Epilogue
Thanksgiving
Spread across the dinner table was an
assortment of scrumptious foods: biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied
yams, fruit salad, pumpkin pie (Pumpkin sat as far away as possible from this
dish), pig ears, liver, caviar (the last three were there because of a high
demand from Jonathan’s father), and burritos from this Mexican restaurant
called Baldo’s. Ghost in particular
could not get enough of something called the “California burrito,” though he
did not seem to realize that he had not yet managed a single bite. When Mrs. Legcheese would scoop an unfamiliar
food onto Witch’s dish, the old alchemist would sniff it, pull a vial from a
pouch at her side, sprinkle the contents onto the food, and eat it with
gusto. Frankenstein’s monster seemed to
thoroughly enjoy the mashed potatoes; indeed, not fully understanding
Thanksgiving etiquette, he took the entire bowl of mashed potatoes and ate it
within two minutes. Awana, now quite
recovered, returned to her encouraging ways and cheered the bulky creature on
with every bite. Jonathan and Pumpkin,
sitting next to one another, did not eat much.
The boy was clearly distraught for some reason, but it was hard to tell
with Pumpkin. As a jack-o-lantern, he
was doomed for eternity to look like he had just won the lottery.
“Are you holding up all right,
Pumpkin?” Jonathan asked him.
Pumpkin sighed. “I suppose.
Gourdo sacrificed himself for us.
He made his own choice, and was happy to die so that we can live. But that doesn’t take away the fact that my
cousin is dead.” He looked down at the cape lying on his chair. “I’ll never see him again.”
Awana smiled warmly at him. “No, Pumpkin, you’ll see him again. I truly believe that.”
“You do?” Somehow, there was
glimmer of hope in the squash’s eyes.
“Yes, you’ll see him again.” Her
countenance was resolute.
“You are encouraging and wise,”
Pumpkin admitted, “and I do believe that I misjudged you when we first
met. I apologize. But you still look like a cocker spaniel.”
“Um—er, thank you, Pumpkin!” said
Awana. “And Johnny boy looks like a
flaming bird. I’m not sure how we’re
going to make that work.”
“So,” broke in Jonathan’s
mother. “Should we all say what we’re
thankful for? Great! I’ll start. I’m
grateful for crabs. All kinds of crabs,
from every ocean and sea. You wouldn’t
believe how versatile those things are for lunch and dinner recipes.”
Her husband applauded her. “That was beautiful, dear. OK, my turn.
I’m thankful for my smoking hot wife.
That is all.”
“Really, Dad?” muttered
Jonathan. “Really?”
The man beamed at him with a
feral look in his eyes.
“Well,” said Witch
contemplatively. “Let’s see, dearies,
let’s see. I’m thankful for these
candied toads here. They are delicious
beyond reason.”
“Those are candied yams, my dear,” Jonathan’s mother
pointed out.
Witch seemed rather confused, and
she looked around the table. “That’s
what I said, no?”
Ghost pretended to choke briefly
on a potato in his burrito. “OK, I guess
it’s my turn! I’m thankful for Pumpkin.
Even though I get on his nerves every five seconds—”
“Three seconds,” Pumpkin
interrupted.
“—three seconds, he puts up with
me. He is my closest friend, and I’m
glad we’ve become so close over the years.”
Pumpkin raised a glass of apple
cider to his ethereal comrade. “It’s
mutual, buddy.”
Frankenstein’s monster swallowed
a burrito whole. “Mine allies, I must
confess that, while my dear creator has abandoned me (how I love and despise
the oaf), I am thankful that he gave me life.
For though the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune may strike us
time and again, good ever awaits us around the bend. And had we not this life, we would bear not
these we call our friends. Thus, in sum,
I am thankful for this life.”
Awana looked at the enormous
creature and patted him on the shoulder.
“Thank you, Frankenstein’s monster.
Wonderfully said.” She faced the center of the table. “I’m thankful that God brought us all
together. We’re such an odd assortment
of people and storybook characters, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We learn from each other, and we grow. We’re here together for a reason, and after
this adventure, I’m starting to understand that more clearly. I’m just so grateful that you’re all in my
life.”
Jonathan nodded at her and
smiled. “Well said, Awana. You took my speech right out of my mouth, but
well said.” He looked at Pumpkin. “I’m
thankful for Super Pumpkin, also known as Gourdo. He used the last of his energy to destroy one
of M.D.’s final potions, and in that moment, he sacrificed himself. We are here now because of his strategy. And because of his sacrifice, we do not have
to save the world from Melhrir Soul-eater.”
“Amen,” Awana agreed. “This story—er, I mean adventure—would be way
too long if we had to do that.”
Pumpkin stood up on his chair and
looked at each individual around him.
“I’m thankful for the time we have in this life to mend broken
relationships. Even if it may never be
as perfect as you want it, a broken relationship can be restored. We are
provided the time to draw nearer to the person we are in a disagreement with,
and we can either use that time to resolve what must be resolved, or ignore
it. Most choose to ignore it, and then,
when they finally decide to make a move, it’s too late. Forgiveness is difficult, but necessary. Without it, we can never be reconciled to
someone we love. So yes, I’m thankful
for reconciliation.”
