The Land of Now and Later

By Larry Good

After visiting The Weather Tree and The Emotion Tree in The Land of Loving Yellow, Meri and her friends finally reach The Land of Strawberry Dawn. As a favor to Sticktight, Meri gives the owingstones to the strawberries which are then able to talk. Surprisingly, Perfit has a gift for them too. It's just the right one!! A lively and meaningful conversation begins.
Passing The Land of The Hoop Tree Forest again, they see the colorful loveable hoops come flying out to them, ringing their fingers, arms, legs, and even Jethro's unicorn. They make the air a lot of fun.
In the distance, the five friends see the dazzling yet intense Land of Firecracker Hail. It's too dangerous to get near. Especially when bad weather is about to fall!
But Gozzard and The Roof Hats have other ideas! The roof hats they are wearing---at least five feet across and each a different color---will protect them. But Meri, Wut, Perfit, and then Jethro are led right to the middle of the enormous thunderworld! They don't have anything on their heads. The firecracker sky is so close they can almost reach up and touch it! A few firecrackers begin to explode.
At the same time, The Land of Now and Later is not far away. Many of Meri's friends from The Lands are walking in that direction at that very moment. Meri has no idea she might see them again!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Larry Good
• Release date: Feb 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311666093

Larry Good

Larry Good grew up in Nottoway County, Virginia. Blackstone High School awarded him a diploma, the University of Virginia a B.A., and the College of William and Mary a master's degree in Education. He played football in high achool, both offense and defense, as number 66. The team won a Regional title. He met the Tackling Dummy on the Practice Field of Blackstone High School. The first thing after college, he became an English teacher, and before long he had spent most of his time in classrooms. When The Tree of Ticket Leaves takes Meri to The Lands, the first one after The Autumnforest is The Land of Upsidedown Learning. You learn through your feet. (Meri takes off her shoes and socks.) The one after that is The Land of Handwriting Speech. There's no sound when someone speaks, but you can read it. The air of this land is unforgettable. For a while the author went to work for the C & P Telephone Company. The business office was a large room filled with service representatives at their desks talking to customers on telephones. When the man of the house called, the service representative wrote "mr cld" on her records. From these five letters came The Mistercald River which flows right through the middle of The Lands. You can see it from The Tree of Ticket Leaves, which is in The Land of Pink Windmills.

Book preview

Chapter I: THE WEATHER TREE

The eyes of the visitors began to adjust to the incredibly bright yellow land. Sooner than they would have imagined, they were able to continue into it.

Gradually, they began to see many cute yellow houses and trees. And slowly, they discovered that the trees weren’t yellow after all. When near, they were actually the normal green of leaves and the brownish gray of trunks. The grass was also its usual light green---if you bent down close enough to look at it in the brilliant air.

I see you have a Wrong Kite, said Tatch in a friendly voice, walking close to Meri. Quickly Meri explained what had happened in The Land of Wrong Kites, finding the kite on the border, and that she wanted to return it herself because she was responsible for its flying up and away.

Meri then realized Tatch was also looking observantly at her too. Tatch had noticed, with considerable surprise, that the girl wasn’t a yarn or cotton-stuffed dummy.

I’m sure---although I don’t know how it could be—that this little girl is actually flesh and blood, she thought, secretly glancing at Meri again. Like all of the other dummies in The Lands, Tatch had never seen a flesh and blood dummy in their shape. She hadn’t even heard of one. So she couldn’t help but continue to look---and think---with wonder.

Tatch’s face became especially interested when Meri said a few words about Leo. The same expression appeared on the faces of the other yellow-loving dummies who were nearby and could hear.

Did you know Leo is from this land?

Meri drew in a breath of surprise, but then she understood immediately. It made such real sense! For Leo was a beautifully yellow dummy, although he had the extra designs of the seasons and the sky around his middle. And of course she remembered the superlight peach of his left arm! All of the dummies there, that she could see, had left arms of a superlight color.

He’s the only one of us who was ever stuffed, Tatch explained. That’s always been a delightful difference.

It wasn’t hard for Meri to notice the tone of affection in Tatch’s voice when she spoke of Leo. The rest of us are yellow yarn---except for our left arms. He did come through here a little while ago, which fits in exactly with what you said. We were so glad to see him!

There were murmurs of agreement from the other dummies around them.

But we won’t be completely happy, of course, until he’s his beautiful self again. Tatch looked extra sad, and Meri could have cried at the expression on her face. There were no sounds at all from the surrounding dummies who were continuing to listen as well as they could. But Meri caught a sidelong glimpse at the grieving looks on their faces too.

I know, joined in the Tackling Dummy, who was also listening, with great feeling. "That has to be---he needs to be himself again. Just like I’d like to be myself again." The look on his face was very serious, and everyone listened closely, perceiving that without doubt he understood Leo’s predicament better than anyone else there. His own canvas happened to be worse than Leo’s, although Aquamarie had done the best job that was possible, because she is such a great seamstress. But he really needed new canvas.

