Story 30: One Final Day of Summer Fun
September 22nd, 1913
A new school week had began for the many school children attending the various educational institutions all around London. It was a rather dreary day as nasty gray clouds blocked the sun and rain had fallen for much of the morning and early afternoon.
The rain did stop in time as the children were dismissed to go home or attend to after school activities. At the residence of the Romney family, their children, son Milton and adopted daughter Winnie were attending a meeting at the Detective Appreciation Club, held under the tree stump in the back yard.
Their good friends, including John and Leana Basil were to bid a "sad farewell" to the official last day of summer. Before the sending off could commence, there was a knock at the entrance door and the boy mouse guarding it asks, "Password?"
"Rue Morgue," the adult male voice answers, referencing the Edgar Allen Poe short story and the boy welcomes the famed mouse detective, Basil of Baker Street. Basil was told of the meeting, in which he wanted to be a part of, but had overlooked the time.
"So sorry I'm late, hope I didn't keep you waiting," he apologizes as his children lead him to the center of the room.
"Actually you made it just in time," Milton said and then he and a few male youngsters, including John push the table aside to reveal a pit. The members were given stem glasses filled with an orange liquid. Basil recognizes the smell of the orange fruit and Milton draws everyone's attention.
"Alas my fellow peers, we must say goodbye to another summer," the boy mouse said and Basil hears a few sniffles among the members. "Even though it feels summer has left us early, but we will look forward to the first warm day of summer in the year of 1914! Here's to the summer of 1913! Farewell good friend!" Milton finishes and everyone takes a swig of the juice. It tasted tart, but otherwise a nice beverage that reminded Basil of the bright sun.
"If only summer lasted for a few more weeks," one of the 'researchers' members said. "Then we would be having so much fun by the creek," she adds.
"There's a creek nearby?" Basil asks and a few of the children nod.
"We kind of host a scavenger hunt the week after we get out of school. Find things that might belong to someone, but much of the time we let our imaginations run wild," Winnie explains and that got Basil's attention.
"Last year, we pretended that there was this giant sea monster gobbling us up," the chemist girl said, "I almost saved the day, but my potion on shrinking the monster didn't exactly work. Instead it made it bigger."
Basil listens to the story of the club members battling the 'sea monster', to which the 'communications' group scared it away with a nasty blare of screeching static from the ham radio.
"A daunting battle for sure," the detective chuckles and asks to look over the formula the girl mouse made that she tried to use. "Hmmmmm, try some sodium chloride. Might not actually shrink the sea monster, but might cause some shriveling of its skin."
"Oh, like sprinkling salt on a slug?" the chemist girl asks and the detective gives a slight nod.
"Sea monsters are bigger than slugs, so it takes time for their skin to dehydrate," Basil said and the chemist girl goes to work on the potion.
"We just like to be normal kids, but I guess we would be considered 'freaks' or something by the other kids," Winnie replies, to which Basil disagreed.
"Don't let others take you down with hurtful words," he tells the members, "You know, all of you have far brighter minds than the ones who wish to follow the social etiquette. You're still too young to completely follow those rules," he then lowers his voice, "Rules that were designed by stupid, old fools who obviously didn't know how to have fun."
There was a round of laughter and then the adolescent members bring in charcoal and some dried bean leaves and stalks. "What are those for?" Basil asks, while watching them fill the pit with the charcoal and kindling.
Then some of the 'researchers' bring a pile of black and white paper photos; a member takes one and Basil realizes they were old newspaper photographs of well known criminals, both alive and deceased.
The leader of the researchers gives him a newspaper clipping featuring the caption: RATIGAN DEAD!
The photograph attached to the news story was of the rat's wanted poster with large words "DEAD" across it. "My father works as a photo developer at one of London's big newspaper companies and sometimes if there's a big story, they tend to make a whole bunch of papers. Usually there are some papers left over and stored away.
"When I started this club, I asked my father if I could take the unsold papers for our ritual," the girl mouse said.
"Ritual?" Basil asks and notices that a fire was going in the pit. The smoke did escape through a hole under the stump.
"With the sun shining less bright come this winter, let us show the living and the dead crooks of what true suffering is like," Milton said in a dramatic voice, taking his photograph of a criminal, spitting at the face and throwing it into the fire.
"We spit on the faces of the crooks in these photos and burn them," Winnie finally explains to Basil. "It's kind of a silly tradition, but you feel relief in some way. Milton said it's a way of making criminals, either dead or alive envious of what we have, although I think the dead criminals would be more jealous."
Basil looks at the wanted poster of Ratigan; the rat and his family were a spiteful pair as they took from hard working rodents or kill to get what they want. The detective has a brief flashback of the battle in the dream realm back in June of this year. Ratigan and his cronies, Felicia and Fidget were sent back to the River Styx, a domain where the souls of the condemned are left to float for all eternity.
Tsura, the family's good friend mentioned that the condemned are never given the chance to be reborn to the Earth realm, unlike the Hell realm where confused or troubled souls would be given another chance to make a meaningful impact while alive. Basil did believe that the wicked should never be given a second chance at life.
"I hope you're still stewing in your own muck," Basil said to the Ratigan in the photo before spitting on it. He then throws it into the burning pit, watching the rat's face disintegrate, reminding him of the burning of the portrait Basil use to have on the fireplace mantle.
The other club members do the same to their pictures, including John and Leana. Basil did not get the chance to see which criminals they choose to burn, but he did feel some sense of relief.
