The Sands of Oz. Read online

pulls on it with all of his strength. Amanda watches, but soon joins her brother and is able to place a hand in a small gap created from Jeff’s pulling. As Amanda pulls on the door, Jeff’s stick breaks and he falls backward and sees Amanda as she pops the door open and falls inside.

  Jeff: “Amanda!”

  Without hesitation, Jeff jumps up and runs over to the door. He looks inside and calls for his sister.

  Jeff: “Amanda! Are you okay? Amanda?”

  There is no reply from Amanda. Jeff looks around to see if there is anyone is near to help. He calls out and waits for a reply from someone, anyone, but the only voice he hears is the distant sound of his sister as she calls out for him from somewhere in the darkness behind the wide open door that sits under a blue and gold mossy mound of forest decay.

  Amanda: “Jeff! Come here!”

  Jeff kneels down and looks inside the mysterious black space that seems to have swallowed his sister.

  Jeff: “I’m coming! I’m coming!”

  Jeff places his legs inside and before he knows it, he is sucked down into the darkness.

  Sliding down into the earth in a moment of darkness, Jeff can’t help to scream out of terror as he begins a descent into place that he can’t see, but soon notices a familiar smell.

  Jeff: “Grapes. I smell grapes.”

  Jeff closes places his hands over his eyes and soon after light forces entry between the gaps in his fingers and his sliding feels more like a free fall. He uncovers his eyes and looks around. He sees the color blue as wafts of white cloud like objects wisp by him.

  Jeff: “I’m flying?”

  Jeff looks down and sees a field covered in brightly colored tulips: Red, Blue, Pink and White. From above the, the field looks as if a giant gumball machine cracked open and all the enticing, delicicous spheres fell out and decorated the earth with its sweet smelling, gleaming, colorful spheres. In the middle of the multicolored field of flowers stands Amanda. She’s drinking from one of the long stemmed flowers and watches as Jeff flies over her.

  Jeff: “Amanda! I’m flying!”

  Amanda points up at Jeff and shakes her head back and forth. A shadow flashes over Jeff and he looks up to see what has dimmed the light. A large Blue Jay suddenly flies down and gently grabs him from the back and then lifts him up into the air and circles the field.

  Jeff: “Is this a dream?”

  The Blue Jay screeches obnoxiously, and speaks in heavy, deep voiced Jersey accent.

  Blue Jay: “Not a dream, Mack.”

  The Blue Jay gently drops Jeff off and flies back up into the sky and disappears. Jeff looks at Amber and shakes his head back and forth.

  Jeff: “We must’ve hit our heads.”

  Amanda looks at a deep blue tulip and plucks it from the ground. She grabs the long black stem and twists until it pulls off just below the flower. She looks at Jeff, who’s wide eyed and bewildered at his sister’s behavior, as she bites down on the long black stem and begins to chew off a piece. She continues looking at Jeff while chomping on her stem and pointing at the blue tulip he holds in one hand.

  Amanda: “Go ahead. Try it.”

  Jeff glances inside the bright blue tulip Amanda had given him and sees a clear liquid. Like a conniseur of wine, he swirls the liquid then places his nose inside the flower and inhales.

  Jeff: “Wow. It smells like grape.”

  Amanda: “Here. Use this!”

  Amanda hands Jeff the remaining stretch of stem.

  Amanda: “Use it like a straw.”

  Jeff briefly examines the makes straw and dunks it inside the flower. He takes a sip and licks his lips. He sucks out the the remaining liquid from the flower and tosses it over his shoulder and immediately looks for another to drink. With all the different colors before him, he becomes indecisive and Amanda points to a red one.

  Amanda: “Try that one. It’s like a strawberry!”

  Jeff reaches down and takes a red flower and drinks from it.

  Jeff: “Amazing! I think I’m starting to like this place!”

  As Jeff and Amber look at their gumball colored surroundings, they realize that they are standing in a sea of tulips that are filled with sweet liquid. They see nothing but flowers, except off to one side stands a single, towering coarsely barked tree that has a leafy canopy that is perfectly still in spite of a sudden, but gentle breeze that is blowing in its direction.

  Amanda and Jeff slowly turn in opposing circles while sipping from the tasty flowers. As they circle they look for other forms of life other than the single tree surrounded by the bright hues, graceful forms and sweet aromas of the now swaying tulips that all are bending in the direction of the tree.

  Amanda and Jeff look at each other with wonderment as well as being lost and afraid.

