Story 22: Playtime in The Toy Shop
July 4th, 1913
It was a little after bed time for the Basil twins and they did not protest about going to bed. They were eager to spend time with their deceased grandparents in the Heaven realm. The detective and his wife had also settled in bed as both were tired, mostly from the love making they did earlier, but they performed another round of sex before they finally surrendered to exhaustion.
Olivia, despite being pregnant and going through the symptoms of child bearing, loved the intimacy she and her husband performed in bed. She did prefer in not being pregnant as she and Basil wanted to make love all night, but it was not possible now. Both would have to wait until after the winter holiday, which was around the time the baby would arrive.
The two of them enter the dream realm, where their deceased loved ones were waiting. The twins and Dawson were also waiting. "Glad you two could make it," their good friend, Tsura the witch said. "I thought perhaps this would be a splendid opportunity about 'living the memory'," she adds, but her friends look at her in confusion.
"Allow us to explain," Lulu said and clears her throat, "Some of us have a memory that we want to 'live in' and want to...say want to play or interact with someone they met. Hiriam and Leana want to live in the memory of their daughter's wedding, am I right?" she asks.
"Oh yes!" Hiriam exclaims, but his wife hushes him. "I mean, it would be wonderful for me to walk Olivia down the aisle," he adds and lets out a sigh.
"Why don't you?" Tsura asks and they look at her in surprise. She then snaps her finger and the scenery changes to the chapel at Buckingham Palace. The chapel was decorated with Christmas garlands with red ribbons and two Christmas trees with lit candles were at the front near the sanctuary.
Then, many mice filled the seats in the chapel, with the families of the bride and groom on the opposite ends, including Basil's parents. Olivia and Basil watch as the groom's party marches in, but the Basil being the groom did seem to be rattling with nerves. Olivia notices her mother, Leana wearing an elegant blue dress, sitting at the front of the pews with the bride's party, including Aunt Sophie.
Then, they hear the organ begin to play "Here Comes the Bride". Instead of Uncle Stewart walking Olivia down, it was her father, taking her hand in his and walks her down the aisle. Hiriam was wearing a nice dress suit, but did seem uncomfortable with it.
"Awe, I love weddings," Tsura said and they watch as Hiriam takes Basil's hand and gives his daughter away. The present Hiriam begins to sniff, then the memory begins to distort and Uncle Stewart appears in his place at the sanctuary.
"Oh, I guess it's best to go," Tsura suggests and the memory fades away. The group returns to the Flaversham homestead.
"Uh, how is this possible for us, to alter the memory that is?" Dawson asks the two witches.
"This is a rather strange ability for all of us, but we can change a memory. You can use your imagination to alter the memory, like when Hiriam altered the wedding by walking Olivia down the aisle. Does this make any sense?" Lulu asks the others.
"Kind of," Basil replies, but something pops inside his mind.
"Oh I think you have a memory in mind," Tsura said and looks at him in the eye, "All right, let's see what you have in mind," she said and summons a spell. The Heaven realm fades away to reveal a dark and rainy street, but then they see Toby sniffing the ground. Then, he lets out a howl and runs off. For some reason, everyone levitates and follows the dog.
"AH! THE THRILL OF THE HUNT!" they hear the young Basil shout as he held onto the dog's leash and collar.
"I need some help," the present Basil said to the two witches.
"Oh, leave that to us," Lulu said and summons a new spell. The scenery then changes to that of the human toy shop where Basil, Olivia and Dawson were pursuing Fidget, the bat who worked for Ratigan. Fidget was ordered to get tools and gears for the mechanical mouse queen Hiriam was building, and also uniforms for Ratigan's cronies who would infiltrate the royal guard. Fidget was also ordered to kidnap Olivia, but then Basil slumps down.
"Elliott, what's wrong?" Olivia asks and her husband looks up at her.
"Every time I think of this memory, I can't help but think of the horrid things that Ratigan would've done to you if he had the opportunity," Basil said and looks up at Tsura. "You said we can 'live in' the memory, but is there a way to get rid of...of the ones that you don't want to be part in the memory?" he asks.
"I know what you mean, but Lulu said you can alter the memory. Here, let me help with this," Tsura replies and commands Basil to breathe deep and get rid of the figment of Fidget inside his mind, which resulted in the bat vanishing in the memory itself.