"Oh Daddy! Tell them about the time you actually spat in Ratigan's face!" his daughter, Leana exclaims and that got everyone's attention.
"You spat in that rat's face?!" "What was it like?!" "How did he react?!" Questions were being hurled at the detective, who puts his hands up, ushering them to calm down and they went silent.
"It was actually the time before Mr. Henry Walker asked me to be his apprentice. I tried to stop a few kidnappers, but ended up being taken, too. When that rat got close to me, I took that opportunity to show how revolting he was to me.
"He was disgusted, but I thought he was going to strangle me. Well, he did recognize me from the meeting I infiltrated on behalf of Mr. Walker and for some reason he decided to not kill me then," Basil explains to the club members; some took copies of the rat's wanted poster and spat at them before throwing them into the burning pit.
"That scroungy rat did get what he deserved," one of the older members said and places a hand on the shoulder of the rat boy, who was part of the puzzle breakers. "Victor here has been bullied for no good reason, other than being a rat," he said and his friend nods.
"My sister Winnie here has also been bullied, mostly by the Easton sisters," Milton said.
Basil looks at the other rat children, they were fewer as there were more mice members, but they didn't see them as the enemy. "You know, a good friend of ours said Ratigan and his family gave rats a bad name," John tells the members, "It would be nice if all of the mice saw other rats as good and not commit any crimes to survive."
"That is true and Scotland Yard brought a few rats into the force," Basil replies and that did excite the rat children. "In fact, I recall that many places are starting to open up and hire rats; hospitals, hotels, even Parliament, but unfortunately, part of society still see them as 'untrustworthy'."
"Well, here at our club, we don't tolerate discrimination of any kind," Milton said in a proud voice, "We don't care what species you are, or what class you're from or what gender, and so forth."
"Amen Milton!" one of the older members shout. "I think you should run for Parliament when you get older," he adds.
"Nah, I'll stick to my original plan. Becoming a lawyer for those who have been unlawfully denied the opportunity for employment or get a loan or all of those necessities in life," Milton said, which surprises Basil.
"Oh gracious me," he said, "You would make a fine lawyer. Pretty sure you'll put those proud mice to shame."
"Thanks Mr. Basil," Milton replies, "Mind if I ask what university would have the best law study?" he asks.
"Well, I went to the University of London, but I'm thinking you would want to try some place much more bigger, like Cambridge or Oxford," Basil answers, but Milton thinks about it.
"But I shouldn't think about that if I were you," Basil adds, "You're still pretty young and have plenty of time to think of where you want to go and such. In fact, I have a hard time thinking of John and Leana growing up so fast," he said and his son groans.
"What?" his sister Leana asks.
"He doesn't have to say that in front of everyone," John replies, he did sound a bit embarrassed.
"Well everyone, I say we draw this day to a close, seeing that we have no case and it will be dark soon," Milton said and the older members pour dirt onto the burning fire, smothering the flames.
"On a end note, may the souls of the condemned be shown no mercy for the 'darker half' of the year," he adds in a spooky voice.
Basil, the twins and the club members bid a good night and looked forward to another day at the club, with the hopes of solving a crime for the detective. "A rather unusual ritual, but it was reviving for some reason," Basil tells his children.
"Yeah, it does feel good to spit in the faces of those crooks, even though I would like to really do it to a living crook," John replies.
"Actually, it's best not to do so, you would get them seriously mad," his father warns as they continue their walk towards Baker Street. The dark clouds were thick, blocking out the sun like always and it did feel that the 'darker half' of the year had arrived.
"Daddy?" Leana said and Basil looks at her, "Will Dawson retire soon?" she asks. The question made the detective's stomach turn. He did recall the conversation he had with Dawson as the doctor was getting old and he had the desire to have a family of his own.
"Well sweetheart, I believe he will retire," he answers and continues, "You see, Dawson was upset on the death of his friend, mostly because Dr. Morgan didn't have a wife or children. I just want Dawson to be happy. If he wishes to marry Jodie and have children with her, then we should offer our support for them."
"But would that mean he will leave us?" John asks.
"Yes, he will have to move out of our home," Basil answers in a sad tone, "Where? I am not sure. Either he'll stay here in London or move up to Scarborough, although I'm pretty sure he will drop in now and then, and even spend a few holidays with us."
"It would be nice to play with Dawson's little ones," Leana said in a sweet tone and John nods in agreement.
"Maybe he'll have some boys and I'll pretend they're my brothers. Then I'll teach them how to be-" "Now John," Basil warns, "Dawson is not young like me. I can handle your punches, but he can't."
"I was just going to say on teaching his sons to defend themselves," John finishes, but his father crosses his arms.
"Which means they'll use Dawson as a punching bag," Basil said and John lets out a frustrated sigh.
"I am going to miss him and Mrs. Judson, when she moves out in November," Leana replies, wanting to change the subject.
"I'm sure Mrs. Judson will drop in for a visit, although she will be coming back before the baby is born in December," Basil said, which did excite his children. They make it to the front door of their home and enter inside.
The twins rush in to hug their mother, who was seated in her chair by the fire, listening to the orchestra playing on the new radio. "Did you have a fun time at the club?" Olivia asks her children.
"We had a bit of a ceremony; we bid farewell to the last day of summer. I wonder if we can have one more fun day of summer in the dream realm," Leana said and her parents did like the sound of it.
"Would be nice to swim in the ocean on a warm day then what it is now," Dawson replies, peeking up from the newspaper he was reading. John and Leana go over to give him a hug. "Goodness me, seems I thought of a good idea," he adds, but the twins shake their heads.
