h Chapter Sixteen g
J 
J
The Oogie got up from the grass and stood looking down at the children, its face scrunched up, weirdly twisted into what might’ve been considered a smile, at least to another Oogie- but still looked strangely odd to these kids as they stared up at the Oogie.
“I think- Ohhhh Yes, I have it now!” the Oogie said excitedly. “I believe I now know enough about you kids, and- if you guys are ready- I can now give each of you the gifts that I’ve promised.” “What do you say, kids?” it asked quizzically, bending down, looking into the eyes of each child, individually. “Are you? Do you think you’re truly ready to receive a gift of magic, something that nobody has ever gotten before?”
Not one child uttered even a single word, not even a peep. They just sat there, staring- seemingly stunned, totally in awe of this magical creature that was pacing back and forth in front of them. The Oogie, to these kids, looked like an animated cartoon that had suddenly come alive- yet much more real than that. As they watched and listened, it was just so hard for them to get their minds to wrap around the realness of it all.
The Oogie carefully watched the children. It waited for someone, anyone, to answer. What could be wrong with them?, it thought. Why aren’t they answering? Pacing back and forth, the Oogie glanced at one child, then another, and another- trying to understand what they were waiting for, until it could no longer stand the suspense.
The Oogie extended its hairy arms out to its sides, wriggled and flexed it fingers, preparing for what it was about to do. The children remained gawking, staring at the Oogie, seeming to look right through it.
Suddenly, without warning- the Oogie brought its huge hands together with a wooooosh, making such a loud clap that it sounded as though lightening and thunder combined had struck the space in front of them, instantly causing the children to jump- to snap out of wherever they’d been. The Oogie, nearly bursting with laughter- but somehow maintaining its composure, could see that it now had the children’s full attention.
Holding back its snickers, the Oogie said: “Sorry for the intrusion- children, and I’m sorry if I scared you, but it seemed I had no choice, you were all in such a daze.” “Let me ask you all again; Are each of you ready, truly ready, to receive the gift of magic that I have promised you?”
This time, with absolutely no delay, as if in a single voice- every one of the kids answered using only one word. “Yes!” they all were saying. “Yes!”
Observing the children very closely, the Oogie was now certain that he had their devout attention, and, this time- they were really listening to what he was saying and not going off into some kind of dream state as they had before. And so- the Oogie began by saying:
“While I was in the land of magic, my wounds healing, I gave much thought about things concerning you kids, your grandfather, what gifts I could and should give to you kids that would be very very good.” “Something that you need to understand, that I think should be explained so that you can understand, is that- in the land of magic, time goes much slower than it does here.” “Whenever you guys are with me, or whenever anything magic is happening and you kids are near- time, in reality, is actually moving very very slow, almost stopping- even though it will not seem to be any different than normal.” “For example; In comparison, one single minute of normal time could be the equivalent of hours, even days of magic time.” “Do you see what I mean?”
As the Oogie was trying to explain this concept, it could easily tell by the look on all their faces that they were somewhat confused.
“Kids, the Oogie said, you must keep in mind, that, where magic is concerned, nothing is ever what you would think of as- normal.” “Can you try and remember that? it asked them.”
The Oogie watched them all nod their heads, indicating that they would indeed try keeping that in mind.
“I guess it’s just much too hard to explain to someone that isn’t magic themselves, it said, deciding to give up on the subject for the time being.”
“Well- let’s talk about something else, the Oogie said, moving on.” “I want, no- I need to make you all understand something that concerns the gifts that I’ll be giving you.” “These gifts- they’re not something to play with like a toy, or a game.” “Ohhhhh Yessssss- the Oogie said, magic is a very good thing. But, in the wrong hands, or used in a way that the magic isn’t meant to be used, then magic can become a very, very bad thing.” “Are you understanding at least that much of what I’m saying to all of you? it asked them.”
“I think we know what you mean, Oogie!” answered Alaysia. “You’re telling us that we really have to be careful with magic, that we can only use it for good- never for bad, and that using magic for anything other than what it’s supposed to be used for might make the magic dangerous, right? she asked.”
“Exactly Alaysia! Exactly correct! replied the Oogie excitedly, elated to know his message was actually getting through to them, and happy to hear Alaysia explain it even better than he seemed to be.” “And, continued the Oogie- you must always be careful, always be wary when performing magic, so that it doesn’t cause harm to anyone.” “Of course, you are always allowed to use magic to protect yourself, and others, from harm.”