"This is so amazing," Basil and Olivia's son John said.
"I actually have something in mind," Olivia said and the scene changes with everyone on Toby's back. Then, Basil notices that he was wearing his Inverness cape and deerstalker hat.
"You know, I'm glad I bought you those," John Frederick said to his son, whose cheeks turn red for a bit.
"All right, I want us to have some fun here, don't know why, but I thought of showing you around this place," Basil said and jumps off of Toby.
Olivia whispers something in her daughter's ear and Leana giggles for a bit. "Elliott, you remember what you did for me when we came here?" Olivia asks and her husband looks at their daughter, who was holding out her arms.
"Oh that," he said with a bit of a chuckle. He clears his throat and pretends to be annoyed in having to catch Leana. He rolls his eyes, then holds out his arms for her. She jumps and lands into her father's arms, who pulls her into his embrace. "Oh right," he said quickly and pulls her away from his body. However, he couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, I loved that moment in fact, even though I've tried my best to not show my soft side," Basil said to Leana and hugs her tight.
He sets her down and urges her to step away a bit. He catches his son next and gives him a quick hug before setting him down. "Your turn Olivia," he insists with his arms out and his wife jumps into his arms, but they ended up falling backwards. The detective lands on his back and Olivia looks down at him.
"I'm sorry! Did I hurt you? Maybe I've gotten too big for this," Olivia said quickly, but Basil just laughs.
"Awe, young love," Tsura said, as both she and Lulu levitated over to the window ledge.
"You know, I think it was at this point that I started to care about you, even though I was a bit annoyed of you insisting for my help, even at this moment," Basil said to Olivia, who giggles a bit. Their daughter, Leana sighs, but their son John rolls his eyes in annoyance.
One by one, the other mice, including Henry and his family step off of Toby's nose and onto the window's ledge. "So this is the place that you were attempting to capture that bat," Henry said and his student nods.
John Frederick Basil, just as he was prepared to take his turn, takes a look down and scrambles to the safety of the window ledge. "Oh John Frederick," Sarah, his wife scolds at him for his phobia. "We're deceased, you know? We can't die a second time," she said.
"He's still afraid of heights?" their granddaughter Leana asks.
"I'm afraid so," Sarah replies and looks at Tsura and Lulu, "They did say that our fears stay with us, even after death I believe." The two witches nod and Sarah does her best to calm her husband down.
Then, they hear Toby growl and they notice Dawson attempting to step onto the ledge. "Now look here Toby," Dawson said in a defiant tone, "You and I went on various adventures, yet I don't understand why you-" Toby lets out a sniff that sends the doctor flying onto the window ledge and he bumps into Hiriam. "So sorry!" he exclaims. "That dog never got along with me," he adds and briefly sticks out his tongue at Toby.
Basil then commands, "Now Toby, sit!" The Basset Hound, however, was still wagging his tail, ignoring his master's command. "Toby! Sit!" Basil orders, but the dog still doesn't listen. "Why won't you listen to me?" he asks, but then looks at his wife, Olivia, who shrugs her shoulders.
"Can I try?" Their daughter, Leana asks and she says to the dog, "Sit Toby!" Then, the dog plops his behind down and everyone around them tries to contain their laughter.
"Good boy," Basil said, pretending to be annoyed, but struggles in containing a laugh himself. "Now lets see where that entry way was," he adds and looks at the bottom panes of the glass window.
"Elliott," he hears his mother-in-law, Leana Flaversham say and sees her pointing to a small hole. "I believe this was the bat's entrance," she said and he nods.
"Now, was it like this?" Dawson asks and slips his finger into the hole and pulls it open.
"Excellent Dawson!" Basil exclaims and his partner laughs.
"Oh all the memories are starting to come back, even in my old age," the doctor replies and the mice enter the human toy shop with Dawson going last. "Hmmmm, would like to show Jodie this place some time," he whispers as he sets the window pane back in place.
The mice notice that the shop was dark and quiet, a perfect setting for a criminal to hide in, especially for a bat. Basil begins to tip-toe, even though there was really no danger here. "Um, Mr. Basil?" Lulu asks, but the detective hushes her.
Suddenly, they hear musical instruments being played, which startled them. The twins had turned on a mechanical firemen band and their father quickly rushes in to pull the lever that silences the band. "PLEASE!" he nearly shouts, but whispers, "Quiet!"
