The Road, the Fairy, and the Boxcar

The Boxcar in Quadling Country

Henry waited a few moments to calm his racing heart down before letting go of the boxcar door handle. "Is, is everyone all right?" He turned around, blinking, the light coming through the cracks and the small window just over the shelf provided him with enough light to see everyone. Jessie was holding on to the shelf, her arm around Watch. Violet was crouched in one corner, holding on to a post, while Polly and Benny were holding on to the post in the other corner.

"Watch and I are fine," came Jessie's answer, followed by a bark from Watch.

"I'm fine, but is it actually over?" asked Violet, peeking her head out from under her arms.

"If it wasn't so scary, it could have been fun," said Benny with a hint of disappointment.

Polly's soft but nervous chuckle echoed in the boxcar. "It would, wouldn't it?"

"But other than that, are you all right?"

"Yes!" came Benny's reply, sounding much cheerier than before.

"I am all right, but I feel like something has changed." Polly's face was concerned but hopeful.

Henry felt his heart quicken and his spirits begin to fall. "What do you mean by something has changed?" he asked, his voice nearly becoming a whisper filled with dread. He had a suspicion he knew what she was talking about. Something did feel different. He didn't know how he knew or what had changed, but he kind of understood what she was talking about, and didn't like it.

"It's like, well, it's like we've moved from one country to another," she said, perhaps a little too hopefully.

Benny gasped. "Are we in Oz?"

"Jessie, can you come help open the door?" Henry asked quickly as his hands grasped the door handle.

"Coming!" Jessie quickly stood up, letting go of Watch. Watch barked as he followed her towards the door. A moment later, Henry felt the wet nose up against his pants.

"Watch, sit." The dog sat. "Good boy," he said, quickly giving the dog a pat on the head. He returned his hand to the handle as Jessie's hands gripped the handle. "Ready?"

"Ready," said Jessie.

"Then on three, one ... two ... three!" The two opened the door as the others crowded around.

Polly gasped and clasped her hands when the scenic landscape could be seen. "Oh, it is Oz! We're in the Quadling Country!"

"What? How can that be?" exclaimed Jessie.

"How can you tell?" asked Violet.

Polly pointed at the flowers. "See the color of the flowers? Only red wildflowers grow in the Quadling Country! A better sign is if we come across any of their houses, it would be painted entirely red and full of red furnishings. Red is their favorite color. Your boxcar fits perfectly here!"

"At least not everything is red," said Violet, "that would be an eyesore." Benny snickered.

"It fit perfectly well in Grandfather's backyard," mumbled Jessie, "where I would prefer it had stayed."

"Oh, Glinda is very powerful. She could send you and the boxcar back home, no problem," said Polly as she danced her way down to the ground. "Ozma could too, but she's usually in the Emerald City, being the Queen and all. Glinda is much closer."

"So, can we explore the Quadling Country and ask Glinda to send us all home when we're done?" asked Benny hopefully.

"What I want to know is how we even got here in the first place," said Henry as he jumped to the ground. He turned and helped Jessie down.