Monster Nanny

by Tuutikki Tolonen

  “Why are they called botherfairies? I wonder if they bother people as well as monsters?” Koby was thinking aloud, but nobody replied.

  “And where is that knocking coming from?” Halley asked nervously. “Just like someone beating flagpoles with a coat hanger.”

  “It’s coming from the sailboats,” Oscar said. “The halyards have been left too slack. The wind knocks them against the aluminum masts. They should be tightened up more. Dad’s always telling the others.”

  Halley looked at Oscar, surprised.

  “You go sailing, then? Vacation cabin on an island and so on?”

  “Well, we have a boat. No cabin,” Oscar said.

  “Wow,” said Halley. “I’ll come sailing with you sometime.”

  Oscar shrugged. “OK by me.”

  “Hey, look, over there,” Minnie whispered suddenly. “There, do you see?”

  Koby whistled.

  “There are a lot more than six,” he said.

  “Well, I say,” Dad whispered. “Are you sure they’re not fireflies?”

  “Fireflies are smaller,” said Koby.

  “There’s at least twenty of them,” Minnie reckoned.

  “More,” Koby said. “Forty or fifty.”

  “Maybe they lay a lot of eggs quickly,” Halley said. “Or else someone has left the door open.”

  “What door?” Minnie asked.

  “The door through which monsters and fairies and fairy godmothers come,” Halley said, smiling.

  “Ha-ha, very funny.” Dad chuckled.

  “Whatever are they doing now?” Minnie asked a moment later.

  The flashing creatures had been flying in circles around the sailboat masts, but now they formed a line like a long snake. The snake of light flew a few quick, elegant loops in the air, and then . . . yikes! It shot forward like an arrow straight toward the spot where Halley, Koby, Minnie, Oscar, and Dad were crouching.

  “They’re attacking!” Minnie whispered, alarmed.

  “Down, everybody !” Dad commanded, and flopped on his belly. “Cover your eyes!”

  “But why . . . ?” Koby managed to say, before Dad yanked him to the ground. Halley fell on her back next to Koby, but she couldn’t close her eyes. She couldn’t look away from the flying streak of light, which came closer, closer, closer and . . .

  “They flew over us!” Halley cried, surprised.

  “What?” Oscar asked in a muffled voice from underneath Koby.

  “They weren’t heading for us,” Halley replied, and sat up. “They flew straight into the forest.”

  “What are they doing there?” Oscar asked.

  “Looking for food, perhaps. Or the monsters,” Halley suggested.

  “Let’s go back to the camp,” Oscar asked.

  Dad nodded in agreement. “Good idea. We’ve seen what we came to see. In any case, all the others are sure to be asleep by now.”

  Dad was wrong. Not everybody was asleep. How could Mimi sleep when she had just found out where the monsters’ home might be? How could anybody with any sense believe that Mimi could wait until tomorrow, even though the camp leader might think it best? Of course, Mimi wanted to see the monsters’ house door immediately. And if Mimi was awake, so was Alice. And Grah . . . well, its sleeping was something of a mystery anyway.

  While the camp leader crouched under a bush in the marina watching the night sky, three shadows bent low sneaked out of the camp. One of the shadows was very big and bulky; two were very small and quick. Ever deeper into the forest and ever farther from the camp they crept, until the biggest of them unexpectedly bent down and picked up the two small ones, one under each arm. There was sneezing and giggling. Mimi, Alice, and Grah were on their way to see Grah’s home, and they didn’t even need Grah’s big map—the monster knew the way.

  “Alice, you should close your eyes now,” Mimi advised.

  “Why?” Alice kept sneezing.

  “You’ll find out soon!” Mimi said, and sneezed.

  Grah headed down the forest path with the girls under its arms, picking up speed with every step. The ground boomed, tree branches swiped at them, dry twigs snapped, and the scenery whizzed by as if they were on a merry-go-round. Mimi laughed aloud, but Alice clung to Grah’s arm and hid her face against the monster’s shoulder. Not everybody likes the craziest rides in the amusement park.