"It just won't be the same without you around," John answers, which shocks Dawson. The doctor looks at his partner, who gives an uneasy look on his face as he puts his robe on.
"Oh, I'll be missing you every day, but I can assure you that it will be a while before I officially retire," Dawson said, which calmed the twins a bit from their misery. They did look to him as a surrogate uncle, even though it irritated them a bit when he got worried.
"Do you think you'll stay here in London or move up to Scarborough to be with Jodie?" John asks.
"That is difficult to say; I do want to live close by here, so I can see you, but if Jodie prefers to stay in Scarborough, as she has to in order to work at the school, then I suppose I'll move up there. However, we haven't gotten serious yet, although I just remembered something," Dawson said and looks to Basil.
"I wish to take some time away in about two weeks. Jodie did invite me to attend a 'Halloween' party and I do want to make our-" "Say no more my good friend," Basil cuts in, "You take as much time as you want to."
"Tell us what autumn is like up in Scarborough," Olivia said and Dawson nods.
"I have a suggestion," Leana said and she looks at Dawson, "Why not ask Tsura in inviting Jodie to visit while we sleep? I'm sure she misses you and visiting her every night might ease the long distance anxiety."
"A good idea, don't know why I didn't ask Tsura over the summer," Dawson replies. Then, there was a knock and Mrs. Judson goes to answer, but it was the postal rodent, delivering the daily mail.
"Speaking of your friend, Dr. Dawson, there's a letter from her," the elderly female mouse said, handing him an envelope addressed to him. Dawson opens the envelope to read the letter.
My dearest David,
I know that you plan on coming to visit and attend our Halloween party in just about a week or two, but I just can't wait to tell you!
Lizzy is pregnant!
Dawson stops when the Basil family let out audible gasps. "Lizzy's having a baby?!" Leana exclaims and she and her brother John do a little dance, which was more like jumping with joy.
They hush so Dawson can continue and he resumes.
Auguste and Lizzy did decide to wait in the hopes we would be financially secure with the dancing school and with that achieved, I'm just so excited in finally becoming an aunt! The baby is excepted to arrive in early May of 1914! So exciting!
In other news, Aiden and Kitty are becoming rather intimate and I do hear wedding bells for them soon. I understand that your young friend, John Basil is close to Kitty, but it's not certain that Aiden and Kitty will be getting married, although young Master John is way too young for Kitty.
Do excuse me for writing in such haste, but it has been nothing but good news so far. However, I do miss you David and your friends, the Basil family. I can't wait for you to come to visit and spend time with you. I hope you dress up for our Halloween party.
Ever yours,
Jodie
There was a heavy silence in the air when Dawson finishes and the doctor presses his tear ducts. "Dawson, are you all right?" Olivia asks her faithful friend.
"I'm all right Olivia," he replies, but he shakes his head, "Actually, no I'm not. I mean, Jodie will be the only one out of her sisters still unmarried and such, but I just feel happy for her. She will be caring for a niece or nephew soon and honestly, it does feel wonderful to spoil a child that is not your own," he adds and a few tears escape from his eyes.
"Oh Dawson," Leana said and hugs him, with John joining in. "We think of you as our uncle, but we do want you to be happy. Please, don't be sad now." Dawson holds the twins close to his bosom and he smiles.
"I always thought of you as my niece and nephew, although I still want to have children of my own," Dawson said, whipping away his tears.
"It would be nice to treat your kids like cousins or little brothers or sisters. Still want a little brother," John replies, whispering the last part, and Dawson laughs at this.
"Who knows? Maybe you will get a little brother," Dawson said to John and Rachel calls for dinner time. Mrs. Judson and Rachel had made a pork sausage and mash potatoes dish, as Olivia was craving for meat as usual.
"With Olivia eating so much meat, she'll have a feisty baby," Mrs. Judson comments. Olivia then lets out a surprised yelp and chuckles a bit, while rubbing her stomach.
"I think she heard you Mrs. Judson," Olivia said, referring to the baby, who was indeed becoming a bit spunky.
"Can't wait for Christmas, she or he is going to get really spoiled every year," Leana said and begins to think, "I wonder what toys Granddaddy will make for the baby."
"I'm sure he has got it all planned," Basil assures her, "But it will be All Hallows Eve or Halloween soon. I do like the latter better for some reason," he adds and helps clear the table.
"Speaking of All Hallows Eve," John said and looks to Mrs. Judson and Rachel, "Do you think you make costumes for us? Milton is going to invite us to his birthday, which happens to be the day before All Hallows Eve. He did say everyone must dress up."
"We'd be happy to make you costumes and for Dr. Dawson for when he attends Jodie's Halloween party. Oh, this year has flown rather quickly and very soon I'll be moving out," Mrs. Judson said, her voice hinted with sadness.
"But you be here for when the baby comes?" Leana asks and Mrs. Judson nods.
"I most certainly will. Now, let's see what costumes you would want," she said and has the twins tell her of their thoughts.
"I thought of being a dragon, black and green, with some sharp teeth," John said, opening his mouth wide to reveal his teeth and giving a bit of a growl. Basil and Olivia return to the living room, just as Leana gives her answer.
"I thought of dressing in Daddy's Inverness cape and deerstalker hat," she replies, which surprised Basil, but he knew deep down that she wanted to be like him. "Oh, Daddy can I borrow your magnifying glass?" she asks, pointing to the detective's valuable item at the writing desk. He retrieves it and gives it to her.
