ASTRID

Chapter 3 Midnight Guest

The guestroom is so nice and comfortable with a huge oak chest of drawers, a massive mirror in a golden frame, and a lovely bed for two.

"They want us to sleep together, do they?" Billy is addressing her sarcastic question to the twinkling stars that are seen through the window (not to me).

At home we never shared one nursery, but Billy didn't mind my night raids to her room when I was too scared to stay alone in my bed. We always slept in one bed when stayed at Auntie's villa. Last time it was such a great fun when Billy put a blanket above our heads, and I made the pillow walls to fasten our fortress. Billy would switch on the phone lantern and lit her face like in spooky movies about monsters and ghosts.

We could pretend to be surrounded by villain wizards and their henchmen, and the only chance to survive is to stay on bed (that was put a spell by a good enchantress) and never step on floor that was infected with black magic. Once Billy almost hurt her wrist, climbing from bed to the chest of drawers, so we never tried those acrobatic tricks again.

When we were younger we played in two bears during cold winter and stayed all night under the bed, which played the role of our dim and snug lair, waiting for "spring" to come. In that morning Astrid even brought us a pot with honey to "feed her poor, hungry bear cubs after a long severe winter".

Billy is recklessly throwing her earrings on the drawer; one is falling on the floor. I bet she would look for them next morning turning everything upside down from attic to cellar. I don't want her to upset Astrid and grandma with her nagging and importunity tomorrow, and I pick her trinket up, carefully putting them together.

Billy is already in bed covered in her blanket like a butterfly kell.

"Switch off the light! Or are you going to stay like a monument in the middle of the room all night long?" I can hear the distinct irritation in her voice.

I want to tell her something smart in turn. But I'm really like a frozen statue: so silly to make up a good line. I delay for a couple of seconds and don't turn the light off immediately to get on my sister's nerves in revenge.

***

I wake up in the middle of the night. Old grandpa's clock strikes twelve the moment I open my eyes. Billy is sleeping. She is so nice when sleeps: angel when dreams, demon when speaks.

Tries to fall asleep again, nestling on a soft mattress but can't like a sissy princess on a tiny pea. I don't want to wake up Billy with my tossings and decides to drink some milk or juice. Mom is usually against our "extremely unhealthy night bites", but she's not here and can't see me now!

Like a little revolutionary I'm tiptoeing to the kitchen avoiding squeaking stairs. Amazingly how everything sounds so loud at night: when I close an old "dinosaur" fridge (which is older than Astrid) the sound it produces is like a bomb explosion.

I expect everybody to run down in fear, but the house remains hushed and pleasantly still but the tickling of a clock at some distance. I take a breath and make myself comfortable with a glass of apple juice on the windowsill where Astrid loves to sit.

Speaking about Astrid, I hear her and a male voice outside!

"Has Dad come back?" I have a silly thought.

I secretly climb the windowsill with my legs to have a better view of the porch. Surely, the voice doesn't belong to Dad: it's a tall stranger who stands next to Astrid. They are holding hands like two adorable love-doves!

"Astrid has a boyfriend!"

I'm so excited and happy for her! If only Billy can see Astrid now and this handsome man who looks like Prince Erik. I'm giggling like a five -year-old girl and covering my mouth, lest they might hear me. "Oh Billy, Billy... Your pimpled Mike from a bog has nothing on him!" I'm rubbing my hands drawing the picture of how I'll tell her about Astrid's midnight guest.

I'm pressing my cheek against the window to get more details of the man (to describe his appearance to Billy later. Not because I'm curious or something...)

The porch is lit with a paper lantern that is trembling in night gentle breeze, but there is enough light for me to notice some prodding and pottering about the porch where our luggage was left. I peer at the place and see funny creatures not taller than my Feather. They are like little rubber kewpie dolls in old-fashioned overalls and dandy hats. Littluns are running under the sweethearts' feet. Some of them steps on man's long lion tail with a classic tassel on its tip. The stranger wags it carelessly. A tail?

Some of the creatures, piping like tiny birds, are about to lift Billy's huge trunk.

Astrid's ringing laugh returns me to reality. Billy must see it now! Auntie was not lying telling us about "moving" gnomes.

I'm running hastily upstairs. When I'm in the room, I jump on the bad where Billy sleeps like an enchanted princess with her soft golden hair lying on the pillow.

"Billy! Billy! Billy! Wake up! You must go downstairs with me and see something" I'm pulling at her shoulder.

"What time is it Sarah?" my sister opens one of her green eyes.

"There... gnomes! Man with a lion tail!" I'm panting and at the same time trying to explain her everything.

She closed her eye again and says, "If you wake me up in the middle of the night again, I will never talk to you. Never ever," then she adds milder, "You should stop listening to Astrid's fairytales or one day you'll wake up looking like this old spinster and see "ghosts" and "gnomes" in the garden.

I don't know what does the word "spinster" mean, but it sounds rude:

"You are mean, Billy. I don't want to be your friend anymore."

"Oooh... I will be sooo unhappy. What shall I dooo..." she's mumbling sarcastically while falling asleep again.

I want to return back, but the landing and the living room below look so dark and terrifying. I find nothing better than crawl under my blanket, close my eyes tightly, and tremble like an aspen leaf hearing the sound of teeny tiny footsteps running about the house.