Introduction: Once again Charli wakes up to a world she is not familiar with. Rather quickly, she remembers that she had been adopted the previous day by some very nice people. She had been banged up a bit in an auto accident, but she was okay. She arrives at her new home, and meets her new sister. She also meets the younger sister of Cindy whom she had met the day before. She walks out of a previously empty closet, as does her talking cat. That's when she realizes that some of her memories aren't right, and that she has left her two best friends in Boston to fend for themselves.

This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story parallels Cynthia and the High School Years.

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Once again I must thank Holly H. Hart for her encouragement and invaluable help in proofing and straightening out my poor English.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Charli and the Girl Cave
 

Part 7

Chapter 11

Charli woke up, and had no idea where she was. Then it gradually came together. She was in a hotel in Boston. She was with people she hardly knew, and she had two brothers and a sister; however, she had met only her oldest brother. He and the pretty blonde girl were boyfriend and girlfriend. She was certain of that.

It was like a dream. Some bad things had happened to her, but The Wizard had fixed things, and she was well now. She had been in a car wreck the previous night. She couldn't remember it, but they told her that was why she was in the hospital. She had bumped her head. They had told her that she was going to be in first grade in just a few weeks. That was only right as she was just six years old. She was very certain about that.

She had been officially adopted the day before by the Brewers. She thought there had been some paperwork that had been signed at the orphanage. Her new dad was Bob, and her mom was Hilda. She had a sister named Lucy and another brother Jorge. Her brothers and sisters had been adopted, too.

Now it was morning, and she felt really good. The hotel room was bright and sunny, not like that dark old room in the orphanage. She couldn't remember it very well. She wasn't even sure it had a window. She managed to dress herself without any problem. She brushed her teeth and washed her face like they had taught her at the orphanage.

The hotel suite was huge. Her parents had another bedroom. She thought she could hear them snoring. There were two other bedrooms that opened off the main room. The doors were open, but the rooms were unoccupied at the moment, but they had obviously been slept in.

The front door opened, and her brother, his girlfriend, and the other girl entered. They had been running, and were all sweaty.

"Good morning Charli," the blonde girl said with the most beautiful smile. "We didn't think you'd be up yet after your big day yesterday. Why don't you watch television for a little while? We're going to get cleaned up, and then we're going to have breakfast downstairs before we head for home."

Breakfast was great, and almost before she knew it, they were heading to her new home in Connecticut. The drive took about three hours, but Charli wasn't keeping track of time. Apparently, Myrna and Avery were staying in Boston. She didn't think they were married, but were boyfriend and girlfriend like her brother Don and Cindy were. Finally, they arrived in a nice neighborhood with large houses that had a lot of yard. There was a pond with ducks, and Cindy's mom and dad turned off at a house that overlooked the pond. Charli hadn't realized it at first, but Cindy's mother was very pregnant. The nice thing was that Charli realized that some day she would have babies, too. At the moment, she wasn't too sure why that was important. Of course she would have children someday. That always had been something she wanted.

Her sister Lucy was a year older than she was. Charli thought she was very pretty. They hit it off right away, and Lucy took her to her to the bedroom that they would be sharing. It was a wonderful place; so bright and sunshiny.

Lucy was showing her some of her dolls when a girl came out of the closet. That was a bit strange because Charli had been in the closet a minute before, and she was sure that no one had been in there.

"Hi, I'm Randi. I'm Cindy's little sister. As soon as I found out that you were a witch, I had to come over. We're going to have so much fun."

"I can't be a witch. Aren't witches bad? I'm not bad."

"Well, we're good witches. They're a bunch of us. The Wizard said I can't teach you any magic, but I can help you with your lessons.

"Wow, you're pretty. They said you were."

"How come you were in the closet? I didn't see you there a minute ago," Charli said, obviously a bit confused by everything that was going on.

"I wasn't. I came from down the street. I made some special doors so we can travel between houses without going outside.

"Isn't that right, Silky?" Randi said to a little black cat that had just followed her out of the closet.

"Yes, I remember when you made that first door for us. It was a lot of fun." Silky turned to Charli.

"Hi Charli, welcome to the family."

"Thank you, I think I'll like it here," Charli said without batting an eye.

"You don't seem to be too concerned about a talking cat," Randi said somewhat surprised.

"Oh no, I can talk with dogs and cats and other animals. I think I've been able to do that for quite a while." Charli stopped talking for a moment, and got a rather distant look in her eyes.

"I think he did something to me."

"Who did?"

"The Wizard: I'm remembering things that I don't think happened, and I think I forgot some things that I should remember. I don't think I was like this before yesterday. I mean, I wanted to be, but ...."

"Don't worry about it," Randi said while giving Charli a hug. "Sometimes he does things to people to make them forget things for a while. He says it makes the change easier. I didn't remember about before for more than four years."

"Before? There was a before wasn't there. There was a dog and a cat, and now they are alone. I miss them. They were the only friends that I had. We used to talk all the time. Well, we didn't actually. We talked in our heads, not out loud. I could understand rats, too. I never talked to them. I didn't like them very much. I used to talk to another dog at the laundry. He was a nice little fellow."

