The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

The talk

"Hoity, what are you doing here?"

Hoity Toity, the leprechaun, stood in front of them as proud as the bravest knight.

"Oona sent me," he said. Then he got a sight on Baldie, "Hello, Crow," he spat the words.

"Hello, Dwarf," Baldie answered in the same manner. Ferry remembered they weren't the best of friends when he first met Hoity.

"I'm not a dwarf, I'm a leprechaun," he snorted. "Those are two different things. It's like comparing a nice, juicy slice of roast with a salad. Dwarfs are greasy and dirty, and rude. They have short, fat fingers and their wide palms are only good for holding beer mugs. And they burp so loud, they could wake up a whole village. They aren't glutton for work, for that matter. They like to sluggish all day long like a swine in the pigsty. But only with a good meal under their belt. As for us, the leprechauns, we have sharp eyes and fingers as slick as a whistle. We pay attention to the smallest detail and we could smith the finest shoes. We like to smoke the finest tobacco and treat ourselves with the finest meals..."

"All right, all right," Ferry interrupted, "but how did you escape the Kallikans?"

The little man frowned. "Well, you owe me that, Master. I had to throw them a whole sack with golden coins from my chest. Coins I've found with sweat," he said, lifting one knotty finger in the air. "So I gave them my gold. And now they have nothing better to do than hassle over it. It will take them a while before finding all the coins. You have no idea how gold is glittering into the darkness."

Indeed, no Kallikan could be seen around. Yet, somewhere close they could hear shouts and yelp.

"Now it's the time," said Baldie. "Let's go!"

They all run towards the gates of the Blind Alley. In the distance, they could see frail stripes of light, shivering like in the wind. So they kept running towards the light. They didn't stop when they've passed the gates which closed behind them with a long creak. Baldie and Hoity were leading the way while Izzy and Shadow were the last to follow. Rosemary took Danny under her care while Matilda hasn't been separated from her mother ever since they reunited. Ferry took a moment to look back towards the citadel in the darkness. He felt a strange uneasiness as if leaving behind a place he loved.

After a while, they all stop to catch their breath. They were now back to the light, in a meadow where they could only hear the sound of the grass and leaves in the wind. The Moon shone like on a plain day. Yet, the light was white and soft, incredibly warm and welcoming. And Ferry threw himself on the silky grass which caressed him with soft touches. If he could only close his eyes... But Baldie quickly pulled him out of the moonlight, protecting him with his black, feathered cape.

"We must be careful, Ferry. The moonlight might give you away."

"How much longer to the Door between the Worlds?" Danny interrupted. "I can't even move my feet. And I'm hungry," he lamented.

Ferry looked at Danny and felt sorry for him. The frail, pale boy, with dark circles around his eyes, was just a faint shadow of the chubby boy he once knew. Yet, his appetite was the same.

Rosemary picked up some wild berries from a bush nearby and Danny started to guzzle, wiping out his mouth with the sleeve of his large, shabby shirt.

"I'll take you to the Secluded Forest," said Hoity. "I know this place like my own pockets. We need to rest before we reach the Door between the Worlds. After the Moon sets, the door shall close."

But Ferry took his stand in front of Baldie, "We can't leave yet, Baldie. We haven't found the Fountain of Truth. I haven't found the answer to Oona's riddle..."