The Big Wrinkle

Tim was small for his age. He was skinny with bumpy knees and sharp elbows. His eyes were like two big pools of milk with bright round plums in the middle. Tim liked to have fun. He loved to run around a lot and play games and pull on pigtails and trip smaller kids in the hall and splash water all over the place from the water fountain.

Tim had a smile on his face most of the day and half of the night. He would stay up late to read books about good guys and bad guys and dragons and pirates and hunters. Tim loved to imagine that he was a hero from one of the books he read late at night, deep under the bed covers.

If Tim had the idea to ask one of the other kids at school which character they though he was like they would have said the annoying side kick or the villain. This would have been true, but hurt Tim’s feelings - so it was best that he never asked. Tim was loud, Tim was fast and Tim made every day about Tim. Tim was the king of Mondays to Saturdays.

But Sunday was another story. On Sundays Tim spent time with “The Wrinkle!” Four whole hours every single Sunday was unfair, Tim knew this was true from the bottom of his toes to the top of his sandy blonde hair. He felt like he was being punished for something he never did. The Wrinkle was the worst! The wrinkle was all about the “creepy smell” and the “quiet”. If Tim could just watch cartoons or bring his video games or listen to the radio or throw a ball around the room or just not go at all things would be better. Being at school would have been better. But Sundays were Wrinkle days. Mom would drop him off at the Old People Home for the Aging to spend time with Uncle Oliver. Oliver the Wrinkle! Tim knew that Uncle Oliver not his real uncle, Uncle Oliver was some kind of great uncle or cousin or something.

If his mom had asked, Tim would have told her that he was sure that Uncle Oliver was part elephant. His ears were huge! They hung off the sides of his head like a pair of melted candles. And the hair that came out of them! The Wrinkle had no hair on his head, but there was enough hair spraying out of his elephant ears to cover a large rat!

Sunday was always about being bored and stinky and gross. Sunday felt like it lasted a whole week!

* * *

Tim watched the cartoon cat get pulled from a chair and out the window, screaming down the street. He was pretty sure real cats would not do that, but he would check next time he saw one.

Mom called him from the other room, “Timmy!”

Tim pretended not to hear her. He could probably watch another cartoon if he just ignored her for a few more minutes.

“Timmy, time to go. Uncle Oliver is waiting!”

No he isn’t, thought Timmy. Uncle Oliver doesn’t even know when I am there in the room with him. Uncle Oliver does not care if I come or not. The Big Wrinkle is just getting extra stinky so that he smells extra weird when I get there. Maybe his ears will block the door to his room so we can’t get in.

“Timmy!”

“I’m doing it!” Timmy called back, sliding off the sofa and clicking the TV off. He felt like all of his energy clicked off with the TV. Today was going to take forever.

…to be continued

-Brihack

GOLLY

GOLLY

CHAPTER 1

Once upon a time – when we say once upon a time we are normally telling the reader that they are about to experience a fairy tale. That is misleading here because this is not a fairy tale, but the tale of a fairy. Um, it’s complicated by you’ll see. Where was I? Oh, yes. Once upon a time there was a little girl named Golly. Golly wasn’t exactly like other little girls her age. The difference between her and the others was always the source of her greatest happiness and her deepest disappointments.

In truth, her real name wasn’t Golly. Golly was just her nickname. In the place where she was born - and had lived up until yesterday - her full name was Galadreilea-bella-drucilla-bodilla-pickle-tumbler-bright-infinity- star, but both her mom and her dad had known that the kind of people she would meet in her new neighborhood would prefer calling her Golly.
Despite the vague fear all things new, Golly was excited to move into her new home. This was because of what she hoped to find in a new place and what she hoped to escape from the old. Despite being a happy and outgoing child, Golly had not fit in so well in her old neighborhood, but she had high hopes of fitting in better in her new one. That’s just how Golly was, always full of hope that things would turn out for the best. Golly managed to hope for the best, no matter what.

At least once a week Golly’s mother Goldie would say in her in a high melodious voice, “Galadreilea-bella-drucilla-bodilla-pickle-tumbler-bright-infinity- star you would honestly hope for a sun tan in a snow storm.” To which Golly would reply, “You never know!”

Golly’s father, Gordon who -at the best of times - only slightly distracted by his work would smile and pat Golly on the head saying, “That’s my girl.”

Golly made a big show of protesting when her father patted her on the head, “How rude!” She would mutter under her breath. But secretly Golly would imagine that she was a sleek black cat and enjoyed the pat on the head.

Wait a moment you might say at this point. Being the shrewd and thoughtful reader that you doubtlessly are, are Golly’s Mom and Dad really named Goldie and Gordon? Do they have longer real names too? Well done! Children are so smart these days. You are quite correct to be suspicious. In fact Goldie and Gordon are not their real names; however for the purpose of conserving paper and getting to sleep some time tonight, we will not spell them out here. Let’s just say that when Gordon proposed to Goldie using both their formal names it took three full days. Gordon squawked for over a week afterward his throat was so dry, but they were blissfully happy squawks for Goldie has agreed to marry him.

Soon after their marriage Gordon had thrown himself into his work, hoping to provide a good home for his new bride and before too long, his daughter. His job was a unique mix of sociologist, research scientist and explorer. His work often took him away from home and this pained Gordon in the extreme. He loved his family more than anything in the world, yet in order to provide for them he was constantly away. What was he to do?

It was Goldie who first suggested the wild idea. What if the family moved to where he worked? What if they came with him, then they would always be together. Gordon was stunned. It was audacious, preposterous, and ridiculous! It was dangerous, reckless and senseless. It was… perfect. They would move together.

That pretty much brings us up to now. The point where Golly, hopeful about her new neighborhood and anxious to begin her new life sits patiently on her family’s magic carpet as it speeds over the boundaries between worlds and circles lazily toward the track houses of South Urbaton. Oh, did I mention that Golly and her parents were pixies moving to a human community? Then I must not have told you that they were giant pixies! Goodness, how thoughtless of me. My sincere apologies. I shall fill in the gaps as we progress, but the carpet is coming in for a landing now and we need to move on to the next chapter.

-BRIHACK