Tales from th' Trails

The Works of Rico Lighthouse
Tales from th' Trails
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    • The Fence With a Nose

      Posted at 4:24 pm by Rico Lighthouse, on October 20, 2019

      METADATA-START

       

      TJ and Randy were outside in their backyard, playing, when dusk arrived. TJ was swinging on the hammock, and Randy on the rope swing, when Randy pointed and said Look, a fence with a nose. TJ looked, but couldn’t see a thing. What’s a fence with a nose, he asked.

      I don’t know, Randy said, I just saw one.

      TJ thought it was funny and laughed. Randy didn’t.

      The next day the same thing happened. The Boys were on the swings, and dusk fell upon them. Randy saw the fence with a nose. Only this time, instead of telling TJ, he watched it, to see what it would do. But it didn’t do anything, it just sat there, looking like a fence with a nose.

      What are you looking at, TJ said.

      The fence with a nose, Randy said.

      Randy looked at TJ, and when he looked back the nose was gone. All he saw was a fence, made of old wood, with lots of knot holes in it. He looked real hard trying to find the nose again, but it was not there.

      TJ said again, What’s a fence with a nose?

      I saw it, Randy said, It was right here, and he showed TJ the two knot holes that he thought looked like a nose, but now they didn’t.

      The next day it happened again. Randy saw the fence with a nose, only this time the nose was sticking out of the fence a ways. It was dark, like a dog’s nose, and wet. Randy ran inside and told Dad. What’s a hint sickle nose? Dad asked.

      No, Randy said, a fence with a nose!

      Oh, Dad said, What does it do?

      I don’t know, Randy said, it’s just there.

      The next few days nothing more happened. Randy did not see the fence with a nose. He only saw a regular fence, made of old wood, rotting and smelling like mushrooms in some places, and cedar in others. There were lots of knot holes in the fence, but he couldn’t find a nose, no matter how hard he looked.

      He enlisted TJ’s help. Together they searched the fence, from one end of the yard to the other. They didn’t mean to stay out so late. They didn’t notice dusk descending. They didn’t even realize it had gotten dark. When they came to the last board in the fence Randy grabbed TJ’s arm and pointed to the same spot he pointed to the first time. TJ looked, and he saw the fence with a nose.

      TJ screamed and ran inside. Randy followed. A fence with a nose! A fence with a nose, they shouted.

      What’s a hint sickle nose, Dad asked again.

      Come see Randy said. He grabbed Dad’s hand and led him outside, in the dark, to where the nose was. Only it wasn’t there. Dad didn’t see anything at all. All he saw was two knot holes, that he supposed, with a little imagination, could possibly look like a nose.

      What, these two knot holes, he asked, You’re scared of a couple of knot holes? And then he laughed, just like TJ did the first time he’d told him about it. Randy didn’t laugh though. He clung to Dad’s hand, and tried to drag him back inside.

      That night Randy couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the fence with a nose. After a couple of hours he gave up trying.

      TJ, are you awake?

      Yeah, TJ said, I can’t sleep, every time I close my eyes all I see is the fence with a nose.

      Me too, Randy said. He crawled up the bunk and got in bed with TJ. By the time the sun started to rise they’d both fallen into a fitful sleep.

      The next day both boys were jumpy all day long. They played in the backyard. They jumped at every sound. They jumped at every motion seen out of the corners of their eyes. They jumped at every dove and blue jay and woodpecker that pecked at a tree. They jumped every time a dog barked. They jumped at everything. By the end of the day they were exhausted. But they didn’t see the fence with a nose.

      They came in before nightfall, and they wouldn’t go outside after dark.

      Why don’t you go outside and play, Dad said after dinner, I thought you loved to swing and look at the stars.

      We do like to look at the stars, TJ said, but we don’t like to see the fence with a nose.

      What does the fence with a nose do, Dad asked.

      Nothing, Randy said, It’s just scary.

      Yeah, TJ said, It just sits there looking at us.

      But you know it’s not real right? That it’s just your imagination playing tricks on you.

      No, it is real, Randy said, I saw it, it’s a real nose. It can smell me.

      They didn’t see the fence with a nose again for about a week. They had almost forgotten about it, when one day they were outside swinging again, like they loved to do, and having so much fun that they didn’t notice it getting dark. Randy looked over, almost by accident, and there it was. Only this time, it wasn’t just a nose, it had eyes too. Randy froze mid swing, and hung there like a pendulum slowing down. TJ saw him and knew right away what was happening. He stopped swinging and looked at the fence. He saw the nose, but it was sticking out further than it used to. And then he saw the eyes and gave a great shriek, the likes of which could boil the blood of the devil himself.

