"Mr. Pancake's magic show? What is that?" Ferry wondered. "I never heard of it."
Matilda jumped to her feet, waving her hands as she was talking, "Mr. Pancake's caravan came into town last summer. That evening, almost all the children in town went to see the show. Except for you, of course. You weren't allowed to get out at that time."
"That night was amazing," Ben interfered. "The show started with─"
"Hey, let me tell," Matilda argued. "The show started," she continued, "with the number of some strange dwarfs, the smallest people you could ever imagine. They danced and jumped like the stage was a mattress. And then, they were flying in the air, as if they were held by invisible wires."
Ben didn't lose the chance to interrupt Matilda as well. And Ferry found out that the most beautiful acrobat ladies were next on the stage. They flew in front of the crowd which couldn't stop applauding. And, just like the dwarfs, they seemed to float in the air. Ben had a logical explanation for that ─ the circus must have been using some sort of a system of shadows and lights which created a visual illusion. Hence, the cables that sustained them seemed invisible.
Then, there was the magic show. The magician was a very tall and muscular man, dressed in a grey robe that covered his legs. He had the most beautiful assistant, a young, blonde woman, whose hair seemed to radiate a warm, bright light. The magic show left everyone in a daze. Surrounded by mirrors, the magician transformed his assistant into a witch, then into a queen, then into a brave knight, then into a see-through ghost, and even into a five-year-old little girl.
Ben also remembered it was a full moon that night, and the moonlight was reflected right in the middle of the stage. The most spectacular moment of the show was when the assistant sat on a pedestal in the middle of the stage. At some point, the grey magician started to throw fire arrows at her while she surrounded herself by a bluish, transparent bubble that pushed back the arrows which then melted in the air. The number ended when the two vanishing into thin air.
Then, there was the training number when the strangest animals came on stage. A giant raven, with big, powerful wings, was flying above the public, then going through fire circles, and finally performed a dangerous trapeze number. At the end, it turned into a whirl of smoke.
Next, there was the turn of a huge lizard which proved to be a tap dancer, dancing in two feet.
A strange creature followed; it looked like a rabbit, but if it wasn't for its long ears, you must have thought it was just a woman. Her back legs were so long, the whole tribune was vibrating when she jumped. It even jumped over fifty packs of straws without pulling one down.
The last was a giant wolf, with bristling fur. Its acrobatics were amazing. It could keep the balance upon ten barrels and walk around the arena climbed on those barrels. Then it walked on two feet, smoked a pipe, and danced. At the end of the act, it vanished into a circle of fire.
The circus show ended with the act of Mr. Pancake himself. He started by playing the flute so beautifully, he could move a heart of stone. When he finished playing, he said a magical formula and vanished, leaving a swarm of white butterflies behind. They flew up to the top of the dome, becoming one with the moonlight.
Matilda and Ben both said that the memory of that night was still alive many weeks after. Strangely enough, all the parents who accompanied their children that night didn't seem to remember much about the show the next day. Matilda's father, just like Ben's mother, had vague memories about that night and couldn't even remember one act of the magic show. But then again, that's how grown-ups were, more preoccupied with small things such as going to work, paying the bills or buying groceries.
Ben opened his alien notebook and took out the show's poster. He was in luck ─ all the other posters were gone after the show ended, although they had invaded the town the week before.
Ferry studied the poster. It depicted Mr. Pancake, surrounded by four magical animals. His look was beyond odd. He had the hoofs, legs, and horns of a goat and he was wrapped in a blue cloak.
"That's strange..." said Ferry. "He doesn't even look like a human."
"That's because circus artists are using make-up, costumes and wear masks," Matilda concluded.
Ben also looked at the poster.
"It looks like─ Oh, my! How come I didn't see it before?"
"See what?" Ferry and Matilda jumped off their seats.
"Look at his name! If you remove the last part, we have the word PAN. Meaning a Pan," Ben said with a satisfied look on his face.
"What's a Pan?" asked Matt.
"A Pan is a mythical creature. He's the god of the wilds, shepherds, and flocks, of the wild mountains and he's also accompanied by nymphs. And he looks just like Mr. Pancake."
