Jicky Jack And The Ominous Promise

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A Promise Becomes Ominous

J.R. inspected the package, noticing the postmark from India, and then tore it open. Inside he found a strange gift and an even stranger note, and he read:

~~~~

Dear J.R.,

I can’t explain why right now because I’m in a

hurry. But always keep this with you. Keep believing,

and keep your mind’s willpower strong J.R.

Love and Friendship,

Uncle Travis

a.k.a. Traveling Travis

~~~~

“A marble?” he questioned with a grimace trying not to sound ungrateful, “this can’t be a birthday gift. Nobody gives somebody a single marble as a birthday gift. Besides, I already have five shoeboxes full at last count.” He immediately began thinking of what to name it, as he often did with the special-looking ones. And this one looked special. He raised it to the light, as a jeweler might do with a gem, holding it inches from his eye. The aqua-blue sphere had a single sky-blue ring in its middle and a solid black dot in the center. It kind of resembled a bird’s eye, he thought. Then it came to him.

“Blue Blink-Eye,” said J.R. “That’s what I’ll call you.”

And to his astonishment when he moved it even closer to his own eye, the inside of the marble winked at him. J.R. immediately dropped it on the floor and bounced both feet up and onto the cushions. In a panic he jumped to the left side of the couch, but the marble rolled in the same direction, and when he shifted to the right, it did too.

“No way,” he whispered as he stared at it suspiciously, “maybe it has some kind of magnetic energy. But its glass and it winked at me, so that can’t be.”

Nervous, but curious just the same, J.R. cautiously rested the back of his hand on the floor. And to his surprise, the marble rolled right up his fingers into his palm, and winked once more.

“Ok, this can’t be real. I must be hallucinating. I am definitely losing my mind.” And the mention of that drew him to recall the pandemic and the children who were losing their dreams. He felt sorry for them and closed his fingers around the marble. And in a mysterious flash of discovery, feelings of honor and valor momentarily filled his heart.

When his mother returned, J.R. immediately hid the marble in his pocket. But apparently it didn’t like that. It moved about rather quickly as if trying to get out. J.R. cupped his hand over the outside of his pocket and began wiggling with the marble’s movement.

It tickled.

His mother stood in front of him, saying nothing, just watching him as he did his strange little seated dance on the couch. She had a cup of honey-sweetened tea in one hand and a glass of chocolate milk in the other. In a strange switch she handed J.R. the tea, and kept the chocolate milk for herself.

“Here,” she said, “this will help calm your nerves.”

The marble finally stopped moving and he reached for the cup of tea.

“Mom,” said J.R. “I think something’s seriously wrong with Grandfather, not to mention my life.”

“Oh? And why do you think that?” she asked, raising her eyebrows as she sat next to him on the couch.