h Chapter Fourteen g
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After finishing breakfast, all the kids, except Alaysia, went off into the living room to watch cartoons, leaving her with the dishes. When the others left, Alaysia talked her grandfather into going to his room to and lie back down, hoping that getting more rest would help him get back to his normal self.
Alaysia was washing the last of the breakfast dishes when she heard a noise at the window. Quickly, grabbing the dishtowel to dry her hands, Alaysia went to the window. Pushing back the curtains, she scanned the back yard, her eyes searching- but she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing there. As she was about to give up, shaking her head, thinking she must have been hearing things- Alaysia yelped in surprise as the Oogie’s face suddenly appeared- pressed tightly against the glass, staring right at her. The Oogie’s face looked stranger than ever mashed against the glass that way. Alaysia’s heart was racing because it had scared her so badly.
Again, the Oogie scratched and tapped on the window. Alaysia, no longer afraid- pointed her finger, motioning for the Oogie to come to the back door. When she opened the door the Oogie told her to come outside, that it important that it speak with her. So Alaysia stepped outside, closed the door behind her, and followed the Oogie as it went around and between the houses.
“Boy- am I glad to see you!” Alaysia was saying as they rounded the corner of the house. “There’s something wrong with my grandpops, something not right.”
The Oogie stopped and turned to face her. Instantly Alaysia noticed that the Oogie was hurt. It was holding its hands pressed onto its sides, and she could see what looked like blood, though the color of it was weird, caked in its hair beneath both its hands.
“Oogie- What happened to you?” Alaysia asked, staring wide eyed at the Oogie’s wounds.”
“The Ogre came last night, right after you kids left.” the Oogie answered, its face grimacing from the pain it was feeling.
“The Ogre? Ohhhhh Oogie- Are you going to be alright?” Alaysia asked, frightened.
“Yes, yes- I’ll be fine, the Oogie assured her.” “It’s going to take some time for the wounds to heal, but I’ll be fine, Alaysia, you’ll see.” “Don’t worry, okay?”
Alaysia watched the Oogie intently, worried that it was just saying it would be okay because it could see that she was upset and worried.
“Alaysia, just listen to me.” the Oogie began, changing the subject. “That Ogre is more dangerous than I thought.” “I almost beat it last night- I actually thought that I was going to put it out of our lives forever, but it tried to kill me.” “I mean- It really tried to kill me, Alaysia.” “So I came to warn you, to warn all of you, that you need to be very careful.” “I’ll be here at midnight, just like I said I would, but I just wanted all of you to know just how serious this really is.” “I don’t think it will bother with you, not during the day at least.” “I just didn’t want to take the chance and not tell you what happened last night, you see?”
“Thank you Oogie, Thank you, and we’ll watch out for the Ogre.” “But, but… what about my grandpops?” “I really am scared, because he’s just not acting right at all.” “Oogie, my grandpops started feeling odd right after the Ogre left yesterday morning, and he’s been sleeping ever since.” “He did get up this morning, but he still wasn’t himself, and he went right back to bed- didn’t even touch his breakfast.” “I’m really, really afraid,” Alaysia said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “That Ogre did something to my grandpops, she cried.”
Removing its hand from the wounds in its side, the Oogie slipped its fingers between its hair. Pulling its hand back out, Alaysia saw a small, brown, leathery looking pouch with string tied around the top. The Oogie held out the pouch, motioning for her to take it. Warily, Alaysia reached out and took it into her fingers, holding it away from her, staring at the pouch as if it might bite her.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Its magic healing dust, the Oogie replied.” “Sprinkle the dust all over your grandfather and I think that, then, he’ll be fine.” “It wont work right away, It might take awhile because, sometimes- it takes longer to work on some kinds of spells, but I believe that this magic dust, which is very strong, will bring your grandfather back to his old self.”
“Is this what you’re using on yourself, to heal your wounds?” she asked the Oogie.
“Well, yeah- sort of.” “But what I gave you is a different type of healing dust, one that works on spells- because I think the Ogre must have put a spell on your grandfather, Alaysia.” “But- For my wounds- I have to use a magic that heals wounds, a type of magic that works much like the medicines that you use.”
The Oogie said; “I have to go now Alaysia.” “There’s a place that’s magic, all magic.” “If I go there, it will help my wounds to heal much faster.” “Remember- we have to meet at midnight just as we planned before, okay?” “Keep your family close, and remember to keep watch for the Ogre- okay?”
“Okay, Alaysia answered, her voice quivering with worry and fear.” “We will, she told the Oogie.”
The Oogie waved goodbye- and suddenly, the air seemed to thicken, to fold upon itself. As if in a dream Alaysia watched, the Oogie fading in and out- sort of like it was being stirred in a mixing bowl, blending in with the air itself. Then, right before her eyes, the Oogie just disappeared altogether- as if it had never been there at all.
Alaysia, after shaking off the oddness of what she had just witnessed, remembered the magic dust she still clutched tightly in her hand and what she needed to do with it. Quickly, she hurried back into the house to help her grandfather.
After sprinkling all of the magic dust onto her grandfather, Alaysia sat in a chair beside her grandfathers’ bed and just watched him. A long while later, realizing that it was nearly lunch time, and remembering what the Oogie had told her- that it might take some time for the magic to work, Alaysia kissed her grandfather on his forehead and left the room.
After eating their lunch, the children spent the rest of the afternoon and evening discussing the “Something Very Good” that the Oogie had told them to think very carefully about before deciding what they might want. They became so engrossed in the subject that none of them even thought about supper. Every so often, Alaysia, still worrying about her grandfather, would leave the others talking among themselves while she slipped off to check in on him. But, there was no change, her grandfather was still sleeping as before, unmoving.
Alaysia noticed Shaylah yawning, which caused her to yawn herself. Glancing up at the clock on the living room wall, surprised that it was already nearly ten, she told her brother and sisters that they should all try to get a couple hours sleep before they had to meet with the Oogie at midnight. After all of the kids were in bed Alaysia checked in on her grandfather once more. She pulled the blanket up over him, took her grandfathers alarm clock and returned to the living room.
Alaysia set the alarm for eleven fifty. Not much time, she thought, sighing to herself as she was kicking off her shoes. She pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, rested her head on a throw pillow, and snuggled up on the couch to get a little rest herself.