      Dad came running outside. What’s the matter, he asked. He thought one of them had fallen off the swing and broken an arm or a leg or something. What he saw, in the dim light of the waning Gibbous moon, was both of his boys frozen in terror, staring at the fence. But all he saw when he looked at the fence was two knots, that, with a lot of imagination, he supposed could look like a nose, a pair of eyes, a face. Come on boys, he said, It’s time to come in.

      Now the two boys were really scared. They slept in the room with Dad that night, and they wanted to the next night too, but Dad said No, you have your own room for a reason, and you need to use it. And besides, there’s no such thing as a fence with a nose. It’s just two knot holes in a board. It’s just your imagination, your mind playing tricks on you. Now go to bed and get some rest.

      The two boys did go to bed. They did get some rest. But not much.

      In the middle of the night Randy felt something, or someone, watching him. He was laying in his bed, by the window. He wanted to turn over, to look at the window and see who it was that was looking at him. He tried to turn over, but he couldn’t do it. His mind told his body to move, to look. But his body said No, I’m not going to look. In fact, the only thing his body would do was to pull the covers up over his head and hide. After that, his body wouldn’t move at all. He lay that way til morning came and he finally fell asleep.

      The next day he told Dad that the fence with a nose was watching him through the window as he slept. But Dad didn’t believe him. In fact, Dad had had enough of this fence with a nose business, and he told the boys so. It was all in their heads, he told them. They’d made it up and it wasn’t real. He told them that such things were scientifically impossible. He told them that it was starting to interfere with their lives now, and that they needed to let it go, and stop thinking about it. They told him that it was real, that they’d seen it, and it scared them.

      What the hell are you scared of, Dad asked, what does it do?

      It doesn’t do anything, Randy said, It just looks at you.

      Yeah, TJ said, If it would do something, at least we’d know what to be afraid of.

      Well, Dad said, unless it actually does something, I don’t want to hear anymore about it, Ok?

      Ok, the boys said. But they were not satisfied. They wished the fence with a nose would show itself to Dad, so that he’d be scared, too. So that he would believe them.

      By this time TJ had figured out that the only time they saw the fence with a nose was after the sun went down. And that it usually appeared at dusk, the hour between day and night. He told Randy this.

      Oh, Randy said.

      They played outside during the day. But as soon as the sun started turning red, and setting, they were in the house. And no amount of talking from Dad could convince them to go out at night. If they forgot a toy, or had to go outside for any reason at all after dusk, they would flat out refuse, unless Dad went with them. Dad didn’t like this. He tried everything he could think of to get the boys to go outside. He tried threats, he tried bribes. He tried allowance and candy and chocolate, but nothing worked.

      One evening Randy looked out the kitchen window, the one that looked into the backyard. He shouldn’t have done that. There it was, the fence with a nose. Only this time it had eyes, and a mouth, and a face, with ears and long scraggly hair. And it had a neck. It looked like a dogs nose on a human head. Randy screamed that blood curdling, ear piercing scream.

      Dad was slicing a tomato for dinner and cut his finger. He got mad and slammed the knife down and yelled at Randy. Look what you made me do, he yelled, and he showed Randy the blood on his finger. Don’t ever scream like that unless someone is trying to kidnap you, or hurt you or kill you. That scream is for emergencies only.

      I saw the fence with a nose, Randy said, Only this time it was a whole face. It was a fence with a face. Dad, it’s coming out of the fence.

      Look, Dad said, this is not funny. I cut my finger because of you. I’m glad you have such a good imagination, but you need to know when to turn it off. And right now anytime you’re thinking about that damned fence with a nose, that’s when you need to turn it off. Dad put a band-aid on his finger, and for the rest of the night made a big show of how much it hurt him. He moaned a lot. He held it out at absurd angles. He made a scene of himself. But the boys didn’t feel bad, and they didn’t feel sorry for him either. All they felt was fear.

      What if the fence with a nose comes all the way out of the fence? What then? But of course they couldn’t ask Dad. Dad was mad. For the first time in his life, Randy wished Mom was still around.

      That night, in bed, he asked TJ about Mom. Do you remember Mom, he asked.

      I can barely remember her, TJ said, But I remember she was nice. She would believe us about the fence with a nose. She wouldn’t be mad at us for being scared.

      TJ meant well, but he shouldn’t have mentioned the fence with a nose. They’d almost forgotten about it, talking about Mom. But after they mentioned it, they got real quiet. They turned in for the night and fell into a fitful sleep.

