The Magic Meadow (2 page)

“Well, we all kept trying to go there for several nights, and tonight I kept on after everybody had gone to sleep. Then—then all at once I felt the sun on my face, real hot, and I heard a funny noise. And when I opened my eyes, I was there!”

There was a sudden breathless silence around him. He could feel everyone staring at him, waiting. Then Princess whispered, “Wha-what happened next, Brick?” And Lily Rose said, “The funny noise—what was that?”

He told them about the grasshopper, and how the worrisome noise had come closer and closer until he moved, and the grass all around him seemed to explode. “I didn't know it was just a bunch of birds,” he went on. “Golly, I was never so scared in my life! All I wanted when it happened was to get away from there. And I did—zing! I landed right back here in bed—or rather on the edge of the bed, because I'd turned somehow and almost missed it.”

Again there was an excited silence around him. Then Diz Dobie whispered, “Whew! That was
something!
”

“Aw, I don't believe it,” Charlie Pill muttered. “If—if you didn't dream it, you're just making it all up.”

“It's the truth,” he said quietly. “Everything happened just like I said.” He could sort of feel the others' thoughts, and he knew that Charlie wanted desperately to believe it all, but that he was afraid of being disappointed. Poor Charlie couldn't help being a pill, which was one of the reasons they called him that. After all, when you're in pain most of the time—though Charlie seldom admitted he was—you could be excused for a lot of things.

At that moment Brick would have given all he owned—which was only a few old books—for something that would convince Charlie Pill of the truth. He knew that Princess believed him, and that Lily Rose and Diz Dobie did too. Then he glanced at Nurse Jackson. She was still standing at the foot of his bed, looking at him curiously. Her eyes were troubled.

“You—you don't think I was dreaming, do you?” he asked.

“Of course not!” she said stoutly. “I'm sure it happened—and I just wish I could have been along!” She chuckled, but her eyes remained troubled. He suddenly realized that she really wanted to believe him, but that she was even more doubtful than Charlie Pill.

How could he convince her? “Those birds,” he began. “The ones that scared me so. I didn't get a good look at them, but they were sort of fat and brown, and they popped up around me like guns going off. What d'you s'pose they were?”

“They sound like quail,” Nurse Jackson said thoughtfully. “You must have flushed a big covey of them coming through the grass. Lordy, I haven't seen a covey of quail since—” She stopped and blinked. “Brick, what's that under your neck? I declare if it doesn't look like a leaf!”

For the first time he was aware of something small pressing uncomfortably against the back of his neck, just inside his pajamas. He groped around and got his hand on the thing. It turned out to be a torn bit of a leaf and a crushed yellow flower with some of the petals missing.

“Why, I—I was lying on a whole bunch of flowers like this. I guess, when the birds scared me …”

She came slowly over and took the crushed flower with a hand that was not quite steady. “Brick,” she said in an awed voice. “Do you know what this is?”

He shook his head. “I never saw one till I found 'em growing all around me at that place.”

“Brick, it's a dandelion! But it's winter here, and you won't find one growing anywhere in this part of the country till next spring. Do you realize what this means?”

Charlie Pill gulped excitedly. “I know what it means. It proves he sure enough did go there!”

2

SCOUTING TRIP

By the clock on the opposite wall it was long past midnight, though Brick hardly noticed it. In the sudden realization of what had happened, everybody began to talk at once, and Nurse Jackson sank down into the nearest chair, slowly shaking her head while she stared at the battered dandelion.

“Well!” she said, still shaking her head. “Well! It's almost too much for a poor body to accept—but here's the proof, right here in my hand.” She got up and passed the dandelion over to Princess and Lily Rose, who were begging for it. Then she sat down again. “It really gets me,” she went on. “The more I think about it, the more it gets me. Brick, you actually
teleported!
”

“I—what?” he said uncertainly, wondering about the word.

“You teleported. That's what you did. I've read of it being done, but I never believed it till now. I sure wish I knew where you went! Have you any idea?”

