World Of Wonders

(Chapter 2, part 2…)

The newly formed trio just stood around uncomfortably upon the curtained stage before they were shooed away hurriedly by a stagehand to motion them all towards the wings off stage. The audience would no longer see them once the curtain was pulled apart once more.
Without much ado, the three acquaintances did as they were hidden silently, trudging off the stage with little to no fuss.
Vanessa just sighed to the other two with a no cares in the world expression upon her face.
“So, I gather we are together for a while, huh? No skin off my nose, I can tell ya both,” she remarked as the three of them were situated in the backstage of the theatre with nobody around to interrupt them.
“Does that mean you are coming with us?” Maverick asked Vanessa, having not thought about even the notion in his mind until now.
Fert seemed to suddenly spring in between the two, his exuberance evident in his manic motions and face.
“Why, of course she is! Isn’t that the way, Vanessa?” Fert interjected before Vanessa was able to reply to Maverick’s question.
Vanessa looked put out at this interruption from Fert but after mulling and considering the situation brought up, she just nodded affirmatively at Maverick.
“It is as Mr. Fancy Pants says. Once you pulled me from the hat, you got me stuck here for good. Sorry if I may seem a burden to you, Maverick,” stated plainly Vanessa to Maverick, trying to ignore the purple man in the room.
“Mr. Fancy Pants, indeed! Why I never!” muttered Fert to himself as he paced the room, his murmurings lost upon the other two.
Maverick did not respond right away to what Vanessa told him about her being stuck here. He nervously glanced at her as he contemplated this new dilemma of having this bunny lady now following wherever he and Fert went. But as he drew his attention away by watching the still pacing Fert, Maverick was struck by a sense of uneasiness. These people he had only met like about two hours ago. Was that enough to trust these literal strangers in his midst?
With a slight sense of fear gripping his young heart, the small boy understood his plight. Were these people he was with dangerous? In hindsight, he thought, not really. But was all this theatre fun just one big ploy or trap to let his guard down? To capture a thief like himself, he was uncertain of what these people would do or make him do once the trap was ensnared. That dark thought was fleeting, but still there nagging the back recesses of his young mind. Maverick unconsciously had taken the top hat off his head and wrung the brim tightly within his fingers in nervousness and uncertainty.
Vanessa was first to notice the young boy’s odd behaviour and took a step forward towards the now scared child.
“Stop! I mean….please, don’t come any closer,” Maverick uttered, his own voice shaking with uncertainty until he had tried calming himself down with somewhat success.
Vanessa immediately did as Maverick commanded, stopping in her tracks abruptly. She just looked at him with a concerned smile and expression upon her face.


( to be continued…)
 
(Chapter 2, part 3…)

Fert was less forgiving as his attention was drawn upon Maverick with a sudden frown upon the actor’s face. One of the first times he had dropped his chipper demeanour in front of the eleven year old boy.
“My boy, this is a delicate position you have placed us in,” Fert calmly and clearly stated towards Maverick with disheartened tone.
At first, Maverick seemed to drop his guard at the response, a nagging sense of doubt at his own untrustworthy attitude towards these people that had as yet done him no wrong. But that did not change his state of mind when he resolutely embraced this unknown fear that stemmed from his street life as a thief.
With still wary eyes glued to the two of them, Maverick was surprised when Fert just gave a resolute shrug of his shoulders.
“But, as we are within a stalemate, there is nothing better to do but do nothing about it. Personally, I have no ill intentions towards our companions, as I gather Miss Vanessa has either. There is no reason to be distrustful of one another in my opinion,” Fert said offhandedly in a push away motion before sitting down upon a wooden crate beside himself.
“I agree with the sentiment. But your opinion is not within my own interests at this present time,” Vanessa declared to Fert, her left ear slightly twitching as she stood standing whilst looking at Fert with narrowed eyes.
Maverick did not say anything, just getting more baffled by the interaction of his two companions, feeling more unsure about his emotions. He was still nervous but allowed himself to calm down by loosening his fingers from the top hat he still held rigidly. This ease of tension in his hands helped him control his mind. With a look of uncertainty upon his face, Maverick decided to be bold and let his unwarranted fear not blind him anymore.
“I am sorry to have shouted earlier. I was just overwhelmed by everything recently,” Maverick announced with clear intent, his voice almost a sincere whimper but emboldened by his apologetic nature.
Vanessa drew her attention back to Maverick as the boy made his apology. Her face lost its sceptical facade as it softened in Maverick’s direction.
“No apology needed,” she responded, a comforting smile emerging from her lips.