"Yes you may, but only for that one occasion. Maybe I should get you one for Christmas, should've gotten you one for your birthday," he replies and brings his cape and hat. It was obvious that the cape was too big, but the hat fit the girl's head.
"Not sure if this will be my style of dress when I become a detective," Leana said, which made Olivia chuckle a bit. The little girl mouse then takes out her father's pipe, the essence of tobacco emanated from the bowl. "Oh I hate that smell," Leana said, making a disgusted face.
Basil takes the pipe out of her hand and puts his cape back, but lets his daughter wear the hat for a bit longer. She holds her father's magnifying glass with gentle hands; she did recall her grandmother, Basil's mother giving to him for his 15th birthday many years ago.
She places it back at the writing desk, just so Mrs. Judson could take her measurements. "Rachel, can you come here for a moment?" Mrs. Judson asks and her daughter appears. Her mother then asks her to bring her sketchbook and coloring pencils.
"Dawson, what will be your disguise?" Leana asks her good friend.
"Come to think of it, I have no idea," he answers, but John had a solution.
"You should go as a Ottoman sultan. You did stay in Constantinople when you served in the Regiment, right?" John asks, in which Dawson nods.
"I did for some time before going to Afghanistan, but the seriously wounded were transported to Constantinople," the doctor answers and lets out a sigh. "It does feel good to relive some of those memories. If the fighting was not terrible, then a few colleagues and I would spend a day or two exploring the nearby market place.
"Oh those beautiful Oriental rugs were a delight to the eyes and I am starting to smell that saffron," Dawson explains and the twins listened as he continues, "Wish I could've bought one of those Afghan rugs, but I had to travel light when I returned home to London. And that was when I first met your mother and father here."
"Do you think you want to go back to Afghanistan or maybe Turkey?" Leana asks, but Dawson and Basil look at one another.
"Well we did go to Turkey," Basil said and the twins look at their father, "It was was just a year before your mother came back, but we'll share that case some other time. It is getting late."
"Oh, but I love hearing your past cases," Leana asks and looks at Dawson, "What was the case about?"
"We were pursuing some brutes who had kidnapped a well respected lawyer and was being held for ransom, but I don't want to go into too much detail," he answers and the twins frown. They prepare themselves for bedtime and rest their heads on the pillows.
The adults did stay up for a bit more as Rachel had finished her sketches on the Halloween costumes. "What do you think?" she asks, showing the designs. John's dragon costume had a few spikes and two wings on its back, with a long black tail and the head rested on top of the boy's head. The eyes and stomach were colored green, the same with the claws.
Leana's was a smaller version of Basil's Inverness cape, complete with the green ascot, brown trousers and white shirt. Dawson's was a colorful looking royal sultan gown; the vest and trousers were red, with a deep red kaftan or long robe, and a white headdress with a few red feathers stood tall on the doctor's sketched head.
"Gracious me," Dawson comments, "Now that does look like something a king would want to wear. You do have a great talent, Mrs. Fitzgerald," he said to the up and coming housekeeper for the Basil family.
"Thank you Dr. Dawson," Rachel replies and looks over the sketches, "Wonder if we have enough material."
"Don't worry love," Mrs. Judson said to her daughter, "I'm always up to buying more fabric."
"Well, Mrs. Judson, like you did with our Guy Fawkes costumes, I'm putting my complete faith in you and Miss Rachel," Basil said to his housekeeper before going off to bed with his wife. It would be difficult to adjust with Mrs. Judson no longer living in his home.
Basil and Olivia lie down in their bed, with the detective spooning his wife close to him. "I can tell you don't want things to change so fast, neither do I," Olivia whispers.
"With Mrs. Judson leaving soon and maybe Dawson will, too. At least I have you, the twins and this little one, but I would hate to lose a good friend and helper, however, I do want you to fill his shoes," Basil replies. Olivia wasn't sure how to respond, but Basil adds, "You are very smart, Dawson is smart in his own way, but can be a bit of a klutz. He still brings excitement to the cases we are assigned to."
Olivia chuckles a little, "I am not sure if I will be as clumsy as him, but I do want to bring amusement when I join you on your cases," she said.
"You always bring amusement," Basil whispers, nibbling her ear lobe and caressing her breasts. They were tender and full of milk; an idea comes to his head, when they would be alone, he wanted to taste Olivia's milk.
"You're turning me on Elliott," Olivia warns. Basil stops caressing her bosom and gives her a deep kiss. The kiss was passionate and it lasted for a long moment. When it was over, Olivia looks up at him, her arm placed around his head. "You are a good kisser you know," she said.
"I saved the better ones for you," he replies and kisses her forehead before they fell asleep.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
In the Heaven realm, the Basil family and Dawson came upon Hiriam, his wife Leana, Basil's parents John Frederick and Sarah, and Henry and his family. "You made just in time," John Frederick said to his son and grandchildren. Argus was strapped to a much bigger carriage, but Draco, Olympia and Hermina were saddled up.
"We got a message from Tsura and Lulu, they want us to bring you to the market place," Leana Flaversham said, which excites the children.
"I would like to see the market place; I don't think we've been out of this valley before," John replies.
"It's because we wanted to have fun with Granddaddy, Grandmama and everyone else here," his twin sister said. The two of them climb on Hermina's back, with their parents getting on Draco and Olympia.
Hiriam leads the way by driving Argus down the dirt path and away from the homestead. A cold breeze blew in all of a sudden and that's when Basil and Olivia notice that some of the leaves on the trees had turned color.
