Rainbow's End - Wizard by Corrie Mitchell Read Free Book Online Page B

him out - fighting and still swearing…’ There was more laughter and Thomas opened his eyes.
    He was in a girl’s bedroom. Or a woman’s. A large bedroom. Filled with girly things: frilly things and soft things, fluffy things and framed things. Things that looked nice and things that smelled nice. Crochet and needlework. And paintings and photos, and pillows and dolls.
    There were dolls everywhere. The shelves, the couch and the large dressing-table were all f illed with them - some sitting, some standing and some lying down. Fat ones and thin ones; raggedy ones and porcelain ones; pretty ones and ugly ones; plain ones, and ones with exquisitely painted faces.
    The two women were sitting in big cushiony chairs: one the lady who had pulled him from the water, the other - younger - with thick yellow plaits and glasses. They both held needlework - the younger one was embroidering a large snowy-white cloth; the older was stitching the lining of what appeared to be Orson’s great black coat, part of which lay in her lap, but most of it simply bundled on the floor at her feet.
    Thomas sat up and the sudden movement made both of them look up . Both smiled happy smiles; the older put aside her sewing and came to the bed, sat down on its edge and put a cool, soft hand on Thomas’ brow.
    ‘Are you feeling better, Thomas?’ she asked.
    He nodded mutely , and she said, ‘Oh, you can talk if you want.’
    Tentatively, he asked, ‘Where?’ and was surprised to find his voice worked; not just a whisper, but working properly. He asked, again, ‘Where…where am I?’ and his eyes dropped to his lap. The single sheet covering him was bundled at the top of his legs and he seemed to be wearing just a pair of pyjama bottoms. Laughter came through the open window again and Thomas’ eyes went there. The window was large, with some more dolls sitting on its sill; the sun shining through, cast a wide golden swathe of light across the bed. There were huge mountains in the background (no dream then, earlier). They were bigger than any he had ever seen, he wanted to get up and take a proper look, but movement drew his attention away. The younger woman was leaving; the door clicked and Thomas looked at the older one again.
    Her blue eyes lay in a nest of laughing crinkles, her voice was kind and she said, ‘I am Annie. And that’, she glanced at the closed door, ‘was Anna-Fried. You can call her Frieda, though. Everybody else does.’ Happy laughter floated through the window and Annie smiled a happy smile. ‘You are in Rainbow’s End, Thomas,’ she said then. ‘And you are safe.’
    Thomas l ooked through the window again - at the sunshine and the mountains. ‘In England?’ he asked. Puzzled.
    Annie laughed. ‘No Thomas, not England.’ Her eyes followed his to the perfect day outside. Birds were talking to one another, the mountains were green and brown and copper and gold, a soft breeze carrying the fragrance of flowers, played with the downy hair on her arms… ‘Definitely not England,’ she said.
    ‘ But wasn’t I sick? I mean - I was sick…wasn’t I?’ Thomas asked, suddenly not so sure.
    Annie’s eyes , and voice, turned serious. ‘Yes, you were,’ she answered. ‘Very sick. But you’re all right now.’ Ruffling his hair. She saw the new questions in his eyes and tried to explain as best she could - pausing a lot and taking time to think.
    ‘ It’s different here Thomas. It’s not like…’ She waved her hand in a sideways motion and struggled on. ‘Like where you come from…the other side. The Earth.’ She said the word as if she didn’t like the taste of it, and after another pause, continued.
    ‘ Nobody gets sick in Rainbow’s End. And nobody that gets to Rainbow’s End sick, stays sick for long. There are no germs here… No flies, no mosquitoes, and no pollution. Just clean fresh air and water, and sunshine and love.’ She beamed at him. ‘Lots and lots of love.’
    Thomas asked, frowning,