The Second Star To The Right Willow Trilogy book 3

Ben washed his hands and prepared for yet another shift at Pleasant Shire Retirement Home. He sighed and pushed back his blonde hair and exited the bathroom. The scent of time was all around. He noticed an elderly woman with chestnut skin, and brown eyes that still held a bit of the sparkle they had contained in their youth, talking to no one but the air around her. He frowned- it was Willow Merryship, the local Multiple Personality Disorder patient- a running joke around the home. The common treatment for MPD was integration: the combination of each “personality” into a single person. Willow had never even considered it. “Cooperation- not integration”, she had told her therapist. Legally, they couldn’t force her to integrate- but it looked bad to be an 87 year old lady who still had “imaginary friends” - and it was worse when these imaginary friends occasionally decided to talk through her mouth.
“Miss Merryship? You okay? Ben grunted. Willow straightened up and focused on Ben.
“Oh yes, I’m fine- Ladybird and Solar just had to settle a little spat, and I was putting in my two cents.  ” replied Willow.
“And who are Solar and Ladybird?” asked Ben- he said it politely but inwardly he was snickering.
“Ladybird’s a shape-changer- she’s told me she’s wild seed- real powerful woman. Sweetest thing you ever met- she’s the leader up here, her and her husband Solar. And Solar’s a Dragon Rider,” explained Willow.
“Miss Merryship … there’s no dragons,” said Ben.
“I know you’ll never believe, but that’s alright young man. I know who took care of me,” said Willow staunchly.
“How can they take care of you when they aren’t here, Miss Merryship?” asked Ben.
“They can. There was the time the castle caught fire- and when our forest was sick,” said Willow.
“Uh huh …” said Ben.
Solar and his Bronze, Bowzer, soared over the castle in which they lived. Their enemies seldom came from above as in the days of Thread, but he knew it was wise to look both up AND down.
:Solar, my man- can I just pick off one of the little sick deer? I’m so bored: grumbled the dragon, and bugled to emphasize his point.
:No, you’ve had plenty, you big kid: replied Solar to the dragon, coloring the thought with mirth.  
:Then can we swim?: asked Bowzer.
:Knock yourself out: Solar thought back. Bowzer shot towards the shimmer between the mountains that constituted the lake. He landed on the shore of the lake- it never failed to amaze Solar the way such a big creature could fly- and land so gracefully. The Bronze plunged into the lake, creating a huge wave- when he surfaced, his multi-faceted eyes were all colored with joy. Solar smiled and shook his long, ink-black hair out of his eyes and surveyed the land he loved. It was good earth, and he had carved out a home for his family out of it, alongside Ladybird. He looked proudly back at the castle, when he noticed a think finger of smoke that should not have been there.
owzer, quick, fire: thought Solar, and instsantly the bronze was at his side, and they were speeding back. Sure enough, smoke was billowing to the blue sky. The inhabitants of the castle were battling the flames- leading them a slight woman with cornsilk hair, and kind grey eyes, dressed all in green. Solar leapt from the dragon’s back and dashed to her.
“Ladybird are you alright?” he shouted over the roar of the flames.
“Fine darling- but I have to help put out the flames,” she responded calmly, and fetched a bucket and handed it to him. Solar and he worked in tandem to combat the flames. After two hours work, the fire was out. They walked hand in hand, surveying what had been the greenhouse.
“I’m sorry,” said Solar- he knew his wife hated the destruction of life, and had loved the beauty of the forest. She kissed him sweetly, and knelt upon the ashen earth.
“No need for tears darling,” she said, and caressed the trunk of a tree that had been singed. In mere seconds, the tree was healed. Solar smiled at his wife and took her in his arms.
“You can heal humanoids, animals, and plants. Your great grandfather Doro would be after you in a minute if he could be,” said Solar.
“My great grandfather was … complicated. Crazy even. I pity him. At any rate, I think our family needs your attention more than Doro,” said Ladybird, and sent him on his way with a kiss. Solar made his rounds, checking to see that everyone was safe and well. After a long day restoring the damage done to the castle, he returned to home and hearth.

Willow gave a nod as her story was concluded.
“You talk about these people like they’re your parents,” commented Ben.
“They were, almost. Solar always protected me when people came after me as a kid- I was a foster kid till Daddy came along and my foster mother was downright evil. Solar was there- showing me what a man ought to be.  And then Ladybird- I never had a mom. She showed me what a mother was- and what a strong woman was. I hope you can marry one half as wonderful, and you can take that to the bank,” said Willow. Ben chuckled, and resolved to hear more of Willow’s delusions the next day.
When he arrived at work the next day, there were police cars surrounding the Retirement home. Ben was informed that one of his co-workers had been fired for mistreating one of the residents. Ben went to get Willow’s opinion and found her in her customary chair. Willow shook her head.
“Someone always has to push someone around,” she said softly.
“You think so?” asked Ben.
“Well sure. Look at Hitler. Look at Kim Jong Un. You can beat them though- you know I was just talking with Jimmy and Tiberius about that this morning,” said Willow.
“Hmm, another story? Hit me with it,” said Ben.
