A Duck In Her Pond » Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes 15

Blond Duck — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:00:41 +0000

“I’m not happy.” Cookie folded his arms and scowled.

“I knew you wouldn’t.” Layla shifted on the horse. ”Do you think Biscuit likes it up here?”

“No.” The ghost wrapped his arms around the dog. Biscuit yelped, leaping off the horse. The horse snorted, dancing back and forth as Biscuit wove between his hooves.

“Cookie, you moron!” Layla shrieked, tumbling off the horse. The horse faded into black, his shadow as thin as smoke. “You spooked him! Now we’ll never find the stones.”

“You can’t spook a spook.” Cookie crossed his arms, glowering as a shaken Biscuit crawled into Layla’s lap. ”How come you didn’t trust me but you trust some old Indian ghost?”

“They prefer Native American.”

“Whatever.” Cookie rolled his eyes. ”How do you expect to find the stones?”

“Three stars. Three guides.” Layla stroked Biscuit. ”Why do you find this so hard to believe?”

“Considering I was mown down by your daddy’s buddies, I have a really hard time thinking he’ll just let you scamper around from star to star.”

Layla rose her head, her blue eyes sharpening. ”What have you seen?”

“I didn’t”–

“You’ve seen something.” Her blue eyes swept the vast desert. ”Something I can’t see.”

“You better tell her.” Aunt Cornelia stirred her toe in the sand, looking bored. ”She’ll figure it out eventually.”

Cookie sighed. Layla narrowed her eyes, watching his transparent shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. “Fine. They’ve been trailing us.”

“Trailing us?” Layla glanced around, seeing nothing but grey. ”Where?”

“In the shadows. Shadows you can’t see.” Cookie cringed, holding up his arms as Layla stepped closer. ”I’m not going to show you. Don’t try it.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Layla reached past his fingers, toward the stars. ”Do you see that?”

“See what?”

“Those.” She pointed, tracing her finger across the sky. ”If you drew a line here, then there…”

“Where?” Aunt Cornelia peered up.

“There!” Layla bounced on her heels, stars twinkling in her ice blue eyes. ”Look! It’s like Kokopelli!”

“Koko-who?” Cookie raised his eyebrow.

“Kokopelli! The flute player. My grandmother loved him. She had statues…” Layla sucked in her breath. ”You didn’t run the guide off. He left because he had done his job.”

“Done his job doing what?” Aunt Cordelia tore through her frothy hair.

“I don’t see any stones.” Cookie crossed his arms.

“That’s because you’re not looking. They’re here, we just have to find them.” Layla’s eyes shone. ”So start looking.”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! We have a new week of whimsy coming up!

Blue Eyes 14

Blond Duck — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:00:20 +0000

For previous editions, go here!

The horses’ mane whipped across her face as its hooves thundered to a stop. The worn edge of a cliff loomed above Layla, roots and grass dangling down.

“Do you remember it?”

Sliding off the horse, Layla twisted around. The faint image of an old Native American woman shimmered behind her, moonlight spilling through dark eyes.

“I don’t.” Layla kept her arm on the horse, wishing Biscuit was beside her. ”I don’t remember this part of the desert.”

“Do you remember your guide?” A faint hand raised.

“The horse?” Layla stroked its muzzle. ”I was right. He is my guide.”

“Three animal guides, three stars.” The ghost shook her head. ”You remember nothing.”

“I just told you that.” Irritation prickled at her scalp. ”Listen, I left Cookie and my Aunt with my dog. I need to get back to them.”

“They’ll be there soon enough,”the ghost replied mildly. ”Look up.”

“Look up?” Layla raised an eyebrow. ”I can’t see anything, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“How did you get here?”

“I used Cookie’s eyes as a guide.”

The ghost shook her head. ”No you didn’t. You used your own eyes.”

“You mean…” Layla trailed off. ”The constellations. The ones the ghosts made.”

“Three stars. Three guides.” The old woman pointed. ”Look.”

“Ok,” Layla sighed. ”But you’re just wasting my time…” Glancing up, the sarcasm died on Layla’s tongue as the memories flooded back in.

“You must remember this,” her grandmother said sternly, her hand resting on Layla’s hand. Her other hand rested on Layla’s twin, identical dark heads bursting with curls. ”Promise me?”

Both heads bobbed.

