Come with us on another adventure with Lynn and Lyle, Mr. Peter, Rob, Pugly, and two old/new players in this story of revenge and redemption. Philomena (no longer Bagge, but Besonne) is kidnapped by the cannibal witch Solvieg where they are inadvertently taken to a distant past with strange animals and stranger people. Philomena must find a way to survive and get back to her family, but can she?
Chapter 1
The Witch’s Revenge
Christmas day has come around once again, and preparations for the festivities are well underway. Philomena loves Christmas, the lights, the music, the decorations and all the lovely festivities, especially the presents. Though she doesn’t know why, she senses she somehow missed out on this wondrous time and now she must catch up. This year the family took her to see The Nutcracker Ballet and then Santa brought her the most beautiful ballerina doll in a pink tutu. Its limbs, wrists and ankles moved so that she could pose it however she liked. One day, she decided, she would wear a tutu and dance just like the Sugar Plum Fairy.
“I’m going to build a snowman, Papa Peter!” declared Philomena.
“Are you indeed?”
“Yes. Lyle, will you help me?”
“After dinner, Phil, okay? We’ll build the biggest snowman on the street.”
Though a new guitar had appeared under the tree for him, he decided it could wait. Philomena, he knew, couldn’t.
On this fateful morning, while Mr. Peter, Rob and the twins were busy in the kitchen preparing the turkey and fixings, she and Pixie went outside to play in the garden. Snow fell in great puffy flakes, and Pixie, though no longer a puppy, danced around Philomena as if he was still that playful little fellow. Smush-nosed, black-faced and curly tailed like his father, big as his mother, and often foolish and clumsy, he had the sweetest nature possible. Outside in the light his fur glinted like gold and Mr. Peter took great pleasure in watching him frolicking in the deep and satisfying snow with his little Philomena. They rolled about and chased one another through the drifts, Philomena laughing and throwing snowballs at him. Eventually, cold and wet, they came inside to muffins, hot chocolate and a Christmas biscuit for Pixie.
Philomena sat on the chair for a while, thinking, her ballerina doll beside her, Pixie’s, head on her lap, both impatiently waiting for dinner to be ready. Staring up at her with his big round eyes, Pixie groaned and whined as if trying to tell her something.
“Come on Pixie, lets go play,” she said aloud, but after she got down from her chair she whispered, “Let’s go get some chocolates! I think know where Papa Peter keeps them!”
“Don’t forget to wash your hands before dinner, Phil,” called Lynn as her sister dashed out of the room.
“I will!”
But she didn’t. Tiptoeing to the basement door she opened it and looked down the stairs into that dark and scary place. Turning on the light she closed the door quietly and raced Pixie to the bottom. She ran to the freezer, though she didn’t know that someone had accidentally knocked the plug from the electrical outlet. Now less than frozen, whatever was confined in there has awakened.
Philomena knows she isn’t to steal, nor is she allowed to go into the basement, nor go into the freezer on her own—in case she should fall in, or so her Papa Peter said. She hesitated, feeling guilty; what if Papa Peter should find out ahe had been taking chocolates from the freezer? But she wants another chocolate so badly (she had already eaten all the ones in her Christmas stocking) and after all, it is Christmas day. She had no idea of that thing which Mr. Peter had secured so carefully, waiting in there for three and a half years, impatient for someone to open the lid. Someone curious enough to open the little casket in which it had been imprisoned. And who is that curious someone but Philomena Besonne.
Philomena had been given a little transmitter that connected with the family’s phones in case she is ever in trouble. But even though they told her the story of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, who was eaten up because nobody believed him anymore, she used the transmitter so many times for fun they told her if she used it once more they would take it away: a decision that would nearly cost her her life.
Pixie whined at her and pulled on her sweater.
“Don’t do that Pixie, you’ll tear my sweater. I won’t be a minute.” She reached down and pushed him away. But Pixie continued to whine and even tried to stand between her and the freezer.
“Go away Pixie!” She pushed him aside and standing on a box, she opened the freezer lid, looking for the chocolates. She quickly set aside bags of bread and other items of food. “There they are.” As she lifted out the box an eerie greenish glow, seemingly from the bottom of the freezer, began slowly pulsing up. Intrigued, the child forgot the chocolates, leaned in and putting aside a bag of peas, revealed a strangely decorated little silver casket. It was this that pulsed with the eerie light. Philomena looked around to make sure no one followed her. Being too short to reach it, she leaned over as far as she could— and fell in. The freezer lid closed with a Snap!
Soon to be published.
Bernice Ramsdin Firth 