"Um, Mr. Basil? There's no intimate danger here, remember? You are 'living' the memory, but altering it in your own way, you know with your imagination?" Tsura said and the detective looks at everyone.
"Sorry, it was out of instinct," he replies and looks at his children, "I'm sorry for snapping at you, but your mother gave me quite a scare when she did that," he said and they laugh a bit. Olivia also laughs at the memory when she turned on the firemen band toy and starling Basil and Dawson.
"So this is the toy shop?" Hiriam asks and gazes up at the much larger toys that created by humans. "The craftsmanship is a bit...hmmmm, a bit strange in my opinion," he said.
"And kind of creepy," John adds as he looks up at a jester-like toy.
"Now, lets see what fun things are around here?" Tsura asks and the mice split up.
"Children, you stay with an adult, and please don't do anything...death defying," Basil tells the twins and they nod.
"Grandfather," Leana said and takes John Frederick by the hand, "How about we take a walk?" she asks.
"That sounds nice," he replies, but notices his granddaughter holding out a cloth. "What's that?" he asks.
"Oh, I have a bit of a surprise in mind, one that might put your mind at ease," she answers, but her grandfather looks at her in the eye.
"What are you planning?" he asks, again; he was starting to get skeptic of his granddaughter's idea.
"I just want to have a bit of fun with you," Leana replies and John Frederick decides to allow her to put the blindfold over his eyes. She then takes him by the hand, leading him to a doll house she spotted a moment ago.
Sarah, Hiriam and his wife, Leana Flaversham began to play with a few mechanical horses, roughly the same size as Argus. Anne Walker and her two eldest children, Flora and Alfred also played with the horses, including one with a knight on its back.
The two witches found a mechanical dog in a top hat and wined up the key. The toy dog barks as it peeks its head out. "Awe, what a cute looking puppy," Tsura comments and they went around at the other mechanical toys.
Meanwhile, Henry, his family, Basil and Olivia had found a chess board with pieces.
"Mr. Basil!" Rupert shouts at his friend, "I think I mastered my chess skills," he boasts to the detective.
"Oh really?" Basil asks, "Do I sense a challenge?" The two of them set up their pieces, Rupert went first and the two played with the human size chess pieces, but it was still pretty fun.
John and Dawson were exploring most of the shop, but the little boy mouse was not interested in any of the dolls or other toys that his family and friends were playing. "John, what are you looking for?" Dawson asks.
"Don't know," John replies, "Really want to find a toy that is much like a human strongman, you know from the circus? Don't know why circuses would employ strong men," he said.
Dawson chuckles a bit, "I don't know either, but the circus has always entertained audiences with bewildering things, some that most people haven't seen before. You remember the museum of oddities?" he asks.
"Yes, but oddities are fake, like Leana and dad said," John answers. "I want to be with a real strongman, just to impress the others," he adds, but his friend didn't seem to like it.
"You know John, being strong doesn't mean that you should achieve fame. I believe being brave against all forms of evil is a way of showing your defiance against those who wish to hurt others, like your family," Dawson said and they come upon a section that featured wooden animals, mostly elephants draped in elegant attire. They see some clown dolls and Dawson stops to look at a picture of a performer balancing on a horse's back with one foot.
John walks down a corridor where he spots a toy resembling a human man wearing a leopard skin tunic. He was holding up a set of 100 pound dumbbells in both hands. "The Great Rambo?" John sees the sign above the toy. "Hmmmm, this would be interesting to play with," he said to himself. "Lulu did say we can use our imagination," he whispers and looks at the toy of the Great Rambo.
"Come to life," John said, his mind focusing on the toy and he notices a strange glow surrounding the toy. It begins to move its limbs and lets out a mighty roar.
He sets the dumbbells down and looks at John with beady black eyes. "Well hello," Rambo said in a deep voice, "Who might you be?" he asks and John got excited.
"I just brought you to life!" the little boy mouse exclaims, but calms himself, "My name's John and you are Rambo, correct?" he replies and the human toy begins to pose, showing off his toned muscles.
"I am the Great Rambo! Tamer of beasts and destroyer of Great Britain's enemies!" he shouts and looks at John, "I can tell you are troubled? Did someone bully you?"