“This is the story of the Blue Eyes,” her grandmother began, her own blue eyes holding her granddaughter’s gaze. ”Once upon a time, there was a woman who had daughters. One daughter could see ghosts, another daughter could see angels.”

“Our mom!” Layla chirped.

“Don’t interrupt,” her sister chided.

“Yes, your Mom.” Her grandmother smiled. ”But her daughters were not any daughters. They may have been blind, but they could see more than anyone else could.”

Layla stuck her tounge out at her sister.

“But on their sixteenth birthday, the daughters had to make a choice,” the grandmother continued. ”They had to choose whether or not to find the Blue Eyes, or to spend their life in darkness.”

“What are Blue Eyes?” Layla asked.

“Shh!” her sister hissed.

“The Blue Eyes are special stones, hidden deep within the desert by the Anazi tribe. My tribe.” Her grandmother’s eyes gleamed. ”These girls held the power to use these stones to see everything in this world and the next–the world of the living and the dead, the present and the past.”

“How?” Layla’s sister demanded.

“The same way we Anazis have been traveling for years. By the stars.” Her grandmother clapped their hands together. ”Three stars. Three guides. They will lead you to your calling.”

“But we’re not blind,” Layla pointed out.

“Will you help us?” Her sister’s lip trembled.

“Of course.” Her grandmother smiled. ”I’ll always be here. I’ll always be here for you.”

Layla’s eyes flew open. ”She’s with the Blue Eyes, isn’t she? The stones my father is chasing.”

The ghost nodded.

Gritting her teeth, Layla climbed back onto the horse. ”Cookie’s not going to like this.”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! A new week of whimsy coming up!

Blue Eyes 13

Blond Duck — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:00:37 +0000

Source.

She can see what we can’t see…

With Cookie’s hand firmly in her own and Aunt Cordelia sulkily trailing behind them, the strange trio meandered toward the edge of town. Towering cacti and tangles of brush replaced small dusty shops, long closed for the night. As the street lights faded, the stars above grew bolder, a hum racing through Layla’s veins. She sighed, tighenting her finger’s around Cookie’s icy ones.

“It’s the one thing I miss.”

“Seeing the stars?” The ghost glanced above, his gaze serving as her own. ”I can imagine.”

“I can hear them, but it’s not the same.” Layla gazed up, nearly tripping over her own feet. ”I haven’t seen the Big Dipper since I was little.”

“What do you mean, you can hear them?” Aunt Cordelia glided around her side, a shadow in the corner of her eye that didn’t translate to the white sand below.

“You can’t?” Cookie twisted his head in the spirit’s direction. ”Even I knew that the stars hummed when I was alive. I couldn’t hear it until I was dead.”

“Maybe you can’t hear it once you’ve crossed over.” For once, Layla’s words were kind. She would hate not to hear the stars. It was the only link she had left to them.

“Maybe.” Aunt Cordelia sighed. ”Now that I think about it, your grandmother was always humming a night. And she always sang that stupid song.”

“The Bluest eyes in Texas.” Layla laughed. ”I loved that song.”

“So did she.” The spirit’s shadow flickered, spooking Biscuit. He slammed into Layla’s knees, knocking her onto her side.

“Hey!” Cookie protested, wisps of his fingers jerked from Layla’s grasp.

“Sorry, sorry.” The shadow flitted around her, tucking behind a tangle of brush. ”I’m just not used to being present for so long.”

“Neither am I, and you don’t see me causing problems.” Ice brushed across Layla’s neck. ”Are you ok, Layla? Do you need help up?”

Laying on her back, Layla stared at the sky through her closed lids. As tiny white dots swirled around her, whispers sang on the wind, too soft for even Biscuit to hear. She hummed along, slowly rising to her feet.

Her head tilted toward the sky, she stumbled along through the sand.

“Layla?” Cookie’s voice echoed behind her. ”Layla? Where are you going?”

“Layla?” Aunt Cordelia’s voice rose. ”Layla! Come back!”

As the whispers rose, the wind swirled around her, tornadoes of sand dancing around her toes. Not even Biscuit’s frantic barks could distract her as she stared above. The shadows were shifting, tiny dots appearing where no light had been at all. Her own personal constellation that no one else would ever see.

