Molly'sMake-Believe

The banging of the door on the rundown cottage made Molly cringe. With her skinny back flat against the weathered boards of the henhouse, she held her breath, lest her presence be revealed to her father.

"Molly, where are you now, girl?" Her father demanded, likely seeking her quick completion of some task hastily left undone. Molly could never seem to finish what her father set for her to do. It was not that she was disrespectful, she simply could not hold her mind to a task long enough to finish it.

Being a young girl, raised by her father alone, Molly often found nooks and crannies in which to hide until her father tired of the hunt. She often felt bad for the extra work that her father must do to make up for what she did not. With every turning, she found so much to distract her, that she was ever in trouble. The hen house, her secret lair, held a world of wonders for her young imagination.

She drifted lazily through all of her favorite memories created in this place, until she heard a rustling from behind one of the coops. She slowly went to investigate the noise, making sure not to make any herself or risk being caught. She slowly peered around the coop and finally caught sight of it. It looked like a bird at first, but then it turned to face her and she could see that even though it was covered in feathers ranging in color from blue to teal and even green, this creature was no bird. It had a face like a lizard and four stout little legs almost hidden under its wings, with a long tail. The tail almost looked like that of a rat, but thicker and covered with feathers.

Molly froze in place, too scared to make a move. The creature was the first to break the spell, quickly scampering away to a dark corner. Molly finally remembered to breathe. Reaching behind her, she carefully and quietly dropped the latch across the door, barring her father from bursting in and scaring the little thing with his angry outbursts.

The curious child that Molly was, she tentatively crept closer to its refuge. Fearing to scare it further, she began making quiet cooing sounds, somewhat like the hens, hoping to draw it out. The only thing that Molly managed to do was collect a gaggle of hens, following in her wake.

As she crept closer and closer to its hiding place she noticed that more and more of the hens started to either stop in their place or slowly back away from her. At first she thought they were getting bored of her game, but then when she looked forward toward the strange creature hiding spot she noticed its little head poking out. It licked its lips once, showing little dagger-like teeth, as it came out from hiding, moving with a half shuffle.

She desperately wanted to see the creature and learn more about it, but could not bring herself to endanger the hens while doing so. She quickly turned to shoo them all away then turned back to see if the creature had moved. When she looked back it was no longer there. Quickly, she scanned the area looking for him, only to find him hanging from the ceiling by his little stubby feet. They seemed to have retractable claws like a cat's. His eyes even resembled a cat's, but they were a golden hue with bronze flecks that seemed to flow around his eye like they were floating in a river of gold. So transfixed by its eyes, she never noticed that it not only made no sound getting up there, but as it walked upside down on the ceiling toward her, it was still holding its tongue. Even the chatty hens were making no sound. She hazarded a glance to check on them and they appeared to be squawking angrily at the creature, yet no sound came forth.

Molly looked around the hen house in wonder, slowly turning in circles. This has never happened before. I will really be in trouble now! Looking back toward the ceiling, Molly gave a loud gasp, or at least, she thinks she did. Standing directly before her, the creature was looking at her quizzically, tilting its head from side to side.

"Hi there, little birdie. What is your name?" Molly's voice shattered the silence, mingling with the sounds of the flustered hens and her father's persistent demands to show herself. The creature cringed slightly, upon hearing the cacophony, but did not scamper away, as molly feared.

The creature reached out and timidly touched the end of Molly's nose, making her giggle. He then slowly melted to the ground, baring his stomach for a rub. The way that he squirmed and wiggled reminded Molly of a slippery, slimy noodle. As she reached down to pet him, Molly declared, "That is what I will call you, Noodle."

At the moment she remembered her father, she knew there was no way he would not hear the ruckus the hens were making, and once he did she would be found. As if sensing her fears, Noodle flipped back over, looking at the back wall of the hen house. He started to move toward it then stopped, realizing Molly was not following him. He quickly wrapped his tail around her wrist and began to pull, guiding her to the wall.