"What? No, I really want to-" "I will find your tormentor and put him in his place!" Rambo shouts and John thought this is toy had a rather unusual behavior.
"I appreciate the help, but come with me, I want you to meet my family," John said and the strongman follows the mouse boy.
"John?!" he hears Dawson shout. The boy mouse takes a moment, he wanted to give his friend a good scare before showing Rambo to him.
"BOO!" John shouts and jumps in front of the doctor, causing him to cry out in surprise.
"JOHN! Don't do that!" Dawson nearly shouts at the boy mouse, "You I'm too old for that! I thought I lost you!"
"Take it easy, Dawson," John replies and adds, "There's someone I want you to meet!" Then, Rambo appears and the doctor and the strongman lock eyes.
"Who in the world is that?" Dawson asks.
"This here is The Great Rambo, tamer of beasts and destroyer of Great Britain's enemies!" John exclaims and the doctor looks at the human, then realizing it was a toy.
"You brought this to life?" he asks and John nods in excitement, "Great Scott, now I know that we can use our imagination, but I've never anything such as this before."
"Are you the one who has been tormenting this boy?" Rambo asks, which confuses Dawson and even John. Before they could answer, Rambo shouts, "You will know the fury of my wrath!"
"Wait, what?!" Dawson asks, but ducks down to avoid being punched by Rambo. "John, what in God's name is going on?!" he demands, but the boy mouse wasn't sure.
"I don't know!" he replies, just as Rambo tries to hit Dawson, again. The doctor gets to his feet and tries to reason with the strongman, but it was obvious that he wasn't listening. "Rambo stop it!" John demands, but the toy goes after Dawson.
"Oh no! This is bad!" the boy mouse said to himself and he hurries off to find his family and friends, he was going to need their help.
The chess game that Rupert and Basil were playing was nearing an end; Henry's son did put up with a fight by nearly winning, but Basil found a way to turn the tables. In the end, Basil traps Rupert's king piece with his rook and queen pieces. "Checkmate!" Basil exclaims.
Rupert lets out a frustrated groan, "How did you that?! I was so close!" the boy mouse shouts. The detective and his good friend and mentor, Henry chuckle a bit.
"Well, the one thing you need to have during a game is observation," Basil tells his young friend and they were about to go for a second round, when they hear shouts and cries.
"What was that?" Olivia asks her husband and then, they hear their son.
"MOM! DAD!" John cries and he comes running into their arms.
"John, what's the matter?" Basil asks and everyone gathers around him, but he struggles to catch his breath.
"I found...a toy...I brought it...to life...but it's...gone crazy and...wants to...kill Dawson..." John said in between breaths.
"What kind of toy is it?" Hiriam asks his grandson.
"It was...a human figure...of...The Great...Rambo...the strongman-" "Wait! The Great Rambo?!" Lulu asks in shock. Everyone looks at her, they sensed that something was wrong.
"Who is the Great Rambo?" Rupert asks, but then Basil suddenly remembers something.
"Arthur Martiman, he was psychologically unstable and he abused cocaine during his lifetime. That drug caused him to suffer from psychosis and hallucinations," the detective explains and adds, "In fact, it was in the year of 1900 that he went on a rampage at a circus in Cambridge. He seriously injured a lot of people and police had no choice but to shoot him as he was prepared to harm a woman and her husband."
"Daddy and I actually remember that," Olivia said and looks to her father, who nods, "It was quite a scandal for the circus industry. Afterward, most circuses forbid anyone with a history of drugs from getting employment."
"But I brought him to life, shouldn't he be listening to my commands?" John asks and the adults look at him.
"I'm afraid you also brought some of his aggressive side to life, as you do possess aggression yourself, therefore he will refuse to listen to you," Tsura said and she leads the group of mice towards the shouts from Dawson.
Meanwhile, Leana Basil had brought her grandfather, John Frederick to the top of the doll house. It was perched high above the ground, giving her the opportunity to try and cure her grandfather's fear.
"Okay, you can take it off!" she exclaims and John Frederick takes off the blindfold. His mind and body were overcome with immense fear as he stares down at the ground below.
"I was afraid of this," he said, his hands grip the railing of the doll house's balcony.
"It's all right Grandfather, the way I see it, it's like your flying," Leana said in an encouraging tone, but it was not helping. Then, they hear a noise and turn to see Dawson climbing up to the balcony of the doll house.
