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Description
Another picture of my favorite tree from Phillipe Park in Safety Harbor. It was sunny this day and I'm still learning the settings on my new camera so it's not the nicest picture, but I wanted to convey just the sheer size and scope of this wonderful tree. And as I said, this tree did in fact inspire the silly "tree folk" chapter of my novel "A Clock With No Hands" , which is included below.

My novel is available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble NOOK .

#tree #park #nature #oldoaktree #parklife #photo #naturephoto #naturephotography #photography #novel #writing #writing_excerpt #story #inspiration

Here is the passage from the novel:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 14



    “Wow, that was the best,” I say, rubbing my belly. “Orihime sure can cook.”

    If I do end up stuck here for a while, it won’t be so bad if all the meals are that good…even if the “facilities” are from the Dark Ages.

    I’d parked myself on the small front porch of Orihime’s house and lay on my back looking up into the sky above the wooden awning. I can hear Ryoko and Aoi inside, sweeping up the blackened remains of the jar and re-stacking all those books. Kuro snoozes next to me, his quiet purring making me a little drowsy myself.

    So here I am, Laura Aventure, stuck in some strange parallel world.

    I’ve pretty much given up on this being a dream. The sights, the food, the people… It’s all too real for it to be some illusion. And I still have this feeling, like it’s all somehow familiar.

    “…This world…it seems way too much like that book I’m reading…”

     There are so many similarities it’s almost creepy. But if that’s the case, then how—

    “Hey.” Footsteps and a voice behind me shatter my concentration and I turn to see Ryoko stepping through the door onto the porch.

    She’d taken off her hat, and I get my first really good glimpse of her face. She looks all of fourteen or fifteen. Her medium length hair—save for the long braided pigtails falling over her shoulders—shines a golden yellow color and her azure eyes sparkle in the moonlight. Minus the witch getup, she looks like any teenage girl.

    “Aoi’s still busy in there, and you look like you could use a bath. Want to sneak out for a bit?”

    I notice the bundle she’s carrying. It looks like clothes and… Are those towels?

    She reads my confused expression. “There’s a hot spring in the woods,” she says, pointing to the lines of trees beyond the white fence surrounding the house.

    Oh, wow. That sounds like a great idea…and that’ll give me a chance to ask her a few things too.

    “Sure, let’s go,” I say, hopping to my feet. We take a few steps forward before I freeze in place. “Are you sure this is okay with Orihime? I don’t want to end up as some fancy bowl of feline kibble.”

    “She’s in there lecturing Aoi. It’ll be fine.”

    I’ll have to take your word for it. But where I’m from, knocking shelves over and throwing exploding jars isn’t considered polite behavior.

    “And besides, I didn’t wreck that shelf, so why should I clean it up?”

    …I don’t think she meant for me to hear that. I’ll keep my mouth shut for now. She sounds a little agitated.

    After a bit of walking down a narrow dirt path cut through thick vegetation, we come to the spring. The water steams invitingly, and Ryoko points to a thick patch of bushes. “You can undress over there. And you can wash your clothes before we leave.” She holds out a towel, which I accept and wrap around my midsection.

    A few minutes later we’re soaking in the hot water, both wrapped in Orihime’s big, fluffy towels. The trees open up a little above the spring, revealing sparkling stars. Unlike back home where radiant light keeps most stars invisible to the naked eye, here they fill the sky like grains of sand on the beach. The moon hangs high overhead and is fully illuminated, bathing the entire forest in its white glow through the thick treetops. “The sky here is really pretty,” I say.

    “Yeah,” Ryoko says, splashing some water onto her face.

    She doesn’t say anything after, and an awkward silence hangs in the air. I wait a moment to see if she wants to keep talking and then lean forward into the water and run my hands through my hair, giving it a good rinse. The hot water feels both invigorating and soothing at the same time.

    “You have nice hair,” Ryoko says. “I’ve never seen anyone with hair that color brown besides Aoi before.”

    “Sometimes it’s a pain to take care of. I’m thinking I might cut it shorter.”

    “Oh,” is her only reply.

    “My sister actually dyes hers bright red, like fire. It’s so cool. I want to do that too, but she doesn’t think it’s a good idea. I need to ask Mom about that. She’d let me do it for sure.”

    “That right?” Ryoko asks.

    “I just need to get home before too much longer.”

    There’s another long period of awkward silence.

    “Look, Laura…I…” Ryoko says before she falters, as though unable to string her thoughts together. Her face is red, and I can see tears in the corners of her eyes.

