Chapter Two
She was awakened by a shock, so sudden it made her catch her breath and wonder what had happened. Rosanna had climbed out of the basket and sat on her stomach, licking Sara's nose delicately.
Sara sat up and rubbed the back of her head where it had connected with the wall. It was no longer dark out; bright light, brighter than Sara had ever seen, streamed in through the windows. It somehow seemed more colorful than any sunlight she'd seen before. Gingerly standing up, Rosanna clutched to her chest, Sara thought she'd go ahead and head home, an evening with the guys watching football didn't seem the best thing for her head just then.
The door opened easily this time, and that bright sun hit Sara directly in the eyes, and in the moment it took for her eyes to adjust, Sara realized it was late evening and the sun should not be up. She wondered just how long she'd been knocked out.
"What the hell?" Sara's eyes fell not upon the parking lot, but on a world that seemed created for a coloring book. Amazingly bright hues greeted her, a rainbow of color shone bright in the brilliant sunshine. Banks of glorious flowers lined a sweet smelling brook that babbled nearby; birds with heads full of colorful plumage sang and flitted from high treetops. Two swirls centered and spread out on the ground forming paths, one green, one blue.
Sara cautiously stepped through the door, Rosanna sniffing at the sweet air. "Rosanna, I don't think we're in Nevada anymore," Sara whispered to the dog.
Giggling erupted around her, and Sara glanced around, looking for the source but finding no one.
"Hello?"
More giggling.
Sara's eyes narrowed a bit. She felt a bit strange, but not at all in danger. "Hello?"
Rosanna woofed and Sara glanced down to find the dog staring up into the sky. Sara followed the dog's line of sight and saw a glittering bubble of pink sparkles wafting gently down from the clouds.
As the bubble reached nearer to the ground, its sparkles brightened and moved faster and faster and suddenly, where the bubble had been stood a beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair, wearing a tight hot pink dress that was too low cut for Sara's tastes. An elaborate crown of white plumage encrusted with pink and crystal stones set upon her head.
"Hi there," said the woman in pink. "I'm Catherine, the Good Witch of the North. And that's my cousin," she cocked a thumb over her shoulder toward the lab, where Sara noticed for the first time, a pair of red sneaker clad feet were sticking out from underneath. The lab had landed on someone!
"Oh my God!" Sara cried and covered her mouth with her fingers. The suddenness of the gesture and her tone of voice startled Rosanna and the little dog wiggled out of Sara's grasp and jumped down, running to hide under the nearest bushes. "I didn't mean to… I mean it was an accident…" Sara's shock had her words stumbling out of her mouth.
"Hey," Catherine the Good Witch said, "don't worry about it, she was a bitch of a witch. But I do have to ask, are you a good witch or a bad witch?"
Sara shook her head in disbelief. "I'm not a witch. I don't believe in witches."
"Really?" Catherine the Good Witch cocked an eyebrow, "Try this on for size." And with that she withdrew a long wand from her cleavage and waved it around her head three times, and suddenly, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue and white gingham blouse, just like Sara's. As Sara's eyes traveled upward, she found herself looking at her own face. "Still don't believe in witches?" asked Catherine the Good Witches voice out of the other Sara's mouth. The wand waved again, and back was the strawberry blonde hair and the tight hot pink dress. Catherine the Good Witch folded up the wand "It's the travel version," she told Sara as she tucked it back into her cleavage from whence it came. "So, are you a good witch or a bad witch?"
"Why, I'm not a witch at all." Sara whispered, awed by the magic. "That was better than Siegfried and Roy! But I am very sorry about your cousin, I don't know what…"
Catherine the Good Witch waved her hand. "Forget about it. As a matter of fact, you've saved my friends from servitude."
"Friends?"
Catherine the Good Witch put two fingers to her lips and a sheer whistle filled the air, "It's ok everyone, you can come out."
Sara glanced around, wondering whom Catherine the Good Witch was talking to. Rosanna came running out of the bushes, her tail wagging excitedly. The dog was quickly followed by a stout little man with a big gold badge pinned to the lapel of his lime green suit jacket and a very large brown top hat upon his head.
Catherine the Good Witch smiled broadly and beckoned to him with her hand, "Ah, Mayor Brass! Come say hello to our guest."
As the little man stepped forward toward them, two women, just as small as the Mayor and each wearing a short black dress and carrying trays, pushed forward through the bushes where they'd been hiding.
"Hello," Mayor Brass said regally.
"Hello," Sara answered and fought the urge to curtsy.
Sara watched as the two little women came closer and another little man poked his head out from behind a tree.
"This is Wendy and Mandy," Mayor Brass introduced. "They're twins."