"Were all of these leaves green yesterday?" Basil asks.
"The change of seasons here in the Heaven realm literally commence on the actual day, with the autumn equinox happening tomorrow. It'll be very different when you come visit tomorrow," Hiriam explains and everyone else nods.
"Best wear something warm and cozy," Henry tells Basil and his family.
"It would be nice to have one final fun day of summer," John said as they come upon to the top of a hill. Below, they see a cleared plain where tents or stands were set up and a crowd of rodents were roaming about.
Argus continues onward and Olivia sniffs the air; it was filled with lovely smelling aromas. Basil takes a sniff, too, and he did detect some scents that he thought he never smell, again.
"Hmmmmm, I do smell some of that Afghan saffron," Dawson said and the carriage comes to a stop just outside the market. The doctor jumps out and walks up to the stand where it was selling different spices. He finds a bottle of red saffron and opens the cork to take a sniff. "Ohhhhhh, I've missed this smell," he said.
Then Hiriam urges him to put it back down. "Another thing we should tell you; since we don't have to worry about finances, the thing about the market place is that sellers will ask for a trade. I've traded my best toys for some necessities like silverware and such," he explains.
"Amazing," Dawson said, putting the bottle down.
"I'll tell you what, I'll bring some toys here and trade for the saffron," Hiriam replies, which made Dawson smile.
"You would do that? Thank you," he said, but then the twins let out a gasp.
"Would there be a stand that sells Oriental rugs? Dawson always wanted one," Leana asks her grandfather.
"I'm not sure, some new stands do show up, so might do some exploring," Hiriam replies and they walk around the market place. Much of the stands were selling smaller versions of the human produce, such as apples, lemons, lettuce, and even turnips.
"Oh! All Hallows Eve is coming! Which means we'll be craving faces on turnips!" John exclaims, but his grandfather John Frederick laughs and points to the round orange colored squash.
"I prefer these pumpkins. Their insides are much softer and make it easier to hollow out than a turnip," he said and his grandchildren gaze at the pumpkins. They had heard of the produce from North America, but they never seen them before.
"Have you been celebrating All Hallows Eve since you came here?" Basil asks his parents.
"Sometimes, but when Hiriam came along, he and Leana do host the best parties. Ones that I wish that London society provided, but we lived in a different era. Makes we wish I had some fun while I was alive," John Frederick answers.
"Daddy did say something that society's rules were made by-!" John slaps a hand over his sister's mouth, surprising her.
"What did your father tell you?" their grandfather asks, but then looks at his son, Elliott. While John Frederick was strict, he did have a gentle nature that Basil never noticed when his father was alive. The two didn't have a good relationship, often getting into arguments on Basil's future and his defiance against his father's rules.
However, John Frederick did appear he had changed, taking on a humble personality. Basil lets out a sigh and says, "I said that society's rules were made by stupid, old fools who didn't know to have fun."
John Frederick looks at his son with a surprised expression and then, he starts to laugh. "You know Elliott, it's true," he said, placing an arm around Basil and adds, "But with you and your family visiting every night, I suppose this would be the time to make up for those lost fun times we didn't make together."
Basil thought he was going to burst into tears when his father said that, but instead he gives him a hug, which John Frederick returns. The others look at this, but they didn't notice the shadow coming up from behind them.
Rupert and the twins noticed first and let out a horrified scream when they see a scary looking creature. It was black with scales and sharp fangs, it did look like a dragon as it had wings. The adults turn around and were about to fight the creature, when it lets out a laugh.
The creature's features change to feature Fonso. "Did you see the look on your faces?" he asks, but no one else was laughing.
"FONSO!" a female voice shouts and then Lulu and Tsura appear from behind a costume stand with Toby the Basset Hound following. The children rush up to their good witch friends, who give them comforting hugs. "You really know how to terrify others," Lulu said in an angry voice. Toby lets out a growl at Fonso once he saw his master's children looking scared.
"Oh come on, it was fun, admit it," he replies, but then feels someone tap his shoulder. He turns around to see Hiriam and then, he delivers a powerful punch at Fonso's nose.
The guardian witch takes a few steps backwards, rubbing his nostril. "Now that really hurt," he mutters.
"Serves you right for scaring the little ones," Hiriam replies and his grandson gives a look of delight.
"Fonso just loves it when Halloween or All Hallows Eve rolls in; it is one of those times of the year where you can get away with pranks," Tsura said and looks at the children, who hug her, again.
"Where have you been? You've been gone for...more than a week maybe?" Leana asks.
"So sorry kiddos, but we were preparing for the change of seasons and since we were gone for 60 years, we kinda forgot about it," Tsura replies and explains, "Witches like us are responsible for the change of seasons, both in the Heaven and mortal realms."
"Really? In the mortal realm?" Olivia asks, but Tsura laughs a little.
"Just kidding, the Earth realm has its own magic to change the seasons," she answers and goes down to the twins' level. "Listen, summer is not officially over, so why don't we have one last night of summer fun?" she asks.
"Oh that would be wonderful!" Leana exclaims and Tsura places both her hands on the twins' heads.
"Now, when you think of summer, what comes to your mind?" she asks.
"The beach!" "Swimming!" the two exclaim at once and Tsura chuckles, again.
"My thoughts exactly," she said and summons everyone in a circle, including Toby. "Now, think of a place that would have the best beach. I do prefer warm water over cold, with plenty of sunshine and no one else around," the witch tells the twins.