“I’m glad that you were able to
set aside your differences with Gourdo before the end,” Jonathan said to him.
“As am I, Jonathan,” Pumpkin
replied staring at the cape once again.
“All right, now it’s time to
spill the beans, guys,” Awana remarked to Witch and Frankenstein’s
monster. “How the freak did you know we
would end up coming from a portal in Berryessa?”
Witch cleared her throat. “In the note I acquired from Apo’s lab,
dearie, there was some writing at the bottom that went thusly: ‘P.S. My
resurrection potion and the only portal potion will be safe with me on
Melonir. On the day of thanks, I will
open a portal to the lake called Berryessa, and from thence shall come the bird.’
Now, the word ‘Berryessa’ was quite problematic to decipher, for you rarely see
the letter for a ‘double s’ in Weöstrif. Once we knew the place to which she referred,
we hurried to Lake Berryessa. This was
primarily to fight off Melhrir, if at all possible. We were quite flabbergasted when our dear
friends suddenly came tumbling from the sky.”
“We were very lucky that you guys were
there,” said Pumpkin. “That would have
been a terrible end to our adventure.”
“Indeed,” Witch replied, spearing a
candied yam with her fork.
Awana looked at Jonathan while the others
continued to talk. She frowned once she
noticed his glum and pensive expression.
“Johnny boy, you look really sad.
Are you upset about Super Pumpkin?”
He shrugged. “Well, yeah, but that’s not the only thing
that’s bothering me.”
Awana touched his shoulder and
scooted closer to him. “Do you want to
spoon on the couch and talk about it?”
He lifted his eyes to her. “Maybe we can just start by holding hands?”
She nodded at him and took hold
of his right hand. “Of course, Johnny
boy. That’s fine.”
He stared at their interlocked
fingers with a proud smile, and then he said, “After you were knocked out by
M.D., I used Ms. Unicorn to break her potion of resurrection. Ms. Unicorn must have landed somewhere on the
summit of the mountain. I didn’t see
where she went, and I left her there.”
His mother overheard him, and she
slapped the top of the table. “Jonathan
Gerd Legcheese! You left Ms. Unicorn in another world? What in the name of all
that is holy were you thinking?”
Jonathan continued to look at his
and Awana’s hands. “I was thinking that
I needed to get Awana home. She was
injured. Nothing was more important to
me in that moment than making sure she was all right, and that she got home safely.”
Mr. Legcheese whistled. “Goodness me, our little boy is growing up!”
He wiped a tear from his eye.
Pumpkin, still standing on his
chair, poked Jonathan on the shoulder.
“Oh, Jonathan, the strangest thing happened.”
“Yes, Pumpkin?”
“When I was fighting those
turkeys on the summit, I was suddenly struck very hard on the back by
something. I thought an especially
feisty bird had come into the fray, but when I looked on the ground, I saw a toy
unicorn. Your toy unicorn.” He
crouched down, moved the cape to the side, and lo! he revealed Ms.
Unicorn. He lifted it toward Jonathan
like a beautiful, resplendent crown and the boy reached out to it in awe. In the background, Mr. Legcheese began to
sing dramatic choir music as the group watched the event unfold. Jonathan received the unicorn with grace, and
then he jumped up and held it high in the air.
The light of the chandelier above reflected off its lustrous body,
casting dazzling lights all over the walls.
Pumpkin immediately regretted his decision to hand over the ridiculous
toy.
“Pumpkin, you sly squash!”
Jonathan exclaimed. “I cannot express
how much I love you right now!”
“Yes, thank you ever so much,”
Awana said dryly.
Ghost had never appeared
happier. “This is so wonderful, you
guys. We have good food, good friends,
and a good unicorn. And best of all, we
don’t have to worry about any more adventures!”
“Er…how do you figure that,
dearie?” Witch inquired.
“Well, just think about it,
Witch,” Ghost responded. “There’s no
more portal potion, and Jonathan destroyed the potion of resurrection. Sounds like a definitive victory to me!”
“Aren’t you forgetting about the
potion that turns goodness to blight?”
Ghost rubbed his translucent
chin. “Of course not. But there is no Apo, and Jonathan
roundhouse-kicked M.D. off a cliff. As
far as I see it, we’re done. The quest
is finally over!”
If only he had looked out the
window behind him, he would have realized that the quest was far from
over. If he had gazed out at the evening
sky, he would have seen something quite out of place. For at that moment, nine reindeer lugged a
huge sleigh in front of the moon. If
Ghost had looked closely at the figure seated in the sleigh, he would have
known that a new adventure was about to begin.
In that sleigh sat a man who looked
like Santa Claus, and who was dressed
like Santa Claus. But he was not Santa
Claus, for as he turned his face and watched the friends laughing and eating
together, he smiled and revealed rows of sharp teeth. Then, extending forth claws that rested in
place of fingernails, he tugged at the reins in his hands and cackled as the
reindeer pulled him away into the night sky.
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