"I think we need to talk to His Wisdom," Randi said.

The Wizard came along to help out if anything went wrong. Wolf came along for the ride. Cindy, Bobbie, Randi, and Charli had gone from The Wizard's shop into an abandoned building not a block away from the salvage yard. No one paid any attention to them when they entered the salvage yard as Cindy had cast an obscuring spell around them.

Charli was in awe of what was going on. It had been a short drive to the mall where they entered The Wizard's shop. Then they went out the back door and in one step went from western Connecticut to Boston. They approached the pen that was Padrona's daytime abode.

Padrona heard them first. She had been napping with Willie at her side. There were often people around her pen, so she didn't pay much attention; at least, not for a few seconds.

"Padrona, Willie, wake up," Charli whispered.

Padrona raised her head, and peered at the small group standing at the gate to her pen. The fact that one member of the group was a rather large wolf didn't bother her.

"Willie, wake up," Padrona said out loud.

"Huh, what? I wish you wouldn't do that when I'm napping. I was just getting ready to attack a bunch of warthogs."

"Look who's here."

"Oh my gosh, the Goddess be praised, it's Charli." It was as if Charli hadn't changed at all.

The gate to the pen swung open, and the three best friends were reunited. If one could be licked to death, Charli might have been close. The rest stood back to watch the reunion. There were more than just a few tears. After things calmed down a bit, introductions were made all around. Bobbie noticed right away that there seemed to be an attraction between Wolf and Padrona. If anyone else had noticed, it wasn't mentioned.

Charli led the group through the maze of car bodies to the hole in the fence and her cave beyond. It had been her home for more than three years, and it took Padrona and Willie to really make it a home.

"It's locked, and I don't have my key."

"Here it is," The Wizard said, handing her the key still on the leather thong. "I took it from you in the ambulance."

She opened the door and turned on the light. The group looked in amazement at the little space that wasn't much more than 100 square feet in area.

"Is there anything here that you would like to keep?" The Wizard asked.

"I guess I don't need most of this. I would like to keep the computer. It's new. I think the clothes and most of the stuff could go to the Goodwill people." She went to the cardboard wall and retrieved her cash box. "This money should probably go to them, too. I would rather not think about how I got it."

"You weren't supposed to remember that, at least, not for a while," The Wizard said. "We were going to get Padrona and Willie after a while, too; however, your friendship was so strong that the spell didn't hold up."

"Can we keep Padrona and Willie? They can get someone else to take her place."

"Willie and you belong to each other, as does Padrona; however, Padrona has other things to do, but it will be quite a while before all that becomes clearer.

"You do realize that all of you have been talking, really talking with each other, don't you?" The Wizard said with a chuckle.

"Oh-my-gosh, we really have been talking," Charli said in amazement.

"Your powers to talk with other animals are the strongest I have ever seen. Myrna is going to have to pinpoint where this comes from. Obviously, it is not tied directly to a pair of magic genes, as you have been able to converse silently for a long time. Your ability goes far beyond just talking. You were able to enhance both Padrona and Willie's mental abilities, and you had only half the magic gene. The folks at headquarters are going to be very interested in your abilities.

"Now we have some other things to do."

Not far from the store where Charli's parents had been murdered was a small park frequented by some of the 'elder statesmen' of the neighborhood. With a subtle gesture by The Wizard, the group, including Padrona and Willie, found themselves under a pavilion.

"Let's sit down. No one will see us unless we want them to. Charli, some old friends of yours will be here in a couple of minutes. To them you will appear to be the sixteen year-old Charles Donizetti.

"Padrona, please let this just play out. I know what you want to do; however, this will be more fitting. I think you will understand."

It wasn't long before a car drove up and parked in the handicapped designated parking spot. Two figures very familiar to Charli exited the car. Ottorino Pilonetti and Sandrino Luca walked toward the pavilion area.

"I tell you the guy said that little shit, Charlie Donizetti was in town, and wanted to see us. Well, I want to see him, too. I want to see him dead," Pilonetti turned and spit on the grass, narrowly missing a toddler who was playing beside his mother.

"Shit, that's him all growed up. Look at the tits on those two broads. Jesus, I'd love to fuck them. I wonder who that old fart is with them."

"Have a seat boys, Charlie would like to talk with you," The Wizard said in a rather condescending tone.

"Fuck you, old man. You're going to be dead meat just like him in a couple of seconds."

"I seriously doubt that. I said sit down, and don't speak unless we tell you to.

"I think Charlie has a few questions for you. Go ahead, Charlie."

Charli was having trouble staying calm, and Padrona was growling quietly. Cindy reached down and gently stroked her head. "It's okay. I think this will be over very quickly." She was thinking back several years to when a murderer had become a newborn calf.

Charli took a deep breath, "Did you kill my parents and my aunt and uncle?"