( to be continued…)
 
( chapter 2, part 4… )

Fert seemed to regain his vigorous confidence and jumped up from his sitting position. He landed deftly on his feet and flourished a dignified bow in Maverick’s direction.
“Well, now that is sorted, we must be on our way! The show must go on, after all,” Fert uttered with renewed optimism as he got up from his bow whilst holding his cane with a flourish.
“That’s all well and good, but where do we go from here?” Vanessa asked with the sceptical look back upon her face.
“That all depends…” stated cryptically Fert to the bunny lady.
“On what?” she retorted whilst tapping her left foot.
“On our young magician friend here,” responded Fert as he turned his attention towards Maverick.
Maverick just took the silent looks of the two of them as an ultimatum as if they were waiting for him to do something. With a newfound resolve, Maverick just glanced down at his top hat still within his hands before he made up his mind.
“Okay. Let us see how far down this hat we can go,” Maverick said without hesitation, despite the slight quivering within his voice.
In a fluid motion without waiting for his new companions able to say a word, Maverick made a grand hand gesture with all his might. The top hat grew to encompass the three travel companions before returning back to normal size with the three figures now gone from existence.


End of Chapter 2.


( to be continued..,)
 
(Chapter 3, part 1…)


Chapter 3: Land Within A Hat.

The first thing Maverick sensed was a blinding light enveloping his whole being after the top hat had swallowed him whole. The boy found himself standing in a bizarre landscape of blue and red with a dash of green light. As his eyes adjusted to the colours around him, his vision focused after a few blinks.
He was standing upon a bed of blue grass, the sky a stark and constant red with a green sun high in the sky. His companions were beside him, Fert glancing around in interest whilst Vanessa just showed no signs of surprise at this odd surrounding they found themselves in.
“Welcome to the land within a hat,” she stated to Maverick as the boy had looked around at his surroundings in wonderment.
“Frankly, I’ve seen weirder,” announced Fert out loud as he righted himself from observing the blue grass beneath his feet.
Vanessa ignored Fert’s statement and just shrugged her shoulders, feigning ignorance of the actor’s existence.
“So, is this your home, Vanessa?” Maverick asked tentatively, still feeling odd at his strange surroundings.
“I guess you could call it that. Until you pulled me outta that top hat, my memory of myself has been hazy,” admitted the bunny woman with a thoughtful frown upon her face.
“I’m sorry, Vanessa,” Maverick apologised to Vanessa.
“Don’t worry about it, kid. You weren’t to know,” Vanessa replied, hurriedly brushing aside the apology as a small smile broke away her contemplative frown from her face.
“Still, interesting. I see by the sun it is, about going past noon I reckon. No time for wasting away in the noonday sun. We should carry onward!” boldly declared Fert, the purple suited man energetically waving his cane with emphasis above his head to make his declaration known.
“And exactly which way should we go?” Vanessa interjected towards Fert, crossing her arms across her chest.
“Uhhh…yes. That does pose a problem. Well, we should just pick a direction and go from there!” Fert retorted without missing a beat after a second or two of indecision in his voice.

( to be continued…)
 
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( chapter 3, part 2…)

With a flick of his wrist, Fert boldly tilted his cane in a random direction and began sauntering off in the way his cane pointed.
The other two followed Fert a few footfalls behind him as the cascade of blue grasslands peppered out to an ashen field of white dandelion flowers amidst the vibrant blue landscape. The green sun blazed in the red sky with a bright hue, the flowers almost basking within the green light above.
Fert suddenly stopped within a clover patch of these white dandelions, trying to point with his cane in his hands. Maverick and Vanessa stopping short behind him.
“What’s the matter? Are you lost, Fert?” Maverick asked in a concerned tone.
“Lost? My dear boy, of course I am. How can a person who has never been to an unfamiliar world not be lost?” Fert said incredulously as he glanced back at Maverick.
Maverick just shrugged his shoulders in reply, not entirely sure how to respond to Fert’s logical yet baffling conclusion.
“Exactly. Now, I need to gauge my bearings,” muttered Fert as he looked away from Maverick, his intent now evident as the actor dug his cane into the soft soil beneath the blue grass.
“Well, he’s a barrel of laughs,” remarked Vanessa sarcastically with a sour frown upon her face.
Maverick drew his attention to the bunny lady, his eyes wandering across her one piece blue sparkling outfit with matching lace stockings.
“I guess so. Hey, Vanessa. Why are you wearing this outfit?” Maverick asked curiously.
Vanessa glanced down at the small magician boy and cocked her head to the side as if taking the question seriously. One of her ears drooped downwards before it perked up.
“I have no clue. I just found myself in it after coming out of the hat. I miss my fur, to be honest with you,” she replied with a pouting expression.
“I did not mean to offend,” Maverick stated as he drew his attention back to watching Fert.
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll get accustomed to it,” she said with a wry smile.