"Dawson, what are you doing here?" Leana asks, but he quiets her just as Rambo came around.
"You can run, but you cannot hide!" he shouts and begins to take the doll house apart by punching his way through the wooden exterior. The three mice begin to cry out in fear, but then the balcony began to crumble.
"OH!" John Frederick shouts, grabbing his granddaughter and he jumps off the balcony towards the safety of some stuffed animals.
Dawson was falling towards the floor, but was caught by Rambo and he looked raging mad. "PLEASE! I beg you! Show some mercy!" the doctor pleads, but the toy doesn't listen.
Basil, his wife and son, with the other mice, including the two witches arrive just as Rambo was about to deliver the first blow. "Rambo!" John shouts and pulls off one of his shoes. He throws it at the living toy, hitting him at the side of his head and he looks at the mouse.
"Listen Rambo! Dawson is my friend! He's not a bully!" John shouts at the strongman, who seats Dawson down on the ground. The toy locks eyes with the boy mouse and John notices a dark rage within him.
"I smell a challenge," Rambo said and rubs his knuckles. Basil stands between his son and the delusional strongman, he didn't want anything to happen to either one of his children.
"Now you listen you piece of filth!" Basil shouts, "You stand down and leave us alone!" The toy, however, refuses to obey and shows off his toned muscles.
"You are rather a selfish man," John said to the toy, which causes him to get angry. "I can see it in your eyes, you can't take criticism or tolerate any kind of order. Therefore, you refuse to show mercy to those who beg for it," John explains. Both Basil and Olivia look at their son in surprise, but the detective was glad that John deduced the toy's behavior.
Rambo lets out a roar, which scares everyone, but then, the two witches, Lulu and Tsura summon a restraining spell. "Time to cool your heels buster," Tsura said and looks at the boy mouse, "Okay John, you brought him to life, now it's time to put an end to this," she tells him.
Suddenly, Rambo breaks free of the spell and the mice take a few steps away. Tsura tries to restrain the toy, again, but he was too powerful to take down. "John! You have to stop him!" she urges, but the boy mouse didn't know what to do.
"You have to fight him!" Lulu shouts, "Once you show your dominance over him, he'll become a toy, again!" John and his parents look at one another; he wanted to protect his mother who was carrying his unborn sibling. He didn't want Rambo to hurt her, so he formulates a plan.
"I have an idea, but I think you're not going to like it," John said and tells them what to do.
Tsura and Lulu were quickly tired as they used much of their magic to stop Rambo, but he proved to be too strong. Hiriam, his wife Leana, Henry and his wife, Anne began to hit or throw things at the strongman, which only aggravated him.
Flora and her two brothers, Alfred and Rupert do their best to stop him by getting his attention. "Hey ugly!" John shouts and Rambo turns his head around to see him, "It's me that you want! You want a fight? You're going to have to catch me first!" he urges and runs into a maze of some kind, with Rambo following him.
John turns to see Rambo punching his way through the maze walls, but looks up to see his parents positioning themselves behind a human size doll. Once John was nearing the end, he shouts, "NOW!"
Basil and Olivia push on the doll, which was standing upright, but it falls face first, crashing on top of the strongman. The porcelain face shatters on impact and everything goes quiet.
"Is it dead?" Olivia asks, but her husband wasn't sure. Then, they see their son walk up to the doll, looking at the wreckage.
"John, stay away from there!" Basil shouts, but it was too late as the strongman's hand grabs at John. He emerges from the porcelain shards, his grip on the boy mouse's back.
"Leave him alone!" Olivia cries out, but Rambo ignores her. The other mice came to witness the spectacle, but Tsura and Lulu prevent the others from intervening as this was John's fight with the delusional toy.
"It's time to squish you, you rodent," he said in a low voice, "Then I'll tear the others to pieces," he adds and looks up at each of John's friends and family members, including his father and mother, Basil and Olivia. Then, something inside John filled his senses, he knew it was rage, but it was towards the toy who threatened his family.
"I won't let you get away with this," John said, but Rambo looks at him in the eye, he was challenging the little mouse. "In just a few seconds, I'm going to break your arm and kick you off this table. Then, I'll make that tunic of yours into a handkerchief," John asks, but Rambo just laughs in his face.
"And what makes you think you can do all that?" he scoffs, but sees the anger in John's eyes.
