It Takes A Boy

He ran like the wind. His feet burst with energy. For the first time in over a month, Timmy felt alive.

"Timmy, where are you?" Lannay's voice echoed from tree to tree, reached his ears like thunderbolts. "Timmy!"

He galloped farther to distance himself from Lannay. He must get away from her. He had to get away. If he did not do it this time, he knew he will never get away. Farther and farther he commanded his legs to widen the gap between him and Lannay. Faster and faster he bounded over rocks, hurdled mere inches off fallen tree trunks, crossed muddy puddles with a hop and a skip. He grimaced each time a branch stung his face.

Breathless after his sprint, Timmy found a tree and leaned against it. He felt sure he left Lannay way, way behind, probably a hundred miles where he hoped she decided to let him be. He wanted her to just leave him, to stay away as far away as possible from him. He brushed the sweat off his face with the back of his hand. He breathed a little easier as he rested.

He looked up at the trees, eyed the branches that swayed in the breeze and noticed the leaves that seemed greener through the sunlight that made the morning hour a day to run away from Lannay. The wildness of the forest caught him at his throat, and he coughed to ease the burning sensation.

Timmy's knees knocked against each other. His legs felt like jelly. His eyes drooped as he fought to keep them open. The ground looked inviting as well. His legs folded under him and he slumped next to the tree. He turned to his side, pulled his knees to his chest, and fell into a deep sleep before he had time to think.

"Ouch!" Timmy awoke, jumped up, and rubbed his back. It felt tender and sore. He turned around, fully awake.

"Wow," he burst out. "What is a door doing at the foot of a tree?" He yanked at the knocker. "You hurt my back, shame on you," he scolded as his wild eyes surveyed the door.

He wiggled the knocker. It felt cold. He released the knocker with a push. It clanged against the door.

"Gee, this door looks very old. I wonder if it opens?" He mumbled, poking at every little hole.

"Hmm," he scratched his head, "there's no key."

"I wonder what's behind the door?" He kicked it. The knocker bounced but the door remained closed. Slivers of sweat ran down the side of his face. Deep lines formed on his forehead. He crouched in front of the door. He fixed his eyes on the knocker.

"Gosh," he whispered, "why won't it open?" Sweat filled his eyes. With a sigh, he brushed them off. "There you go, now I can see better." He smoothed his face, to get rid of so much sweat.

At that very moment, he heard Lannay calling him. He jabbed at the tiny door again, much stronger this time. He held the knocker with both hands. He pulled at it and banged at the door. Still, it stayed closed. He got up, breathing hard. He looked around, making sure Lannay was not about to grab him. She had a habit of showing up, just to give him the shivers. He needed to hurry.

"Hokus, pokus," he said without actually meaning it, a silly grin on the side of his mouth. He gave the door a slight push with his toe. It whimpered like a baby. Timmy stepped back, his eyeballs starkly wide. He shuddered. He clasped his hands to stop them shaking. The door grunted and moaned until it squeaked to a stop. He kneeled and pressed his face to the door, and saw smoke swirling inside. He straightened up, shook his head and coughed.

"This is weird," he muttered, staring at the door. Timmy crouched and shoved his hand through the opening. In an instant, he disappeared.
He found himself in a long, dark tunnel.

"Wow, how did I get here? How did I get through the tiny door?"

He peered through the darkness and noticed a light at the far end of the tunnel. He followed it, his arms stretched in front of him as he groped for something to hold on. He took small steps. The swirling smoke thinned gradually when he advanced toward the light. He stopped inches away from another door, a larger one this time. He entered through and found himself in a white room, empty except for a chair in front of a mirror in the far corner. He was amazed at the whiteness of the room. It was almost gleaming.

"Weirder and weirder," Timmy murmured. "Hello, anybody here?"

Silence met him. He shuffled toward the mirror. It hissed, sizzled, and turned into the fuzziest glass he had ever seen. It was completely covered in steam as he stared at it. He thought that maybe there was some kind of magic in the room. He half-shook his head, disbelief in his eyes.

Timmy stopped short behind the chair. His eyes darted from one corner of the room to the rest of the room. He felt eyes watching him He felt his bones got tight. He knew almost at once that he was getting awfully cold.

"Excuse me, I am sorry I came in without knocking," he mumbled, watching the darkest corner of the room for any movement. However, the room remained as quiet as when he first entered it.

All too soon, the mirror cleared of steam and it was replaced by the figure of a man with greyish beard and a crop of white hair on top of his head. The man's face wrinkled with lines, his nose seemed to lean to his left side, his fingers gnarled like twisted branches of an old tree, and his eyes darted warily from Timmy to the chair and to the rest of the room.

"Sit yourself down, please," the man's voice sounded hollow and faint.