( to be continued…)
 
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( chapter 3, part 3…)

“Aha!” exclaimed Fert in a sudden shout of jubilation that caused Maverick and Vanessa his undivided attention.
“What’s the matter, Fert?” Maverick asked, shocked at the man’s sudden outburst.
Fert did not answer right away, merely glancing over at the two of them with perplexed eyes.
“Why, nothing is the matter. Just look at my cane,” the actor announced, pointing at the cane he had left stuck in the ground.
Following his pointed finger, Maverick and Vanessa watched in surprise as the walking cane that Fert had stuck into the ground began to slowly rotate of its own accord. The golden orb adorning the top was slightly discoloured due to the green sunlight reflected within, the cane spinning slightly faster whilst Fert trudged over to watch the spectacle with them both.
“What’s happening?” Maverick asked in confusion but his question was not noticed by his two travelling companions as they just kept watching the spinning cane.
After about a minute of spinning, the cane stopped and fell over onto the soft soil, amidst the dandelion clearing they were situated within.
Fert just frowned in thought. He went back over towards his now dormant walking cane and picked it up from where it was lying upon the ground.
“I don’t know what that was,” Fert muttered loudly as he turned to face Maverick and Vanessa.
“I guess it was magic?” Maverick questioned with a shrug of his shoulders, not really sure himself at what he just witnessed.
“Probably, since we are inside the top hat,” Vanessa ventured as a small sigh escaped from her throat in frustration.
“Well, best not to guess any further. We best be on our way still,” Fert announced with firm assertiveness as he began walking forward amidst the dandelion fields.
The other two had no choice but to follow after the eccentric actor, walking behind him in his footsteps.

( to be continued…)
 
Your Post #21 brings a question to mind. It is NOT true that all fiction merely copies the author's own experience; but in real life, have you ever found some new acquaintance making a big impact on you after two hours?
 
Copperfox said:
Your Post #21 brings a question to mind. It is NOT true that all fiction merely copies the author's own experience; but in real life, have you ever found some new acquaintance making a big impact on you after two hours?
Click to expand...

To be completely honest with you Copperfox, the simplest answer would be…no. I have never experienced the likes of what you ask in my life. So, your statement of it being not true that pure fiction reflecting real life all the time is in fact valid, at least in this particular context of discussion.
 
( chapter 3, part 4…)

As they continued on throughout the blue grass laden dandelion fields, the three wanderers came upon an embankment of glowing purple mossy cobblestones brightly illuminating as a running creek slicked the mossy stones. A simple yet reinforced wooden bridge arched over the creek from one side to the other with a well worn dirt path leading the way into the distance a wooded area.
Maverick took the time to bend down to the purple stones and picked one up to inspect it. It was cold to the touch and the sleek wetness of the moss covered stone almost made him drop it back onto the ground. But he held it firmly and was transfixed for a moment at the bright purple glow it gave as he cupped it within his hands to make the cobblestone shine brighter in his palms.
It almost made the young thief laugh until he glanced up at his two travelling companions that were observing the boy take a moment of relaxed joy upon his face. Quickly, Maverick just palmed the stone and stood upright, pocketing it within his pants.
“Might be useful,” he just sheepishly said as he began walking towards the wooden bridge that was in front of them.
The three of them came forward towards the wooden bridge with caution, the planks in between now looking old and rickety upon closer inspection.
Without a word spoken as they glanced between each other, Fert was the first to boldly step upon the bridge. He was sensing slight creaks from the bridge under his slim weight but soon enough stop from the reinforced wooden beams underneath the bridge to stabilise it.
Fert continued across the bridge without hesitation, making his way to the other side and the dirt road path ahead of them.


( to be continued…)
 
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