The Hurricane

Once upon a time a clockmaker, his wife Fée the fairy, and their only child, Skei all lived in Fern Gully. It was a magical oasis outside the city. The clockmaker created his timekeeping masterpieces in his workshop. Fée would dance and her fairy magic would flow into each timepiece. The magic ensured wherever they went, time would be kept. Skei was a tinkerer and had magic of her own – not that she entirely knew what to do with it.

Periodically, the clockmaker and his family would load up all the timepieces he made and carried them into the city to be sold in his shop. The journey took two days to complete. The clockmaker would randomly decide when to make this trip. Skei did not like this. She preferred a predictable order and could be very stubborn when things did not go as she expected. Little fires would literally light up all over. Skei had to learn to control this, and all her emerging powers.

When Skei was born, a rare white scarlet macaw had perched at the window of her nursery and watched her.

"Hoo," Skei whispered with a smile the first time she laid eyes on the bird. The bird never left. Skei's parents decided to call the bird Hoo. Hoo accompanied Skei wherever she went. Skei loved the bird and the bird loved her. Skei believed she could only rely on Hoo.

As summer came to an end, Skei was excited to begin a new school. She would be learning to use her powers. She had prepared all summer. One clear night, she made a wish on a shooting star. She wished for friends and let her wish out into the air with a big sigh. Skei fell asleep under the blanket of stars. Hoo was watching over her. Skei's wish escaped Fern Gully, went over the hills, and out to the sea where it blew a butterfly off its course. The effect rippled back.

The wind began to whip up the tides. Streaks of cirrus clouds shot across the night sky. Hoo was awake and alert. The bird listened carefully to the message brought by the wind. With a loud call, Hoo took flight. The bird's large blue wings cast a looming shadow over Skei. If one were to speak Macaw one would have heard,

"The heavens are opening. Patience is the key that solves all problems. We will meet again soon."

Skei was learning to speak Macaw. Unfortunately, when half asleep, a lot can get lost in translation. What Skei heard was simply,

"Goodnight," and with that Skei closed her eyes and returned to her dreams of play, adventure, and giggles.

The next morning Skei awoke. The clockmaker had decided the night before that the family would travel into the city that morning. To Skei's surprise, her parents were in frenzy. A hurricane was coming. The sky was grey, rain had already begun to fall, and strong winds were causing the ferns outside to sway like metronomes. The trip to the city had been cancelled and as Skei soon realized, Hoo was gone. Devastation!

Skei wanted to go searching for Hoo, but her parents insisted she stay inside. The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Skei's parents needed her to help ready the house for the storm's full blast. The ring of the hurricane would soon envelope them. Skei stomped and screamed. She only wanted to look for Hoo. She needed Hoo! The mahogany grandfather clock in the corner burst into towering flames. This was no time for tempers. Fée reacted instantly,

"Enough," Fée commanded putting out the fire with the snap of her fingers. The once majestic clock had been badly damaged. Its "tick-tock­s" could no longer set the heartbeat for their home. Skei felt terrible. The clockmaker assured mother and daughter that he could fix the clock, and all would be well, eventually.

The hurricane came. Rain creeped through ever crevice. The winds blew the roof off much of Skei's home, including the clockmaker's workshop. All his beautiful clocks were damaged or picked up and carried away by the wind. Skei stayed sulking in her room. She watched horrified as a snake, a goat, and a 300-pound wild boar flew past her bedroom window – along with a mango tree, a bicycle, and many clusters of coconuts.