Mirror Dreams

A constant prodding in the arm woke Jodie up. She opened her eyes and was blinded by brilliant sunlight. She was sitting in the palm of the mole who was wearing sunglasses.

“Have some food missus,” said the mole as it offered her a rainbow coloured stick of rock.

“Okay, but you’d better set me down first. I’ve noticed that liquids tend to make me shrink and food will probably make me grow. I don’t want to crush you.”

The mole placed her on the ground and handed the rock to her. She took the plastic wrapping off and bit a piece off. It tasted delicious, much better than rock from the seaside. Too soon it was all gone, she looked to the mole to thank him but he had ran away in fright from the size of her. She was over six foot again. At least walking will shrink me to normal, she thought and looked for a direction to head in. A yellow stream was trickling past, she decided to follow that. It’ll be like the yellow brick road, except its not a brick road and I daren’t step on it in case I shrink, she thought.

The yellow stream entered a wood and Jodie followed it. At first the wood was full of flowers and birds chirping; but as she walked on the wood got darker and quieter, the trees had less leaves and were more gnarled. It’s no longer a wood; it’s a forest, thought Jodie, a dark scary forest. She walked more carefully now, keeping her eyes out for wolves and other dangers. Not for the first time did she wish Sundance was still with her.

“Dot? Dot ish that you?”

A drunken voice called out from behind her. Jodie spun round and was met with a sight more horrific that a hungry wolf. She screamed loud and shrill at the scarecrow that stood before her. He had wooden stilts for legs and arms and was wearing tatty farmers clothes stuffed with straw. But it was the face that scared her the most, it was made of sacking and his eyes and mouth were empty and black for they had been made with a match. He had no nose and the back of his head was damp and squishy and smelt rotten.

“Don’t jush stand there Dotty, come give your ole pal a hug,” he slurred as he staggered towards her and enveloped an unwilling Jodie in a wooden hug. He stank of whisky.

“Come an sit on me lap and tell me what you’re do...do...doing back here.”

The scarecrow sat on a rock and dragged Jodie onto his wooden knees. He didn’t let her get a word in edgeways as he drunkenly carried on talking while caressing her with his arms and taking sips from his hip flask.

“You know that wizard right Dot, well, you know how I ashked for a brain. Well now I wish I hadn’t bloody bothered. The drink didn’t affect me when I had no brain to go get muddled. Plush itsh seeping through me sacking and I have to keep moving it back to the right place. Sho... I’ve decided to find him an ask for a skull! How about it eh? Me, with a shkull. I quite fanshy a nose too. You should come Dotty, that wizard liked you, remember.”

He became quiet for a moment and Jodie felt his grip relax, her arms and legs were prickly with spelks as she hurried to stand up.

“I’m not D-” she started to say but was interrupted by the scarecrow that seemed to be unable to keep silent for too long.

“Hey look, it’s tin tin. Come see who I’ve found!” he shouted to another being that had just entered the clearing where they were sitting.

“Ooo I say, is that you Dorothy? Missing us so much that you came back eh?” said a rather camp metal man. “How have you been anyways, my dear, since that awful scruffy man stole you away from us? This heart he gave me has been utterly useless! It pounds so loudly upon my tin chest that sleeping is positively impossible-”

“Nonsense, I hear him snoring for miles,” interrupted the scarecrow. The tin man frowned and carried on,

“And I can love, but no one loves me back for this heart heats up my body so much that I'm too hot to touch.” The tin man sniffed and wiped his eyes with a clean white handkerchief.

“You sure they just can’t stand to look at your ugly mug?” the scarecrow said bitterly. He was sobering up after finishing his flask and was not enjoying the feeling.

“You big meanie! Say that again and I shall set you on fire,” the tin man responded.

“Oh cut it out you two. It gets so dull after a while you know,” a third voice joined in lazily.

Jodie spun round to see who had spoken this time. It was a man walking on all fours with a mane of shaggy strawberry-blonde hair. He padded over to Jodie and started twisting round her legs rubbing his head up and down.

“Hello Dorothy, good to see you again,” he purred.

“How delightful!” exclaimed Jodie as she bent down to stroke the man-cat’s hair.

“Here we go again,” complained the scarecrow.

“Why do they always fall for that lying? What’s he got that I haven’t?” the tin man put in.

“Don’t you mean lion?” asked Jodie.

“No, why would I? He’s not a lion is he, he’s a lying. We went through this last time Dorothy.”

“But I'm not-” she started, still looking confused at the ‘lying’.

“I’m very pleased with that wizard giving me courage,” the lying interrupted her.

“Liar,” muttered the scarecrow.

“I now have the courage to ask people for food instead of having to frighten them for it,” he carried on.

“What are they feeding you then?” asked the tin man, “Mud? You look as mangy as an alley cat.”

The lying just glared at him and turned back to Jodie,

“Where’s your Toto then? Lovely kid he is.”

“I don’t know. With Dorothy probably,” she said. All three looked at her with puzzled expressions.

“What do you mean, you are our dear Dorothy,” said the tin man.

“Course she is, I can see it plain as your heart,” the lying said.

“Dot...” was all that the scarecrow could utter.

“I’m not Dorothy,” Jodie said plainly.

“Yes you are,” they argued back.

“No. I'm. Not!” she said angrily. “I have been trying to tell you that since I met that drunken sack of straw. But none of you let me get a word in edgeways.”

“She’s right!” the lying said as it sniffed her, “she doesn’t smell like Dorothy. I wonder who she is.”

“Who cares, let’s burn her,” cried the scarecrow enthusiastically.

“Off with her head. Off with her head!” the tin man joined in.

They all started chasing Jodie through the forest, but she was faster. The scarecrow gave up first, having no knees he found it hard to run. Then the tin man stopped as his body started overheating and he needed to cool it down. The lying didn’t get much further as he kept tripping over his arms and legs; eventually he sat down on the path and started to clean himself.

Jodie carried on running till she was clear of the forest. She carried on running straight over a narrow violet stream and onto the next square.