I’m still glad he helped---actually saved---those dummies in The Land of Firecracker Hail, Wut commented, to give the positive side of the picture. Of course everyone agreed with him. It was a wonderful thing to have done---and to still be doing.

We’ll see about the canvas, Wut added, bouncing along in the bright yellow air. He was deeply troubled, but he preferred to be optimistic rather than dismal about the future of his two friends. And deep down, he really did believe that everything would turn out okay---although he wasn’t sure how long that would take.

"Now we have two dummies to get right," he announced in a way that lifted the spirits of everyone.

At these words, the downcast expression on the Tackling Dummy’s face became much less dreary. He hoped that some way could be found to replace his canvas!

They arrived at the special tree in the land that Wut had wanted his traveling friends to see. Tatch and the other yellow-loving dummies stopped around it in a circle which was completed by Meri, Jethro, Perfit, the Tackling Dummy, and Wut, who was bouncing as usual.

This is The Weather Tree, explained Tatch to Meri, the Tackling Dummy and Perfit, before Wut could, although Wut had already opened his small pink mouth to do so.

See the rings? she asked.

Wut loved to explain The Lands, but Tatch had begun first this time. A small look of disappointment appeared on his face.

Glancing up at the new tree, Meri began to realize how important certain trees are in The Lands. The Ticket Tree was, of course, the most important one, since an ancient one had brought her and the Tackling Dummy to The Lands. Then there were the trees of The Autumnforest, which she loved. The Lost N Forest had been an unforgettable adventure on the monkeybars. There was also The One Tree Forest, the line of trees that ended the border on this side of The Yellow Trampoline. She was quite fond of it, too, since they had climbed through it before she had made her huge jump, which had actually been from the very top of that forest. So she had already had adventures involving three forests.

They had passed the KiteStick Forest in The Land of Wrong Kites.

And there was even another forest with special trees that she hadn’t seen yet, that excited her imagination because of its name: in The Land of The Hoop Tree Forest. She was already wondering what those trees were like and secretly hoping to see them.

And, not less colorful than any of these, was another tree that was very important to her. It was Sticktight, of course---her friend.

So, standing before this new tree, she wondered, "Was it going to be unforgettable too?"

She looked all over it, as well as she could in the yellow air.

It was tall, appearing a little greener than the other trees of the land through the intense yellow light, even though it did seem to have fewer leaves.

More of its trunk and branches therefore showed through these leaves. It had that endearing look---as trees do in the early spring---when their leaves are smaller and fewer. They present a much more appealing, lighter and more delicate shade of green than they do later. It was also like trees in late fall, when there are only a few leaves of magical colors left on each tree, and you can see the trunks and branches better then too.

This tree had both of those looks.

Mainly, however, as Meri and the other travelers examined it more closely, they began to notice---more and more---that wooden rings on tiny stems were on the branches of the whole tree. On each ring was a tiny color or two, or more, which added a feeling of unseen color to all of the tree, giving it a puzzlingly wondrous look. The color seemed to be felt as well as seen, although actually it was there.

Tatch had given them a few moments to just stand there and gaze. It’s sometimes called The Weather Ring Tree, she then continued, pointing with her superlight green left arm, "because tiny rings grow all over it. I’m sure you’ve been seeing them. They eventually grow to a size that will fit your finger.

The simplest rings grow closer to the ground, and the more developed rings are near the top.

She went on talking as the visitors, including Wut and Jethro, walked closer to get better looks.

Please notice, she said especially to Meri, the Tackling Dummy, and Perfit, that on each ring is a tiny moveable pointer, aimed to the far left, at nothing. And also that there’s at least one graphic, on the right, which the pointer can be moved to point to.

Meri was immediately curious. Why point the pointer toward the graphic? What happens? She had learned about other lands, so she knew she was about to learn something she had never heard of before.

But Tatch didn’t clarify anything right away.

The rings at the top of the tree may have many graphics, she told them instead, looking up high herself. Everyone else in the circle did too---including Wut and Jethro and the dummies who lived there.

Each graphic---however many there may be on a single ring---is usually also a color that goes along with the kind of weather the ring will cause, if the pointer is pointed to that graphic.

This was where the unseen, puzzlingly wondrous extra color of the tree was coming from: from the many tiny graphics all over the rings of the tree!

Meri, Perfit, and the Tackling Dummy then, although slowly, because it was so unusual, began to understand the meaning of her amazing words.

Yes, Tatch emphasized to Meri and Perfit and the Tackling Dummy especially, since Jethro and Wut already knew about this tree. "If you activate a weather ring by moving the pointer, it will cause the weather it points to!

"Let me repeat: the ring will cause the weather it points to!"

Meri looked up at the sky. The Tackling Dummy’s eyes were becoming brighter, and Perfit was eagerly waiting to see a ring suddenly bring some new weather over them.

Even though she was small, she understood as quickly as the others!

Jethro simply listened with a whimsical look on his face, his eyes closed about two thirds of the way as he relaxed.

