Box Set #3: The Serenity Deception: [The 4 book 3rd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood]

by Robert Iannone

  “Life is unfair.”

  “Oh, please. I hate that phrase.”

  “Yeah, me too. Sorry.”

  “You know what really gets me?”

  It was a rhetorical question but Sylvia wasn’t Egg’s best friend for nothing. “It bothers you that we were able to save two planets (she meant Aerianna and Zynn-Zaz’zia) and millions of people, but we can’t do anything to help any of these families.”

  Egg smiled in acknowledgement.

  “Well, didn’t someone once tell you that if you can’t change what you can’t change, don’t worry about it?” It was probably Grammy or Dazzle that had said something of the kind to Egg.

  “Syl, do you ever wish we could move to Aerianna?”

  “All the time. If I didn’t have a family and if you would go with me, I’d leave right this instant,” and she involuntarily fingered the ring she wore. It was given to her by Egg but modified by the scientists on Aerianna. With it, she could teleport herself back to that other world in the blink of an eye. Egg also had one, though now that she had her flying suit back, she didn’t really need it.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Chapter 3 - Heart and Soul

  “Molly, we’re getting two visitors today.”

  “Who?” The little girl was curious since no one ever came to visit.

  “Two high school girls. One is named Sylvia and the other is Eloise.”

  “Are they friends of yours?”

  “No, dear. They’re coming here to . . . ummm . . . to get to know us. They’ll probably be spending a lot of time with you and me; at least for a few weeks.” Jenny knew the project was scheduled to end on Christmas Eve.

  The timing couldn’t have been better. Jenny had to go to the Clinic today to receive the results of her tests. She had been having a lot of pain in her abdomen and the medicine she was taking didn’t seem to help. She was hoping the two girls would look after Molly so she could go by herself. The clinic frightened the little girl. In truth, it frightened Jenny as well. She couldn’t afford to be sick . . . for her daughter’s sake.

  “When are they coming over?”

  “Pretty soon,” and as if by magic, there was a knock. “Well, how’s that for timing,” and she walked over and opened the door.

  “Hi, Jenny. My name is Sylvia . . .

  . . . and this is Egg.”

  “EGG?” giggled Molly who was standing just behind her mother peeking out at the two strangers.

  “That must be her nickname sweetheart.”

  “It is. Hi, Molly. My real name is Eloise. But my initials are E for Eloise, G for Grace and another G for Graystone. That spells EGG.”

  “That’s funny,” and the little girl did the most unexpected thing. She ran up to Egg and gave her a gigantic hug.

  “Wow,” exclaimed her mother. “That’s a first. She’s normally very shy around strangers.”

  “Hey, Molly. Can I have one of those too?” asked Sylvia. Then she added, “I’m Egg’s bestest friend in the whole world. Actually, I’m her bestest friend on three worlds.”

  Egg gave her friend an eyebrow-scrunched look of surprise. They never talked about the other worlds they visited in front of anyone. But Sylvia ignored her friend and opened her arms to receive Molly’s hug.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Please come in.” Then being self-conscious of the awful condition of the little room, Jenny said, “Forgive the mess.”

  Egg followed Jenny in while Molly dragged Sylvia by the hand. The girls looked around the one room apartment and tried not to show their surprise. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

  “That’s my picture wall,” and Molly proudly pointed to a little alcove covered with chalk drawings. Unfortunately, all of her finest work had been erased and what was left was the scribbling of a child whose subconscious was crying out for a different life . . . one filled with beauty and friendship and joy and hope.

  “Oh isn’t that nice,” fibbed Sylvia who still had Molly’s hand in hers.

  “Molly is actually a very fine artist. But for the last few weeks she’s been expressing a . . . ummm . . . different side to her personality.”

  Ignoring her mother’s observation, Molly said, “I can make tea. Do you want some?” The eager look on her face was both heartwarming and heart breaking.

  “I would love some tea and I know Egg would too.”

