The Rainbow Connection
As the bus stops, the wizard stands up and heads for the door, pausing momentarily beside your seat. At the last second you make your decision, glance up at him and give him a short dismissive wave. Without batting an eye, he moves on and exits just before the doors close. As the bus shudders back into motion, you look out the window and realize this is the nearest stop to what you have come to think of as the magic store.
You notice Marsha smiling enigmatically at you. Does she realize you just made an important decision, or is she just happy to enjoy your company a bit longer? Okay, let's make it even longer! When she gets up to leave a couple of stops later, you rise as well.
"Are you going to the park too?"
"Yes I am," you answer without too much hesitation as you realize where you are. "Such nice weather for it."
You step gingerly off - Marsha on her old tired feet and you on your brand new ones - and enter the park as the bus vanishes into the traffic behind you. "Do you come here often?" Marsha asks curiously. "I don't remember seeing you here before. I'm sure I would have noticed!"
"What? Oh, I'm, ah, well, usually here at, err, different times." Great! You kick yourself mentally to remind yourself that you are still in familiar territory and must be careful not to show it too much. As a matter of fact you do remember seeing some old women in the park before, and you are pretty sure one of them was Marsha. But you were a different person then and not particularly interested in old people.
Except...
It strikes you that as old as Marsha is now, she must have been middle aged when you were a kid. You vaguely recall meeting a nice lady one day you were playing in the park. You were sad about something, and she gave you some candy to cheer you up. The more you think about it, the more sure you get. Marsha was the Candy Lady. Too bad you can't tell her that.
You are starting to feel a bit peckish, so when Marsha stops to buy an ice cream cone, you follow her example. You still have enough for the bus fare home... or wherever you are going.
As you dig into the sweet coolness, Marsha pauses to look at you. You have a brief thought about letting the alpha eat first, but that is not what she has in mind.
"I thought canids couldn't eat chocolate," she says quizically.
"It's not good for us," you improvise, "but I'd have to eat about a pound to make me sick. And I'd get sugar shock before that. These sprinkles are nothing." You are standing with your back to the sun, and notice a small rainbow forming in the spray from a fountain behind Marsha. "Besides," you add with a mischievous gleam in your eye, "I'm a magic kitsune - we can turn it into RAINBOWS!" The last word is shouted out with a dramatic flourish that makes your companion turn around and look at the fountain.
Marsha gasps and stares at the rainbow for a second before she looks back at you and laughs. "Why, you young rapscallion! You had me going for a moment!"
You move on, only slightly embarassed to notice that a few other park wanderers heard your shout and are now looking around for the rainbow. Of course they have the wrong angle - their loss.
Written by Won-Tolla on 08 March 2011
The end (for now)