"Don't you find that strange?" Ferry insisted. "Mr. Pancake looks like a Pan; all our pets look like the animals at the circus. What if they are the animals at the circus? What if they're not animals at all?"
"Then what are they?" asked Matilda.
Ben's eyes were shimmering, "Maybe they're aliens!"
"My Shadow is not an alien!" Matilda replied.
"Come on, Matt, you said it yourself he behaves oddly for a dog," Ferry tried to calm her down. "Besides, they all appeared in our lives the same night. The night of twenty-three to twenty-four of June, last summer."
"So what? Why is that date so important?" Matilda said, feeling the need to argue with them both.
"It's my birthday," said Ferry softly.
"Obviously," Matt snorted. "Everything must revolve around you."
"That's not fair, Matt," Ferry protested. "I'm just saying there are too many coincidences. And we should solve this mystery once and for all."
"And how do we do that?" asked Ben, also curious.
"Easy. We bring them all together," Ferry answered with a big smile on his face.
⃰
"Why did you have to invite May?" Matilda's been mumbling for the past a quarter of an hour. They had decided they should meet that very Saturday, at the foot of the hills. And bring their pets along.
They met in front of the school and then headed towards the hills. Four children accompanied by four unusual animals.
May has managed to convince her parents to let her come, too. They had eventually accepted just because Ferry was coming. Somehow, the boy had gained their trust. Now May was walking in silence, carrying her rabbit. Her pink bonnet, crocheted by her mother, couldn't hide her tresses falling on her shoulders. She was walking beside Ben who was trying to impress her. He was now talking about one of his alien theories. Ferry would have liked to ask her about her flowers, but he was taken hold of Matilda, who wouldn't let go of his hand. Shadow was following her closely, sniffing the air around, while Izzy was dozing on Ben's shoulder. Only Ferry's raven was missing.
"So where is that raven of yours you've talked so much about?" Matilda asked.
"He'll be here when I'm going to call him. He does that all the time," said Ferry.
The town of Goodharts was surrounded almost entirely by hills. The children chose the eastern hills that were still sunny and they could find clusters of green grass that still kept the smell of summer. But the summer was long gone and the four friends felt the late fall blowing a cold wind to their cheeks and pinch their noses with touches of ice. Ferry suggested they should go to the west hills, where the forest was silently residing. But for some reason, none of his friends seemed excited about the idea. They even looked like avoiding the Shepherd's Forest.
Finally, they arrived to the eastern hills.
"Now what?" Matilda asked.
Ferry put two fingers into his mouth and a sharp whistle, like a bird cry, emerged. He looked at the sky, in all directions; the others followed his example. On the gray sky, they couldn't see anything. Only the clouds were floating, changing their shape, pushed by the wind's blow. They were now mighty castles, then scary monsters, or fabulous creatures. When all of a sudden, a black dot appeared in the sky, flying closer and closer. The children's eyes were wide open with wonder and fear. A giant raven was rapidly flying towards them. When he flew over, they all had to hold their hats and bonnets so they won't be taken away by the storm that emerged from his huge wings. The raven then mellowed the speed of his wings and smoothly came down, landing on Ferry's arm. The boy couldn't be prouder.
"Everyone, meet Baldie!"
His friends gave him an awkward smile, partly because of the bird's funny name.
"All right," said Ferry. "Now it's time our pets meet each other. Let's see how they behave."
Each child put his pet down. Then. they all took a step back waiting to see what would happen. The four animals raised their noses (and beak), sniffing the air around. Then, as if an alarm bell sounded, the chaos stroke. The dog began to chase the rabbit; the poor rabbit was running in big circles to confuse his hunter. Then, the raven made a terrible croak swooping upon the lizard. The lizard started to dig a hole in the ground, trying desperately to hide. Matilda's dog was chasing all the other pets at the same time. At the sight of such fret, the little masters dashed to the middle of the battlefield, each trying to protect their pets. They finally managed to tame them without someone being hurt.
"All right, that's enough!" Matilda shouted. "Shadow and me we're going home. I knew it wasn't a good idea to come, anyway."
Then she headed towards the town determined, followed by her grey dog, now obedient and calm.