      In the middle of the night Randy woke up terrified. Something was watching him, again. It was the fence with a nose, he knew it, just as sure as he knew anything. Once again he tried to turn around and look, but his body refused to move. This time he couldn’t even pull the covers over his head. He may as well have been a statue, for all the good trying to move did him.

      He heard a rustling in the bunk above him. TJ was moving towards the window, to look outside. The movement broke the spell, and Randy could control himself again.

      What are you doing, he asked TJ.

      I heard something outside, I’m trying to see what it is.

      What if it’s the fence with a nose?

      Look, TJ said.

      Randy looked and at first he saw nothing. He kept looking. He didn’t really mean to, but his eyes went right to the spot where the fence with a nose first appeared. And there it was. A nose. Eyes and a mouth, ears and long scraggly hair. A neck, a body, two arms reaching out towards…

      It’s pointing at us, TJ said. He wet the bed.

      Randy screamed and ran into Dad’s room. Dad was too tired to be mad. He let Randy and TJ spend the night with him.

      Alright, Dad said the next morning, We’re going to fix this problem once and for all. He grabbed a hammer. He grabbed some nails. He grabbed a flat piece of wood, which he’d carefully selected because it had no knot holes that could look like anything at all, and he nailed the piece of wood right on top of that old fence board, right on top of those two knot holes that, he supposed, with a whole lot of imagination, just might look like a nose, some eyes, a face.

      Dad dusted off his hands and looked quite pleased with himself. There, he said, That fixes that. No more fence with a nose.

      But Dad, Randy said, The nose is still there, all you did was cover it up with another board.

      Nope, Dad said, I killed it. Drove a nail right through it’s face. No more fence with a nose.

      TJ and Randy played in the yard all day. They played back in the corner, near the fence with a nose. They tugged at the board Dad had nailed up over the nose. It felt solid. It didn’t budge. They felt better, a little. When the sun went down they were back on the swings, like they used to do. They looked and looked at where the nose was, but they saw nothing.

      Night came, and with it the stars. One bright red one in particular shown down on them.

      Look, TJ said, Mars, the god of war.

      Randy looked and saw Mars shining brighter than all the other stars in the sky.

      Mars has two moons, TJ said, One that is getting closer to it everyday, and one that is getting farther away.

      Why is he the god of war, Randy asked.

      Because, when he shines really bright, like he is now, it means there’s going to be a battle soon.

      Randy saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was a shadow, in the dark. He looked, and there was a person standing in front of the fence where the nose had been. It didn’t move. It just stood there, looking at him, pointing at him. TJ saw it too. They screamed, and ran inside. The fence with a nose, the fence with a nose!

      Dad heard the scream and he was mad. Partly, he was mad at himself, for thinking something so simple as a board could fix a fear that was not in the fence at all, but in the minds of his kids. Partly he was mad because he expected life to go back to normal. Partly he was mad because he was sick of screaming. So, So, sick of screaming.

      Mad Dad grabbed both boys by the arms and drug them outside to the fence. They kicked and screamed and fought but he paid them no mind, just dragged them on out there to prove to them once and for all that there was no such thing as a fence with a nose. That it was all made up nonsense. That he had, in fact, nailed a board over two ordinary knot holes, and that if there ever had been anything there, which there hadn’t, then it would be dead now, because he had driven four nails right into it’s face.

      When they got to the fence at the back of the yard, in the dark corner where the sun don’t shine, they saw the board he’d nailed up lying on the ground.

      See, Randy said, I told you, the fence with a nose.

      But mad Dad didn’t believe that for one second. Mad Dad got even Madder.

      You boys pulled the board off didn’t you, he said. It wasn’t a question, even though it was worded like one.

      We didn’t do it, the boys cried.

      But mad Dad wasn’t listening. He was beyond hearing at this point. He dragged the boys back inside. He got his drill. He got some screws. He got his flashlight. He went outside in the dark and this time he screwed the board into the fence. And for extra measure, he nailed it to. He went back inside and told the boys that they wouldn’t be getting that off there, and if they did they would lose their allowance. They told him again that they didn’t do it. He said he didn’t care, if it came off again they were the ones getting in trouble. Then he sent them to bed, got himself a beer, put his feet up on the coffee table, and turned on the television. He put on a show that usually made him laugh, but he didn’t laugh.

      What are we going to do, TJ asked, Dad doesn’t believe in the fence with a nose, and it’s gonna knock down his board again and we’re gonna get in trouble.

      I don’t care about trouble, Randy said, I’m scared of the fence with a nose.

      Me too, TJ said.