"Oh! I think I have a place in mind," John said and his sister looks at him, who nods.
"Great, now relax and I'll help you make that vision a reality, so to speak," Tsura replies and summons her staff, but they notice that Fonso was walking away. "Hey Fonso, where are you going?"
"I have an urgent engagement, so you go on without me," he replies, but everyone gives him a cold stare.
"You're not planning anything drastic are you?" Lulu asks her cousin, who shakes his head. "If you perform one more prank, I'll tear those wings off you!" she warns, pointing a finger at him.
"Don't get your head scarf tied up in a knot, dear cousin," Fonso replies and flies away from the group of friends.
"I really hate that mouse," Lulu murmurs and turns back to the twins.
"All right, you ready?" Tsura asks John and Leana, who nod excitedly. "Now focus hard on the location you want to go to and we'll be there before you can say 'summer fun'!"
John and Leana look at one another and shut their eyes. Tsura's staff gives off an ominous glow, a bubble appears and surrounds the group of mice. Basil notices the market disappearing and the world changes dramatically.
The bubble pops and everyone notices the sand under their feet, but look at the rocky arches surrounding the spit of beach. The water was crystal clear and the color of bluish green. "What is this place?" Sarah asks.
"I thought of a secluded beach on a Greek island in the Mediterranean, figured it would be better than Scarborough's beach," John said, but then Leana jumps into the water and dives down.
"Leana?!" Basil calls out and was about to panic when she didn't surface.
"Relax Mr. Basil, I think she's got it under control," Tsura replies, but the detective gasps when he sees his daughter's clothes floating to the surface.
"Where is she?!" he pleads, but then notices something unusual swim by him. He couldn't see the strange figure clearly and leans in to look more closely, just as a head pops up.
"Hi Daddy!" Leana greets him.
"Leana, what in the world are you doing?" he asks and she laughs for a moment.
"I always thought of swimming like a mermaid, an actual mermaid and..." she trails off and then a pink scaly fish tail pops up from the water, "Look at my tail!" she exclaims and the others were stunned.
"Whoa," John said, amazed at his sister for becoming a mermaid. Basil rubs his eyes for a moment, but then picks his daughter out of the water; it was true, there was a beautiful pink fish tail from her waist down.
"Excellent job Leana!" Tsura said, "Now you're a natural with your imagination."
"Daddy, can you put me down?" Leana asks her father, who obliges and the little girl mouse swims around.
"Incredible," Dawson comments and then, begins to think. Then, his clothes change to that of swim wear and he takes a few steps into the water, "This is actually quite nice," he comments.
"All right everyone, lets enjoy this last day of summer fun!" Tsura shouts and the friends and family partake in a delightful sunny day at the beach. Tsura and Lulu settle in some beach chairs, taking in the sun's rays.
The Basil family, with their loved ones and even Toby swim around the warm ocean water. Leana Flaversham and Sarah decide to become mermaids themselves and swim around with their granddaughter, Leana Basil. Anne and Flora did the same, amazed by the new ability to actually breathe under the water. Toby, due to his gigantic size, creates big waves for the mice to ride in and sometimes get the two witches wet, but they dry themselves with a spell.
Basil and Olivia were floating aimlessly in the water, it did feel wonderful to not have a care in the world. On the beach, John was with his grandfathers, who were playing soldiers by creating little soldiers out of sand, using John's imagination.
"Ah, this is the life," Tsura comments, her hands resting on the back of her head.
"Um, excuse me Miss Tsura?" she hears Dawson and she looks up at him. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"
"And what is this favor?" the witch asks.
"You see, I miss Jodie and I was wondering if there is a possibility for her to come and visit the dream realm when we sleep?" Dawson said and Tsura scratches her chin, but gives a grin.
"You like Miss Jodie?" she asks, which causes Dawson to blush a bit. "Oh I understand, although I hear long distance relationships never work out, but listen. Since you and your friends have done so much for me and Lulu earlier this year, I'll have a talk with the superiors. They'll probably not want to see me, but I'll pester them like I did before."
"Really? Um, thank you, even if you try," the doctor said and Tsura places a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Don't give up Doctor," Tsura replies, "You know, Miss Jodie does a little weakness for...well for rodents like you. So, I'd say your chances with her are very good."
Dawson smiles and gives the witch a quick hug before going back into the water. Basil and Olivia had listened to their conversation while still out in the water and they smile a bit. "I sincerely hope Tsura will be able to give Miss Judith the opportunity to come visit Dawson while we're here," Basil said to his wife, who nods.
"Hmmmmm," Olivia hums, "I don't know why, but I was hoping to see Dawson get married. He does deserve to be happy as he brought us together," she said and Basil hugs her close.
It felt like it was a never ending day of sunshine and pleasure for everyone as they didn't have a care in the world. It wasn't until something blocked out the sun. "Hey what gives?" Lulu asks, looking at the source and her eyes grew big with fright.
The others also notice the huge beast looking down on them. It had green and dark blue scales and fins, some sharp teeth were peeking out and Basil knew it was a sea monster.
It lets out a roar and everyone retreats to safety. The women mice who were mermaids fled under the water, but the sea monster goes after them. "LEANA!" Olivia screams as she watches her daughter and even her mother being pursued by the sea monster. Toby barks at the creature, but it roars, again, although the dog refuses to back down. He wanted to protect his master and his loved ones and snaps at the monster, but it dodges away from Toby.
"What in the world is that?!" Dawson cries out.
