food, and decent costumes!”
Jahrra seethed and glared at him, but as soon as he saw Nuhra and Kaihmen walking a few paces behind the children, the older boy ducked his head and ran off down the road. I wish I was a real grouldah , Jahrra thought furiously, his would be the first soul I’d come after!
The three friends soon forgot their unpleasant schoolmate and focused their energy on their surroundings. Pumpkins, apples and corn stalks decorated the wide streets and stone buildings, along with tattered scarecrows and gourds of every size, shape and color. Jahrra stopped to watch as several people dressed in a multitude of colorful costumes ran by, chasing each other in a spirited game of hide-and-go-seek. She gazed in wonder at some of the disguises, many of which put hers and her friends’ to shame.
A bright yellow lion with a full amber mane went whizzing by, roaring after a green and gold fairy with giant, ornate wings that jingled delicately with tiny gold bells. A group of adults sitting around a table at an outdoor cafe were dressed as great elfin warriors, complete with elaborately etched, shining armor and flowing capes. Further down the road and closer towards the center of town there was a group of children dressed as a flock of brilliantly colored tropical birds. Jahrra laughed as they chased each other around the adults, flapping their wings and squawking. Her personal favorite, however, was a red-hued dragon that looked remarkably like Hroombra, except for the color of course.
Once they’d walked through the main hub of town and seen all there was to see, Kaihmen and Nuhra bought the children caramel apples and piping apple cider. Jahrra welcomed the spicy, hot drink with vigor. It made her breath steam in the crisp air, warming her from the inside out. She munched on her apple as she and her friends looked more closely at the buildings they passed on the streets.
All of the shops and restaurants displayed their goods and products outdoors beneath wooden booths. Every one of them served or sold fresh harvest fruits and vegetables and souvenirs for the children to bring back home with them. Jahrra was thrilled to see so many wonderful things, from painted pinwheels to colorful paper dragon kites on strings. The group gradually made their way towards the town square, and once they managed to break through the thronging crowd, Jahrra gaped in wide-eyed wonder.
There, encircling an empty fountain in the place where several roads met, sat a cluster of children of every age, their eyes latched on dancers garbed as glittering fairies and silver unicorns making merry around the center of the square. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede stopped and stared in wonder. It was like watching one of Hroombra’s or Denaeh’s stories coming to life. Soon, several other mythical woodland creatures joined the revelers, frolicking merrily while playing flutes and harps and clashing cymbals, twirling bright ribbons streaming from wands. The play lasted only an hour, and although the children begged for more, the unicorns and fairies pranced away to entertain another waiting group.
By now it was late afternoon and Kaihmen and Nuhra had to drag the hypnotized children reluctantly back to the stables to harness the horses and head home.
“Oh please, Father! Mother! Can we stay just a half hour more?!” Scede complained as Kaihmen hauled him by his hairy paw. “We’re plenty old enough to stay after dark! It’s silly to have to leave so soon!”
“Just twenty more minutes, please!” Gieaun whined, being pushed onward by her mother.
Jahrra plodded along gloomily, wishing secretly that she could stay as well.
“We’ve been here long enough. You should be glad you got to come at all,” Nuhra answered in a stern voice.
They all sighed and with one last expression of their disappointment, all three of them plopped down on the back bench of the cart, looking longingly at the enchanted town as it faded behind them in the golden
Jahrra seethed and glared at him, but as soon as he saw Nuhra and Kaihmen walking a few paces behind the children, the older boy ducked his head and ran off down the road. I wish I was a real grouldah , Jahrra thought furiously, his would be the first soul I’d come after!
The three friends soon forgot their unpleasant schoolmate and focused their energy on their surroundings. Pumpkins, apples and corn stalks decorated the wide streets and stone buildings, along with tattered scarecrows and gourds of every size, shape and color. Jahrra stopped to watch as several people dressed in a multitude of colorful costumes ran by, chasing each other in a spirited game of hide-and-go-seek. She gazed in wonder at some of the disguises, many of which put hers and her friends’ to shame.
A bright yellow lion with a full amber mane went whizzing by, roaring after a green and gold fairy with giant, ornate wings that jingled delicately with tiny gold bells. A group of adults sitting around a table at an outdoor cafe were dressed as great elfin warriors, complete with elaborately etched, shining armor and flowing capes. Further down the road and closer towards the center of town there was a group of children dressed as a flock of brilliantly colored tropical birds. Jahrra laughed as they chased each other around the adults, flapping their wings and squawking. Her personal favorite, however, was a red-hued dragon that looked remarkably like Hroombra, except for the color of course.
Once they’d walked through the main hub of town and seen all there was to see, Kaihmen and Nuhra bought the children caramel apples and piping apple cider. Jahrra welcomed the spicy, hot drink with vigor. It made her breath steam in the crisp air, warming her from the inside out. She munched on her apple as she and her friends looked more closely at the buildings they passed on the streets.
All of the shops and restaurants displayed their goods and products outdoors beneath wooden booths. Every one of them served or sold fresh harvest fruits and vegetables and souvenirs for the children to bring back home with them. Jahrra was thrilled to see so many wonderful things, from painted pinwheels to colorful paper dragon kites on strings. The group gradually made their way towards the town square, and once they managed to break through the thronging crowd, Jahrra gaped in wide-eyed wonder.
There, encircling an empty fountain in the place where several roads met, sat a cluster of children of every age, their eyes latched on dancers garbed as glittering fairies and silver unicorns making merry around the center of the square. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede stopped and stared in wonder. It was like watching one of Hroombra’s or Denaeh’s stories coming to life. Soon, several other mythical woodland creatures joined the revelers, frolicking merrily while playing flutes and harps and clashing cymbals, twirling bright ribbons streaming from wands. The play lasted only an hour, and although the children begged for more, the unicorns and fairies pranced away to entertain another waiting group.
By now it was late afternoon and Kaihmen and Nuhra had to drag the hypnotized children reluctantly back to the stables to harness the horses and head home.
“Oh please, Father! Mother! Can we stay just a half hour more?!” Scede complained as Kaihmen hauled him by his hairy paw. “We’re plenty old enough to stay after dark! It’s silly to have to leave so soon!”
“Just twenty more minutes, please!” Gieaun whined, being pushed onward by her mother.
Jahrra plodded along gloomily, wishing secretly that she could stay as well.
“We’ve been here long enough. You should be glad you got to come at all,” Nuhra answered in a stern voice.
They all sighed and with one last expression of their disappointment, all three of them plopped down on the back bench of the cart, looking longingly at the enchanted town as it faded behind them in the golden
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