      They climbed into their beds and went to sleep. That night mad Dad had a bad dream. In his dream Mom was there. She was asking him why he didn’t believe the kids. Because it’s not true, he said. What if it is true, she said to him. And then she was gone, and there was nothing there but an old wooden fence. It stretched to the horizon in both directions. Dad ran up and down the fence crying out Mom’s name, but all he saw were the two knot holes, that he could now clearly see, looked like a fence with a nose. The fence wrapped itself around him, closing in on him. It got smaller and smaller til he could reach out his arms and touch it all the way around. And that’s when the fence with a nose came alive. Out of the fence came the nose. And then came the eyes, the mouth, the whole human face, only it wasn’t the mans face with the scraggly hair that the boys saw, it was Mom.

      Dad screamed and woke himself up. He also woke up the boys. TJ and Randy came running into the room.

      What is it Dad, what’s the matter?

      Nothing, Dad said, I just had a bad dream is all.

      Was it about the fence with a nose, Randy asked.

      No, Dad said, It was about Mom. And then he did something which he hadn’t done since just after Mom died, five years ago, just after the birth of Randy, he cried.

      I miss Mom, Randy said.

      But you didn’t even know her, TJ said.

      Yes I did, I lived with her for nine months.

      Dad gave Randy a hug, and then he reached over and pulled TJ in. He told them he loved them, and that he was sorry. The boys told Dad goodnight, and that they loved him too, and went back to their room.

      Dad lay there in the dark. He heard Mom’s voice in his head. Why did you lie to them, she said.

      Because, Dad said aloud, I don’t believe in the fence with a nose.

      Well, you should, Mom said.

      You know I don’t believe in ghosts, Dad said.

      But you’re talking to one, Mom said.

      Dad didn’t hear Mom’s voice anymore that night.

      The boys heard Dad talking in his room.

      Who do you think Dad’s talking to, Randy asked.

      Mom, TJ said, he does that sometimes.

      The next day Dad was up early, before the boys. He went outside in his bare feet to check on the board he put up over the fence with a nose. It was still there, undisturbed. He let out a sigh he didn’t know he was keeping. He put his hand on the board, it was solid, rough and woody. It made him feel better. He turned around to go inside and stepped on a nail, plunging it deep into his foot. He let out a stream of cuss words which woke up the boys.

      Randy looked out his window and saw his Dad, outside, in the backyard, over by the fence with a nose, hopping up and down on one foot and yelling at the top of his lungs.

      Dad’s yelling at the fence with a nose, he said to TJ.

      We better leave him alone, TJ said.

      Dad composed himself before going back inside. He made the boys breakfast and they had a normal day.

      But every day has to eventually come to an end. That evening Dad decided to grill burgers for dinner. It was dusk when he lit the grill. The kids were playing happily on the swings. Dad had his beer in one hand and the other in his pocket. He was thinking about Mom in an absent kind of way, and watching the boys swinging through the wave of heat rising off the grill, when he saw a person, standing in the back corner of their yard.

      Hey! What’re you doing, he yelled.

      The boys stopped. We’re just swinging, they said.

      But Dad wasn’t listening to them. He ran back towards the corner of the yard, where the person had been standing, right there, just a second ago.

      There was no one there. He looked all around. There was no sign of anyone. He looked over the fence, saw no one. The boys watched him.

      He saw the fence with a nose, Randy said.

      Uh, I’m going inside, TJ said.

      Randy stayed outside to watch Dad. What is it Dad, he asked.

      There was someone here, Dad said, I saw someone standing right here. He must’ve jumped the fence.

      It was the fence with a nose, Randy said.

      Don’t start that with me, Dad said, This isn’t a joke. Go inside and lock the front door. Whoever it was might still be around, and he might be dangerous.

      Randy headed for the door. Um, Dad, the burgers are on fire, he said, as he was walking inside.

      Seeing the man outside had shaken Dad up a bit. He wouldn’t admit it, either to himself or the boys, but he was starting to wonder if perhaps they might be right. He went next door and asked the neighbors if they’d seen anyone prowling around lately. He told them about the man he saw by the fence. Told them that the boys had seen someone to, and that at first he didn’t believe them, til tonight, when he saw the man himself. Told them to lock their doors at night. He did not tell them about the fence with a nose. Nor did he tell the boys, once he got back home, that the board he’d screwed and nailed to the fence was lying on the ground when he went to look for the man he saw. He knew they didn’t do it.

      Dad made a plan, but it was too late to carry out his plan tonight, so he would do it first thing in the morning.

      While they were eating dinner Randy asked Dad what the man he saw looked like.

      He was tall, Dad said, And he had long scraggly hair. And I know this sounds crazy, but his nose stuck out way too far, almost like a dog’s nose on a human face.