For example, Tatch continued, "most of the lower rings just cause a breeze, and they work just once and for not too long. We let our friends from The Land of Wrong Kites come over here and get some of them on the days when there’s not enough wind from The Mistercald to fly their kites well.

Here’s one, Tatch spoke clearly and slowly, reaching up with her superlight green left arm to retrieve a ring hanging down on one of the slender lower branches. Carefully plucking it off, she held it up and said to everyone she could see, even her own fellow dummies: See the clear wavy line in the middle?

Since the single wavy line was hard to detect from any distance at all---being only a thin clear line against the brownish gray bark of the ring---almost no one could, except for Meri, Perfit and the Tackling Dummy, who were close beside her. And they were lucky to see it, being new to the land and not used to the rings. They would have missed if they had been by themselves. But it wasn’t necessary for the others to see, since they already knew about the tree. Jethro stretched his neck far out toward the ring anyway, and squinted in an exaggerated way.

Okay, Tatch said again, as if everyone knew what she was talking about---and everyone did. Then she demonstrated by putting the ring on her right hand and moving the tiny pointer with the superlight green fingers of her left hand.

They all heard a little click!

Immediately a light breeze arrived, blowing right through The Weather Tree, sounding the leaves and causing the branches to dip and wave gracefully. The grass around them, which really wasn’t that high, nevertheless began whispering and bending, and Perfit’s hair even began to fly around as the wind became a little stronger. Once, for a full minute, her gorgeous hair stretched straight out behind her and stayed there, straining her balance and popping open the obvious admiration of the yellow-loving dummies, whose eyes shone at the sight of that bright scenery across the yellow air.

Click!

Tatch turned the ring off.

We usually watch the tree very carefully, she continued, casting a sharp eye at Jethro for a moment as she did so. "Once there was a visitor here---a Buffalo Unicorn, in fact---but I’m not going to say who it was---and he---somehow---by reaching up on his hind legs---found a weather ring that---of all things---could cause an earthquake.

It was an unusual ring, because an earthquake isn’t actually weather, although it’s close. Now, she went on, glancing over at Jethro, "you wouldn’t think that whoever found such a ring would go ahead and move the pointer to earthquake. Perhaps he didn’t understand the graphic---or perhaps he did--- and moved it anyway. And her eyes wandered questioningly over to Jethro once again, just briefly, but went on. Anyway, this Buffalo Unicorn---I’m not going to mention his name---somehow figured out how to move the pointer and he moved it right to earthquake."

Everyone was as still as an earthquake is not, listening.

Tatch went on. "It was the only earthquake we’ve ever had here. I’ve never even seen earthquake on another ring. The only problem is, this Buffalo Unicorn---whoever he is--- and her eyes went right by Jethro without stopping this time--- got to laughing so hard at the shaking ground and at himself shaking that we couldn’t get to the ring to shut it off. So everything here got quaked down.

We had to build up all of our houses again. And many trees were snapped, although not this one, thank The Lands. As for us, we who live here, we were vibrated back and forth and up and down so badly that we couldn’t walk straight for three days afterward.

Jethro was biting his lip and scrunching his eyes as hard as he could. But he couldn’t prevent the huge laugh that finally escaped. Immediately, though, with great effort he froze his face into a serious and solemn expression as everyone looked at him, although his eyes retained a laugh in each one as he looked out at his friends with a slightly guilty expression on his face.

So be careful, resumed Tatch, finally taking her sharp stare from the irrepressible Buffalo Unicorn. He was still making a small sound now and then as he unsuccessfully tried to suppress another huge laugh that was trying to get out of him.

Just turn the ring off, if you get nervous, Tatch concluded, looking at the travelers---all except Jethro. Go ahead. Try one.

Meri, remembering The Ticket Tree, reached up with her left hand, as she was still holding the Wrong Kite in her right one, and carefully pulled off a ring that looked interesting. It had a little white fluff in the middle. Moving her head close to the ring and squinting her aqua eyes at the graphic, she saw that it looked like a little cloud. Without even looking at the kite, she set it carefully down on the grass.

Click! Immediately clouds appeared in the sky, and the yellow light of The Land of Loving Yellow decreased noticeably. The other trees all around instantly became much more visible, and the cute yellow houses just down the very mildly sloping hill became much less vague and even appeared as actual homes---their designs could be seen much better.

Everyone could see better.

The Tackling Dummy reached up as high as he could and picked the ring he had seen and liked. Holding it right in front of his eyes, he clearly saw a line of small white dots going from left to right, from sizes almost unseeable to larger and larger. He moved the delicate pointer to the middle of them.

Immediately hail of a moderate size was falling everywhere, tapping on the leaves of the trees. It bounced off the yarn of all the dummies there, and off of Meri’s and Perfit’s hair, some of it staying. It cascaded playfully up off of the grass and down off of Jethro’s back in a way that looked especially cheerful.

However, it stung Meri’s bare arms, and when she unconsciously leaned her upper body over to protect them, the Tackling Dummy