On A Beautiful Sunny Day....
Lets Face it, Dear Readers, an Attic workroom can often be quite dark and cramped, tucked in under the eaves of the house. And Pollyanna's workroom was no exception. In theory it has a medium sized dormer window on the (still not built!) opening roof side, but even that would not allow much light to come into the room. Pollyanna was used to the cozy space and the cramped work area, and Arthur often spent his time up there with her "working" on his computer... or sometimes napping if the truth be told! And this was just such an afternoon when the attic suddenly felt very confining and stuffy to Pollyanna. She was going to fall asleep herself if she didn't go out for a walk!
She turned to Arthur and noticed he was about to shut his eyes...
"I think I need to go for a walk, Hon," she said.....
"Do you want to come along or take a nap...?" she asked.
"Aaaahh..." said Arthur a little groggily....
"I'll come with you, of course...!" he added,
waking himself with an effort.
"It sure is dark and stuffy in here today...!" he said.
"Oh my goodness, what a glorious day!" declared Pollyanna
as soon as they reached the doorstep.
"We should have come out sooner...!" she added.
"A little fresh air does wonders for the outlook..!" said Arthur, smiling.
"It certainly wakes one up...!" said Pollyanna, teasingly.
"But I wasn't asleep...!" declared Arthur.
"Welll.... maybe not Quite asleep...." said Pollyanna with a smile...
"But it was close...!" she said cheekily.
"I will have to admit... it was a close call...!" said Arthur agreeably.
"But you saved the day...!" he added sweetly.
"Because I was about to fall asleep myself...!" said Pollyanna laughing.
"Do you suppose it's a "Fall thing", she asked?
"That it's just getting so dark we want to fall asleep earlier?"
"Well, it's certainly dark in that attic...." said Arthur agreeably.
And meanwhile, Dear Readers,
unbeknown to Pollyanna and Arthur,
their conversation had been overheard by Petunia
in the attic room across the hall.
Like Pollyanna's workroom, it was dark even at midafternoon.
There was a tiny window in the gable wall but it was curtained.
Petunia was on the bed with Tiny Bear and Mr. Plum Bear
when she overheard Pollyanna say she needed to go outside for a walk.
"There's an Outside...?" asked Petunia of no-one in particular.
"There happens to be a Great Big World outside..!" said Tiny Bear knowingly.
"But can we see it...?" asked Petunia curiously.
"Well, there is a window to see some of it..." replied Tiny Bear.
Petunia went right over and had a look.
She could only see a little bit between the curtains.
"It doesn't look Very Big...!" she declared.
"Well!..." said Tiny Bear.... "There Is a whole Lot out there!"
"I've been out there and it is Big!" he declared vehemently.
"I want to see it! How do we get out there...?" asked Petunia.
"There's a door... there's a whole lot of doors.." said Tiny Bear...
not at all sure this was going in a good direction.
"I want you to show me....!" said Petunia excitedly.
So Tiny Bear Showed Petunia the way to the stairs...
"Mr Plum Bear, are you coming?" called Petunia as they left.
"Well", thought Mr. Plum Bear, "no sense in staying alone in a dark attic...
I guess I might tag along... see what is out there!"
"I hope the cats are all outside..." said Tiny Bear
as they reached the second floor hallway.
Sure enough no-one noticed them as they made it down to the entrance hall.
"There's the Front Door".... said Tiny Bear pointing.
"Oh, my!" said Petunia as Tiny opened the door.
"You were right.... it's Huge...!" she declared excitedly.
"Come on, Guys!" she said...
"Where are we going now..?" she called
as she ran into the fallen leaves.
"Oh dear," thought Tiny Bear...
it looked like they were going for a walk!
"Well," he said reluctantly...
"there's The Folly....
we could visit the Folly... or The Castle...."
"Both!" declared Petunia... "I want to see Both!"
"So Off they went...!"
"I think it's this way...." said Tiny Bear...
"I'm pretty sure it is this way..." he added for good measure.
It had been awhile since he had been to The Folly...
It was a glorious day for a walk!
The weather was just warm enough but not hot...
There was just enough breeze to send leaves falling from the trees...
and before too long they approached The Folly.
"Is this The Folly...?" asked Petunia, a little daunted.
"Yes." said Tiny Bear.
"I once lived here" he added helpfully.
"That's a lot of steps..." said Petunia doubtfully.
"Ah, yes." said Tiny Bear.
"Going down is easy... going up is not."
he added just for explanation.
"Well...." said Petunia...
"What about The Castle?"
"Oh, that's a ways further..." said Tiny Bear with a sinking feeling...
"I want to see it!" declared Petunia without hesitation.
So they headed on across the meadow...
The meadow was even lovelier that he remembered...
there were deer grazing at the edge of the woods...
Tiny Bear shuddered inwardly ....
he did not want to go into the woods....
The woods were Big and Dark....
you never knew what... or Who lurked in there...
better not mention it to Petunia! he thought to himself!
"The Castle is off this way...." he called...
"at least I think it's off this way...." he added.
They had a ways to go... better not get distracted...
Yes, Dear Readers, escaping the Dark
and enjoying the sunny moments
always seems like a good idea.
But what happens when the Dark overtakes You.....
even on a sunny afternoon....?
This was the question that had troubled the Wizard for months...
ever since that sunny afternoon in the Spring when the Sun...
the glorious brilliant sun had suddenly winked out... Gone!
He had been standing on this very Tower Top!
The stars suddenly shone in the twilight sky....
where a moment before it had been sunny and bright!
A Dark shadow had crossed his heart
and left him doubting everything he knew....
If the Sun could go "out".... what else might fail?
And then the sun had sprung back to life....
nearly blinding in its brilliance...!
One had heard tales of such sightings down through the ages...
but hardly given them credence!
And yet.... he had seen it with his own eyes....
felt the chill of the night air....
And known a bone deep sense of dismay...!
But what did it portend....?
He was afraid....
afraid of he knew not what...
Yes, Dear Readers, he was in the Dark....
and he was Afraid that could only mean
Trouble was afoot!