"CAUSE I'M A DOGGONE BASIL!" John shouts. Then, he flips backwards, pulling hard on the toy's arm and then they hear a snap. Rambo wails in agony, cradling his broken arm, it was out of its socket, shocking him and John's family and friends.
Tsura then shouts, "Nice going John!" He then charges at Rambo, hitting him in the stomach, causing him to fall backwards, nearing to the edge of the table.
"You won't defeat me!" Rambo yells, but then John climbs up a xylophone, coming eye to eye with his creation.
"Guess what Rambo? I already did!" John shouts and delivers a powerful kick at the toy's face, knocking out some teeth, but it was enough to send him off the table. Then, there was thud and everything goes quiet, again.
Tsura and Lulu help bring the mice down to the floor where the Rambo toy had fallen. The toy was lying there in pieces, but then they see a light emerge from the torso. "I got this!" Lulu said, summoning a spell that traps the light.
"What is that?" Henry asks and the others were curious.
"This is Mr. Martiman's soul," Lulu said and they see a human man within the light. They then watch some of the memories play out within the orb, including the devastation he did at the circus.
"John here summoned his soul out of Hell, which took occupancy within the toy," Tsura adds and they look at the boy mouse. "Now I know you haven't heard of Mr. Martiman's actions, but sometimes you got to be very careful. Some mortals did some really horrible things when they were alive, which is why it's best to keep their souls where they belong."
John looks at his parents, but then, his eyes filled with tears. "I'm really sorry," he said. Then, Basil and Olivia enclose him in their embrace. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I thought I impress all of you, but I guess I became obsessed in becoming a strongman myself," he adds and looks at Dawson, "I'm really sorry for letting that brute go after you. I should've listened to you," he said.
"Oh, my dear boy, you actually did listen to me, in a way," Dawson replies and he looks at him, "You were brave enough to show him of what you are made of. Why, I would probably do the same if that Rambo went after you or your sister," he finishes and John hugs him.
"Speaking of which, where's Leana?" Sarah asks, referring to her granddaughter, but then realizes that her husband, John Frederick was also missing. Then, a hot air balloon comes to a landing and John Frederick climbs out of the basket with Leana.
"Where did you two go?" Basil asks and looks at the hot air balloon. "Did you...but how did...?"
"Well, this young lady took it upon herself to try and cure my fear of heights," his father answers and Basil looks at his daughter.
"I am really sorry, I thought it would be easy, but I wasn't expecting everything to go wrong," Leana explains, but then her grandfather chuckles.
"Actually, if it wasn't for that strange toy, I wouldn't have been able to get over my fear of heights," John Frederick replies and looks back at the balloon, "I'm starting to like going up high. Maybe I'll treat you to a hot air balloon excursion some day," he adds and his son, Elliott Basil was surprised at how his father changed.
"Tsura," Olivia said, turning to the witch, "I have a question. You remember reading John and Leana's palms? And you saw their futures?" Tsura holds up a hand, stopping her from talking any further.
"Actually, I didn't see their futures, although I did get a glimpse of it, but the truth is, I observed their behaviors and witches like us can see it in the palm of a mortal's hand. As I recall, John has some unchecked aggression, but he does balance it out with devotion for his loved ones. He does have a wild imagination and loves dark or scary stories.
"Leana loves her family, a lot in fact, and she thinks of you before herself. What I am trying to say is that everyone's futures is not set in stone; sometimes people will change a dream or change the way they want to achieve it," Tsura explains.
"So with John, he might be a professional boxer or an author, but he could do one or both?" Sarah asks and Tsura nods.
"You know, he could make a career with one or both, but he still has plenty of years ahead for him to decide what dream to pursue. The same for Leana," she answers and looks at the twins, "What I like about youngsters is that they sometimes look at the careers of their parents and would want to pursue the same path. However, they can pursue a different path, it's their choice," she said and looks at Basil and Olivia.
"I do believe you two had a dream put into motion when you got back together, but Mr. Basil, you-" the detective stops her from talking any further.
"Yes, I had a dream of marrying a woman who wanted to go on adventures with me and have children with her. My mother always wanted to go on adventures, but the time we lived in didn't exactly accept women as the adventurous type," Basil replies and his mother, Sarah nods with a smile.
