Journeys of the Mind-Book 2

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© Copyright 2012 Leonard J. Jeffrey

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN:

978-1-4669-4489-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011917264

Trafford rev. 05/23/2012

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This book is dedicated to my wife, Sandra. Without your continuous help and guidance I would not have pursued this endeavour. Again I want to let our two children know how much we love them and how proud we are of them- Kelly-Ann Bennett and Robert Jeffrey. You two are amazing! Your children Zachary, Emma-Rose,Cameron, Nathanial and Alexandria make us the very proud grandparents we are. A special thankyou to my mother-in-law Dorothea Glendinning who has always treated me like a son.

All of the wonderful illustrations in this book as well as book one were done by Liz Lubanska and Brian Ho Sang. No others could have done a better job. Thank you so much!

This second book features twenty more short fictional stories dealing with lessons that children and young adults might go through in their lives. Some are touching stories and some have just a touch of mystery to them. I hope that adults will find them interesting to read as well.

CONTENTS

MOVING DAY

AT THE CROSSROADS

A MESSAGE FOR JULIA

CARRIE’S NECKLACE

THE MYSTERIOUS MIRROR

SAMMY WAS RIGHT

THE SECRET FISHING HOLE

INCIDENT AT THE TREE HOUSE

THE GAME OF CHICKEN

ABIGAIL HOLMES

THE OLD MANTLE CLOCK

THE DREAM MAKER

MY STRANGE COUSIN JESSIE

TREASURE AT SKUNK ISLAND

BUYERS BEWARE

THE SECRET OF THE OLD SHACK

WHAT WAS IT?

THAT OLD COOT!

THREE BLACK BOXES

THE LOOSE BRICK

MOVING DAY

Each family member of the Jenkins clan was busily doing his and her part for that special day. One person would tape the cardboard boxes and the other would quickly fill them with blankets, books, shoes or whatever, because there wasn’t much time left. There was still a great deal of packing, yet to be done. Every room of the house had boxes piled along the walls and into the hallway. Moving day was less than 24 hours away. It seems that all family members were helping out, except one. She was Annie and she was no where to be seen. Annie didn’t like what was happening. It was all too noisy and disorganized for her liking. She was quite content with the way things were. Actually, she couldn’t figure out what all the commotion was all about. Her family was no longer going about its usual routine. Someone would be moving something from one room to another. Someone else would be disconnecting things and placing them into boxes.

Why are they doing these things? she wondered.

She had had quite enough of all this and decided to hide from her family. She chose a place where it would be relatively quite and hopefully, no one would bother her there. Off she went, downstairs to the basement, next to the furnace. She climbed up onto a cardboard box and jumped the rest of the way to the underside of one of the furnace’s heating ducts. There she remained hidden and very quiet, thinking that she would come out when all of the commotion was over. Annie, incidentally, is one and a half years old and has four legs. She’s the family’s gray and white cat. Everyone loves her but no one is thinking about her at this busy time.

Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins were up at five o’clock the next morning and proceeded to wake the rest of the household. Begrudgingly, they eventually got out of bed, had breakfast and were ready for the big move. The five children pitched in and loaded the rental vehicle. Five trips later, between the two houses, the family was ready to make the final trip to the new house. Mr. Jenkins made a final inspection of every room in the empty house, checking for any item which may have been missed. He gave his family the ‘all clear’ and locked the front and back doors. As they drove away in the family car and the rental vehicle for the last time, each was a little teary-eyed as they watched the refection of their old house shrink in the rear view mirrors. Forty eight hours later, young Andrea went up to her mother and asked where Annie was. Her mother’s smile immediately turned into a very puzzled expression. Just a moment, honey. I’ll ask your father if he knows where Annie might be, her mother replied.

Her husband was in the library, emptying the last box of books. Ron, have you seen Annie? she asked him.

Her husband’s mouth dropped open. Oh my gosh. I hope we didn’t forget Annie, he said. I can’t believe it. I’ll run upstairs and ask the kids. No one had seen her anywhere in the new house. Mr. Jenkins quickly put on his jacket and grabbed his car keys. He knew that the new owners of his old house wouldn’t be moving in until the beginning of the month, so he still had time to check through the house again for any signs of Annie. About a half hour later, Annie’s ears perked up. She had heard a loud ‘crash’ sound in the quiet of the house. She jumped down from the vent pipe and onto the basement floor. Looking up, she saw that one of the basement’s windows had just been smashed by a baseball. She could hear the laughter of children playing next door. At the same time she heard the front door open. This really startled her. She jumped up onto the washing machine, through the open window and made her way out She ran towards the far end of the backyard and hid, shaking in the tall grass. Mr. Jenkins was calling her name as he began searching throughout the house. All of her life, Annie had been an indoor cat. She had seen the backyard before but not from this perspective. Each day, as long as she wasn’t seen by anyone in the house, she would jump onto the kitchen table and look out through the window at the backyard. She would watch the squirrels run along the backyard fence, traveling back and forth as though it were a highway made just for them. How frustrating it must have been for Annie wishing she were outside chasing after those darn squirrels. Now that she was actually on the outside of the house it was a bewildering experience for her. There were so many new things to see and places to explore. There were also many new smells to take in and sounds coming from all directions to hear. There was also the strange feel of the grass between her toes and the warm soil beneath her feet. But where will she go and where will she sleep tonight? Here, in the backyard she was alone and feeling that her people had abandoned her. Annie slowly walked back towards the house but not into it. She decided to go under the deck and wait, hoping that someone might come back for her. It was fairly dark under there so she thought she might be safe for the night. Looking around for a good place to sleep she came across what looked like a soft area to lie down and sleep. It almost looked as though someone had gotten it ready for her. The dried grass had been flattened in a circular shape and so she walked around and around and then ‘plopped’ down.

