Rundimahair: A new hero for a new adventure by Larry Forkner (summer books .TXT) 📗

in the quiet night air, followed closely by what seemed to be urgent whispered voices. Sean couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they seemed to be trying to quiet the source of the noise.

Before he could decide what to do, Sean was surprised by a sudden golden glow that emanated from behind the tree. It was a soft golden light that seemed to pulse with a gentle energy. To add to his confusion, two very short men rushed out from behind the tree, dancing a jig as they hummed a quiet tune.

Sean was having difficulty wrapping his mind around what he was seeing. After a moment’s consideration, he decided to alert Eamon to what was going on in his back yard. He was about to stand when he heard a soft sound directly behind him.

“Who is. . .” is all he could say before he felt a sharp twinge at the base of his neck. Within seconds a feeling of pure weightlessness overwhelmed him, and his mind was filled with absolute peace and joy. It was a sensation that he’d never experienced in his entire life. Sean tried to move, but all the strength had drained out of him. He collapsed onto the floor and descended into unconsciousness before having a chance to identify his attacker.

* * *

Early morning sunlight filtered into the room through the window facing the back yard. Birds were chirping merrily in the large willow tree, inviting anyone within earshot to get out of bed and enjoy the bright, clear morning.

Sean groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes. He sighed and struggled to sit up on the edge of the bed. His head ached dully, and his body felt stiff and tight. When he tried to stand, dizziness washed over him as he collapsed back onto the edge of the bed.

He scratched an itch on his right shoulder and felt the familiar, soft fabric of his favorite pajamas. Something vaguely troubling touched his mind when he looked down at his pajamas and bare feet. When he searched for the cause of his disquiet, he realized he couldn’t recall much of anything about last night.

After several moments of struggling to clear his thoughts, Sean began to recall some of what he’d done the day before. The breakfast with Eamon and Ashling was clear in his memory, and he was beginning to recall the stroll around the grounds of the home. He’d gone upstairs to rest for a short time and the next thing he could recall was waking up this morning feeling the worse for wear. It seemed impossible that a one-hour nap had turned into sleeping away most of yesterday and all night too. He knew he’d been tired when he went upstairs, but this was ridiculous.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself for another attempt to stand. His legs were still a bit wobbly, but he managed to stay on his feet. The dizziness began to diminish, as he made his way into the bathroom and turned on the cold water. A couple of splashes of very cold water on his face, nearly took his breath away but helped clear the cobwebs out of his mind.

“What a mess,” he mumbled as he stared at his reflection in the large bathroom mirror. “You look like twenty miles of bad road.”

He grabbed his toiletry bag and dug through it until he found his toothbrush and toothpaste. He gave his teeth a vigorous brushing and felt better after rinsing his mouth with cold water.

“There’s no hope for that without a hot shower and shampoo,” he said, while trying to smooth down his bed hair with one hand.

Sean smiled at his unkempt reflection, but then his smile turned into a frown. He rubbed his hands over his pajamas again and recalled the unease he’d felt when he first looked at them this morning.

“When did I get into my pajamas?” he mumbled.

When he’d come upstairs for a power nap, he was sure he’d flopped on the bed with all his clothes on except his shoes. It came to him, with a start, that someone must have helped him into pajamas before bed last night. Sean had no recollection of that taking place, but the evidence of it was right before his eyes.

“Let’s hope it was Eamon,” he grumbled, shaking his head.

After a shower and shave, Sean felt much better, although the dizziness and weakness were still there as background irritants. While dressing, he continued to wonder how he’d lost almost an entire day to sleep. Even taking the accident into account, it just wasn’t like him to sleep like he was in a coma.

He glanced out the window to see if he could spot Ashling or Eamon outside. When his gaze fell on the willow tree, a strange feeling rumbled through him. He closed his eyes and tried to recall a bit of memory that was there, just out of reach. After several moments, he gave up in frustration. He recalled that his mother had once told him to leave it alone if he couldn’t recall something. She promised that it would come to him sometime soon when he was busy thinking of something else. He’d found that she was usually right and tried to relax and not worry about whatever was troubling him.

Sean glanced at his watch as he descended the stairs and was surprised to see that it was already after ten. He was afraid he’d missed breakfast, and he was absolutely starving. When he stepped into the kitchen, hoping to find something he could whip up for a late breakfast, he was amazed to see a plate full of waffles sitting on the table. Someone had prepared a gourmet quality breakfast of waffles with sausage and bacon on the side. Three flavors of syrup were also on the table, along with butter and orange juice.

“It’s feels like it just came out of the waffle iron,” Sean said, surprised to feel the warmth coming