"A sea monster from the looks of it!" Basil answers as they take shelter in one of the rocky arches' caves. The mermaid mice also met up with the others in the safety of the cave. Olivia pulls her daughter into her arms, both were terrified of this situation. Leana Flaversham forms legs and takes both her daughter and granddaughter into her arms.
"Did any of you kids imagine of this sea monster?" Tsura asks the children, but they shake their heads. "Well this has become a problem," she murmurs.
Then, they hear the roar of the sea monster and bangs its head against the outer wall of the cave, causing some rocks to rain down on the mice. Toby tries his best to get the creature away, but it lashes its tail at him. "Oh what do we do?" Hiriam asks.
"Wait a minute!" John exclaims, "Dad, do you still remember the chemist girl's formula?!" he asks, referring to the chemist mouse girl in the club. The detective's face brightens and begins to think hard. A chemist set appears on a rocky table before them and Basil looks at a copy of the formula.
He begins to form the potion the chemist girl mouse created, but also added the sodium chloride once the concoction was blowing over the flame. "This should do the trick," Basil said, showing the finished brew in a bottle. "But I am going to need a distraction," he said.
"I think we can do that," Sarah, his mother replies and Leana Flaversham forms her legs into fins again. The two of them swim around before disappearing under the water.
"Quick Elliott! Through here!" Tsura shouts and climbs up through a hole. Basil follows the witch to the top, where he finds himself at the top of the rocky arch. He sees the sea monster trying to attack Toby, but then the creature notices the two mermaid mice. It turns its away, not noticing the detective standing at the top of the arch. Toby, however, sees his master, who silently urges the dog to be still.
Basil observes the monster trying to attack his mother and his mother-in-law, and that really got him angry. "I love my mother and my wife's mother is just as important to me, so your time is up, monster!" Basil shouts and throws the potion at the sea monster's head.
The glass bottle shatters on impact and the contents spill out on the monster's head. The sea monster turns around to face the brute who threw the bottle at its head. It hisses, but Basil stands his ground. Then, the monster lets out a bowling scream, hurting Basil's ears, but notices the skin on its head boiling and shriveling.
It lets out another scream before it retreats towards the open ocean and the mice felt safe to come out of the cave. "Elliott! You did it!" John Frederick shouts and the detective climbs on Toby, who brings him down to his family. His father gives him a rewarded hug, which surprised Basil, but returns the hug.
The entire group of family and friends let out a cheer, but then go quiet when they hear a laugh, an oddly familiar laugh. They notice the familiar shape of Fonso descending down to their level.
"Well done!" Fonso shouts, while laughing. He floats down to the ground and stops laughing as he notices that the others were not. "I guess I went too far on that," he said, just as Basil, who was now raging mad, marches up to him and delivers a powerful punch. The brute goes airborne and lands on his back.
"WOW!" Fonso exclaims, rubbing his nose, "You pack quite a punch," he said, but Basil and the others were not pleased.
"You think that was funny?!" John Frederick yells at him, "You sir are one cruel trickster!"
"Oh come on, you got to experience some danger while having-" "YOU STOP RIGHT THERE!" Lulu shouts and he goes silent.
"That sea monster you brought almost got someone hurt. Did you not think for one second about what would happen to Olivia or her baby?!" the young witch said, angrily and Fonso looks over to Olivia, who was being held by her husband. Both of them were shaken, but otherwise angry.
"I said I did get carried away," Fosno replies, but then looks at his cousin, "Oh Lulu, don't you remember the dangerous adventures we use to have?"
"Don't you dare change the subject!" she yells, "All we wanted was to have one final relaxing day of summer and you had to ruin it."
"Well, you and I use to ruin everyone else's fun when we were alive. Now, you've become more like your mother. A stickler for 'safe' fun," Fonso said and the others go silent and look at Lulu. Her face changed to that of shock, but becomes cross, again.
"Now you listen here buster, Lulu-" the young witch holds up a hand to stop her teacher from speaking any further.
"Your cruel trickery is what got you in trouble with the superiors those years ago," Lulu said and summons a bright halo, then sticks her hand through it, "I want you to take this oath to never perform any more dangerous stunts, again. I should've done this the moment you came back."
"Are you going overboard with this?" Fonso asks, but his cousin was serious.
"An oath?" John asks Tsura.
"It's a contract in which two guardian witches make, either to vow to never perform certain spells or such. In this case, Lulu wants Fonso to swear to never perform hurtful tricks and if he does break the oath, well Lulu decides what fate suits him," Tsura explains and the mice look at Lulu and Fonso. The atmosphere became thick between them.
"I insist you take this oath. You don't want to spend another 100 years in Hell, right?" Lulu said and Fonso lets out a frustrated sigh.
"Fine," he answers and takes her hand, the halo glows before disappearing.
"The oath is now permanent," Lulu said and the two let go of their hands, but Fonso stares at her coldly.
"What's happened to you? You're not the Lulu I fondly remembered," he asks.
"You're right, I'm not. Are you satisfied?" she replies.
"No, just disappointed," Fonso answers and opens up his wings. He takes flight, leaving the group of mice and they watch as he disappears into the bright sky. Toby lets out a snort, meaning he was disgusted with the trickster guardian.
"Lulu, are you all right?" Leana Basil asks when she hears the young witch sniffling a bit.
"I need a moment alone," she answers, opening up her white angelic wings and she turns to her friends, "I'm sorry for what's happened. Tsura, you can explain, but try not to go into too much detail," she said before taking flight.
