Holiday Magick (34 page)

“My word! What a…well that's preposterous! I've never heard of such…perhaps I could…” MN mused as she rolled her eyes in thought. “
Four
seasons? Is that what you're suggesting?”

“Yes,” Zephyr agreed. “Summer would be followed by a very gentle season of oncoming cooler weather. Winter could be ushered in gradually and people would have more time to harvest their crops. Afterward, it could phase out with a measured thawing without as much flooding from the snow melting so suddenly and give time for a new growth cycle to start before summer's heat arrives. My sisters and I would have time to gradually apply the colors and wouldn't be as stressed over doing so at the first hint of a change.”

“Aha! So, summer could come ‘round again and warm up as gradually as winter chilled down?”

Zephyr nodded vigorously.

“Stars and moons! I've never considered such a thing.” MN pursed her lips in thought before continuing. “What would we call them?”

“Well, they'd be equaling phases, so I was thinking of something like
equinoxes,
” Zephyr proposed. “That name also refers to how the days and nights are equal in length on those days. Doesn't that sound appropriate?”

“Oh how wonderful! There wouldn't be such a rush and panic to get the colors changed, and as you've said, it would greatly reduce stress. You fairies would be able to do a much better job if you weren't so rushed, wouldn't you? I daresay…your job would be easier.”

Zephyr let out a long sigh of relief and applied the grease to her idea. “Exactly what I was thinking. You're brilliant, Mother Nature. Absolutely brilliant. No one but
you
could ever think of something so unequivocally perfect. That's why we all respect you so much.”

MN smiled broadly. “I
am
efficient, aren't I? Transitional seasons called equinoxes. It's quite ingenious if I do say so myself. Let's call the one following winter ‘spring' and the one following summer ‘autumn.'”

“Utterly fabulous and nothing less than inspired,” Zephyr responded with tongue-in-cheek tact.

“What if I start right now? I could do it tonight,” MN excitedly announced as she floated away, apparently looking for her conjuring paraphernalia.

Zephyr rubbed her hands together in glee, then pumped her fist up and down in a self-congratulatory gesture of victory.

“Are you insane?” Rain shouted. “Winter won't be coming after all?”

Terra and Flame simply stared in shock. Their jaws were almost on the floor as they froze in place, staring at Zephyr.

Before they could begin the worst argument she'd ever heard, Zephyr pressed her point. “Mother Nature is ushering in winter with a transitional season she calls autumn. It'll be a gradual cool-down that will allow you three time to mix brand new colors the world has never seen. You can use gold, sienna, purple, orange, and all the shades in between,” she tactfully suggested as she stared at each of her older sisters in turn. “Just think of the permutations! Why, the three of you could do colors the likes of which I can only imagine. And there's not nearly the rush.”

As the idea apparently began to sink in, Rain, Terra, and Flame glanced at each other and slowly began to smile. An amusing glitter filtered into their magical eyes as they considered the time they'd have to usher new hues into the landscape. Now, they'd have time to do it and there'd be no anxiety.

“Wait a minute. Just whose idea was this?” Rain asked as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“It was all Mother Nature's. She sent me along with the message,” Zephyr lied as she nodded earnestly and crossed her fingers behind her back.

“Oh. Well, far be it for me to question the great woman and her grand schemes,” Rain admitted as she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. “Ladies, I suggest we get started. We have autumn, winter, and what's the period between winter and summer?”

“Spring,” Zephyr quickly supplied. “MN suggested that name, too. Think of all the lovely pastel shades you can mix as MN shoots the first buds of pretty flowers out of the earth. That's what the season is named for—the new growth springing forth. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't MN just
too much
?”

“How splendid,” Flame said, as she clapped her hands together in glee.

“I have such ideas,” Terra chimed in as she tapped one index finger against her chin.

Zephyr sat on her stump-stool and watched as her sisters happily went about gathering buckets for color mixing. They could now apply ever-changing shades of color, even though the actual weather changes weren't upon them. And once the weather
did
change, the new blended colors could be subtly and gradually added as well. The bright greens of summer could slowly shift to amber, crimson, and yellow. All she'd have to do was blow them around the woods, meadows, and pastures when the right time came. Because the seasons were coming more gradually, so could the color changes. It was wonderful.

She yawned and stretched. There was nothing like a little nap before the first pigments were ready to gust out onto the world's palette.

“What are they doing?” Rain whispered as she hid behind a rock and watched the humans from a nearby village.

Zephyr smiled broadly. What had her sisters so riveted was the scene being played out by the humans a few hundred yards away from where they'd hidden themselves.

Some men were busily throwing firewood onto a pile, while others gathered produce from nearby fields. Children were carving turnips, with the help of some of the village women. As each turnip was hollowed out, a face was cut into one side. Then little candles were stuck into the vegetables so that, when lit, the turnips glowed like little lanterns.

“The men are building something they're calling a
bonfire,
” Zephyr explained. “I heard the villagers talking about it. They're thanking Mother Nature for giving them a season of harvest. They're grateful for the opportunity to bring in their crops before they freeze.”

“And the turnips?” Terra asked. “What are they lighting them for? They're so
spooky
.”

“It's sort of an offering,” Zephyr told them. “They're welcoming their deceased loved ones who are supposed to be walking around in the night. I didn't hang around too long to figure out how they came up with that idea. You know humans. They're kind of crazy that way,” she said as she circled one index finger near her left temple.

“Well, that's just gross!” Flame muttered. “The dead aren't r—really here. Are th—they?” she whispered as she glanced over her shoulder.

“Who knows?” Zephyr cryptically responded. “Maybe the humans think the turnip-lanterns will ward off evil spirits from the forest.”

Rain gasped in indignation. “There's nothing evil out here! It's just us.”

“But we could have some fun,” Zephyr suggested. “We could make them
think
there's something to fear. I mean, they've gone through all the trouble so we may as well provide the entertainment. It's not like we have to rush getting seasonal colors ready at the last minute.”

Rain grinned and crooked her finger to gather her sisters closer. “Let's play some pranks. I'll get us organized.”

“Why do
you
get to organize the mischief?” Terra complained.

“I think I have a better handle on scaring people,” Flame insisted. “After all, my colors for the season were the brightest and most alarming.”

An argument began that had Zephyr's head spinning. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “Oh for the love of toad turds! Here we go again.”

The tales of Christopher Columbus's great voyage across the ocean have been recounted for centuries. He sailed three ships across the Atlantic and landed at what is now known as the Bahamas. He also explored present-day Cuba and Haiti before returning to Spain. He made three further journeys, finding new lands and establishing settlements in many places. Columbus's efforts led to years of exploration, trade, and European settlement in the New World. However, few know the whole story of his career, such as the obstacles he faced, or the fact that one of his ships, the
Santa Maria
, did not come back from its journey across the “ocean blue.”

What really happened to that ship? And why did the Spaniards pay him so handsomely to undertake such a dangerous expedition? Was finding a new trade route their only motivation,
or
were they forced to look for new lands?

Rumors of monsters in Spain brought the curious sailor to the kingdom. Driven by money and a quest to become known worldwide, he devised a plan to save the Spaniards from the zombies, and line his own pockets at the same time. He soon secured an invitation to see the royal couple and trembled with excitement as the stoic guard led him into the majestic throne room.

The guard bowed. “Your Majesties, may I present Christopher Columbus.”