“Do any of you have any questions concerning what I’ve said about magic so far? the Oogie asked, silently looking directly at each one of them, reading their faces.”
The children had no questions, and- as far as the Oogie could tell- they actually did seem to understand, at least as well as was possible for any child to comprehend. These are smart, very bright kids, the Oogie thought to itself. I think they’re ready now.
“Alaysia, would you stand up please?” asked the Oogie.
Looking around at her sisters and brother, Alaysia got up from the ground, and walked over beside the Oogie. Alaysia’s stomach felt as though it were in knots because she was so nervous.
Putting its huge hands upon her shoulders, the Oogie turned Alaysia so that she was facing her siblings.
“Alaysia, the Oogie said to her, I want you to look down at your shoes.” “Now- put your feet together, side by side, and then I what I want you to do is; start tapping the toes of your shoes together.”
Alaysia did as the Oogie had asked. She put her feet together, then, slightly rocking back on her heels, Alaysia began slowly tapping the toes of her tennis shoes together. As Alaysia was looking down, watching her shoes tapping together, it somehow made her want to laugh at herself because she was doing this.
“That’s good! Very good, Alaysia!” said the Oogie. “Now, it instructed, just start tapping a little bit faster, and remember to keep watching your feet.” Again, Alaysia did as the Oogie asked. She stood there, tapping the toes of her shoes together faster and faster and faster, beginning to get tired, but giggling because she felt so silly.
Alaysia’s feet were slowly beginning to feel warm. It wasn’t actually hurting her, but it felt as though she was slipping her feet into a tub full of very hot water. Alaysia kept tapping her shoes together, trying not to slow down.
Still tapping her shoes together, Alaysia’s eyes suddenly widened, and she gasped in surprise at what she was seeing. Right before her very eyes, her dirty white tennis shoes had changed into the most beautiful shoes that she had ever seen. The other children saw it too. They were all excited, pointing at Alaysia’s shoes, unbelieving what their eyes were seeing. The Oogie was watching them all, smiling to itself as events unfolded. But, while everyone else was still staring at Alaysia’s shoes, it was little Micaiah who’d first noticed that there was much more going on.
“Hey- look! Look at that!” she squealed, no longer pointing at Alaysia’s shoes, but pointing her finger directly at Alaysia herself. “Look at her clothes!” little Micaiah was saying.
All of the children, noticing what Micaiah was talking about, were gazing at Alaysia with awe and amazement at what they saw. Wondering why her brother and sisters were looking at her that way, Alaysia looked down at herself- at what she was wearing. What she saw took her so totally by surprise that her jaw just fell. Alaysia was wearing a beautiful, stunning dress, golden in color, with tiny gems of many different colors sparkling all over it. She was wearing a wide belt about her waist that was of a different, contrasting shade of gold, with a square buckle made from covered what looked like millions of diamonds. Alaysia brought her hands up, her fingers feeling the beads of a necklace around her neck. She felt her hair, could tell that it was done up, styled, as if she had been to a beauty salon. Tears started to trickle down Alaysia’s cheeks, she was very happy.
“It’s the shoes Alaysia!” the Oogie began explaining. “You told me that your most favorite thing is shoes.” “Any time you put these shoes on, they will always fit, and you will always be wearing the most beautiful clothes, fantastic jewelry, everything you like.” “The shoes can never wear out.” “With some practice, you’ll be able to use your mind, have some control over what you wear, styles, colors, things of that sort.” “But, more than that Alaysia- the real magic of the shoes is, that, as long as you’re wearing them they will protect you from harm.”
“Oh Oogie, thank you so much.” Alaysia said, tears streaming freely down her face. No longer able to contain her happiness, she turned and threw her arms around the Oogie, her face against its hairy chest. The Oogie, somewhat taken aback at the sudden affection, gently wrapped its hairy arms around Alaysia, hugging her back.
“You’re very welcome my dear, very welcome, the Oogie said, smiling to itself as it patted Alaysia on the back with its humungous hands.” “Come on now, that’s enough tears from such a pretty face, it said, pushing her away.” Alaysia slowly turned away, sniffling, and went over to stand beside the tree.
“You’re next, Izayah, the Oogie said to him, motioning for Izayah to come.”
Immediately, Izayah was up and moving. After seeing what had happened with his sister, Izayah was excited and anxious to find out what the Oogie would be doing for him.
