlaine had chosen Peter Rabbit, and snuggled next to Elodie so that she could enjoy the illustrations. As she came to the page where Peter was in the garden there appeared a drawing of a vegetable that Elodie recognized as the one that dangled from her bracelet.

“What’s that?” she pointed excitedly.

“That’s a turnip, honey. It’s a root vegetable, like a carrot or a parsnip.”

“What do they taste like?”

Mrs. Verlaine thought for a moment and then said, “Tell you what. We’ll have some for dinner this week, and you can find out for yourself.” She closed the book and kissed the top of Elodie's head.

Lying in the soft glow of her nightlight, Elodie wondered: Could the engraved letter P on the tiny key stand for Peter? Was it possible that Peter Rabbit lived in her garden? Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She'd have to search for the bracelet tomorrow. She wasn't getting out of bed now that the lights were off, that was for sure!