"Yeah, they whimpered a bit. It was fun just like it's going to be fun to finally finish you off." Pilonetti reached under his jacket and pulled out a rather large snake. He shrieked, and dropped the snake which slithered off into the garden.

"We have already verified that they did it," The Wizard stated. "If anyone wants to read their memories, they may. I can assure you that what they did in the Donizettis' store is only the tip of the iceberg.

"Boys, I've been asked to not eliminate you, although I wouldn't feel any remorse if I did. So this is what was decided. You will have at least 500 years to contemplate things. Your final disposition will be decided by Charli at that time. Enough discussion, enjoy your life."

The two men seemed to melt into two puddles. The two puddles separated into four smaller puddles, and then quickly solidified into two sets of four balls. One set was green, and the other was red.

Charli knew what they were immediately. "Your Wisdom, something is missing."

"We'll fix that in just a second," The Wizard replied. He reached into a pocket that hadn't been there a few seconds before, and retrieved a small black glass bottle. The bottle was glowing slightly. He placed the bottle next to the balls, and everyone watched as it quickly changed into an ivory colored ball that was considerably smaller than the other eight balls.

"Charli, explain to everyone what we have here."

"This is a bocce ball set. The small ball is called a pallino. They play the game on that court." Indeed, there was a group of men playing the game as they spoke.

"Your Wisdom, where did the pallino come from?"

"First of all, let me assure you that Mr. Pilonetti and Mr. Luca are quite alive. The pallino contains the spirit of Danny Malpais, the man who attacked Charli, and infected her with hepatitis. The Powers gladly gave him to me when we discussed what to do. The three of them can hear us right now, and they also can feel everything as if they were a person. They can feel hot, cold, pressure, and especially pain. They will feel intense pain, like the pain Charli's parents felt, every time they hit the ground or are struck by another ball. The material they are now made of is virtually indestructible and the set will last for more than a thousand years. It can never be broken up. Their case is up for automatic review in 500 years. Depending on the outcome of that review, they might be allowed to start over.

"It's time to go home."

As they walked out of the park, they passed a brass plaque set in a granite monument. "THIS PARK IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF GIUSEPPE, FLORIA, MATTEO, ZERLINA, AND CHARLES DONIZETTI."

"Taneesha, how are you doing tonight?"

"Alright, I guess. Things are a bit slow. Why?"

"I have a proposition for you and Tommy. I think he'll be here in a moment.

"Taneesha, if you had a 'do over', besides wanting to be a real girl, what would you want?"

"I guess I would wish that my father had never been killed, that he had been there for me and my brothers and sister, and Mom."

"What about Tommy?"

"Tommy and I have always been great friends. I just wish things could have been different. I like him a lot. I always have."

There was a moment of silence as Taneesha peered out into the street lights with their hundreds of bugs orbiting them.

A ten-year old Edsel pulled up, and Tommy jumped out. "Sorry I'm late, I had to get gas." He grabbed her in a firm hug and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. There was a lot of passion in it.

"They just closed the library, and this gentleman was nice enough to stay with me until you came. I called Mom, and she said it would be alright if we stopped at the Sonic.

"Thank you, sir, for waiting with me. I appreciate it."

"It's quite alright, glad to do it. Don't forget you have College Board Exams next week."

He waved at them as they drove off. He knew it would be better this time.

That's it for now. There are more than fourteen years that take place between the epilogue of this story and Randi and the College Professor. I'm sure that there are many adventures to be written about. I was rather surprised about the very positive reception this little effort received. I've posted stories here before that I thought were at least equals to this one or better that haven't had half the kudos. This has really been a pleasant surprise. Thank you for reading and commenting.

I could talk to the animals, just imagine it,
Chattin' with a chimp in chimpanzee,
Imagine talking to a tiger, chatting with a cheetah,
What a neat achievement it would be!

If we could talk to the animals, learn all their languages,
Maybe take an animal degree,
I'd study elephant and eagle, buffalo and beagle,
Alligator, guinea pig, and flea!

I would converse in polar bear, python,
And I would curse in fluent kangaroo,
If people ask me "can you speak rhinocerous?"
I'd say "of courserous! Can't you?"

I conferred with our furry friends, man to animal,
Think of the amazing repartee
If I could walk with the animals, talk with the animals,
Grunt and squeak and squawk with the animals,
And they could talk to me!

If I consulted with quadrupeds
Think what fun we'd have asking over crocodiles for tea!
Or maybe lunch with two or three lions, walruses and sea lions
What a lovely place the world would be!

If I spoke slang to orangutans
The advantages any fool on earth could plainly see!
Discussing Eastern art and dramas
With intellectual llamas
That's a big step forward you'll agree!

I'd learn to speak in antelope and turtle
My Pekinese would be extremely good
If I were asked to sing in hippopotamus
I'd say "whynotamous?" and I would!

If I could parlay with pachyderms
It's a fairy tale worthy of Hans Anderson and Grimm
A man who walks with the animals, talks with the animals
Grunts and squeaks and squawks with the animals
All an easy just think of it and they could talk to me

Words & Music by Leslie Bricusse