“It—it was to that place we'd been imagining,” he told her. “That's all I know. Only, it's not an imaginary place at all. It's absolutely
real.
”

“Oh, I don't doubt that for an instant,” she said quickly. “You brought back an absolutely real dandelion, and I'm sure the birds and the grasshopper you saw were just as real. But where is this place? Somehow I think it's important to know.”

She paused, then asked, “Brick, what else did you see besides what you've told us?”

“Why, I—I'm not sure. It all happened so quickly. And the grass was so high I couldn't see much, except right in front of me. I was on the side of a little hill, it seemed like. Some of the flowers were different. I mean, they had white petals and long stems.…”

“Probably daisies,” said Nurse Jackson. “What about trees? Did you notice any?”

Brick frowned. “Why, I did see some trees! I've just remembered. They were over on the other hill, just across that little stream. But things were sort of misty and I couldn't tell much about 'em.”

“Misty?” Princess echoed curiously. “It was misty over there?”

“Well, a little. I mean, it seemed to be clearing because the sun was just cutting through it, real warm and bright. It was so bright it was dazzling.”

Everyone was silent a moment. Suddenly Charlie Pill burst out, “The whole thing's crazy! It just now hit me. Can't you see how crazy it is?”

“What's so crazy about it?”

“Why, the sun! Don't you get it? The sun! It's in the middle of the night here—but where you went it's bright daylight!”

“What of it?” said Princess. “That's no crazier than going from winter to summer. I think it's wonderful!”

“It's wonderful,” Nurse Jackson affirmed, “but it
is
sort of crazy. I just can't figure it out.” She carried the dandelion from Lily Rose to Diz Dobie, then sat down and shook her head again. “Brick,” she went on, “at first I thought you'd teleported to some place in the South. Georgia, maybe, or even Florida. That would explain the flowers and the warm sun. And also the quail. But if it's night here, it would be night there too. It would be night everywhere except on the other side of the globe, in Europe and Asia.”

She stopped, then said, “I'd sure like to pin this down. Brick, think hard. Was the sun almost overhead when you saw it?”

“Not quite. It was just a little to my left.”

“H'mm. Without knowing directions, there's no telling whether it was morning or afternoon. But it does rule out most of Europe. As nearly as I can remember, it would be early morning in France, but much later to the east. Say around noon as we get to India, and maybe afternoon in China.”

“I wasn't in India or China,” Brick said. “I'm sure of that.”

“What makes you so sure?” Charlie Pill asked. “Man, you could have been
anywhere!
”

“But not India or China. I was somewhere in America. I
felt
it.”

“But—but you
couldn't
have been! It's night all over America!”

There was an abrupt silence in the ward. Brick managed to struggle up on his elbows—it was a new position he didn't immediately realize he'd taken—and looked around at the others. On his right, just beyond the thrust-aside screen, Princess and Lily Rose were staring at him tensely, eyes wide with wonder. Without great effort neither girl could do more than turn her head toward him, nor could Charlie Pill on his left, who was all skin and bones. Only Diz Dobie, who was stronger than any of them, was able to force himself over on his side. The brown boy had given the dandelion to Charlie and was now trying to speak, but as usual seemed unable to find words.

Suddenly Princess exclaimed, “What difference does it make where it is? Maybe it's on the other side of the moon—but who cares?” Then she added wistfully, “Oh, I've just got to go there! I've just
got
to.”

“I've got to go, too!” Lily Rose said quickly. “If Brick can do it, I'm sure the rest of us can.”

“Sure we can!” Diz Dobie echoed. “Golly, let's—let's try it right now!”

“Now wait a minute,” Nurse Jackson cautioned. “I don't want any of you to try anything until we've talked this over a little more. That place may sound nice, but it could be dangerous. Just because Brick managed to go there and return safely doesn't mean everyone could do it. Suppose you got over on that hill—but couldn't get back?”

“I wouldn't care in the least,” Princess said dreamily. “Why, I'd just lie right there on a bed of dandelions till I died. Sunshine and flowers …”

The nurse shook her head. “Let's not get carried away,” she reminded them. “I'm all for sunshine and flowers myself, but we have to be practical about this. Brick, you were on that hillside only a few minutes, but I'm sure you learned more than you realize. It's just a matter of my asking you the right questions. Now, think back. What sounds did you hear?”