      TJ got chills. He felt the hair on top of his head stand up.

      That’s the fence with a nose, Randy said.

      This time Dad didn’t say anything. TJ wished that he did. TJ wished that Dad was mad. But Dad wasn’t mad, and that scared TJ even more.

      Dad, can we watch TV while we eat, TJ said.

      Yes, Dad said, That sounds like a good idea to me.

      The next morning they all got into the truck and drove down to the lumber yard. Dad spent all morning going through the boards looking for the most perfect one they had. One with absolutely no knot holes in it at all. TJ and Randy waited in the truck. They didn’t want to look at a lot of boards. They didn’t want to find another fence with a nose.

      Dad came out of the lumber yard smiling. He held up the new board for the boys to see. Haha, he said.

      Back home Dad got his hammer and his saw out. He pried the old fence with a nose board off the fence and nailed the new one in place. He took his saw and cut the old board into twenty pieces. He threw the pieces into the fire pit, doused them with lighter fluid, and lit them on fire. The wood hissed and sputtered and spat. It snapped and crackled and popped. Then it wailed like a banshee. The sound chilled the bones of Dad and the boys, but they took it as a sign that they had killed the fence with a nose.

      To celebrate, the boys played outside that afternoon. They played outside as the day was waning and they played outside as dusk fell upon them. They watched the stars come out. They looked at the new fence board the whole time, but they did not see the fence with a nose.

      They went inside and gave Dad a high five. You did it Dad, they said, You killed the fence with a nose.

      I’m still not sure I believe it, said Dad, But I sure am glad that’s all over.

      That night Randy had a dream. He dreamed someone was in the window, watching him again. This time Randy was not struck dumb with fear. In his dream he turned around and faced the window, fully expecting to see the fence with a nose. But what he saw instead, was Mom.

      Hi Mom, he said.

      Hi, Mom said, I’ve missed you so much.

      I’ve missed you to, Randy said, I saw a fence with a nose.

      I know, Mom said.

      Dad didn’t believe me, but then he saw it to, and then he believed me, even though he wouldn’t say so.

      I know, Mom said.

      And then he cut up the fence with a nose and burned it, and now it’s gone.

      I know, Mom said.

      And then he said he was sorry.

      I know, Mom said again, Goodnight. I love you, and I’ll see you again soon.

      Randy fell back to sleep, and slept a sweet and restful sleep.

      For the next few weeks nobody saw the fence with a nose. The boys forgot about it. Life had returned to normal for Dad and the boys.

      One day Randy came running up the stairs from the basement. He was frightened. Dad and TJ were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. What is it, they said.

      I saw something in the basement, Randy said, It had big red eyes. It was big. It was mean. It was a Big and Mean.

      Posted in Fiction, scary stories, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Fiction, ghosts, Halloween, Kids, Short Story
    • Pluto’s Christmas Carol

      Posted at 9:59 am by Rico Lighthouse, on December 1, 2018

      20180102152949

      Pluto’s Christmas Carol,

      by Fynn and Rico Lighthouse

       

      It was seven years ago today that Pluto lost his planetary status. You must remember this one thing, or nothing that follows will seem wonderful.

      It was a cold, dark night in the Kuiper Belt, and Pluto was working later than usual.

      “Pluto!” someone cried out. “Merry Christmas Pluto.”

      “Eris. What do you want?”

      “Sour as ever, I see. I’ve come to invite you to the annual Kuiper Belt Christmas Party.”

      “Is it that time of year already? Bah! Humbug! You know I don’t go to parties, especially your parties. Now go away, I’ve got work to do.”

      “But Pluto…”

      “Go!” he shouted.

      Eris said Merry Christmas again, and departed.

      Pluto heard someone clearing their throat.

      “Please, Mr. Pluto” said Charon, his assistant, and sole employee, “It’s getting late, mayn’t I go home now?”

      “But we’re not finished” said Pluto, “there’s still work to be done. Shall we leave off today’s work til tomorrow? No one ever got ahead that way.”

      “But, it’s Christmas Eve sir, and Kerberos, he’s sick, and he needs me home.”

      “Humbug” snorted Pluto, “very well, be here early tomorrow then.”

      “But sir, tomorrow’s Christmas day” said Charon. She was beginning to feel hopeless.

      “Fine” snarled Pluto, “take the day off. But it’s coming out of your paycheck! And I expect you to arrive early the next day, and to stay late.”

      “Thank you, Mr. Pluto, thank you.”

      “Humbug” grumped Pluto, “Now, be off with you before I change my mind.”

      Charon skipped off home, pausing to talk and play with some of the unnamed dwarf planets on her way. When she got home her children, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra greeted her warmly.