“A trail of ghosts, just like a trail of stars,” she whispered in tune with the small voices. Twirling around, all she could do was watch as the dots swirled, dancing into place.

Three dots. Six dots. Three sets of two. Pulsing white throbbed against her as her eyes flew open. She stared into the deep brown eyes of a horse, his mane swirling around him in the desert wind. She could hear Cookie’s shriek and Aunt Corndelia’s yell, feel Bicuit’s frantic breath against her leg. But all she did was smile.

“I remember you.” She stroked his nose, soft velvet under her fingertips. ”You’re here to help me. She sent you, didn’t she?”

The horse jerked his head once, twice.

“Can you tell me the legend of the Blue Eyes? Can you help me find her?”

The horse jerked his head again. Without waiting, Layla climbed on. ”Then let’s go.”

And with only the stars and spirits to guide her, she flew over the sand towards three looming shadows in the distance.

Three sets of two. Three sets of eyes.

But all Layla saw was blue.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! It’s a week of whimsy coming up!

Friday Five and Blue Eyes 12

Blond Duck — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:00:40 +0000

Top Five Christmas Songs to Twirl to:

1) “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”

2) Alvin and the Chipmunks

3) “Angels We Have Heard on High”

4) “It feels like Christmas” from Muppet Christmas Carol

5) Riders in the Sky Christmas

And now, for a new Blue Eyes!

It was funny how the more Layla remembered, the more she wanted forget. With every step more memories floated up like captive balloons, eager to stream toward the sky after being tied down for so long.

The curse of Blue Eyes…

The desert wind…

Her grandmother’s smile…

Her father’s scream…

Her sister’s hand in hers.

“You’ve got to give her time.” Cookie hissed to Aunt Cordelia, his bloody fingerprints shoving her away. ”She’s not ready yet.”

“She’s remembering, isn’t she?”

“Just because she’s remembering doesn’t mean she needs to have all of this dumped on her at once.”

“We don’t have time.” Aunt Cordelia’s eyes were white balls of fury in her pale face. ”Her father is coming to take her to him. He’s already got one. If he gets both…”

“My sister.” They both turned to Layla. ”My father kidnapped my twin sister.”

“Yes.” Aunt Cordelia lifted her hands, red taillights slashing through as cars zoomed through her on the street.

“And you died protecting her.”

“Yes.”

Layla turned to Cookie. ”You died protecting me.”

He bowed his head, blood dripping from the slash on his brow. ”I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Your grandmother meant the world to me.”

“I can see ghosts…Can my sister?” Layla rubbed Biscuit’s ears, a strange sense of calm draping over her. For the first time, all the puzzle pieces were moving into place.

“She can see spirits, like me. Angels, demons…whatever you’d like to call them.” Aunt Cordelia shrugged. ”You both have different talents. Separate but equal.”

“And what is this curse?” Layla gazed out, the world of grey around her growing thicker and darker every second. A chill brushed across her cheek.

Aunt Cordelia and Cookie exchanged glances.

“You don’t know,” Layla sighed. ”Great. Do you at least know who this mysterious guy is?”

Both ghosts winced.

“You don’t know that either.” Layla groaned. ”Do you know anything?”

“We know we were supposed to bring you here,” Aunt Cordelia ventured.

“And we know what to protect you from,” Cookie added.

“We know where not to take you,” Aunt Cordelia smiled.

“That’s all very well and good, but I need answers, and I need them now.” Slipping Biscuit’s leash over her hand, Layla held out hers. ”Cookie, look at the sky and touch my fingers.”

The ghost started. ”Huh?”

“Look at the sky and touch my fingers,” Layla repeated.

Glancing upward, the ghost held out his hand. Layla pressed her fingers to the icy nothingness, swallowing her gasp. Jerking them away, she glanced up to a world of blackness. ”This way.”

“Not to be rude, but how do you know where you’re going?” Aunt Cordelia floated after her. ”You’re blind.”

“But Cookie isn’t.” Crossing the street, Layla called over her shoulder, “We’re following the stars home.”

“The stars?” Aunt Cordelia passed through a stop sign. ”Where are the stars taking us?”

For the first time in hours, Layla smiled. ”To the only home I’ve ever known.” Taking Cookie’s wisp of a hand, she pointed. ”Lead on, ghost boy.”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Next week is Christmas week at the Pond!