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Page 3
| He wandered
to a nearby rack of clothes. A terrific felt hat hung from what
seemed to be a man's suit. He plopped the hat on his head and
glimpsed in the mirror. It was a little big but he liked it..
A sleek, black cane also hung from the suit. He picked it up
the cane and strolled in cane-like fashion towards the mirror.
He touched the brim of his hat with the cane and whispered, "Good
day, Sir!" He smiled at his reflection. "I'll play
'Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde'", he decided, alternating between
the gentlemanly doctor and the cruel madman. He twisted his face
into a snarl and swishing the cane, he charged the mirror with
a blood-curdling yell. Surely he was Academy Award material,
he thought, even if he wasn't a star historian. Suddenly, he heard a loud pop and a bang. The armoire doors burst open. He was about to yell, "I DIDN'T TOUCH IT, GRANDMA!" when Tito felt a gust of cold wind. He shut his eyes tightly against a cloud of cold, stinging wetness that poured from the armoire. He put his empty hand against his eyes and when he could finally peek through his fingers, he was blinded by a bright light. But he could also see something. Something very strange indeed. A person! "Right this way, sir," said a strange boy's voice. Tito clutched the cane tightly and felt his heart thumping in his chest. He couldn't decide whether to challenge the intruder or to simply run like crazy. He took a small step back and could now squint through his fingers. But although he could see, he couldn't quite believe his eyes. Snow covered the floor and a boy, dressed in very old-style clothing, stood between Tito and the armoire. The armoire doors were wide open and the bright light poured from inside the armoire. The boy spoke again, "It's just a step up, sir. May I give you a hand?" Tito mumbled something in reply. The boy looked at him questioningly and then relaxed into a smile. "Oh, you must be a foreign gent, sir, otherwise you would have dressed in a heavier coat for this weather. The weather here is very unpredictable." Then Tito heard another voice from inside the armoire. "Captain, have him sit close to the stove where he can get warm." And then it hit him. "Of coooourse!" Tito mused, "Grandma was in film and theatre. This is all some kind of surprise that she planned! That's why she had that goofy grin that she couldn't hide and that's why she let me play in the attic!" Considerably cheered, Tito took a step forward. He didn't know why he should climb into the armoire or, for that matter, why the strange boy called him, "Sir", but he figured that his Grandma had staged a special make-believe game for him and that he would play along. "What is your name, sir?" "Tito", he said in a friendly tone. "Step this way, Mr. Tito. There's nothing to worry about. Hop aboard!" smiled the boy enthusiastically. Tito shrugged lightly, took a step up and walked into the armoire. "My name is Adam but most people call me 'Captain'." Tito stared at the boy in front of him and then beyond. They weren't standing in anything that looked like a closet for hanging clothes. They were in some kind of long but not very wide building with hay on the ground. "A train car!" thought Tito with some measure of certainty. The car was about 16 feet long, 10 feet high, had windows throughout, a man who looked like a conductor and, of course, lots of seats. Tito noticed that the seats were wooden. The conductor nodded at Tito and Tito nodded back. "Come and sit next to the stove and get warm, Mr. Tito", said Adam, gesturing to a squat metal container. Tito could see fire inside the stove and was a little nervous. But then he realized that he was cold. "You should have a heavier coat, sir. The sun can shine so bright that it hurts your eyes and yet it can still be very cold outside. Especially with this wind, sir." Tito looked down at himself. He was wearing old-fashioned clothes, too! They looked just like the man's suit from which he had taken the hat and cane but he didn't remember putting them on. He was also wearing gloves and his hands looked big, really big. The hat was still on but it felt snug, not loose. He glanced back at Adam and was surprised to discover that Adam was very short. Tito, who wasn't very tall himself, had to look down to see the boy. Yet the conductor, an adult, appeared to be about the same size as Tito. "Amazing!" thought Tito, "I wonder if Industrial Light and Magic, Disney, and Pixar all know Grandma Lea! This is awesome!" Tito kept his thoughts to himself, however. He wanted to play his 'part' well in this game of make-believe. |