Miles Turns About

(Part I of Miles and the Glowpus)

             If rain was a predisposition to having a fit of the grumps, sun was the opposite.  And for Miles, the presence of the yellow orb doing its duty by pouring glorious rays down upon the ground was deuced annoying.  How was one to enjoy a carefully crafted melancholy surrounded by warm, bright light?  The only thing that could make it worse were if a gang of cheerful persons intent on spreading their joy found their way to him. 

            The doorbell peeled.
            He could hear the laughter echoing as he moved from the edge of the wood that surrounded his small home, through the backdoor, making his way toward the front.  Peering through a side window, Miles let out an oath.
            He could make out Jack, for one, and where Jack went, so did Jill.  They were a veritable nursery rhyme, and the cheeriest people of his acquaintance.  They also happened to be his best friends, but that fact only made Miles’ eyes narrow as he scowled.  This was not the day he had planned.
            ‘Miles, open the door!’ called Jill sweetly.  Too sweetly.
            ‘Come on, Miles.  We know you’re there,’ called Jack, his sing-song voice trebling through the thick wood of Miles’ old oak front door, and ringing in Miles' ears; it was enough to give him the beginnings of a headache.
            There was little Miles could do to avoid them.  In a few moments they’d go around back, and if that failed, if he knew them—and he did—they’d find their way to breaking through a window and getting into the house.  He thought long and hard about spending the day hidden in a cupboard; that was more in line with the day he had planned.  But they’d probably find him there, too.  He had no choice.
            Opening the door to the delighted faces of his two friends, he snarled, ‘What do you want?’
            Jill recoiled slightly, but Jack was prepared.  ‘Look what we found, Miles,’ he said beaming, and he held out his hands.
            Sitting in the two palms sat a glowing creature with bright yellow fur. 
            ‘What is it?’ Miles said, and if it came out rudely it was only because he was having a very bad day, for he was actually quite curious to know how anything living could glow as though it had swallowed a thousand lighting bugs.
            ‘We don’t know,’ Jack and Jill said at the same time. 
‘We were hoping you could tell us,’ said Jack on his own.
‘We found him curled up on a stump just outside our house, all lit up,’ said Jill on her own.  ‘I thought it was a fairy at first, but then I saw the fur.  We thought you might know.  He’s got the softest fur.’
Miles threw his friend a skeptical look.  ‘How do you know it’s a he?’ he said, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the little guy. 


‘Or she,’ said Jack finishing smartly with a satisfied grin—for he knew he had caught his friend—and a ready movement towards Miles’ empty palms.

Miles, thrown by the fact that this tiny creature was now being transferred into his own hands, could not help but bring it closer to his eyes for a better look.  It was what he did, rescue small magical creatures who found themselves abandoned, and his failure to do so earlier that morning had put him in a very bad mood indeed.  But holding the soft glowing thing in his hands was making him forget about everything but the creature in front of him.  And that was when it happened.  A tiny nose twitched and eyes, huge in proportion to its smallness, made contact with Miles’, and all at once a tiny crack of joy peeped into Miles.  This fluffy creature had turned around his day.  But he had never seen the likes of it before.  What was it?
(To Be Continued…)

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