  Gradually, they slowed down. They had reached a little clearing in the forest, with a tall greenish-brown rock rising on one side like a wall. The rock wall was at least ten feet high, and on top of it stood an oddly shaped mound of stones.

  An old pine tree had fallen next to the rock, and its huge root ball rose out of the earth, as if opening a doorway deep into it.

  Grah set the girls down. It was murring a low, nervous hum and stepped hesitantly toward the rock wall, closer and closer, until its face was almost touching the rock. It remained standing there as if waiting for something.

  “I wonder if it thinks it has one of those automatic sliding doors like at the supermarket,” Alice whispered to Mimi.

  “I don’t think so, but there is something special about that rock,” Mimi whispered.

  “I wonder if the door of its home has moved,” Alice pondered aloud, but Mimi shook her head.

  “Doors don’t move,” she said, and crept up to Grah. Mimi slipped her little hand into the monster’s big warm one and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

  “Is this where the door should be? Except that we can’t see it?” Mimi asked quietly.

  Grah said nothing, of course. Its strange glowing eyes glanced at Mimi’s worried almond eyes. It looked sad.

  “Oh, you darling monster,” Mimi whispered, and stroked its thick arm. “It’ll be OK. Alice and I will help you. You’ll get home. We’ll find that door.”

  “Mimi,” Alice squealed suddenly in a very small and scared voice. “Look.”

  Mimi turned to Alice, whose eyes, round with fright, were fixed on the top of the rock behind Mimi. Mimi turned to follow Alice’s gaze. Grah started to make a low murring sound.

  High up on the rock stood a strange gray monster. It looked like a huge, scary shadow against the night sky. The creature’s glowing eyes shone yellow and wild, as it stared down into the clearing. The monster looked older, stronger, and wilder than Grah or any of the monsters Mimi had seen.

  One of its ears hung down as if it was partly torn. Mimi was certain she had not seen the monster before, but why did it feel somehow familiar? That ear and the gray coat . . . Suddenly she remembered.

  “That’s the monster in Runar’s book,” Mimi whispered, and turned to Grah. “You know it, don’t you?”

  Grah let out a long, moaning roar, which echoed throughout the silent forest. Alice covered her ears with her hands. When the forest was quiet again, Runar’s monster had gone.

  CHAPTER 28

  The Missing Page

  KOBY SAT IN DAD’S camping chair, listening to the news on the radio. The newscaster’s neutral voice read:

  “. . . damage has been found almost daily in the forests and waterside areas of the east side of the town. Up to now, the vandalism has been targeted at nature, and cars, boats, and other valuable private property have been left untouched. However, the damage to forest and parkland areas has been considerable. Security has been tightened, and the police say that many volunteers have also come forward to help protect the areas. The problem is the large size of the affected area. The police also say that it is imperative to eliminate the possibility that the cause could be some animal, as scientists specializing in large wild animals say that certain features of the detruction may also indicate a fairly large herd or pack of animals . . .”

  Koby shook his head. Sooner or later someone was going to see the monsters, if they continued running around the forests like this. If only they had the sense to return to the children they were supposed to be taking care of! Koby had given a lot of thought as to why they didn’t and believed that he understood now. The monsters must
have thought that the children would send them back to the three witches’ monster school! They didn’t know that everybody in the camp, even Halley, wanted to help the monsters to get back to their home, away from the witches and the hall closets. The only thing missing from the rescue plan was the monsters. They had Grah’s map. And they still had Grah, though it had been behaving very strangely since it had finished its painting and mostly just sat morosely under the weeping willows.

  The news ended, the weather forecast began, and Koby clicked the radio off. He had heard all he wanted to hear.