      “Merry Christmas” they all said, orbiting in close around her. They rolled all over her, laughing and playing. Then Kerberos coughed, and they all told him to take it easy, and not to overdue himself.

      Pluto did not go home. Indeed, for these past seven years, he’d done nothing but work. And while he worked he thought about the people on Earth who had demoted him from being a planet, and Eris, who was the reason they’d demoted him. Everyday he grew angrier, and his heart more bitter than the day before.

      He felt a chill wind on his back, and shivered. A shadow of a trident moved across him and he heard a noise like a tornado. He turned around and there was Neptune.

      “Neptune” said Pluto, “you scared the Dickens out of me.” Pluto’s fright was replaced by anger at being disturbed. “And what are you doing out of your orbit? Can’t you see I’m working? Go away, leave me be.”

      “Pluto” said Neptune, “this is your last chance. You must change your ways, or else.”

      “Nonsense” said Pluto. Something about the way Neptune was looking at him made him nervous, but he quickly composed himself. “What do you want?”

      “Tonight” said Neptune, “you will be visited by three Comets. Pay attention to them, take heed what they say, or your fate will be dark and dismal.”

      “That’s ridiculous” said Pluto, “I haven’t seen a comet in a thousand years.”

      “Expect the first Comet at one a.m., Solar Standard Time. Take care, Pluto.”

      Neptune was sounding ethereal, like he was drifting away. He shimmered, and Pluto could almost see through him.

      “I and the other planets wish you the best, so long Pluto.”

      The last part sounded so far away that Pluto wondered if he had imagined it.

      Neptune shimmered again, flashed a couple of times, and then he was gone.

      Pluto shook himself. “I need to get more sleep” he said.

      *

      In the middle of the night he was awakened by something he hadn’t felt in a long time- warmth. He opened his eyes and saw a Comet. Only this was no dirty snowball, it was a blazing ball of fire!

      “Hello Pluto” the Comet said.

      “Who are you?” demanded Pluto, furious at having been awakened.

      “I’m the Comet of Christmas Past” said the Comet, “Didn’t you know I was coming?”

      “I suppose that fool Neptune said something, but I thought he was making fun of me. He’s always making fun of me.”

      “He cares about you” said the Comet, “and so do the other planets. It was not their decision to kick you out of the Solar System, you know, it was People’s.”

      “Bah! People. Humbug. The most wretched beings God ever created. Think they know everything.”

      “Come with me, Pluto” said the Comet, “there’s much to see, and little time.”

      Pluto saw the stars swirling around him, faster and faster, until the only things not spinning were him and the Comet. A moment later everything stopped, and Pluto was looking at a scene in his life which he hadn’t thought about in years.

      There was an old Man and a little girl, on Earth. They were outside looking through a telescope. They were laughing, and talking, and the old man said to the little girl “Venetia, I need some help with something.”

      “What is it grandpa?”

      “You know that new Planet we found, with the big telescope at work?”

      “Yes, what about it?”

      “Well, it needs a name, and I can’t for the life of me think of one. What do you think we should call it?”

      “How about, Pluto!” said the little girl.

      “Pluto. I like it. I’ll run it by the team and see what they think. Thank you, Venetia.”

      The scene faded. Pluto smiled.

      “That was a glorious day” he said to the Comet.

      “Yes” said the Comet, “and ever since you have been the favorite. Pluto, the ninth planet in the Solar System. People still love you, you know.”

      Pluto’s anger returned. “They’ve sure got a nasty way of showing it” he complained.

      “Come now” said the Comet, “There’s much to see.”

      The Comet showed Pluto many more scenes. Memories of little kids drawing his picture and hanging it on their bedroom wall, of scientists writing him into the textbooks, and of the other planets rejoicing at his happiness.

      But then Mike Brown found Eris, who was bigger than Pluto, and further away, and everything changed. Other dwarf planets were found, named, and, after a meeting of Earth’s top astronomers, Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet. He was kicked out of the Solar System. He was so angry and hurt that he never saw the protests, the crying children, and the tears of the other planets, who all loved him.

      But he saw them now, and he would’ve cried, if his anger had not taken over.

      “Get me out of here now!” he yelled.

      “As you wish” said the Comet, and he found himself alone again in his orbit.

      *

      He was just about to fall asleep again when he noticed another Comet floating next to him. This Comet did not glow, but was grey and had a tail that extended out for thousands of miles. The Comet seemed to like his tail, and curled it back and forth slowly, as if he were playing with it.

      “Merry Christmas Pluto!” the Comet cried, “Ho Ho Ho!”