  “Okay,” and the little girl bounced away to a corner of the room that was the kitchen area. She poured water into the teakettle, set in onto a little hotplate and turned it on. There was no stove.

  As she went about gathering an eclectic collection of teacups, the girls sat down at the table, one on either side of Jenny.

  “So tell me about your project,” she asked. She was very surprised at how quickly she had taken to these girls. They were somehow different from other girls their age . . . but she wasn’t sure how. There was an air of ‘worldliness’ about them that bespoke of wisdom and experience far beyond their years. The fact that Molly had adopted them on sight might also have had some influence on her own reaction.

  The girls explained the project and braced themselves for the expected outburst of indignation from the Jenny. They had been warned that the first reaction would always be one of outrage and insult (even Josie Rose had reacted coldly at first). No one wanted to be the object of a social experiment because they were down on their luck . . . even if they knew in advance what to expect.

  But Jenny did not react as expected. “I think it’s great. If our . . . ummm . . . situation can help educate others, then maybe we, as a society, can find ways to fix the problem.”

  Egg and Sylvia exchanged a quick glance. Jenny was obviously a very intelligent person and her reaction to the project was both a surprise and welcomed relief.

  “You do understand that we’re not allowed to interfere in any way with your situation?” It was another delicate moment in starting this relationship.

  And Jenny surprised them yet again when she answered, “I do and I can understand why. But I guess it will be harder on you than it will be on me and Molly.”

  “You can’t even guess how much,” answered Sylvia in a soft voice.

  The teakettle began to boil and sing. Egg jumped up and asked, “Molly, can I help you pour the water?”

  “I thought you couldn’t interfere?” asked Jenny with a smile.

  “We do have a little leeway,” and Egg returned the smile.

  “Okay, Egg. I’ll put the tea bags in the cups and you can pour the hot water over them.”

  So they worked side by side. When they finished Egg carried the tray over to the table but let the little girl serve each person. “Sorry, but we don’t have any sugar. But we do have a box of tea biscuits?”

  “Sounds great.”

  “Actually, Molly, Egg and I are on a diet. So maybe next time.” Sylvia didn’t think they had much in the way of food and she didn’t want to take even a biscuit out of the mouth of these two people. She was shocked that in the space of less than ten minutes, she was feeling a great deal of affection for both of them. But maybe just a tad bit more for Molly.

  So as they drank the tea, the girls asked Jenny and Molly about their lives. There were the usual ‘break the ice’ type questions. “How do you spend your days?” “Are you friends with any other families in the shelter?” “If you could live anywhere, where would that be?”

  But the answer that broke their hearts was to the question, “What is the one thing that you would change if you could?”

  “I want my daughter to have a fair chance in life. Why should she be punished because I’m a terrible mother?” She said it with such passion and fervor that it startled the girls. Then Jenny couldn’t help herself and she started to cry which upset her daughter.

  “Mommy, Mommy you’re not terrible. Really,” and Molly ran to her mother, buried her face in Jenny’s chest and started to cry in sympathy. It was all that Egg and Sylvia could do not to join in. They knew that Jenny wasn’t to blame for
her present situation. Sometimes life just deals you a bad hand.

  The girls sat there, each quietly studying the teacup in front of them. It was the only privacy they could afford to give mother and daughter. After a few very long minutes, Jenny was able to compose herself. With Molly still on her lap, she said, “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be silly. You have every right . . .,” but Egg didn’t finish. It sounded too lame.

  “Can I ask a favor? I know you aren’t supposed to interfere . . . but I, I need to go . . . ummm . . . go out for a bit. Could you two stay with Molly for me? Maybe you could get her to draw something nice instead of that icky stuff she’s been doing lately.”

  “Absolutely. Our assignment . . .,” Sylvia caught herself then continued, “Umm . . . it will give us a great opportunity to get to know Molly better.”

  “And when you get back, I bet Molly will have finished a great drawing just for you. Won’t you Molly?”