Once there, he licked it. As he did, the wall began to shimmer slightly and ripple like a pond's surface disturbed by a skipping stone. Upon seeing this, Molly was afraid but Noodle calmly walked through, guiding her along. She took one step and was outside the back of the hen house in the bright sunlight. Immediately, a smile widened across Molly’s face. She scooped Noodle into her arms and ran off into the brush, heading for the river.

Noodle let go of Molly's hand upon reaching the riverbank. Looking at her expectantly, he tiptoed out onto the glasslike surface of the water. Molly watched in amazement, as he appeared to be walking on top of the water. Noodle grinned, showing his snaggle- toothed smile. He beckoned with his spindly fingers for Molly to follow. Hesitantly, she dipped her toe into the water. Noodle quickly reached for her hand and pulled her across. Molly sank to the bottom, then found her way to the surface, spluttering wildly.

Glaring at Noodle, she demanded, "What did you do that for?" Noodle simply gave her his most disarming smile which made Molly stop pouting. "You are crazy, do you know that?" Molly was not sure what game he was playing here nor even if she wanted to play. Noodle took Molly's hand and placed it on the surface of the water, then pushed. Nothing happened. Molly's hand would not breach its surface. He then pulled her to her feet, until she was standing on the water with him. He then sat down, beckoning for Molly to follow suit. Once Noodle was satisfied that she was going to stay put, he gave her a mischievous wink, and the river under them lifted into the sky.

Had Molly not already been sitting, she would have fallen over from astonishment. The river began to move, ever so slowly. Molly carefully peeked over the side, to see her home falling slowly behind her. Clapping with excitement, with a grin from ear to ear, Molly and Noodle set off toward the sea.

When they reached the beach, the river dipped back down to the ground, but the sea at the base of the river rose up like a wall. Scared, Molly started to turn, as if she were trying to run away. As she did, she noticed Noodle's grin widening and turned back around, mystified by thoughts of what might happen next. They hit the wall of ocean and it bounced them back up the river a dozen feet or so. Molly marveled at how much it felt like a big pillow when she hit the ocean. While she was waiting to see what would happen next, both the river and sea returned to normal, and Noodle motioned for her to get off the river.

Noodle walked up to the edge of the ocean and began to hum, quietly at first but the melody continued to rise until it sounded like dozens of people singing all around her. Then abruptly, he stopped. Noodle slowly looked back and forth at the horizon, searching for something. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, what appeared to be a large storm cloud appeared on the horizon. It quickly began moving in their direction. As it came closer, she realized it was not a storm cloud but rather something large flying above the clouds, blocking out the light. It was a Noodle, a very large and much brighter colored Noodle.

Stunned, Molly did not even notice that Noodle was hopping with excitement, clicking his teeth and swishing his tail. Then Molly realized that her new friend was bringing her to see his parent. Judging by the difference in size, she estimated Noodle to be no older then a toddler. It was then that she realized what had happened. Noodle got separated from his mom and was scared. He managed to find his way to her coop to hide. Her friendship had given him the courage to go out and find his mom. Molly was so happy for Noodle and his mom that she could not hold back her tears as she watched him run across the beach to her.

Noodle and his mom sat clicking and cawing at each other for a bit. After what seemed like forever, Noodle's mom walked over to Molly. “Thank you very much for helping my boy” she said. “I was worried sick when I awoke this morning and did not find him next to me."

“It was nothing” Molly stammered. “We were just playing, really."

“Well, either way I am very grateful that my son met such a nice person this day. I wish we could stay longer but we have a very long way to go and not much time to get where we are going.” she stated appreciatively.

“Oh, I see” Molly stated. “Will I ever see Noodle again?” she asked, hope edging every word.

“My dear, Noodle as you call him, will forever be your friend. Whenever you are sad or lonely just call for him and he will be there for you.” she stated graciously, as she moved back toward the sea.

Once she reached the sea she looked down at Noodle then back up at Molly and ascended into the sky. Noodle bowed low to Molly, winked, then followed suit.

Molly sat on the beach and waved to Noodle and his mom as they flew away. Only after they had disappeared over the horizon did Molly realize that she had never even actually spoken one of those words out loud to Noodle's mom.