Unlikely Friends

Sierra

"Welcome home. The Ritz are on the counter," Jody called nonchalantly the moment he heard his sister come home. She grabbed them and dashed upstairs without hesitation.

Once in her room and confident that no one was watching, she pulled out her box and began her daily reading.

She froze and snapped her head up when she heard a soft, quiet footstep. Not the sneaking kind of footstep; just a light footstep. C had incredible hearing.

"Who's there?" she demanded. Her hand reached for her pocket, where she had a small pocketknife concealed.

"No need for that, deary. I am simply here to give you something," a high pitched, motherly voice said from behind her. C didn't open the knife, but kept her hand by her pocket as she stood up and slowly turned to face the unknown guest.

"I said, who's there."

"Why, I'm Mother Goose! You should know all about me from the books you read." To her astonishment, C saw that this lady did look something like Mother Goose might. Feathers, beak . . . but still human-like.

"You said you had something to . . ."

"Give you. Yes, and here it is. Toodley doo, Sierra! I shall see you soon!" And with that, the strange lady poofed into thin air, leaving behind an astonished Sierra and a letter with a white feather.

C picked up the letter, and immediately opened it.

"My Dear Sierra,

Though you may or may not know it yet, you are a very special girl with a very special purpose.

Whether this excites you or not, you are about to experience a sizable change in your life.

You are to use this magical feather to transport to The Protector's Castle on Tuesday at 8:00am. Do not be late.

Wet the feather and then whisper the location you are going to. Spin the feather, and you will teleport.

Here you will join with other young girls your age who are also very special. You will be trained by The Protector for your purposes.

Dearest Wishes,

Mother Goose."

After standing for about five minutes gaping at the letter, C locked it, the feather, and all of her other things in the box and hid it carefully. She then rushed to the library, making sure to leave her father a note so that she wouldn't get in trouble.

Today was Friday. Four days until the letter said to teleport.

C didn't know if this was a fake or not, but she couldn't wait to find out.

At the library, she checked out a good half-dozen books on Mother Goose. She had looked for books on The Protector, but found none.

By the time Tuesday came, she would be ready for... whatever.