The works contained within this publication are not intended to represent actual events. They are purely fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are used in a fictitious manner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: A Surprise Visit
Chapter 2: In the Cave
Chapter 3: Pure in Heart
Note to Readers
Chapter 1: A Surprise Visit
Six-year-old Callie collected her three dolls and Mr. Brown and put them in the dry bathtub. She climbed in fully dressed her overalls and straw hat. Then the pretend tea party began.
After an hour, Ms. Spinner walked in. "There you are! I thought I lost you," she said with heaving breaths and with one hand on her chest.
"Yes, here I am and there you are," Callie said to her babysitter without looking up.
"Yes, well, it is eight o'clock. Time for bed."
"Bed? Didn't my mommy talk to you? She said I could stay up until midnight!"
"She told me no such thing, and I trust she has better sense to let a girl your age stay up past eight. Sleep helps you to grow and become smart and.... Just get out of the bathtub, put on your pajamas, and get in bed. You can play tomorrow."
Ms. Spinner accidentally flipped the light switch. "Woops, I forgot you were still in here." She turned the light back on.
Callie stood and gathered her tea party guests in her arms. She trudged to her bedroom and flung them on the floor. She pulled her white nightgown out from her dresser drawer and slid it over her head.
She grabbed Mr. Brown and leapt into bed with a big sigh. The wind howled. She looked out the window and stared up at the moon. Her hair spilled onto the plain white sheets. Her thoughts drifted to her parents at the New Year's party. Her elegant mother, Mrs. Gayle Berkinoff, was dressed in her finest red ruffled dress with her golden hair braided back. Her father, Mr. Kelvin Berkinoff, wore his best plaid button-up with pearly snaps and a cowboy hat. She pictured them smiling and dancing as she lay alone in her white cotton nightgown. She was not completely alone. Her babysitter knitted in the next room, but she thought she would be better off without her. At least then she could stay up until midnight.
Callie reflected on all the times she had soothed herself, entertained herself, and cared for herself and vowed to simply stop doing it. She wanted someone who loved her, played with her, and nurtured her—like her Aunt Martha! She squeezed her oversized teddy bear with all of her might and wished with all her heart to be near her Aunt Martha. She pictured her. Her brown hair fell from her high bun onto her soft face like it always did when they romped around the room together.
When she opened her eyes, she was still squeezing her teddy bear. Yet, everything else was very different! She was standing in a dark closet. She turned to look behind her and saw a swirling cloud trailing off into an unending blackness. She opened the closet door and saw her Aunt Martha's home in Cincinnati where she lived!
Callie stepped out of the closet and shut the door behind her. She ran through the house calling out, "Aunt Martha! Aunt Martha! It's me—Callie!"
Martha was rolling up ham and cheese in neat pinwheels in the kitchen when she looked up and saw her niece. She jumped up and wiped her hands on her apron so she could give the little girl a giant hug. She said, "Callie! I did not know you were coming for a visit. What a nice surprise!" Then she noticed Callie was in her nightgown. In a sterner voice, she asked, "Where are your parents? How did you get here?" She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
Callie grabbed her aunt's hand and took her to the closet. When she opened the door, the thick blackness still lingered like snow on a cold day. The cloud swirled steadily like a barber shop pole. "Through there," she answered with a finger pointing into the cloud funnel.
"And you weren't afraid?" Martha asked. She placed her arms on her strategically as if to protect her from falling back in.
"No! I just closed my eyes, and here I am! Please do not make me go back."
Aunt Martha grinned. "We will have just a short little visit. Then I am afraid you must go back to your own home and not come back through there." Her face grew serious again.
Callie said firmly, "...except on New Year's Eve. I will not come back until next New Year's Eve because Mr. Brown and me do not like being sent to bed when the whole world is celebrating."
Aunt Martha neither agreed nor disagreed but set to work on making the night a grand occasion for her niece. Together they made paper hats and party favors. They ate candy and drank fizzy lemonade. They laughed, cuddled, and shared stories about their lives until the Westminster clock chimed its midnight song. Ding dong ding dong...
Aunt Martha said, "Now give me one last big hug and kiss. Then go back the way you came."
Callie hugged and kissed her aunt. Then she grabbed Mr. Brown and walked into the closet. She shut the door and beamed with all of the love her aunt had generously lavished on her. Suddenly, she was back in her own bed and so tired that she drifted off to sleep.