  Silence and perfect peace for reading descended on the camp. The others were on the beach, shopping, wherever. Koby had wanted to stay as camp guard, as it allowed him to read without interruptions. He got out of the camping chair and set off toward his tent to get Runar’s book.

  The tent door hung half open. Koby stopped. He was sure he had zipped it up properly in the morning. He always zipped it up properly. Oscar had gone to the beach ages ago. Had someone gone into his tent?

  Koby’s eyes swept along the row of tents, the forest edge, and the big playing field. He checked out the clotheslines, now hung with only beach towels. All was quiet, peaceful, and quite ordinary. His heart pounding, Koby undid the zipper fully and peeked inside. Everything looked the same as that morning: sleeping bags, backpacks, pillows. But the uneasy feeling was still there.

  Runar’s book lay on the floor of the tent. Koby picked it up and squeezed it under his arm. He went back to Dad’s camping chair and opened the book. He instantly felt better. Books calmed Koby down. His eyes automatically started to read; everything became easy and understandable. Koby browsed through the pages, looking for something he hadn’t read yet. His gaze stopped at “Chapter 12: Some Unusual Observations.”

  Koby knew this chapter. It was long and confusing. He had read bits here and there, but never all of it. It was not one of the most interesting chapters in the book, rather just a list or record of facts without any answers. But he didn’t need anything interesting right now. He needed something calming.

  Koby took one more look around, enjoying the silence. He began to read.

  This chapter was written with the researchers of future years in mind, who will have better daily opportunities of immersing themselves in the lives of monsters than I have. First of all, I must acknowledge the shortcomings of this attempt at a chapter, as there are plenty. These facts I am unable to explain or link to a larger whole. I have merely observed them and recorded them. Thus, this chapter is rather like an archive shelf, onto which I throw my unfinished information. I record many of my individual little observations, which my scientist’s instinct tells me definitely mean something, although their significance is not yet known to me.

  On many occasions, I have observed various things, decided that they may be important in one way or another, even though their relevance . . .

  Yaaaawn! Runar was apt to go on and on forever before he got to the point. Koby scanned the next page. Notes about the way the monster seemed to turn up unnoticed, then a little bit about caring for its coat, then about some disease affecting its nails, then about things that seemed to attract the monster, behavior during full moon . . . Just a minute. Things that attracted the monster? Perhaps things that could tempt escaped monsters back to the camp? Koby started reading.

  As I mentioned above, the reflection of a mirror attracts the monster. So does the smell of carrot, even though it is not interested in eating carrots. A certain kind of slow guitar music always receives its undivided attention. On many occasions, a bucket of water was also sufficient to tempt it, often merely the gentle splashing of water with one’s hand . . .

  Gentle splashing of water! A pack of monsters that had run away into the forest would definitely not be enticed back by splashing water or a bag of carrots. These instructions were for close tempting, at short distances, and did not fit the situation at hand. Koby scanned the text further.

  . . . like many other living things. There is something about the full moon that affects us deeply. In the same way, on that night the monster was ready to jump out of its skin and was itching to get out of the house. At first, I misinterpreted it as a desire to go hunting, but the more I learned about the monster’s true character, the more clearly I understood that this was about something else. And before long, with the help of my calendar notes, I realized that this unusual behavior was linked to the full moon.

  Finally, after getting up courage, I decided to conduct an experiment. On a night with the full moon, I put a chain around the monster’s neck. We went out together. The monster was skittish, like a cow put out to pasture for the first time in spring. So we half ran, half walked, sometimes stumbled through the forest, to a small rock formation nearby. On the left-hand side of the rock there is a strange cairn of stones shaped like a bottle, higher than a man, which is why the rock was called Bottle Rock . . .

  “Bottle Rock,” Koby repeated, surprised. How had he managed to miss this before? It was the same place Grah had marked on the map as its home, and where Mimi claimed to have seen Runar’s monster. Had Runar lived around here, someplace nearby? Koby carried on reading.

