Burrow

Before Five

"Ollie! Ollie!" I called, trying to ignore the note crumpled in my fist.

"Ollie, if you're there, I never wanted you to run away! Ollie, come back!" I screamed.

It had been two hours since Ollie disappeared into no where. And I had no luck finding him. Maybe he ran away. But that note that chilled me to the core...

Dear Miss Karter,
We usually don't do other people favors, but we made an exception for you. You wished you didn't have Ollie as your brother, and you got what you wanted- he's gone now. He's in a place where he's wanted. Aren't you a lucky, lucky girl?

Now, instead of being ignored, he'll be at the center of attention- at least until we grant your wish permanently. We're no fairies, but no one can say we don't give them what they want.

-You're welcome

I began to sob. I had wished he wasn't my brother. I had wished I wasn't part of my nutty family. Now, I would have both, when my parents disowned me for losing my brother.

But one line gave me shivers. He'll be at the center of attention- at least until we grant your wish permanently. I had wished not to have Ollie anymore...and making it permanent meant that they were planning to kill him. I vomited, heaving my food onto the ground, Mark holding my hair back.

"They've kidnapped Ollie!" I choked, "they're gonna murder him!"

"Nelly, stay calm." Mark told me.

"Calm?! My brother has been kidnapped because of me and is going to be killed and what am I supposed to do?! Stay calm?! No, Mark, I can't stay calm!" I hurled myself onto the ground.

"Nelly..." He brushed away my tears, "this is bad, it's true. But you and I both know that crying isn't going to save Ollie. We are."

"W-what? How, Mark? Oh, this is horrible!" I just wanted to find that Ollie was playing hide and go seek with us, and any minute, he would pop out and say; 'Hey, why didncha find me yet?'

But that wasn't going to happen. And Mark was right. We had to rescue Ollie, we couldn't make a mess out of
ourselves. I vomited again.

"Let's go." I said feebly, "we'll look in the woods for Ollie." We headed right into the thicket of the woods. We was still crying so much, and calling so much, that I couldn't even hear the whispers in the background. Whispers that didn't belong to Mark.

"Ollie! Ollie!" I shouted myself hoarse, over and over, and before long it was almost time for my parents to be home. We were out of luck.

"Well," I looked up towards the canopy, "I wish something else now! I wish I had my brother back!"

Now I heard the whispering. It was low and brittle, like bark.

"You can not just change your wish! You made it, there is no reversal. Give up. I can't grant your new wish, but I can give you something better; something to make everyone think Ollie never existed."

"Who are you?" I demanded. The whispers just cackled.

"Nell, why are you talking to yourself?" Mark said. He couldn't hear all the whispers?

"No, your friend can't hear me. I only let you hear, Nelly Karter. Because you have given me a gift, the gift of your brother. I return the favor. Look in the knot in the tree behind you."

I reluctantly turned around, and saw that there was a tree with a knot behind me. I reached in, and fished out a...

"A bowl of yarn?" I mused. What kind of gift was that? It was shiny and blue, and a little blurred at the edges.