      “Let me guess” said Pluto, “another Comet here to save my soul.”

      “I am the Comet of Christmas Present” said the Comet, “and the Present is the best time of all.” The Comet laughed, and flicked it’s tail wrapping it around Pluto like a scarf.

      “What’s so good about it?” asked Pluto.

      “Hold on” said the Comet. And again, the Universe spun, faster and faster, until it appeared that Pluto and the Comet were in a tunnel of stars. The Comet led the way through the tunnel, and they came to a small gathering of planets.

      “That’s Charon!” Pluto cried, almost happy to see his assistant, “and her kids, uh, uh, what’s their names…”

      “Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra” said the Comet, “How long has she worked for you?”

      “Not long enough” said Pluto, “and besides, I only see Charon at work. Leave the personal matters at home, that’s what I say.”

      Pluto was thoughtful. “She did mention something about one of them being sick.”

      There was a cough, and one of the kids left off his playing and rotated slowly. Much too slowly, Pluto thought.

      “That one there” said Pluto, “what’s wrong with him?”

      “No one knows” said the Comet, “but he needs more care. Needs his mother around him more. Her gravity makes him better.”

      “Why doesn’t she ask for more time off?” said Pluto, forgetting himself.

      “She did” replied the Comet, “and you threatened to have her replaced.”

      The Comet’s words stung, because Pluto knew they were true.

      Kerberos coughed again, and the others crowded I around him. “Thank God for Pluto” the little one said, “and for giving you tomorrow off, mama.”

      Charon sighed, and smiled at Kerberos.

      “Will he live?” Pluto asked the Comet.

      “Come” said the Comet, “there is more to see.”

      They traveled on and came next to Eris’ orbit. A party was going on, and Pluto recognized most everyone. There was Eris, of course, and Haumea, and Make Make, and Quaoar, and 2014 uz224, and even Sedna was there.

      In spite of himself, Pluto’s resentment returned.

      “What are we doing here?” he demanded, “I don’t want to see Eris ever again.”

      Pluto made to leave, but the Comet wrapped his tail around him, and turned him gently back towards the party.

      “Fine party you’ve got here” said Sedna.

      “Yeah” said Make Make, “Eris always throws the best parties.”

      “Ah” said Eris, “it’d be better if Pluto were here though.”

      “I’m here!” yelled Pluto, whose heart was again softening.

      “They can’t hear you or see you” said the Comet, “watch.”

      “Well I, for one, am glad Pluto’s not here” said Orcus.

      “Yes” said Quaoar, “he’s about the vilest planet that ever was. Why would anybody want him at a party.”

      “I know” said Eris, “but he’s family.”

      “Family, hmph!” said Make Make, “he hates you, and he blames you for his demise. As if it’s your fault that you’re bigger than him.”

      “Yes” said Eris, thoughtful, “but we were friends, once, and I hope we can be friends again.”

      “Enough of Pluto” said Haumea, “let’s talk about something cheerful, it’s Christmas after all.”

      Pluto’s heartstrings tugged him in every direction. He stayed and watched the party for hours, getting caught up in the fun, laughing at the jokes, even the ones about him, and participating, in his own way, in the games. It was the first time in seven years that Pluto had fun, and only the Comet was there to see it.

      *

      Pluto opened his eyes. He was back in his orbit, and he was cold. Normally Pluto liked being cold. He lived a long way from the Sun, and he rather preferred it. But this was a different kind of cold. This was a cold that sucked the very breath of life right out of him.

      He looked in anticipation and saw a dark Comet orbiting next to him. It was so dark that he couldn’t be sure it even was a Comet. It had the shape of one, but it was formed not by material, but by the absence of light, matter, energy, and time. Pluto felt like he was staring into the center of a black hole.

      “Are you the Comet of Christmas yet to come?” he asked, trembling.

      The Comet made no answer.

      “It’s you I fear the most” said Pluto, “nevertheless I’m ready. Show me what I need to see. I’m ready to change.”

      The Comet said nothing, just hovered there. Pluto felt himself being drawn towards it, drawn into it’s nothingness.

      “No” he shouted, “No!” Blackness enveloped him.

      He heard a noise. Someone was weeping. He opened his eyes and saw Styx, Nix, and Hydra. They were crowded around Charon, who was crying. “It’s gonna be okay mama” one of the children said.

      Pluto still did not know which one was which, and he resolved right then and there to learn.

      “Yeah” said another, trying to comfort the weeping planet, “we took him to the Asteroid Belt, so he could be closer to the Sun.”

      “Kerberos always did love the Sun” Charon said between sobs. She tried to smile, a little.

