Part 3

After that night, the boy grew quiet, withdrawn, watchful, and easily startled. He talked to stuffed animals and imaginary companions, then insisted they answered him. As he aged, the voices persisted and became more threatening. He withdrew further and devised elaborate explanations, convinced adults hid things from him and ordinary events like a bird in flight, a passing car, a movie script, or wind in the trees carried messages meant for him. In time, his reality absorbed his mind, and he could no longer distinguish it from the world around him.

Then came hospitalization and medicine, but it was too late. Duncan ran away, denying Tom and Helen any part in his life. The Stones watched his life from afar as much as they could. He met Jean and returned to school, and they were happy for him. But then, the phone rang after midnight, and Tom raced through the night to retrieve Duncan and Luna from their city hovel. He brought them home, sent Duncan for treatment for a time, adopted Luna, and restored some normalcy to their life. Tom went out and found Jean, but Jean did not want to be found, and Tom respected that.

***

Next morning, Luna packed her little pencil box and her big notebook. She surely had the time to take Biscuit the Red Dragon out for a quick spin in the sky. And so, they did: off the carpet, through the window, and to the lake where the sun slept each night…

“Let’s go, Luna. We’ll be late,” Gran’s voice sounded from downstairs.

“Too late, Old Witch, you cannot catch us now,” shouted Luna steering Biscuit left, around the Golden Tower, and into the valley of the prince. The prince slept in the tall grass, and his horse grazed around him. Luna took Biscuit lower, and kicked the prince with her slipper, “There you have it, you sleepyhead…”

“Luna! It’s late. We must go. No cookies for you!” shouted the Old Witch. Luna landed in haste. Quickly. Quickly. Kicking off the slippers, shoes on, little shirt. No, no, no. This cannot be. The collar is all wrong. It needs to lie flat.

“What are you doing? Let’s go,” said Gran, standing in the door, grabbing Luna’s arm.

“No, no, no! I can’t go yet. My shirt is all wrong!”

“You should have fixed it then, but you just ride that wicked toy all the time,” said Gran pulling Luna through the door.

“It’s not true.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying, Old Hag,” shouted Luna and tried to kick Gran. A slap on her bottom followed.

“Tom Stone! Tom Stone! Save me,” shouted Luna.

“What’s going on up there? We must go,” said Tom.

“The Old Hag smacked me! I’m little. She smacked my back!” cried Luna.

“Oh. It will be all right,” replied Tom and seated Luna on the wooden stool.

“These are my shoes, and they need to tie themselves.” Luna’s legs swung in the air. Tom Stone held down her feet, and tied her shoes. “My collar is all wrong. All twisted. I must fix it.”

“We are too late, kid. You will have to straighten it at school.”

“But my collar is all twisted,” cried Luna.

“So, how do we fix it?”

“It needs to be straight and flat, but it doesn’t stay.”

“What, like this?”

“No, no, no. Like that.”

“Like this, like that; big potatoes make kids fat.”

Luna laughed.

“Like that. Yes!” shouted Luna joyfully.

“Ready?” asked Tom Stone.

“Yes,” said Luna, and jumped off the stool. Tom tipped the brim of his white Stetson to Helen, and they left.

***

Luna sat at the school desk with Vincent. His black hair stuck out like straw from a bird’s nest. His front teeth, one larger than the other, looked like they were falling over one another. And he smelled like potato soup. Miss Cuddle talked, and Luna sank her face into her hand. She knew all the maths already: 5 + 5 = 25, 5 × 4 = 9, 2 × 3 = 9… What silliness. Biscuit was surely pillaging the villages without her right now. Luna sighed, yawned, and leaned deeper into her hand. Her elbow slowly slipped and bumped into Vincent. She frowned and withdrew. Vincent also withdrew. Luna grinned, and moved her chair against Vincent’s. She leaned on her elbow, and her elbow slowly slipped across the table toward Vincent. Vincent withdrew further. Luna leaned deeper, until she stretched like a frog in pyjamas, and by the end of the class, Vincent barely had room for his notebook and pencil case.