"Of course they are," Sara noted dryly.
"And that's Archie over there behind the tree," Catherine the Good Witch announced, and as Sara glanced over, Archie disappeared again behind the tree.
"And there's Henry," said one of the twins, (Sara didn't know which one) and pointed toward a flowerpot, Sara saw what she assumed was Henry's head pop up from inside the flower pot, a mound of dirt and a single flower sitting atop his head. "Is she really dead?" asked Henry.
"Well," said a new voice, Sara spun around to see yet another little man with glasses and a white beard. He was wearing a long white coat; he had on a very large white hat, and was walking on candy cane colored stilts. He was followed by an even shorter little man with curly hair and glasses who wore a bright blue outfit that had the letters SD emblazoned across his chest. "As coroner," said the man on stilts, "I must concur, I've thoroughly examined her and she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead."
"But we'll know more when we get her back to the office," said the man with glasses.
"This is all very nice, but please, I just want to go home," Sara pleaded, her headache was getting worse. "Can't you just…" Sara pantomimed waving an invisible wand in the air.
"Oh, no," Catherine the Good Witch shook her head. "For that, you'll have to go see the wiz-" she was interrupted by a boom and a large puff of dark gray smoke, and suddenly there stood a tall woman with long blonde hair pulled tightly back into a ponytail. She was wearing a black backless evening gown and had severely pointed eyebrows, and in her right hand stood a broom.
A tight smile graced Catherine the Good Witch's face. "Hello Cousin Sophia. What took you so long?"
The blonde straightened her shoulders, and her eyes found the lab and her sister's feet sticking out from underneath it. She rushed over, but before she got there, a puff of pink smoke engulfed the red sneakers, and they were suddenly gone. The blonde arrived just in time to grab at only air as the feet (one sock had a hole, the pinky toe stood out) shriveled up and disappeared too.
Frightened, Rosanna jumped into Sara's arms.
"I thought you told me she was dead," Sara whispered to Catherine the Good Witch.
"This is Sophia, the Wicked Witch of the West. That," she pointed at the lab, "was her sister.
Sophia the Wicked Witch of the West spun around. "Where are my sister's shoes?!" She demanded.
Catherine the Good Witch pointed toward Sara's feet. "They're right there, and that's where they will stay." Sara glanced down, and sure enough, the red sneakers were on her feet.
"Give me those shoes!" Sophia the Wicked Witch of the West commanded.
Catherine the Good Witch leaned in and whispered earnestly into Sara's ear, "Don't take them off for anyone!"
"Why does she want them so badly?" Sara questioned in a hushed tone.
"They have very powerful magic," Catherine the Good Witch answered.
"You stay out of this Catherine," Sophia the Wicked Witch of the West screamed.
"Quit with the threats, your magic is of no use here and you know it." Catherine the Good Witch glanced at her nails as if deciding which color polish to choose for her next manicure, obviously an attempt to enrage the other witch.
Sophia the Wicked Witch of the West balked and realized her cousin was right. She shook her broom toward Sara. "I warn you now, I'll get those shoes, I'll get you." Rosanna barked once at Sophia the Wicked Witch of the West and then buried her nose in the crook of Sara's elbow. "And your little dog too."
Another boom and puff of dark gray smoke, and the Wicked Witch was gone.
"Bitch," Catherine the Good Witch said after the smoke dissipated. She turned to Sara. "You're gonna have to high tail it out of town," she told Sara. "Go home."
"But how?" Sara asked.
Catherine the Good Witch cocked a thoughtful eyebrow. "Did ya bring your broom with you?"
Sara shook her head, "No, I told you, I'm not a witch. I don't have a broom."
"Well, as I was saying earlier, you'll have to go see the Wizard."
"The Wizard?" Sara asked skeptically.
"Yes. The Wizard of Las Vegas. He lives in the Neon City. You'll have to walk, luckily for you, those shoes are comfy."
"But how-"
"They'll show you the way," Catherine the Good Witch pointed toward Mayor Brass and the others. "And remember; don't take those shoes off for anyone." Just as she'd arrived, Catherine the Good Witch disappeared into a ball of pink glittering bubbles and floated away.
"Man, people sure do come and go quickly here." Sara looked over at the Mayor. "Ok, how do I get to the Neon City?"
"Oh that's easy, you just have to follow the green bricks," answered the Mayor and pointed toward the green swirled path.
"And that'll take me to him?"
"You bet," the Mayor said and winked.
"Ok, then." She glanced down at Rosanna. "You ready?"
Rosanna barked her approval.
Sara gave the dog a sharp nod of agreement. "Well then, we're off to see the wizard."