    “I’m sorry about all this,” she finally says, sounding sad.

    …Huh? Why the sudden waterworks? I know she went messing around with Orihime’s books, but she couldn’t have known this would happen. And sure, I’m a little upset about the sudden turn of events—who wouldn’t be?—but it’s not like there’s anything I can do about it. I can’t snap my fingers like her and Orihime and fix things just like that.

    “I always manage to mess things up like this,” she says, forlorn, “I just… I don’t know. I thought it’d be all right if I just played around with a few spells, but…” She hesitates, looking as though she may start bawling any second.

    Wow, she really is upset about this.

    There’s another pause, and I think it’s a good time to interject, but before I can say anything, she starts again. “I just don’t get all this crazy magic stuff. And no one ever helps me sort it out. So it’s… I’m just…”

    There’s another pause. “I wish… If Kichiro were still here, maybe he would know…”

    Kichiro… Is that someone that she knew?

    Now I really can see tears in her eyes.

    “Hey, don’t worry about it.”

    I try to pass on some reassurance to her. “It’s not like it’s that bad, anyway. I mean, Orihime seems nice enough, and you’re really cool yourself. I don’t mind sticking around while she figures this mess out.”

    Ryoko raises her eyes to meet mine. “Really…you’re not mad at me?”

    “You made a mistake…it’s no big deal.” I cup my hands and toss some more hot water onto my hair. “I’m pretty sure Tiffany can take care of the house and Kouga while I’m gone.”

    Missing all this school is going to be a problem, though. If Mom finds out about it when she gets back home, she’ll skin me alive. She’s told me more than once that ‘Mom Radar’ can reach across the universe—I hope that’s not true.

    Ryoko sighs, and the lines on her face ease a little; I guess she really needed to get that off her chest. “Thanks, Laura,” she says, forcing a weak smile.

    I lean back against the steaming rocks and allow myself to sink into the spring up to my chin. “Don’t mention it,” I reply to her, gazing into the sky again, looking up at ‘Orion,’ and exhale a little…

    Wait… No, no way…!

    I stare into the sky, squinting a bit. Sure enough, I find myself gazing straight up at the ‘Orion’ constellation. The main stars are all right where they should be; that’s Betelgeuse at his shoulder and Rigel at his left knee. And there’s ‘Canis Major, The Great Dog’ with Sirius shining blue as brightly as ever on his neck! And just above ‘Orion’ is Jupiter! Right in the sky where it should be! It’s the exact same sky as…as Earth!

    …Am I… Am I still on Earth?

    “How is that even possible?” I ask aloud, completely flabbergasted.

    “Huh?” Ryoko asks me.

    Just as she says that, the bushes behind us rustle. I spin my head around to look and Ryoko does the same.

    “Um, Ryoko,” I begin before the bush rustles again.

    “Uh, oh,” she says nervously. “That’s either a wild fox or else—”

    I don’t even have a chance to ask ‘Or else what?’ before Aoi comes flying out from behind the bushes. “…Ryoko!”

    The expression on Ryoko’s face is the same as mine the day my little cousin drew on my face while I was asleep as Aoi splashes into the spring, dress and all.

    Ryoko shrieks in surprise. “What are you doing, you lunatic?”

    Aoi reaches out and throws her arms around Ryoko. “Why would you leave me and go off alone with this complete stranger? And to a hot spring, of all places! What are you trying to pull here? You know I love hot springs!”

    “Get off me Aoi! I needed a bath and so did she!” Ryoko tries to simultaneously explain herself and peel the hysterical Aoi off of her body.

    “Why would you just forget about your best friend like that?”

    I sure hope this ruckus doesn’t attract any wild animals.

    Ryoko splashes water all over Aoi. “Fine, you’re mad I forgot you! I get it! Get off of me!”

    “Not until you apologize! And if you don’t, I’ll dunk you until you do!”

    “…Heh heh heh…”

    “Ah! Someone’s there!” I scream as loud as I can and point to the edge of the line of trees, trying to keep as much of myself covered as possible. “It came from over there!”

    “I heard it too,” Ryoko says as she pushes Aoi away and moves closer to me. “Who’s there?” she asks into the darkness.

    No reply.

    “I know I heard someone laughing,” I say, still freaked.

    “Hey! Come out, you peeping tom!” Aoi stands up in the water, throwing her hand up and pointing toward the sound. “You’re dealing with Ryoko and Aoi, the ‘Thieving Witches of Tsuruya!’”

    You…do know you can almost see through—

    “Don’t use that title all the time,” Ryoko chides her.