“Izayah, you said that you liked Bling, though I’ll admit that it took me a little while to understand what Bling actually was, the Oogie said, snickering and shaking its head.” The Oogie squatted down, Izayah standing beside him. “How about taking a look at this Bling?” the Oogie said, watching Izayah’s face as it pulled a long, gold chain from its palm. The Oogie handed the chain to Izayah. Izayah took the chain. Just as he did, he suddenly noticed that, at the end of the chain, on a hook, there was a gold pocket watch. Izayah turned the pocket watch in his hand, studying it, and saw that- etched onto the cover- was a picture of Izayah himself. Izayah raised his head, smiling from ear to ear as he looked at the Oogie.
“From that grin of yours, do I take that to mean that you approve?” asked the Oogie.
“Yessssss!, Oh yes!” Izayah answered. “I’ve never had a watch before.”
“It’s not just any watch, Izayah- but a very special, very magic watch.” “Here, let me show you.” the Oogie said, taking the watch from Izayah’s hand.
The Oogie pressed a button on the edge of the watch and the cover flipped open, revealing the clock works inside. The face of the watch was sooooo white, a perfect contrast to the hour and minute hands of dark ebony. With a mere glance, Izayah could very easily read the time. All the numbers were a deep, yellow-gold, matching the color of the chain itself.
“What are those for?” Izayah asked the Oogie, pointing to another set of dials that looked like two more clocks set into the face.
“Ahhhhhh, the Oogie sighed- Good eye.” “I was hoping that you would ask me about that.” “Those are the clocks of time itself, the Oogie begun to explain.” “By setting the time on the dial on the left, you can travel into the past.” “Setting the time on the dial on the right will let you travel into the future.” “You can set the time on either of those two dials by pressing these buttons, the Oogie said, showing Izayah how to operate the watch.” “The thing to remember, Izayah- just as I explained to your sister about her shoes- you can never use the watch to do bad things with it, only good things.” “Do you truly understand that, Izayah?” The Oogie watched Izayah closely, waiting for an answer. Izayah, looking up from the watch, staring right into the Oogie’s eyes- nodded that he understood. “One last thing, Izayah, said the Oogie.” “As long as you carry the watch with you, the magic of the watch will protect you, always keep you safe.”
“Thank you Oogie, said Izayah, earnestly impressed with the gift he’d been given.
“You, sir, are very welcome.” “Now- off you go.” the Oogie said as it turned to face the other children.
“Sweet, dimply little Shaylah, said the Oogie to her- Come on girl, you’re up next.”
Scrambling to her feet, Shaylah quickly trotted herself up beside the Oogie. Looking down into her angelic face, the Oogie could see that this little one was definitely ready to receive her gift. The Oogie didn’t dawdle, but got right to it.
“Shaylah, it said to her- from you I learned that material things are just not important.” “It was hard for me to decide on what gift to give to you, because you are the first person that I’ve ever encountered- first child anyway- that seemed to show no interest in things, as it were.” “But, I believe, Shaylah- that I’ve come up with a gift that would suit you to a tee.”
Again, the Oogie squatted down so that it could be at eye level with Shaylah. Staring deeply into Shaylahs’ dark brown eyes- the Oogie placed its monstrous sized hands onto her petite shoulders. The Oogie began to tell Shaylah what it had chosen to be her gift.
“For you, Shaylah, I have chosen the Aura of Flight.” “From this moment, for the rest of your life- you will have this gift surrounding you.” “Just by concentrating, by thinking- you will be able to fly anywhere you want to go.” “When you’re flying, no one will be able to see you, but you will be able to see everything.” “Now, Shaylah, I want you to think about floating, not flying- only floating.” “Concentrate on it Shaylah, urged the Oogie, think of nothing but floating in the air.”
Following the Oogie’s instructions, Shaylah closed her eyes tightly and cleared her mind, trying to think only of flying. In seconds, a soft, shimmering glow surrounded her entire body and then Shaylahs’ body rose from the ground and just hovered in place. Her brother and sisters gasped aloud as they stared up at their sister, floating just a few feet above them.
Still concentrating on flying, Shaylah held out her arms, tilted her head back- her eyes looking up into the starry night sky, and very slowly- her body begun to spin. The Oogie watched her, amazed at how quickly this little girl was learning to control her gift of flight.
“Easy now little one, just take it nice and slow.” the Oogie urged cautiously.
