Festival of Shadows (68 page)
Read Festival of Shadows Online
Authors: Michael La Ronn
“We thought you were gone for sure,” Lucinda said, helping him up.
“Never.”
“Is he really gone now?”
Theo nodded.
There was a shimmer of light, and Grant appeared, sleeping on the floor. He opened his eyes and looked around sleepily.
“Theo?”
Theo rushed to his side and hugged him. “It’s time to get out of here.”
A gentler-looking portal appeared; Grant’s bedroom was on the other side.
“Now is your chance,” Lucinda said.
Theo faced the caravan. “Come back with me.”
“We have to stay,” Lucinda said. “We’re going to rebuild the Stratusphere. There are thousands of toys here who are wondering what just happened. We can’t leave them.” She smiled. “Besides, all of us wouldn’t fit in Grant’s toy box.”
“Lucinda—thanks.”
The other toys gave him a group hug, and then held him up and cheered.
“One final cheer for Theo!”
“Oh god, yes!”
“Yesiree!”
They set him down, and Gasket licked him sadly. Theo patted him on the neck and said, “See you, pal.”
He joined Grant at the portal, and he waved before they jumped through. They landed in the bedroom.
Theo went stiff, and Grant looked around and sighed with relief at the sight of his room.
“I knew you’d save me, Theo,” he said.
The door opened, and Mom and Dad flew into the room.
“Grant!”
They hugged him.
“Where have you been?”
Grant looked at the bed, but the portal was gone. He paused, wrinkled his lips, and winked at Theo. “I . . . I went walking around the neighborhood.”
Mom gasped. “Why would you do that? It’s dangerous!”
“I’m okay, Mom. I’m fine. I had Theo with me.”
Dad picked up Theo and smiled. “Good job, pal.” He set him on the pillow, and Grant went with them downstairs to eat breakfast.
The other toys piled out of the toy box and surrounded Theo.
“What was it like in the Stratusphere?” they asked.
Theo glanced at where the portal had been. “It was a terrible place, but it’s much safer now.”
Four years later…
It was Grant’s first day of eighth grade. He had grown taller, his voice deeper, and he had a full mouth of teeth.
They toy box was buried in the closet and had gathered a film of dust.
Grant sat on the bed and looked at Theo as Mom stood at the bedroom door.
“You’re going to have to get rid of these toys,” Mom said. “You haven’t played with them in years.”
“But they’re special, Mom.” He ran his fingers along Theo’s sword and shield.
“Maybe they will be special for another little boy or girl, too.”
There was a horn outside. A school bus rumbled down the street.
“There’s the bus,” Mom said.
Grant grabbed his backpack and gave Mom a sullen look. “I’ll decide what to do with them when I get home.” He flew out the room, and Mom followed and shut the door.
Theo sat up, and the other toys peeked out of the toy box.
“He’s going to give us away,” Planeby said.
“We’re going to get split up!” Nora said, crying.
“Calm down, everyone,” Theo said.
I knew this day would come. But I’m not scared.
“What are we going to do?” James asked.
“I don’t know,” Theo said. “But I know that we’re going to be okay.”
The other toys gasped; Theo turned around, and under the bed, a swirling blue portal appeared.
“It’s Stratus again!” James said, readying his fists.
Theo laughed. “Stop. It’s not Stratus.”
“Then who is it?”
Theo smiled. “Old friends.”
“Where does it go?”
“No more questions,” Theo said. “No more fear. Let’s go, everyone.”
He took one look around the bedroom, knowing that it was the end of an era. Then he started for the portal, and the other toys followed one by one, whispering about what might lie on the other side.
.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Theo vanquished the darkness. But what if things had happened differently?
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AFTERWORD
Festival of Shadows
was inspired by an image I saw on Pinterest of a teddy bear fighting a huge monster while protecting his owner. It moved me. The image, beautifully drawn, said so much with no words at all. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, and I knew that I had to write a story.
At first, this book was a thousand-word short story that languished on my computer for a very long time. I couldn’t get it right. I decided on a whim to make it a Decision Select Novel, and it wrote itself—I wasn’t prepared for how quickly and radically it evolved. It turned out to be a book that I knew I was meant to write. Funny how that happens.
A teddy bear is an unlikely protagonist, especially in today’s fiction market where readers expect human heroes, and anything out of the ordinary doesn’t sell. But I’ve always been fascinated by them because I grew up with one; I figured I might not be the only adult who still had a soft spot for an old friend.
My bear’s name was Teddy. My grandmother purchased him from a catalog and gave him to me when I was born. He had brown fur, one round ear, one floppy ear, and a zipper down his back that I would hide stuff in when I didn’t want my mom to find it. My first memory ever is lying in the crib with him at dawn, talking gibberish as he smiled back at me.
I still have Teddy today, though I haven’t slept with him in many, many years. He has lost his nose and eyes, but his smile is still as bright as it was when I was a baby.
I keep him around because he was always there for me. An only child, I was bullied when I preferred to read instead of play sports. I was teased because I grew up in an interracial family, and I wasn’t like the other black kids at school. You name it, I was probably teased for it.
My childhood was lonely—full of books and video games. But no matter how lonely I was, Teddy always listened to me when no one else would. He helped me cope with life as a kid. Like most kids who are attached to their favorite toys, I projected my fantasy emotions onto him. When I was shy, he was bold; when I was scared, he was strong; and when I despaired, he never lost hope. He was always braver and stronger than I could ever be. As I grew older, his tenacity rubbed off on me. Naturally, Teddy was the inspiration for Theo.
Inanimate objects make great characters. A writer can take the object, give it a spirit, and create a compelling conflict that is unique yet still familiar. Readers can see themselves in the character, and when the story is over, their hearts are bigger. If you never look at a toy the same way again after reading this book, then I’ve done my job.
I hope that you enjoyed
Festival of Shadows
as much as I enjoyed writing it. And if you’re one of those peculiar people like me who still has a favorite toy, don’t forget to thank it for its service.
—Des Moines, 2014
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COMING SOON . . .
<
You killed my sister. You eviscerated her, ran her through your machines, and used the husk of her body as a biological weapon.
You didn’t stop there. You invaded my country—a place of peace—and you enslaved everyone I’ve ever known, murdered those that resisted. My survival was a fluke.
Soon, you will dominate the world.
But you forget that we, the Vegetables, are the rightful owners of this world—we who you have slain by the millions, we who are caged in your labs, we who live in your city as slaves. We are the keyholders to Balance.
I speak for those who can no longer speak.
I speak with the madness that you yourself have embraced.
I have run myself through your machines, too, and now I know your secrets.
And when I’m done with you, you’re going to wish that you stayed inside the hellish laboratory where you were born.
<
Eaten
Vegetables just got complicated.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Cover Design: Kip Ayers
Copyeditor: Maya Packard
Proofreader: Calee Allen
Beta Readers: Rasana Atreya, Brian Darr, Mark Phillips
As always, I’d like to thank my wife for her support, and my family for their love.
ABOUT MICHAEL LA RONN
Michael La Ronn writes fearless fantasy. His novels feature unlikely protagonists such as teddy bears and vegetables, and his writings are filled with quirky and imaginative humor. His signature works are Decision Select Novels, which are best described as Choose Your Own Adventure-esque novels for grown-ups. He blogs and podcasts about his writing life on his website.
Connect with Michael:
Website/Blog:
http://www.michaellaronn.com
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/MichaelLaRonn