Nightfall came quickly and before it did she was already sound asleep. Then, a tiny voice called out, Hey you!

Annie was startled. In the darkness she could barely make out the features of a tiny mouse.

I’m very sorry. I didn’t know that anyone lived here, Annie answered sincerely.

Well, I do. I’ve lived here all of my life, almost eighteen days, the tiny mouse replied. What’s your name and why haven’t I seen you around here before?

"My name is Annie and this is the first time that I have been outside of my house. My people went away without me and left me all alone. Now I don’t know what I am going to do. I don’t even know where I will live or where my next meal will come from. My people took care of all that for me."

Well don’t you worry. I’ll take good care of you, Twitch assured her. Then they heard footsteps and a flash of light and they were coming closer. Annie didn’t realize that it was Mr. Jenkins carrying a flashlight, once again in search of her. Twitch whispered to Annie, Come on, let’s get out of here. Follow me, I know a good place to go.

So off they ran with Annie following Twitch through the darkness of the backyard. You really know your way around. Even in the dark, Annie said to Twitch. I have an excellent memory and an even better sense of smell, replied Twitch. So on they went until they came upon a stream with water that was glistening with the reflection of the moon’s light. Annie had never seen anything like this before and she was in awe of it. She had to stop and stare at it. The gurgling sound too, caught her attention as it flowed over rocks and stones. It was all so amazing to Annie. Why are you stopping? asked Twitch.

I’m so amazed by all of the colours and the sounds around us, answered Annie. She continued following Twitch along side of the stream, over fallen branches and up and down the hillside. The early morning sunlight was now noticeable as the two unlikely friends made their way along. Meanwhile, Mr. Jenkins had returned home and was in bed. The children were asleep and he would be letting them know the sad news in the morning. Annie was gone for good. As Annie was running along behind her new friend she couldn’t help but think about her family who had left without her. She especially missed Andrea. Andrea would let her sleep in her bed with her each night, even under the covers. Just then Twitch called out to her, It’s just around the next bend.

What is? asked Annie.

My friends and relatives, replied Twitch. "And I haven’t seen them for quite some time."

When they arrived, the morning sun had made its appearance and Twitch’s family got their first look at Annie. They scattered in a hurry!

What’s wrong? Where did everyone go? asked Twitch.

From somewhere in the forest came a voice, It’s a cat. Get away! Did you hear that Annie? There’s a cat nearby. Run! shouted Twitch.

To this Twitch asked, Annie, what is a cat?

You don’t know that your friend is a cat? called out one of the mice.

Oh, you mean Annie, replied Twitch.

Annie said, Don’t worry Twitch. I’m the cat they’re talking about. They obviously don’t know that two, so called ‘enemies’ can get along together quite well. It’s like you not letting your blindness hinder you in any way. Each day you simply use your other senses to get along-your sense of smell, your sense of feel and your sense of hearing. You have no problem at all. So too, a cat and a mouse shouldn’t have a problem getting along together.

Gradually, all of the mice began to creep slowly back to where the two friends were standing. They came out to meet Annie and to welcome her. Annie was happy to be welcomed by her new ‘family’ but deep inside she still longed to be with her human family once again.

As the weeks went by Annie discovered more and more about the outside world. She learned about the insects, the birds, and all of the other creatures in the forest. She also learned about the rain, the hot sun and the cold nights. She learned how to hunt for food and to hide from enemies. One morning as Annie and her friends, the mice, were awakening to a new day, there was an ominous feeling in the air. The sky was unusually dark and as everyone looked up to the clouds they could see them moving rapidly by. The rain began to fall heavily and the winds were blowing and howling. All the creatures knew that it was time to take shelter and that meant higher ground.

"How are we going to get across the stream?" asked one mouse. The waters are dangerously high and moving so rapidly.

Look! one mouse called out. There’s something floating on the water. Let’s climb onto it. It’ll take us to the other side.

All of the other mice unwisely jumped onto the floating garbage can lid and were soon in