    “But everyone knows it! After all, we’re the ones who stole Midori’s rake and—”

    “Nobody needs to know all that!” Ryoko reaches up to grab Aoi.

    Leaves rustle in the line of trees. “So you’re Ryoko and Aoi, aye? A fetching couple ‘a lasses, you are.”

    Aoi drops back into the water with a squeal, trying to cover her entire body with just her hands. I turn toward the voice and stare into the darkness, creeping up to the edge of the spring so only the top half of my face is above the water. “There’s no one there.”

    “Yeah, there is,” Ryoko says from behind me. “Look at that tree.”

    It takes a moment, but I can just barely see…a face?

    “Yep… A lecherous tree folk,” Ryoko says, “Still here. Mom must have missed a few.”

    Okay, that’s it. Now I know I’ve lost it. The trees are talking, too!

    “Please,” the voice says, deep and throaty, “Don’t stop your blooming ruckus on my account. Keep straight on.”

    …Why does the tree have an Australian accent?!

    Ryoko lets out a long sigh. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to the lecherous trees that are growing around Midori’s springs, would you? Did you get planted here by some bird or did you actually uproot yourselves and walk here from Fairhaven?”

    Can we please leave? Like, right now?

    “My, an inquisitive little mind ‘ya got there.”

    The tree…is grinning? Yeah, it’s definitely smiling. Talking cats are one thing, but tree folk are just totally over the top. This place is coming right out of a storybook!

    “Do you have any idea what Orihime will do to you if she finds you here spying on her?”

    “Yeah, some of ‘ma mates got the short end of the stick from her when they couldn’t keep quiet last time she was here.”

    Aoi shoots the tree an angry look. “Well then, you should leave before she chops you all down and tosses you into her fireplace!”

    “Oh come now, lassie. ‘Ya can’t blame me for sticking around,” the tree says, “After all, ‘ya lovely maidens put on such a rousing show.”

“You mean ‘arousing’ show, right?” Aoi’s clearly not happy about being spied on. Neither am I, for that matter. “Hey Ryoko, give this creep what-for already!”

    Aoi’s apparently thinking the same thing. She reaches up with both hands and sends a volley of rainbow colored magic hurtling toward the tree. It flies above my head with whooshing and snapping sounds—fast enough to ruffle my sopping wet hair—and envelopes the tree with a sparkly flash. The tiny clearing is bathed in reflected multicolored light for a moment before the spell fades away.

    The tree’s ‘smile’ widens as he chuckles. “Thank you, may I have another?”

    …Nothing happened?

    Aoi cries out. “…Magic won’t work on them?”

    Ryoko does a face palm. “Spells don’t work on tree folk, genius.”

    “Oh right! I knew that! I was just—“

    I look back at the tree before realizing something horrible. “Ah! You creep! Where are my pajamas?”

    The tree laughs again. “What are…pah-jam-ahs…?”

    I glance around, trying to find them. The branch I’d hung them on is gone and they’re not on the ground. “He took my clothes! Someone get me a chainsaw!”

    I turn back toward Ryoko, seeing heat gathering in my cheeks. I’m sure my face is red as a tomato. She sighs and raises her eyebrows in a kind of ‘I know, but…’ expression.

    “There they are!” Aoi points into the foliage. “Up there!”

    I spin around and look up. There they are, hanging from a branch just out of reach from where I am. “You jerk! That’s not fair! Give those back!”

    The tree doesn’t reply.

    Glancing around, I spot a long, thin branch lying on the grass near the edge of the spring that looks just long enough to reach them. Being careful to keep as much of myself underwater as possible, I reach out and grasp it, but just when I do so, it starts to move…toward the towel covering my chest! “Ah!” I dive back into the water just before it can touch me.

    The tree laughs hysterically, clearly amused by the prank. “Ha! The oldest trick in the book, and it almost worked! You’re just adorable!”

    “Ryoko, don’t just sit there,” I shout, enraged. “Do something!”

    “There’s not much I can do,” she replies, resignation in her voice. “Sorcery won’t work on them.”

    “Wait…’them’?”

    “Look around. He’s got friends.”

    Horrified, I do as she suggests. There are faces in just about every other tree around the spring…and they’re all snickering now. Some of them are chuckling so hard their trunks are shaking, making leaves fall down into the water all around us.

    “Why is this happening to me?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A Clock With No Hands," (C) 2018 by J.D. Tailor. No section or portion of this text may be used for any reason without the author's express permission. Thank you.