  Bottle Rock was indeed the destination of the monster’s pilgrimage. Having made it there, that big black creature stopped only when it had gotten as close to the rock as it was possible to get: it remained standing in front of the rock with its face almost touching the wall. Every so often, it looked at the moon, as if waiting for something, then turned to the rock again. Standing in front of the rock, the monster appeared to be sad rather than happy. The whole night was spent here. Nothing else happened. After the first night, I let the monster run to the rock at every full moon, which it always did with great enthusiasm. I never found the reason for this urge. I leave this matter to the future generations, future researchers.

  Koby lifted his eyes from the book. Mimi’s story of Grah at Bottle Rock had been exactly like this, with the exception of the full moon. But why did Runar’s monster only want to go to the rock during the full moon? Was that the only time the door opened to its home? Would all the monsters go to Bottle Rock at the full moon? Koby’s forehead creased with thinking. When was the next full moon?

  Koby closed the book and, deep in thought, stroked its old, soft spine. Suddenly his finger touched a little scrap of paper poking out of the pages toward the end. What was it? The page wasn’t torn, was it?

  Koby opened the book at the ragged page. His heart missed a beat. The page was not torn—something much worse had happened: a whole page had been ripped out. Koby was so shocked that he almost shook. Someone had gone into his tent, taken the book, and torn a page out of it. Who, why, when? What was on the stolen page?

  Koby studied the place where the page was ripped out. It wasn’t hard to work out which page was missing: the picture of Runar’s monster. The very page that had made Grah cry.

  CHAPTER 29

  Full Moon

  “FULL MOON,” DAD SAID, gazing at the light summer sky, preoccupied. “When is it? Anybody know?”

  “My dad would know,” said Oscar.

  “Show-off,” Halley muttered. Fancy having to defend your dad, who doesn’t know when it’s a full moon.

  “All grownups generally know such things,” Minnie muttered, looking at her toes.

  “I don’t know,” Dad said, surprised. “How is one supposed to know that?”

  “One could look it up in a calendar,” said Oscar.

  “Well, let’s look. Who has a calendar on them?” Dad asked, looking at the children standing around him.

  Silence. Nobody had a calendar.

  “I’ll go to the library on my bike and look it up,” said Koby. He glanced at his watch. “Exactly half an hour before the library closes. Watch the book.”

  Dad and Halley nodded. They were all bothered by the thought that someone had been lurking around their camp while they were away. Someone who knew about the book and monsters. Did they know about anything else? />
  “You did reply to Mom, didn’t you?” Dad checked before Koby set off.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “And what did Mom say?” Dad asked.

  “That you must answer her messages.”

  Dad laughed.

  “OK. Lucky the phone battery is charged up now. Let’s go and see what Mom has to say,” he said to Mimi and Alice, grabbing the giggling girls under each arm. “And then we’ll pop home and wash that bathrobe of Mimi’s. It looks more gray than blue these days. It’s probably too dirty to even talk.”

  They had come a long way since the days of Invisible Voice, Halley thought, watching them go.

  Koby jogged to their yard and got his bike. He had no time to lose. He jumped into the saddle and started pedaling. Without a sideways glance, he shot though the parking lot, swung down a steep little hill, and was just whizzing past Café Rio when something made him brake as hard as he could. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen something familiar. Koby let the bike drop to the ground and ran up to the café window.

  An advertisement from the evening paper had been taped to the window. In the grainy, poor-quality photo from the front page, a great grayish monster stared back at him. It had obviously just been eating a moldy pile of leaves or dried twigs. It had been caught in the act, and in the picture it had just turned its furious face toward the photographer.

  His heart thumping, Koby dug about in his pockets, but he had no money. The café owner appeared at the door and yelled at him:

  “Hey, pick up your bike! You can’t leave it in the middle of the road!”

  “Excuse me, but could I have a look at that paper?” Koby asked, out of breath.

  The man eyed Koby.