  Amanda: “I don’t know. We should go home.”

  Jeff: “Where is home? Where are we?”

  A shadow flies over Jeff and Amber.

  They look up as the Blue Jay squawks while he circles above them and is soon joined by another feathered friend. The two birds look down at Jeff and Amber as they clasp their hands. The giant blue birds swoop down and scoop up Amber and grab them both and carry them to the lone tree in the distance and land on a branch.

  Jeff and Amber stand on the branch and look at the two birds that are perched on a nearby branch of their own. The two birds look over at the scared brother and sister. One bird speaks with a feminine tone, but has a jersey accent.

  Jersey Jill: “Don’t be afraid.”

  Jersey Jack: “That’s right. Nothin’ to be afraid of.”

  As the birds and children stand on their branches, the tree begins to rumble. The birds take flight and soar into the air while looking back at Jeff and Amber as they embrace eachother as the entire tree begins to shake. Jeff looks down and sees two giant squirrels as they chase one another around in frantic circles at the base of tree.

  Jeff: “Giant squirrels!”

  Amber fearfully looks downward as the squirrels suddenly stop and look up.

  Amber: “I hope they go away.”

  The tree begins to tremble as the squirrels chirp and make short clicking sounds as they jump from the tree and race around on the ground and race around in circles as they continue chasing one another in some sort of squirrel version of the Indy 500.

  Amber and jeff watch the squirrels madly chase each other from their lofty view up in the tree.

  Jeff: “Wow! Look at em! Their like little furry race cars!”

  Amber looks at the chirping squirrels as they continue their speed chasing antics.

  Amber: “Furry race cars with fangs.”

  Jeff: “Don’t be afraid. Remember?”

  Amber watches the squirrels and lets out a blood curdling scream.

  Jeff: “what?! What?!”

  Before Jeff can turn his head, Amber grasps him and holds onto him with all her might as the tree begins to shake violently. The squirrels have begun their crazy chase up the tree and toward Jeff and Amber.

  Amber: “Those squirrels are crazy! They’ll knock us off the tree!”

  Jeff wraps his arms around Amber and they cling to each-other with all their might. They shut their eyes as the careless squirrels rush around them so fast that they can feel a slight breeze and pieces of fur as speeding rodents zoom around them. Jeff slow opens one eye and squints and watches as brown strands of hair drift around in the air and land on him and his sister.

  As Jeff opens both his eyes, the tree stops shaking and he looks around for the squirrels. As he looks up he can see them sitting side by side and looking down at him and Amber.

  Jeff: “That’s weird.”

  Amber slowly opens her eyes and looks at Jeff and sees him looking upward.

  Amber: “What? What’s weird?”

  Jeff releases his grip on his sister, but she’s stuck like glue to him. He grabs her hands and tries to pry them off of him. Amber looks up and sees the two squirrels sitting on a branch
and popping their bushy tails up and down as they peer in her direction.

  Amber: “Scary.”

  Jeff: “You can let go now.”

  Amber: “This is too weird.”

  Amber slowly lets go of her brother as she keeps a cautious stare on the two squirrels. A soft, female voice with an English accent is heard as one of the squirrel’s turns and speaks to the other.

  Female Squirrel: “She called us weird, Harold.”

  Male squirrel: “And Daphne, they’re the ones without tales in the tree. Who’s weird?”

  Amber speaks just above a whisper as she looks at jeff.

  Amber: “Those squirrels are talking.”

  Jeff stares blankly up at the two squirrels as they continue their own conversation.

  Daphne the Squirrel: “And they talk.”

  Harold the Squirrel: “Well, one of them is. The other one doesn’t even chirp.”

  Daphne the Squirrel: “Or clicks his tongue. Weird.”

  Jeff slowly lowers his head and looks at Amber as he speaks.

  Jeff: “Talking squirrels?”

  Harold slowly walks toward Jeff and Amber while he sniffs the tree along the way. He stops within inches of jeff and Amber and rapidly scratches his mid section with a hind leg. Fur flies up into the air and float down onto Amber and Jeff. They brush off the short strands of brown fur as soon as it lands on their clothing.

  Harold the Squirrel: “Where’s your fur?”

  Harold looks at Amber’s long hair and then looks at Jeff’s much shorter hair.

  Harold the Squirrel: “She’s got some, but ol’ chap. You’re lacking fur.”

  Jeff: “I’m licking fur?”

  Amber laughs and shakes her head while she covers her mouth to repress the laughter that wants to escape. Her fear has been erased