Description
Another picture of my favorite tree from Phillipe Park in Safety Harbor. It was sunny this day and I'm still learning the settings on my new camera so it's not the nicest picture, but I wanted to convey just the sheer size and scope of this wonderful tree. And as I said, this tree did in fact inspire the silly "tree folk" chapter of my novel "A Clock With No Hands" , which is included below.

My novel is available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble NOOK .

#tree #park #nature #oldoaktree #parklife #photo #naturephoto #naturephotography #photography #novel #writing #writing_excerpt #story #inspiration

Here is the passage from the novel:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 14



    “Wow, that was the best,” I say, rubbing my belly. “Orihime sure can cook.”

    If I do end up stuck here for a while, it won’t be so bad if all the meals are that good…even if the “facilities” are from the Dark Ages.

    I’d parked myself on the small front porch of Orihime’s house and lay on my back looking up into the sky above the wooden awning. I can hear Ryoko and Aoi inside, sweeping up the blackened remains of the jar and re-stacking all those books. Kuro snoozes next to me, his quiet purring making me a little drowsy myself.

    So here I am, Laura Aventure, stuck in some strange parallel world.

    I’ve pretty much given up on this being a dream. The sights, the food, the people… It’s all too real for it to be some illusion. And I still have this feeling, like it’s all somehow familiar.

    “…This world…it seems way too much like that book I’m reading…”

     There are so many similarities it’s almost creepy. But if that’s the case, then how—

    “Hey.” Footsteps and a voice behind me shatter my concentration and I turn to see Ryoko stepping through the door onto the porch.

    She’d taken off her hat, and I get my first really good glimpse of her face. She looks all of fourteen or fifteen. Her medium length hair—save for the long braided pigtails falling over her shoulders—shines a golden yellow color and her azure eyes sparkle in the moonlight. Minus the witch getup, she looks like any teenage girl.

    “Aoi’s still busy in there, and you look like you could use a bath. Want to sneak out for a bit?”

    I notice the bundle she’s carrying. It looks like clothes and… Are those towels?

    She reads my confused expression. “There’s a hot spring in the woods,” she says, pointing to the lines of trees beyond the white fence surrounding the house.

    Oh, wow. That sounds like a great idea…and that’ll give me a chance to ask her a few things too.

    “Sure, let’s go,” I say, hopping to my feet. We take a few steps forward before I freeze in place. “Are you sure this is okay with Orihime? I don’t want to end up as some fancy bowl of feline kibble.”

    “She’s in there lecturing Aoi. It’ll be fine.”

    I’ll have to take your word for it. But where I’m from, knocking shelves over and throwing exploding jars isn’t considered polite behavior.

    “And besides, I didn’t wreck that shelf, so why should I clean it up?”

    …I don’t think she meant for me to hear that. I’ll keep my mouth shut for now. She sounds a little agitated.

    After a bit of walking down a narrow dirt path cut through thick vegetation, we come to the spring. The water steams invitingly, and Ryoko points to a thick patch of bushes. “You can undress over there. And you can wash your clothes before we leave.” She holds out a towel, which I accept and wrap around my midsection.

    A few minutes later we’re soaking in the hot water, both wrapped in Orihime’s big, fluffy towels. The trees open up a little above the spring, revealing sparkling stars. Unlike back home where radiant light keeps most stars invisible to the naked eye, here they fill the sky like grains of sand on the beach. The moon hangs high overhead and is fully illuminated, bathing the entire forest in its white glow through the thick treetops. “The sky here is really pretty,” I say.

    “Yeah,” Ryoko says, splashing some water onto her face.

    She doesn’t say anything after, and an awkward silence hangs in the air. I wait a moment to see if she wants to keep talking and then lean forward into the water and run my hands through my hair, giving it a good rinse. The hot water feels both invigorating and soothing at the same time.

    “You have nice hair,” Ryoko says. “I’ve never seen anyone with hair that color brown besides Aoi before.”

    “Sometimes it’s a pain to take care of. I’m thinking I might cut it shorter.”

    “Oh,” is her only reply.

    “My sister actually dyes hers bright red, like fire. It’s so cool. I want to do that too, but she doesn’t think it’s a good idea. I need to ask Mom about that. She’d let me do it for sure.”

    “That right?” Ryoko asks.

    “I just need to get home before too much longer.”

    There’s another long period of awkward silence.

    “Look, Laura…I…” Ryoko says before she falters, as though unable to string her thoughts together. Her face is red, and I can see tears in the corners of her eyes.