"I beg your pardon, Sir?" Timmy said.

"Sit down, please," the man said, his voice sounded much louder.

"Thank you, Sir," Timmy said and sat on the chair, his eyes glued to the mirror.

The bearded man's eyes examined Timmy from his head down to his shoes. Timmy felt the man's hand, patting him on the shoulders, his tummy, then his legs. But he did not see his hands move. "Weird," he whispered to the side of his face.

"Why are you here, Timmy?" The old man's eyes pierced into Timmy's.

"I am running away from Lannay, Sir."

"Who is Lannay?" The old man's stare probed Timmy's inner thoughts.

"She is a Nanny or a companion, Sir."

"Why are you running away from a Nanny?" The old man's eyes seemed to have detected Timmy's little secret.

"She is a witch, Sir." Timmy's eyelids felt heavy.

"A witch? Are you scared of a witch?" The man in the mirror smiled.

"No, Sir, I am not afraid of Lannay."

"Then, what do you want from me?" The old man's smile widened into a grin.

"May I have super powers, Sir, so I can make Lannay go away?"

The bearded man exploded in ripples of laughter. His cheeks glowed golden, his eyes turned into orbs of laser lights, and his tummy undulated into wavelets, forming folds of ripples that Timmy compared to the waves in his swimming pool. As he watched the old man in the mirror, his eyes felt heavy and heavier until they closed completely, sending him into a deep, deep sleep.

The footsteps neared as Timmy awoke with a start. He sat up, aware of the running steps that echoed like claps of thunder. He looked at his hands. They were intact. He touched his face, eyes, nose, and ears. They were all there. He sprung to his feet and searched for the door at the foot of the tree. It was not there; it completely disappeared. The footsteps sounded nearer. In the distance, through a break between the trees, he saw Lannay hurry towards him. Without hesitation, he lifted his right arm, pointed at Lannay, and uttered: "Stop right there!"

"Omigosh," Timmy exclaimed, surprise in his voice. "She stopped, I made her stop." He dashed to where Lannay stood, like a statue. "Gosh, I hope she is all right."

Again, he touched Lannay lightly on the arm. She did not move. Timmy stared and actually felt a little sorry for Lannay. Instead, he touched her again and said, "Goodbye, Lannay, please go back where you came from."

Timmy turned around and skipped toward home. He stopped, turned to make sure Lannay was as solid as when he first touched her. He smiled and ran all the way home, shouting, "whoopee". As he stepped indoors, he felt terribly sleepy again. He fell into his bed and did not wake up until the next day.

He scrambled out of his bed; untangled himself from his blanket that seemed to have twisted around his body during the night. It took him some time to do this. When he was finally free of the blanket, he tiptoed to the bathroom, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair. He changed into his old shirt and jeans. He was ready to tell Mom and Dad that Lannay had gone, vanished.

He felt very fresh and started to sing to himself. He came out of his bedroom, and felt there was something he forgot to do. However, for heaven's sake, he just could not remember what it was he had to do. He ran back to his room, looked around for any thing that was supposed to tell him what it was he forgot to do. He scratched his head. Then he sat on the carpeted floor, and tried to remember what it was that he had to do.

"There you are," said a voice that sounded to him like Mom. He turned around. It was Lannay!!! He crouched farther into the floor, his face was red all over.

"But...but..." was all Timmy could manage to utter. He clasped his face with both hands. He began to cry. And cry he did. He sobbed and sobbed, his shoulders shook with such anguish that Lannay knelt beside him on the floor and held him close to her heart. There was that feeling of warmth and closeness in her embrace that Timmy felt it was Mom who was cuddling and holding him.

He began to remember...

About six months ago, as he remembered it; on a beautiful day in June, he kissed Mom and Dad goodbye as they prepared to visit Timmy's grandmother, his Mom's mother, who lived across town. Timmy wanted to go with them. However, he had his exam the next day, and he wanted to pass it so that he was to become the valedictorian in his class. The school was soon to be closed for the holidays. It made Timmy a little mad to let them go because he also wanted to see his grandmother. He felt he was the cause of the accident because he made so much fuss about his parents visiting his grandmother without him.

Timmy's Mom and Dad never got to see his grandmother. On their way, a drunk driver in his large and heavy motorbike, crashed into his Dad's Volkswagen. Both his parents perished at the crash. Lannay, his Mom's sister, arrived the next day and became Timmy's adult companion. Or his Nanny as far as he could imagine it. He refused to like Lannay because he wanted his Mom and Dad alive in his heart. However, with Lannay around, it meant they were no longer with him. He was totally devastated with his loss, and more so because it made him realize of the complete and total loss of his Mom and Dad.

His grandmother became his only loving, sole comfort in his grief.




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