"I just love listening to other people's wishes or what they desire, don't you Lulu?" Tsura asks her student, who nods. She then gasps as if she remembered something, "Olivia, there is some magic that lets you see into the future, but as I understand it's difficult to maintain. In fact, it does give the viewer either devastating or good results.
"If you want my honest opinion, it's best not speak of the future, because, as I mentioned, nothing is set in stone. Everyone should forge their own path," Tsura finishes and then they hear the chiming of clock, but not a clock tower. It was a little clock that most would set for the bedside. It chimed for 4:30 in the morning. The sun would rise within 20 minutes or so.
"This was a rather interesting time we had," Hiriam said and his grandchildren hug him. "I always look forward to spending time with you," he adds.
"Same here," John said and then he asks, "Do you think you can make a strongman toy for my birthday? Nothing like Rambo or Mr. Martiman, but maybe one who was good and didn't abuse drugs."
"I'd be happy to make a strongman toy for you, but maybe of a mouse and not a human. I believe your grandmother would like to make a handkerchief out of that tunic there," Hiriam replies, pointing to the leopard skin tunic the toy was wearing. His wife, Leana chuckles a bit and tears off a bit of the tunic and examines it.
"This might take some time to make into a handkerchief, but I'm pretty sure I can make it work," she said and John gives them a choking hug. "Gracious me! You're pretty strong yourself," his grandmother, Leana chuckles.
"I think we should prepare a birthday party for these two, much like for Olivia's," John Frederick suggests and the twins nod excitedly.
"Can you take us on that hot air balloon excursion you mentioned?" Leana asks her grandfather, who lets out a laugh.
"You young lady are most certainly the daring type. I'm glad you helped me in conquering my fear of heights," he said and gives her a kiss on the forehead. It was then that the dream realm started to distort and fade from sight.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Both Basil and Olivia peek their eyes open, just to see the first rays of sunlight peek their window. Then, the door opens to reveal their children, John and Leana and they cuddle up with their parents.
"That was pretty fun," Basil said and looks at his son, "John, I sincerely hope you don't bring any other indecent strongmen to life while in the dream realm."
"I won't," he replies and rubs his eyelids.
"You know, I bet you will put all those strongmen, past and present to shame," Olivia said, "I am proud of what you did, although I was afraid that Mr. Martiman would really hurt you."
"I admit, I did think of what would Rambo or Mr. Martiman would do to you or Dad, and I guess that made me angry at him. Then I did what I did. Dad did think of the horrible things that Ratigan would do to you and that made him pursue that rat's hideout. Even though it was a trap, he still wanted to put an end to his reign of terror, and that's what I want to do when we chase after horrid rodents," John explains and Basil gives him a squeezing hug.
"You do have a soft spot," Leana teases her brother, but he did seem embarrassed.
"I can't wait for the trip to Linlithgow," John said and his parents and sister were also eager. For now, they would have to wait for at least two more weeks, but in the meantime, they would have to occupy themselves with a mystery case.
"OH!" Olivia gasps and Basil looks at her in shock.
"Olivia, what's wrong?" he asks, but notices the smile on her face. She takes his hand and places it on her abdomen. The baby's movement was little, but otherwise noticeable. The twins then place their hands on their mother's abdomen, feeling their sibling move about.
"I think she is eager to meet the two of you," Olivia said to her children, but then adds, "Or him. I don't know why, but I always thought that I was pregnant with one girl when I was carrying you two. Now, I still think this will be a girl."
John places an ear on his mother's stomach, even though the baby's heartbeat was barely noticeable. "Wish I had ears that can hear like Dawson's stethoscope," he said, but then the tiny baby gives a kick or a punch. "Ow! That hurt," John said, rubbing the side of his cheek.
"Must mean she doesn't like you being in her space, or possibly he doesn't like it," Leana replies and they chuckle a bit. The family take a brief moment in bed before they rose to prepare themselves for a new day ahead.
From the author: I will admit, the human toy shop was my favorite scene in the original movie, so I thought of creating a chapter that involved the detective, his family, including their deceased loved ones going there. I find it fascinating, but also strange in altering a memory, although having a big imagination does help a lot in wanting to relive a memory.
As Tsura mentioned, the future is not set in stone, so John and Leana's futures are not yet in place as they are still pretty young. The best thing for them, as well as everyone else is to live in the moment. Take care my good readers!