Tiberius  Schusterman expertly came around with a right cross, just as he’d been taught in the academy- and later reviewed at the Training Center before the Games. The young man he was sparring with (a sleek brunette with brown eyes)  blocked it. ‘It’s like fighting myself- he knows all my moves’, thought Tiberius.
“We’ve done this too long,” said the other boy, catching his breath. “We know all each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” It occurred to Tiberius that he and Jimmy rarely talked- they generally sparred in silence.
“You’re pretty damn good. They must have done something right in Battle School,” said Tiberius.  Jimmy looked at him pointedly.
“And the trainers at the training center? Did they do something right before they sent you off to the Arena?” asked Jimmy. Tiberius sat cross-legged on the mat and ran a hand over his damp blue hair (an unfortunate decision by his stylist).
“No. They fucked me up. The Capitol made me something I’m not. I didn’t even realize it until the end” said Tiberius.
“Battle School did the same thing to me. I thought I was going off to serve a greater purpose- being a Third, I was worthless, and I wanted some claim to humanity- but I was just a pawn in a sick game- same as you” replied Jimmy. Tiberius put and arm around the other young man’s shoulder.
“Well- we’re safe now. We deal with our shit as best we can, and make sure that more assholes like President Snow and Colonel Graff don’t make it into power again. We got ourselves into trouble, we can get ourselves out, right?” suggested Tiberius
“Right,” said Jimmy. He studied Tiberius a moment, and then leaned in and kissed him. Tiberius’s blue eyes were wide.
“What the hell was that?!” he demanded.
“The only way we’re going to be free is if we just do things and aren’t afraid of what superiors tell us. So … do you want to?” asked Jimmy. Tiberius had never given a thought to what he wanted sexually- he’d been too busy battling his own demons to ask himself what he wanted.
“Why not?” said Tiberius, and kissed Jimmy. The other boy’s lips found the scar Tiberius had gotten from a girl from District Five. Tiberius gently placed a hand over the pin-prick on Jimmy’s neck  where his  monitor had been. It felt good find someone to love- someone with scars not so different than his.
“And that’s that,” said Willow.
“So they became gay lovers,” hooted Ben.
“Oh grow up,” sniffed Willow.  After his shift, Ben wrote down the past two stories he’d heard from Willow. The next day, he found Willow reading the paper.
“Whats in the news?” asked Ben.
“A new Alzheimers cure,” said Willow, handing Ben the paper.
“Well that’s great,” said Ben.
“I want a cure for Alzheimers as much as anybody- but there’s no indicating of how these people are doing their research. I’ve seen a lot of whistle-blowers go after this particular Pharmaceutical. Cieldra and I talked a little bit about this sort of thing when she found Ed …” said Willow.
“Cieldra and Ed?” asked Ben.
“Well, here’s how it happened,” said Willow.
The Vulcan reviewed her notes.
‘Today, October the 31st, 2047, on an expedition to our Ice Planet, I recovered a body. Male. Roughly my own age- in his twenties. It is fully in tact- the ice has preserved it. I have been developing technology to resuscitate deceased humanoids and this appears to be a good opportunity to test it. I will record the results after my initial test’. Cieldra flipped the switch.  The man on the examination table (tall and muscular with long, dark brown hair and copper skin) jolted. Cieldra’s green eyes surveyed him critically. His eyes were almond-shaped and chocolate brown. He locked eyes with CIeldra, and said something in a language Cieldra did not understand. A smile played about the corner of CIeldra’s mouth. If there was a reason for a Vulcan to smile, this was it. The man was living history. And he was ... aesthetically pleasing. Cieldra’s reverie was interrupted by a knock on the door. Solar entered the laboratory, took one look at the man lying on the examination table and glared at Cieldra.
` “I told you not to do it! Even Vulcan science has a limit! Have you considered the cultural shock he will go through? Or the diseases we could get from him? Or diseases he could give us? He can’t even communicate! It isn’t fair to him! Have fun with your monster, Mrs. Frankenstein,” roared Solar, and withdrew. Cieldra considered what the Rider had said.
“I have considered these things. He may be disoriented, but I will explain what he does not understand. He may be ill, but I will heal him. He will learn my language and I will attempt to learn his. I would not leave him to wander this world alone. I CAN understand how people feel, contrary to popular belief.” resolved Cieldra. The man smiled at her.
“Perhaps we do understand each other,” Cieldra mused.
“That’s pretty cool,” mused Ben. Perhaps there was a point to the old woman’s ravings after all. The next day, he found one of the physicians with Willow.
“I’m not doing so well- my kidneys are going,” she admitted.
“You should give up these delusions then- I’ve enjoyed hearing your stories, but do you really want to … go out … not knowing what the real world is?” asked Ben.
Willow fixed her brown gaze on Ben’s blue one.
“They showed me what the real world is, young man. They taught me what honor is. What power is. What intelligence is.  You may not think that what they say is important, but it is. Because sometimes these people you can’t see have a clearer perspective on the world than we do,” said Willow. The more Ben considered what she said, the more Willow’s statement seemed to make sense. Willow passed away later that night. But she left Ben with the gift of being a more open-minded person, who could more easily believe in things he couldn’t see.