Bedtime Stories

Sergeant Yurtle

Skyler Williams

"Since mom is gone tonight, do you want me to tell you a story?" I asked. Stella was at a book conference out in Boston and was staying a couple extra days to hang out with some of her cousins. She'd only be gone for two days and left detailed instructions on when to pick everyone up, what to make for dinner, and where we kept everything. I'm so glad she did; otherwise, I would be lost entirely.

"Sure," Belle said, sounding a little disappointed. Bedtime stories were one of her favorite things, but she was the romantic type, and not many of my stories were romantic. In fact, the one I planned to tell tonight was completely devoid of any romantic notions.

"Once upon a time," I started, pulling the covers up around Avia.

"NO!" Belle interrupted furiously. "Start with 'so there I was.'"

I looked down at Avia, who rolled her eyes. I shrugged my shoulders. It didn't really matter how I started the story, but I would start it with "so there I was" to make them happy.

"So there I was," I started again, smiling at Belle so she knew that I loved her. "I was in New York with my family. My mom and dad went to a play, and so me and my siblings decided that we should go to Chinatown. We had been there earlier in the day and felt confident enough that we knew our way around."

"How old were you?" asked Avia.

"I was probably 13ish. I don't really remember. We left the hotel and walked there. We didn't have phones, so we didn't text my parents where we were going. I think my sister left a little note on the table saying that we were going to Chinatown, but I'm not sure.

We walked to the street and gaped at the lanterns lighting the way. Chinatown was cool during the day, but it was gorgeous at night. There was music playing from somewhere down the street, and I loved the brightly colored lanterns. I pulled out my camera and snapped a couple pictures. My sister saw that I was taking pictures and made me take a few of her while she posed. We meandered down the street, looking from booth to booth. At one booth, there were a whole bunch of tiny animals for sale. Snails, turtles, tiny, harmless snakes."

"SNAKES?" Bella yelled. She buried herself under her covers.

"Yes, snakes, but they were harmless. They couldn't hurt you."

"You didn't get a snake, though, did you?"

"No, my sister wouldn't let me get a snake. Instead, I found a tiny little turtle. My sister loved him instantly because she thought it was super cute. I bought him and cared for him. He came in a little plastic terrarium and wasn't super difficult to transport."

"What's a terrarium?" Avia asked at the same time Belle asked, "How did you get him home?"

"A terrarium is like a turtle house. It kinda looks like Tupperware. You know? Like the containers that mom puts the extra food in."

"Ohhhh," Avia said.

"Well, we were taking the airplane home, and so he had to come on the airplane with us," I said, looking at Belle to acknowledge her question.

"Doesn't mom have horror stories from airport security?" Belle asked.

"No, not horror stories, but she has often been stopped. Apparently, she's suspicious," I said, raising my eyebrows to say that I disagreed with the airport security guards. "But the guys at the airport were really nice. We just told them that the turtle was my emotional support animal, and they scanned him, made sure that he didn't have any knives or anything hidden in him, and then let him go through."

"What did you name him?" Belle asked.

"Sergeant Yurtle. He was the greatest turtle to ever live." I clasped my hands and looked to the ceiling to emphasize my words. I even faked a tear rolling down my cheeks. I was not always the greatest storyteller, but I was a great actor.