The mice look at Tsura, who takes a seat at the soaked beach chair and summons a bright circle that featured Lulu's memory. She appeared as a young mouse girl with the young Fonso, they did look happy. "It was a thousand years ago, Fonso and Lulu use to be close when they were alive. Both their parents taught them all kinds of spells, but sometimes they liked to get into trouble."
The memory features both Lulu and Fonso getting into all kinds of trouble, which often resulted in a lecture from their parents, but they didn't bother to listen.
"As they got older, their friendship seemed to be unbreakable, that is until Fonso performed a spell on Lulu's father as a prank," Tsura continues and the memory features Fonso with an older, but wiser looking male mouse. Fonso summons a spell that engulfed Lulu's father in a bubble.
However, the bubble began to shrink, crushing Lulu's father into a ball. The mouse cries out, begging Fonso to release him, but the young Fonso didn't know what to do. Lulu appears with her mother, both gasp at the sight and they try to undo the spell, but nothing worked.
The sickening sound of bones being crushed were heard and the bubble finally releases Lulu's father, but he was dead. "Fonso! What have you done?!" the young Lulu screams at her cousin. The memory then fades and the bright circle dissolves.
"Fonso did feel terrible for what he did, but he still maintained his "fun-loving" nature. Lulu, on the other hand, didn't want anything to do with him after her father's death. So they went their separate ways, but often at times, she had to save him from...well I think you get the idea," Tsura finishes and the mice look at one another.
"Oh, this is awful," Sarah said, "I mean Lulu had every right to be angry and have Fonso take that oath, but losing a friendship between family members is just terrible."
Basil looks at his father; Lulu's situation with her cousin did remind him of his uneasy relationship with John Frederick when he was alive and the senior Mr. Basil did seem to notice his son's thoughts.
"So that's the reason she was angry when he showed up with Uncle Jacob? She's still bitter about what he did to her father?" Leana Flaversham asks Tsura, who nods.
"He was sent to Hell as punishment for pulling awful tricks and he was sentenced to serve 200 years. While he was gone, it did give Lulu a bit of relief as she was tired of cleaning up his mess. Don't know why the superiors decided to release him early," the witch answers and then they hear the tolling of the hour. It was 6 in the morning, giving the mice about a half hour of time before Basil, his family and Dawson would wake up.
"I bet you have tons of questions, but I think we should spend whatever time we have left to enjoy the last of summer," Tsura said, but they didn't seem to be sure about it. The sea monster incident did rattle their nerves.
"Tsura," Leana said and she looks at her, "I have a bit of a request, can you see if you can invite Ben Whittaker to the dream realm?" she asks, which surprises her family.
"Yes, I do want to meet this Mr. Whittaker," Basil replies as he missed the chance to meet his children's rescuer, but Tsura shakes her head.
"Sorry kiddo, I can't do that. For some reason, the rules imply that only immediate family can visit, with a few exceptions for friends, and unfortunately, there is a limit amount for friends. Your friend Dawson did ask me to invite Jodie to visit the dream realm and...well, I think it would be cruel to not fulfill his wish," Tsura replies, which deeply disappoints the others.
"I think I can-" "No," Leana cuts Dawson off and looks at him, "I want you to be happy and see Jodie at every opportune moment. You do deserve it."
"Oh sweetie," Dawson said and he hugs her.
Tsura places a hand on Leana's back, "Don't give up young lady. You know, I bet this Ben Whittaker misses you and he would like to visit you whenever he can," she said and Leana smiles at this. Tsura leans into her ear, "Seek out your other friend, I bet he knows where Ben is staying," she whispers, which made Leana smile bigger.
Then it was time; Basil, Olivia, the twins and Dawson give a wave goodbye before departing the dream realm. Tsura and the others returned to the market place, collecting the horses and heading back home.
Tsura decides to head to the 'Superiors' realm, where the ancient deities resided, keeping order over the other realms. She didn't want to speak to them on Dawson's request just yet, she wanted to check something at the old 'Library of Names', where they kept records on the living and deceased.
She approaches an ancient looking witch, who was reading over a scroll. "Excuse me? Do you know where I can find a record on Mr. Benjamin Whittaker?" she asks. The ancient witch points to a tall shelf, labeled 'W' and Tsura begins to look through the name 'Whittaker'.
However, when she pulls out a large sheet of paper, revealing the Whittaker family tree, part of it was blacked out. "That's weird," Tsura said, looking at the names. She finds the names of Orson and Benjamin, but she saw that there was no connecting line between the two. It usually meant that the two would have a relation, like father and son, but they didn't.
Tsura does see a line that goes to the black part of the paper, meaning that this was Benjamin's father's side, but it was completely black. She looks at the name of Benjamin's mother 'Viviana' and notices that her parents names had a connecting line to both her and Orson, meaning they were brother and sister.
Just then, the paper levitates out of her hand and she turns to see another ancient looking witch. "Hello Tsura," he said, taking the paper, "I think it's best that you should not meddle with this family," he insists and puts the Whittaker family tree paper back in its place.
Tsura decides to not argue and leaves the library, but her thoughts were still trying to process on the mystery of the Whittaker family, especially Benjamin.
From the author: So much is going on, mostly family issues between Lulu and Fonso. However, I do want to shed some light on Ben's background, but don't want to spoil too much.
Anyway, I do want to say to my faithful guest reviewer that I am not completing this 'first season' just yet, but will be posting new stories whenever I can. Just do except not much like I did over the summer. I do want to end the series with the arrival of the new addition to the Basil family coming this winter!
Take care!