"I've almost lost Izzy because of your bald bird," said Ben who rarely got upset. "Are you convinced now? There's no connection between our pets." Then he rushed to catch up with Matilda.
Ferry looked at May. She tried to smile, but the boy could tell she was upset, too.
"I'm sorry, Ferry," she said, "but Harry is very important to me. I don't want to put him in danger ever again." She then ran to catch up with the others.
Ferry was baffled. He wasn't expecting that. It seemed he was wrong and their pets were just animals, after all.
He watched Baldie, caressed his bald head, and then told him to fly away. He couldn't come back home with his raven. His father would have never agreed to keep a bird inside. Not even a bald raven.
⃰
Late at night, whispers woke him up from the deep sleep he'd fallen into. Carried away by the wind, the whispers seemed far away, then closer. He didn't know whether he was dreaming. He went to the window. Outside, the wind made the old walnut tree wail under its blast. The branches reached his window, knocking at as if to make him aware of something. The sky was clear, for the wind chased the clouds away. And the moonlight made the backyard look as in daylight.
Ferry opened the window carefully. Two silhouettes were looming in the moonlight. They were sitting on the lower branch of the tree where his swing hanged. He couldn't see what those silhouettes were or what they were saying. Then, he felt the raven stone burning his skin. He took it off and watched through its hole. What he saw made his jaw dropped.
It was that winged creature again, half-man, half-bird. His wings were folded now, and he was talking to another creature. That one was tall and had a shiny skin, of a greenish color. He had long, lizard-like legs, hanging on the branch. This time, Ferry could clearly hear what they were talking about; as if he was sitting right next to them, on the branch.
"Why Sage and Rosemary couldn't come?" asked the bird-man.
"They just couldn't. You know how girls are, more protective than boys. They wouldn't let them out of sight the whole night," the lizard-man answered.
"I hope no one suspects anything, after all that happened today."
"I don't think so. People find those kinds of things hard to believe. Children, too, although they are more open-minded."
"It looks like we've played our part pretty well," the bird-man laughed, a peal of laughter mixed with croaks.
"Maybe a little too well," the lizard said, turning serious. "You were almost about to hurt me a few times with that big beak of yours."
"Don't worry, I know how to use my beak. How about the Ferry boy? Do you think he's suspecting anything?"
"Maybe so," the lizard-man answered. "But we must do everything in our power to keep him safe. The later he finds out, the safer he is."
"You're right. We must take care of him," the raven-man agreed.
Then he yawned, stretching his big wings. "It's getting late. I think you should go. Maybe Benjamin wakes up, and he doesn't find you in your armchair. He's a clever little boy. He mustn't suspect anything," he added. "Think about how lucky you are to sleep by the fire. Imagine how it feels like to sleep in my nest, outside the window, on such weather."
"I feel sorry for you, my friend, but you are the most suited to defend him. You were chosen for that."
"That is true," the bird-man answered. "Well then, goodnight, Parsley!"
"Good night, Thyme!" the lizard answered and jumped from the walnut tree; then vanished as by magic.
Ferry closed the window slowly and then he rushed to his bed. Just in time. He could hear the raven's wings fluttering and the noise he made when he was settling to sleep in the nest outside his window.
Sneak peek of the next chapter:
"Run, Ferry!" he could hear Matt screaming. But for some reason, his legs were not listening, as if made out of the lead. He stood still, holding his breath. The purple creature was so close to him, he could see her breathing, betrayed by the veil which was sticking to her nostrils. But even so, the veil was too thick to see any feature of her face. Still, he could see her sparkling eyes, staring at him from behind the purple veil. Her head started to move slowly, on one side and the other, observing him. And to his horror, her gloved hand-stretched extremely close to his neck. She stopped a few inches away from his chest, waiting to grab the... raven's stone, well hidden under the thick sweater. When she was about to grab him, something hissed in his ear and hit the creature's hand. Matt had used her sling with extreme precision. The hand retreated and the purple creature turned away and started to run so rapidly, the children lost her out of sight somewhere on a back street.
Thank you for reading this! It means a lot to me. Please vote and comment, I would really like to know what you think. Criticism is also accepted :)