The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

The time of the shadows (part one)

"So be it," Ferry said. "We're going together, the three of us."

"Great!" both his friends said at the same time.

They carried on, laughing and frisking.

"Let's stop for a while at the playground," Matilda said. "Winter's coming and we won't be able to play anymore."

"All right, but no more than fifteen minutes," said Ben. "Mum will be worried if I'm going to be late."

The playground was not very far from school. It was an old, small park, actually, and one of the few places that remained from the old village after the town was built. An old, rusty slide, a few swings with attached chains that creaked with every wind blow, and a rocker with a cracked board were the only amusements. But the children loved that place. The old linden trees with their large trunks were the park's biggest attraction. They could easily turn them into shelters when it was raining because the raindrops could barely filter through the rich foliage. And when they blossomed, their sweet fragrance spread even five streets away.

That day, the playground was full of children. Some of them gathered in a large group around somebody, and Matilda was dying to know what was happening. To their not so pleasant surprise, they found Billy Pride surrounded by several children who were watching with their eyes wide open Billy's latest gift from his father—a photo camera. A small one, with a leather case, tied with a string around Billy's neck. It didn't look at all like the camera of the old photographer who took the picture of their class a while ago. That was big and couldn't be held with just one hand, like Billy's. And more, that one needed to be placed on some sort of tree-legs holder. Billy's camera, however, could take pictures of everything easily, at any time. All you had to do was look through that small hole and then press the button. But Billy didn't let anyone touch it. Not even his best friend, Danny Stevens.

"It's the latest, most modern camera in the world," he bragged while taking random pictures. His finger was almost never detaching from the shutter. "My father bought it from the Big City. It cost him a small fortune," he added in front of everyone, gaping at his precious gift.

When Ferry and his friends showed up in front of his camera, Billy stopped taking pictures and a grin appeared on his face.

"Hey, Donovan, step away!" he shouted. "You're going to ruin the picture."

"We don't care about your stupid camera!" Matilda answered back.

Billy didn't mind her. Nevertheless, ever since he got Lavender Sky's magical feathers, Billy kept his word and didn't mock Ben anymore. But that didn't stop him from teasing Ferry every time he had the chance.

"Say, Donovan, are you going trick-or-treating this Halloween? Oh, wait a minute. With that face of yours, you don't even need a costume."

And Billy burst into a laughing right in Ferry's face, accompanied by the other children. Ferry felt his sight turning blurry again. He was about to browbeat over Billy when Matilda stopped him, "Ferry, he's not worth it. Remember what happened last time? You were sent to detention for nothing. Let's go home. I lost my mood for playing, anyway."

"By the way, May is coming trick-or-treating with us," Billy shouted as they were walking away, in the laughter and giggles of Billy's friends.

That made Ferry very sad, although he didn't let anyone see it. Giving Billy Pride the satisfaction was the last thing he wanted.

After a few days, Billy brought to school the pictures taken with his camera. His father had already taken them to develop. The other children in the class gathered around him. Some of them were admiring his talent, calling him a native photographer, others were praising Billy's artistic skills.