    “I’m sorry about all this,” she finally says, sounding sad.

    …Huh? Why the sudden waterworks? I know she went messing around with Orihime’s books, but she couldn’t have known this would happen. And sure, I’m a little upset about the sudden turn of events—who wouldn’t be?—but it’s not like there’s anything I can do about it. I can’t snap my fingers like her and Orihime and fix things just like that.

    “I always manage to mess things up like this,” she says, forlorn, “I just… I don’t know. I thought it’d be all right if I just played around with a few spells, but…” She hesitates, looking as though she may start bawling any second.

    Wow, she really is upset about this.

    There’s another pause, and I think it’s a good time to interject, but before I can say anything, she starts again. “I just don’t get all this crazy magic stuff. And no one ever helps me sort it out. So it’s… I’m just…”

    There’s another pause. “I wish… If Kichiro were still here, maybe he would know…”

    Kichiro… Is that someone that she knew?

    Now I really can see tears in her eyes.

    “Hey, don’t worry about it.”

    I try to pass on some reassurance to her. “It’s not like it’s that bad, anyway. I mean, Orihime seems nice enough, and you’re really cool yourself. I don’t mind sticking around while she figures this mess out.”

    Ryoko raises her eyes to meet mine. “Really…you’re not mad at me?”

    “You made a mistake…it’s no big deal.” I cup my hands and toss some more hot water onto my hair. “I’m pretty sure Tiffany can take care of the house and Kouga while I’m gone.”

    Missing all this school is going to be a problem, though. If Mom finds out about it when she gets back home, she’ll skin me alive. She’s told me more than once that ‘Mom Radar’ can reach across the universe—I hope that’s not true.

    Ryoko sighs, and the lines on her face ease a little; I guess she really needed to get that off her chest. “Thanks, Laura,” she says, forcing a weak smile.

    I lean back against the steaming rocks and allow myself to sink into the spring up to my chin. “Don’t mention it,” I reply to her, gazing into the sky again, looking up at ‘Orion,’ and exhale a little…

    Wait… No, no way…!

    I stare into the sky, squinting a bit. Sure enough, I find myself gazing straight up at the ‘Orion’ constellation. The main stars are all right where they should be; that’s Betelgeuse at his shoulder and Rigel at his left knee. And there’s ‘Canis Major, The Great Dog’ with Sirius shining blue as brightly as ever on his neck! And just above ‘Orion’ is Jupiter! Right in the sky where it should be! It’s the exact same sky as…as Earth!

    …Am I… Am I still on Earth?

    “How is that even possible?” I ask aloud, completely flabbergasted.

    “Huh?” Ryoko asks me.

    Just as she says that, the bushes behind us rustle. I spin my head around to look and Ryoko does the same.

    “Um, Ryoko,” I begin before the bush rustles again.

    “Uh, oh,” she says nervously. “That’s either a wild fox or else—”

    I don’t even have a chance to ask ‘Or else what?’ before Aoi comes flying out from behind the bushes. “…Ryoko!”

    The expression on Ryoko’s face is the same as mine the day my little cousin drew on my face while I was asleep as Aoi splashes into the spring, dress and all.

    Ryoko shrieks in surprise. “What are you doing, you lunatic?”

    Aoi reaches out and throws her arms around Ryoko. “Why would you leave me and go off alone with this complete stranger? And to a hot spring, of all places! What are you trying to pull here? You know I love hot springs!”

    “Get off me Aoi! I needed a bath and so did she!” Ryoko tries to simultaneously explain herself and peel the hysterical Aoi off of her body.

    “Why would you just forget about your best friend like that?”

    I sure hope this ruckus doesn’t attract any wild animals.

    Ryoko splashes water all over Aoi. “Fine, you’re mad I forgot you! I get it! Get off of me!”

    “Not until you apologize! And if you don’t, I’ll dunk you until you do!”

    “…Heh heh heh…”

    “Ah! Someone’s there!” I scream as loud as I can and point to the edge of the line of trees, trying to keep as much of myself covered as possible. “It came from over there!”

    “I heard it too,” Ryoko says as she pushes Aoi away and moves closer to me. “Who’s there?” she asks into the darkness.

    No reply.

    “I know I heard someone laughing,” I say, still freaked.

    “Hey! Come out, you peeping tom!” Aoi stands up in the water, throwing her hand up and pointing toward the sound. “You’re dealing with Ryoko and Aoi, the ‘Thieving Witches of Tsuruya!’”

    You…do know you can almost see through—

    “Don’t use that title all the time,” Ryoko chides her.