Shaylah began to giggle, her body spinning faster and faster and faster, turning into a whirlwind, kind of like a small tornado. Suddenly, with everyone watching and staring up in awe, Shaylahs’ body abruptly stopped spinning, just hovered in place for a second. As everyone watched from the ground, Shaylahs’ body went horizontal and, like an arrow released from a powerful bow, Shaylahs’ body shot off into the sky.
The Oogie, quick on its feet, ran out into the open and scanned the sky, trying to see where she went to, but it could see nothing except the billions of sparkling stars in the inky black night sky.
As swiftly as Shaylah had flown away, she reappeared, soaring right over the Oogie and her siblings’ heads. They could all hear Shaylah laughing as she swooped overhead. Shaylah was happy, very happy.
The Oogie relaxed, no longer afraid that Shaylah may be in trouble. This one’s a natural, as though she’s been flying since birth, thought the Oogie, smiling. She’ll do just fine!
“Now- for you Micaiah.” the Oogie said as it walked back into the trees.
Micaiah, the Oogie observed as she came running, was seemingly more anxious to receive her gift than even her brother and sisters had been to receive theirs. “Yes, little lady- it’s finally your turn,” the Oogie told her, gently patting her on top of her head. “Let’s you and I take a seat, the Oogie said, snapping its fingers.” Two lawn chairs instantly appeared out of thin air.
After they were both sitting, the Oogie scooted its chair up next to hers and reached out for Micaiah’s hand. Micaiah held out her hand willingly, with absolutely no fear whatsoever. Holding Micaiah’s hand, the Oogie gently pressed the tip of its thick index finger into her tiny palm. Micaiah watched as, slowly, the Oogie’s finger began tracing in a circle in her palm. At first it tickled, causing her to almost pull her hand away. Then the tickling stopped, changed, and Micaiah begun to feel a kind of painless heat in the spot where the Oogie’s finger was circling. The heat grew hotter and hotter, yet- to Micaiah’s amazement, it wasn’t burning her at all.
The Oogie watched Micaiah’s face, enjoying the energy of excitement that it could feel emitting from her, and continued rubbing its finger in a circle on Micaiah’s palm. Suddenly, nearly causing her to jerk her hand away again, Micaiah watched a tiny fire jump from the tip of the Oogie’s finger and ignited right in her hand. A thick plume of smoke rose up from the fire, the smoke spinning and swirling, then disappearing into the air.
As suddenly as it had started, the fire and smoke were gone. In its place, right there in the center of her palm, Micaiah saw a rock- a pebble actually, oblong in shape and just a tad bit larger than her own thumb. Immediately, just by looking at it- she could tell that this was certainly no ordinary rock. It was the colors- this is what caused her know- to truly understand that this was a very special sort of rock. Micaiah had never seen any of these colors before. There were so many different hues and shades that she couldn’t even begin to describe them.
Taking her attention away from the rock for only a mere second, Micaiah looked up at the Oogie’s face and gazed into its twinkling in its eyes. At this moment it dawned on her that the colors in the Oogie’s eyes- they were an exact match- the same colors as the rock that lay in her hand.
“Micaiah, I need you to listen to me very carefully, the Oogie began.” “I am giving you a magic that has never been done before.” “This is a magic of myself- a little piece of me, right there inside that pebble, the Oogie tried to explain.” “Do you remember when I told all of you that only children could actually see magic, but not adults? Do you remember me telling you that when we first met down in the root cellar?” Micaiah, staring, mesmerized by the rock in her palm, nodded her head, insuring the Oogie that she understood what it was saying to her.
“What’s most special about this rock, Micaiah, is that even when you grow up and get to be an adult- no matter how old you become, you will always be able to see magic.” “And, the Oogie continued, should you ever want to talk to me, need me for anything at all- just squeeze the pebble in your palm, concentrate on wanting me, and I will come to you no matter where you are.” “Micaiah, Sweetheart, the Oogie asked- do you understand what I’m saying?”
Micaiah, pulling her eyes away from the rock, raised her head and stared deeply into the Oogie’s sparkling eyes- her mind just beginning to grasp the importance of what the Oogie was saying, what it was trying to explain. She knew, with a certainty- just how enormously and incredibly special this gift was that had been given her- and, with joy and elation, little Micaiah got out of her chair, climbed right into the Oogie’s lap, wrapped her skinny arms around its huge neck, and Micaiah began to cry.
The Oogie felt good- better than it had ever felt before. It seemed that its entire existence, its only reason for being alive at all, was for the sole purpose of doing what it had done for these children on this night. Now- everything is just as it is meant to be, thought the Oogie.