It All Started...
Page 34
“Well, what do you think, Lilly?” Lance again looked at the thrilled blond-haired girl who excitedly tugged on his arm. Having lived out of the country with her parents for her first years, they were now back in the States. This was Lilly’s first time to visit Disneyland and she wanted to start exploring.
“It’s a dream!” She was almost breathless as her head whipped from one glorious site to the next. When her eyes landed on the Castle, she couldn’t tear them away from the tall, golden spires in the distance. “Are we really going to spend the night there, Papa?”
Lance smiled and looked over to his right. A few inquisitive guests were looking at the bronze plaque imbedded in the base of the flagpole.
Kneeling down to her level, Lance gave Lilly a kiss. ‘’Stay here with Grandma, Lilly.” He stood and gave the small hand to his wife. “I’ll be right back.” Expecting this, Kimberly just nodded as he walked off toward the flagpole.
“Where’s Papa going? I wanna go with Papa!” Not wanting to miss anything, Lilly was starting to get worried and pulled against her grandmother’s grasp.
As she looked down at the little hand that had been placed in hers, Kimberly suddenly felt her heart begin to pound, her mouth forming an ‘O’. It was a distant memory, a vision that rushed back into her mind, one that she had had forty years ago not far from where they now stood. Over the decades she had forgotten about the vision that had been given to her by the red diamond heart. Lance had never been told about it; it was too personal at the time she had received it. ‘How you get there is up to you’ had been written on the note from Walt that had been left amongst the wonders they found in that upper room. Things between Lance and her had been too new, too fresh back then. How could she throw into the conversation, “Oh, by the way, I just saw myself holding the hand of a beautiful blond-haired little girl. She looked around five or six years old and she was our granddaughter. So, what would you like to do for dinner?” No, she had buried the vision deep inside her heart, safe to take out and cherish whenever she wanted to see it again in her memories. But, time and reality came—as they always did—and she eventually forgot about it as her life with Lance started. The reality she found with him became so very wonderful and so very real.
Now, forty years later, looking down at Lilly’s hand, she saw the vision again—only now with the clarity of time. The little girl she had seen hadn’t been hers. She and Lance had had three boys. Now, she looked down at the hand in hers and the eager, beautiful, concerned face that peered up into her own. The amazement on Kimberly’s face faded into a loving smile at her granddaughter. This was the lovely child she had seen. Her vision—her future—had come true.
“Thank you, Walt,” she whispered to herself.
“Grandma?” Lilly again pulled on her hand and pointed at the retreating back of Lance.
“It’s okay, honey.” Kimberly knew how to sooth her. “Papa has something he needs to do. Look over there! Let’s go say hi to Mickey at the Opera House.”
Following her Grandmother’s pointing finger, Lilly bounced up and down. “Is that the real Mickey!?”
With a laugh, Kimberly led her over toward the ornate white building. “Well, let’s go ask him!”
As Lance slowly walked toward the plaque, the other guests moved on. A lone man stood there now, looking down at the raised letters. He moved his fingers over the bronze words, silently reading as he went. There was a red button just above the plaque and he pushed it. The result caused him to jump back, startled.
A three-dimensional, smiling Walt Disney instantly appeared in front of the flagpole. “To all who come to this happy place, welcome…” Disney’s familiar voice went on to recite the entire Opening Day Speech from 1955.
The older man leaned toward the transparent, but somehow solid figure as the speech continued. He poked a finger through the moving apparition and began to chuckle to himself, obviously pleased with the effect.
Lance looked back toward his wife and Lilly, easily finding their shining blond heads in the crowd surrounding Mickey. His smile was content. He thought of all the ‘first times’ Lilly would have today. The Matterhorn, the Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, It’s a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Mark Twain. Lance grinned at his own memories—especially those of Pirates.
A young family moved close to Lance. They were attempting to take a picture that would include all of them and have the Castle as the backdrop and their hovering tripod wasn’t cooperating. Lance offered to take the picture the old-fashioned way so they could all be in the shot. Appreciative of the offer, the young father handed the camera to Lance. “On three, say Mickey.”
When he handed the camera back, they got back on their Upright Transports and hummed down Main Street. Lance turned back to the older man who had activated the Opening Speech again. Walking all the way around the shimmering image of Walt, the man seemed both impressed and amused at the same time.
“What do you think?” Lance was curious when the man finished his circuit and came up beside him.
The man just rocked back on his heels and smiled at him, a twinkle in his eye. “Couldn’t have said it better myself!” With a familiar, he pushed his battered Fedora back off of his forehead.
Lance glanced once more at his wife who was busy pointing out something in the Disney Gallery’s window to Lilly.
“You did well.” Lance put his hand on the man’s shoulder. A little softer, his voice choked with emotion, he repeated, “You did real well, Walt.”
—THE END—
The story continues with...
WOULD YOU TO BREECH THE FABRIC OF TIME TO SAVE WALT'S LEGACY?
How far would you be willing to go to save your life—as well as the potential future of your boss, Walt Disney? Would you put your life in the hands of a mysterious security guard named Wolf who seems to have uncanny abilities that reach far beyond the realms of logic?
Wolf has dedicated his life to guarding his boss Walt Disney. Little did he know how far-reaching that dedication would extend.
WOLF TIRELESSLY TRIES TO STOP A MALICIOUS VILLAIN
Dr. Claude Houser, a doctor and scientist employed by Walt Disney, finds his life and Walt's future threatened by an unknown blackmailer.
Wolf sends Disneyland cast member Wals Davis to aid the doctor and a damsel in distress. Wals now finds himself in a bizarre—yet strangely familiar—setting where time moves differently and things that occur in the present seem to have a profound effect on things that happen in the past.
WILL THEY RETURN HOME OR BE STUCK IN THE VORTEX OF TIME?
It will take all of Wolf's cunning to bring three vastly different people back through the swirling vortex of time.
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About the Authors
Nancy Temple Rodrigue
Nancy Temple Rodrigue Nancy lives in the small town of Lompoc, California, where she writes her novels and game books. Besides writing, Nancy is an avid reader and also enjoys showing her award-winning 1957 T-Bird as seen above at local car shows.
Writing about Disneyland comes easy for Nancy as she has been an avid Disney fan ever since she was 6 years old and went to Disneyland for the first time. Her novels sho
w her admiration and respect for the man who started it all–Walt Disney. Nancy actively participates in book signings and speaking events, and she loves talking to people who enjoy her books.
Join Nancy online at Facebook.com/HiddenMickeyFanClub
David W. Smith
David lives in St. George, Utah, with his wife, Dr. Kerri Smith, and their two children, Kyla and Keaton.
In addition to co-authoring the first two Hidden Mickey novels, David also authored Hidden Mickey 5, In the Shadow of the Matterhorn, Tennis Mastery, & Coaching Mastery.
The idea for Hidden Mickey grew out of a love for Disneyland and a deep appreciation for the vision that Walt Disney had in the face of adversity and lack of popular opinion of the day. A cast member at Disneyland in California in the 1970’s and early 80’s, David learned firsthand, the inner workings of Disneyland and Walt Disney through the years.
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