    “But everyone knows it! After all, we’re the ones who stole Midori’s rake and—”

    “Nobody needs to know all that!” Ryoko reaches up to grab Aoi.

    Leaves rustle in the line of trees. “So you’re Ryoko and Aoi, aye? A fetching couple ‘a lasses, you are.”

    Aoi drops back into the water with a squeal, trying to cover her entire body with just her hands. I turn toward the voice and stare into the darkness, creeping up to the edge of the spring so only the top half of my face is above the water. “There’s no one there.”

    “Yeah, there is,” Ryoko says from behind me. “Look at that tree.”

    It takes a moment, but I can just barely see…a face?

    “Yep… A lecherous tree folk,” Ryoko says, “Still here. Mom must have missed a few.”

    Okay, that’s it. Now I know I’ve lost it. The trees are talking, too!

    “Please,” the voice says, deep and throaty, “Don’t stop your blooming ruckus on my account. Keep straight on.”

    …Why does the tree have an Australian accent?!

    Ryoko lets out a long sigh. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to the lecherous trees that are growing around Midori’s springs, would you? Did you get planted here by some bird or did you actually uproot yourselves and walk here from Fairhaven?”

    Can we please leave? Like, right now?

    “My, an inquisitive little mind ‘ya got there.”

    The tree…is grinning? Yeah, it’s definitely smiling. Talking cats are one thing, but tree folk are just totally over the top. This place is coming right out of a storybook!

    “Do you have any idea what Orihime will do to you if she finds you here spying on her?”

    “Yeah, some of ‘ma mates got the short end of the stick from her when they couldn’t keep quiet last time she was here.”

    Aoi shoots the tree an angry look. “Well then, you should leave before she chops you all down and tosses you into her fireplace!”

    “Oh come now, lassie. ‘Ya can’t blame me for sticking around,” the tree says, “After all, ‘ya lovely maidens put on such a rousing show.”

“You mean ‘arousing’ show, right?” Aoi’s clearly not happy about being spied on. Neither am I, for that matter. “Hey Ryoko, give this creep what-for already!”

    Aoi’s apparently thinking the same thing. She reaches up with both hands and sends a volley of rainbow colored magic hurtling toward the tree. It flies above my head with whooshing and snapping sounds—fast enough to ruffle my sopping wet hair—and envelopes the tree with a sparkly flash. The tiny clearing is bathed in reflected multicolored light for a moment before the spell fades away.

    The tree’s ‘smile’ widens as he chuckles. “Thank you, may I have another?”

    …Nothing happened?

    Aoi cries out. “…Magic won’t work on them?”

    Ryoko does a face palm. “Spells don’t work on tree folk, genius.”

    “Oh right! I knew that! I was just—“

    I look back at the tree before realizing something horrible. “Ah! You creep! Where are my pajamas?”

    The tree laughs again. “What are…pah-jam-ahs…?”

    I glance around, trying to find them. The branch I’d hung them on is gone and they’re not on the ground. “He took my clothes! Someone get me a chainsaw!”

    I turn back toward Ryoko, seeing heat gathering in my cheeks. I’m sure my face is red as a tomato. She sighs and raises her eyebrows in a kind of ‘I know, but…’ expression.

    “There they are!” Aoi points into the foliage. “Up there!”

    I spin around and look up. There they are, hanging from a branch just out of reach from where I am. “You jerk! That’s not fair! Give those back!”

    The tree doesn’t reply.

    Glancing around, I spot a long, thin branch lying on the grass near the edge of the spring that looks just long enough to reach them. Being careful to keep as much of myself underwater as possible, I reach out and grasp it, but just when I do so, it starts to move…toward the towel covering my chest! “Ah!” I dive back into the water just before it can touch me.

    The tree laughs hysterically, clearly amused by the prank. “Ha! The oldest trick in the book, and it almost worked! You’re just adorable!”

    “Ryoko, don’t just sit there,” I shout, enraged. “Do something!”

    “There’s not much I can do,” she replies, resignation in her voice. “Sorcery won’t work on them.”

    “Wait…’them’?”

    “Look around. He’s got friends.”

    Horrified, I do as she suggests. There are faces in just about every other tree around the spring…and they’re all snickering now. Some of them are chuckling so hard their trunks are shaking, making leaves fall down into the water all around us.

    “Why is this happening to me?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A Clock With No Hands," (C) 2018 by J.D. Tailor. No section or portion of this text may be used for any reason without the author's express permission. Thank you.