      Pluto turned to the Comet of Christmas Future.

      “It can’t be” he said, “It can’t be my fault that he died. I didn’t even know him.”

      Again the Comet said nothing.

      Pluto felt himself being pulled again. He closed his eyes and fell into the Comet.

      When he opened them he was looking at a very somber scene. Eris was the sole attendee of someone’s funeral. The dead planet looked familiar, but Pluto couldn’t quite place who it was. Eris nudged the dead planet and sent him sailing away from the Sun, beyond the Kuiper Belt. When he turned around he had tears in his eyes. “Good-bye Pluto” he said.

      Pluto turned to the Comet, “That’s me, isn’t it? How can that be me? It didn’t look like me.”

      The Comet said nothing.

      “Is this the future that must be?” asked Pluto, “or is it a future that might be only? Why are you showing me this? Is it too late to change?”

      Pluto was again drawn into the Comet.

      “Please” he said, “I’ve seen enough.”

      And then he was plunged into darkness.

      When he opened his eyes he was looking at a scene on Earth. He was inside the control room of the Hubble Space Telescope, and there was a crowd gathered there. “I’m sorry” a man was saying, “but Pluto’s gone. We don’t know what happened, but he’s just not there.” There was a spontaneous weeping, and not a dry eye in the room.

      The scene changed. He was watching a mom tuck her little girl into bed. She was hugging a Pluto pillow. “I don’t care what the scientists say” she was telling her mom, “I think Pluto’s still there. I think he’s just hiding.”

      “I hope you’re right” her mom said.

      The Comet showed Pluto scene after scene of people on Earth mourning his death.

      Pluto didn’t realize he was crying. “They love me” he said, “and all this time I was mad at them.”

      He turned to the Comet. “Oh Comet, please tell me this can change. That I can change. I have changed, you know. I have.”

      Pluto was being drawn into the Comet again. “Please” he cried, “Please!…”

      *

      Pluto opened his eyes. He was back in his own orbit. There were no Comets. Everything was as it should be! And he was- what was this strange feeling he was feeling- he was happy! “Oh Thank you, Thank you” he cried aloud.

      “I know just what to do” he said, and he flew over to Eris’ orbit as fast as he could.

      “Pluto” said Eris, a little surprised, “What are you doing here?”

      “Merry Christmas!” cried Pluto, “I’ve come to accept your invitation to the party, and to ask you to forgive me.”

      Eris didn’t know what to say.

      “Oh Eris, I’ve had a change of heart. I’m as light as Saturn, I’m as happy as an Earthling child.”

      Pluto told Eris everything that had happened, and Eris rejoiced in the tale.

      “I’ll be back in time for the party” Pluto said, “Merry Christmas, Eris.”

      “Merry Christmas, Pluto”

      And with that, he headed off to visit Charon.

      When he got close he tried to make himself look as mean as possible.

      “Charon!” he snarled, “why aren’t you at work?”

      Charon and the kids all jumped. But Kerberos looked at Pluto with a curious smile. Pluto winked at him.

      “Mr. Pluto” said Charon, “well I, uh, you gave me the day off. It’s Christmas, remember?”

      “Christmas is it?” barked Pluto, but he couldn’t hold back his joy any longer. If he had a knee he would’ve gotten down upon it.

      “Charon” he said, “I’ve come to make you my partner, and to give you as much time with your kids as you need. More even. Heck, I’ll pay you to stay home with them! And Charon, I’m begging you to forgive me. I’ve been an awful planet.”

      “Why, sir” said Charon, “I, I don’t know what to say.”

      “Say yes, mama” said Kerberos.

      “Why, yes! Yes, of course I forgive you.”

      Kerberos went and orbited Pluto. He rolled around on him and played on him.

      And indeed, ever after, Pluto was like a father to him.

      Pluto took Charon and the kids to Eris’ Kuiper Belt Christmas Party. After the initial shock the other dwarf planets relaxed, and everyone enjoyed themselves greatly. And Pluto, the old Humbug, was the life of the party. And Kerberos, how he sparkled and danced and played.

      The night wore on, and was the most perfect Christmas any of the dwarf planets could remember.

      But Pluto still wanted to do something for the people who loved him. To thank them in some way. So, the next chance he got, when the New Horizons satellite flew by him to take his picture, Pluto turned his heart towards the camera, and said “I love you” to all his friends back on Earth.

      And in the words of Kerberos, who did not die,

      GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!

      Posted in Autism, Christmas, Fiction | 2 Comments | Tagged Christmas Carol, Fiction, Fynn, ghosts, Kids, Planets, Pluto, Solar System
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