  “Okay. What should I draw, Mommy?

  “How about a ferocious fire breathing dragon . . . they’re your best?”

  Egg barked a laugh then put her hand over her mouth. “Sorry . . . I just had a silly thought.”

  So Jenny gathered her things, kissed her daughter goodbye, thanked the girls yet again and left.

  “Okay Molly. Let’s see what you can do.”

  “Do you like dragons, Egg?”

  “Like them, heck I love them.”

  “Me, too,” added Sylvia her face lit with a mischievous smile.

  “Okay then I’ll draw a dragon. What color is your favorite?”

  “I think all the best fire breathing dragons are red.”

  “That’s my favorite color!”

  “Well, it’s mine too. So, show me how good you really are.”

  “Can I erase these other . . . ummm . . . drawings?” asked Sylvia.

  “Okay.”

  So Syl erased the scribbling and Molly went to get her chalk. “Okay, so first I draw the face . . .,” and over the next thirty minutes the little girl worked on her sketch. After each part, she would step back and appraise her work. If she weren’t sure how good it was, she would ask her two new friends for their opinions. Sometimes they agreed that this or that should be changed. But most of the time they were very impressed with the girl’s ability.

  “She reminds me of Sassi,” said Egg.

  “Got that right.”

  After the drawing was done, they sat back down at the table and played Go Fish and Crazy Eights all the while talking about the girl’s life and her dreams. Before they knew it, another hour had gone by and the door opened.

  It was Jenny.

  And her face was white as chalk.

  And her eyes were as red as the dragon her daughter had just sketched.

  “Hi, Mommy.”

  “Hi, Sweetheart.”

  Egg and Sylvia both saw the expression on Jenny’s face, but said nothing. It was obviously bad news of some kind and they didn’t want to ask in front of the little girl.

  “Molly drew you a fantastic picture of a red dragon. Come see.”

  Jenny walked over to the picture wall and took in the wonderful sketch Molly had done.

  “That’s what I’m talking about. That’s my Molly. It’s probably the best you’ve ever done . . . it’s so lifelike.”

  “It’s a picture of Bl’azzz . . . she’s one of Egg and Sylvia best friends.”

  “Really?” and Jenny glanced over at the girls and gave them a wink.

  *****

  Chapter 4 - Bad to Worse

  “Did you see the look on her face when she came in? It’s like she saw a ghost.”

  “Oh my gosh, it just has to be something altogether awesomely awful.” Without realizing it, she sounded like Soo’nami talking to K’ssss.

  “When we go back tomorrow, I’ll take Molly for a walk and you can find out what it is.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” A moment later Egg asked, “Molly is terrific, isn’t’ she?”

  Sylvia didn’t answer the question. Instead she said, “Egg, I don’t know how I’m going to do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Live up to our contract. I just have to find a way to help them.”

  “What’s this ‘I’ stuff? You better mean ‘we’.”

  *****

  “Come on, Molly. Let’s go for a walk and you can show me all the places you like to visit.”

  “Okay. Come on, Egg.”

  “I think I’ll stay with your Mom. You guys go without me. And have fun.”

  As the door closed behind them, Jenny said, “Egg, I can’t tell you how much your visits mean to my daughter. And to me. I know it’s just a school project, but I feel like you two really care.”

  “We do care. We’re not supposed to, but the heck with them. Molly’s so terrific. And you’re an incredibly brave person.”

  “Hah. Me brave? Not likely.”

  “You have to face this every morning when you wake up,” and she pointed to the little room. “Then you have to face your daughter and make it seem like it’s a lot more than it is. I couldn’t do it.”

  Jenny’s response wasn’t at all what Egg expected. “Egg . . . I’m so afraid.”

  Misunderstanding what Jenny meant, the girl responded, “It’s bound to get better . . . just you wait and see.”