He closed his eyes and slid down upon his pillow. “There was the funny noise those—those quail were making, then there was the grasshopper—he made a sort of clickity buzz. I remember now that I heard more grasshoppers in the distance, only I didn't realize what they were at the time. There were some birds chirping or singing somewhere, and there was the water on my left. That was the main sound. I couldn't see the water till I got my head up and looked down at the bottom of the hill, but I could hear it flowing. It was sort of gurgling, only it was more like music. It sure was nice.”

The silence that followed was broken by a wistful sigh from Princess. Then Nurse Jackson said, “But Brick, those were all nature sounds. Didn't you hear anything else? Traffic in the distance? A factory whistle? And what about machinery humming or clanking, or maybe a car's horn?”

He shook his head. “There was nothing like that.”

“How about a radio, or a plane?”

“No, ma'am.”

“No sounds of people?”

“I—I didn't hear a thing except what I've told you. It was, well, a real quiet place. Honest, I didn't know a place could be so quiet.”

“That's strange. Didn't you see any signs of people?”

“I sure didn't.”

“But, Brick, people are practically everywhere. You can't go anywhere without seeing signs of them. Tin cans, bottles, old tires, trash …”

He shook his head.

“There has to be something,” she insisted. “If you were 'way out in the country, there'd be other signs. Barns, sheds, fences—you just can't get away from fences …”

He started to shake his head again, then frowned instead. “I'm not sure, but maybe I
did
see something. It was just a—a sort of quick glimpse, so I don't know what it was. I—I was so surprised at being there instead of here that I didn't even think about it at the time. But—”

“Can you remember what it was—what it looked like?”

“I'll try. Maybe—”

Suddenly, before he could recall what he'd seen, he was interrupted by the door to the main corridor being thrust open. Miss Preedy, the night supervisor, entered the ward. She was a tall, severe woman who spoke sweetly, but Brick had learned that the sweetness was only a thin veneer over what seemed to be unbending metal.

“What seems to be going on in here?” Miss Preedy demanded in her most sugary tone. “Having a little midnight party, are we?”

“Oh, somebody just cried out in his sleep and woke up the others,” Nurse Jackson said easily. “But everything's all right now.”

“I see. And what is the screen doing open? Haven't I said it was to be kept closed at night? Rules are rules, Miss Jackson, and I expect them to be obeyed.” Miss Preedy always ignored the fact that Nurse Jackson was a widow.

“Yes, ma'am. But it had to be opened so I could check on things.”

“Well, close it immediately,” Miss Preedy ordered. “I never approved of such an arrangement, but it couldn't be helped in an old place like this. It'll certainly be a relief when we finish moving to the new building. At least we can place the children around in some up-to-date wards, though one or two will have to be sent …”

She shrugged and started out, but paused briefly to add over her shoulder, “And leave the door open, Miss Jackson. The ward doors should never be closed.”

Brick was stunned. He'd heard that some of Belleview's patients—he understood they were just the very old people—were being moved to a new place on the edge of the city. But no one had told him they'd all have to go, and that their group would be broken up. When that happened they might never see each other again.

There was a stifled sob on his right, and he heard Lily Rose whimper, “Wha-what are we going to do if they s-separate us?”

“Now, honey, don't you worry about that,” Nurse Jackson said quickly. “They haven't separated you yet, and if they ever try it, it'll be over my dead body.”

Her broad black face had become grimly stony. Defiantly leaving the screen open, she went over to the door and snapped out the lights, then peered searchingly into the corridor. Returning, she sat down again and said in a low voice, “Miss Preedy, she was just talking to hear herself talk. The truth is, they don't really know what they're going to do with you. If they'd decided anything, I'd have found out and told you, but they just don't know. You see, there's no place to put you. Somebody goofed on the new building and forgot to make space for you, and over at the Children's Hospital they're splitting at the seams. So you'll have to stay here.”