  Jenny burst into tears . . . the crying quickly becoming uncontrollable sobbing. Egg’s mouth fell opened in shock but she quickly gathered herself, walked over, and put her arms around the young mother. “What is it, Jenny? When you came home yesterday, you were as white as a ghost.”

  The woman couldn’t answer as she continued to cry uncontrollably. It gave Egg goose bumps and somehow she guessed what Jenny would eventually tell her.

  It took almost five minutes until she could talk. “Egg . . . I’ve had bad pains in my stomach for a few months. I went to the clinic and they ran some tests.” She stopped talking as she tried to control her emotions. “Egg . . . I’m the only one in the world that Molly has. It’s not fair . . . not for me, but for her. Oh, Egg . . . I’m dying.”

  She had guessed right . . . but the impact of the words was still like a sledgehammer to the gut. She squeezed Jenny even tighter and they both broke down into hysterics.

  After the better part of forever, they both calmed down. Jenny told Egg that the ache she had been suffering was from a tumor and that it was much too late for the doctors to do anything. She probably had only a few months to live . . . and most of that time would be spent in a hospital under heavy sedation to ease the pain.

  For all intent and purpose, Molly was an orphan.

  *****

  The girls took the bus home each lost in her own thoughts and emotions. When they got off, they each walked their separate ways to their homes. Neither had spoken a word.

  What was there to say?

  *****

  When they saw each other the next morning at school, Egg said, “My parents said they couldn’t adopt Molly.”

  “Same with my parents.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “We could ask Mrs. S to be assigned to another family.”

  “WHAT?”

  “Egg, I don’t know if I can face Molly knowing what’s going to happen to her. Or Jenny for that matter.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. But maybe we can . . . you know . . . like become Molly’s Big Sister so that after . . . um . . . . you know after Jenny . . . um . . . leaves . . . we could still watch over her. At least until she’s adopted.”

  “Not a bad idea. That might make Jenny feel a little better. But Egg . . .”

  “I know, I know; it’s not much. And what about poor Jenny? She’s only like twenty-five and she’s got to face this stuff by herself. I’d rather face Mobius.”

  At the sound of the name of the archenemy of the Hameggattic Sisters, Sylvia’s face lit up. “Egg . . . you’re a genius.”

  “Really? When did that happen?”

  “Ju
st now.”

  “I didn’t feel anything.”

  “No, goofy. Tonight I want you to dream.” Egg was famous for getting some great ideas when she dreamt. It was the only way that she and the Sisterhood figured out how to get through the Seven Lands and defeat Mobius.

  “How’s that going to help Jenny and Molly?”

  “I don’t know. But if there’s a way, you’ll figure it out in your dreams. You always do.”

  “Syl . . . this is different.”

  “Why?”

  “Well . . . It just is.”

  “Egg, I’m your trusted advisor and I’m advising you to dream. Tonight.”

  “Okeydokey. I’ll try.”

  “Trying isn’t good enough. We’re talking about Molly and her mom. Failure is simply not an option.”

  *****

  Egg went to bed early that night.

  And as was her way, she had a dream.

  And in the dream, she was visited by Storm. The dragon Prince had been Queen Dazzle’s closest friend until he had passed away at the very old age of a thousand years.

  “Egg of Earth, it has been awhile.”

  “Oh my gosh . . . hi, Storm. It’s wonderful to see you again. How are you?”

  “I am fairly well, thank you. And yourself?”

  “Pretty good.”

  “I think not. I believe you are troubled.”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “In all honesty, I, too, am troubled. Perhaps we can help each other.”

  “How?”

  And a few minutes later Egg, though still asleep, was grinning from ear to ear.

  *****

  It was Saturday morning and Egg was on the phone the instant she got up. She was calling Sylvia.

  “Huh’wo” . . . roughly translated that meant hello spoken by a person who was technically still asleep.

  “Syl . . . you were right.”

  “Good to know. Goodbye,” and she hung up,

  Egg called back. “SYLVIA,” she screamed in to the phone.