The Long Awaited Day, Part 2

 

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            On that very same morning, Thaga awoke because the sun was shining in the bedroom window, which faced east, of course. Her first thought was to arise and let Harold the tomcat out of the house for the morning. Ooog lay beside her on the door side of the bed, snoring, with his long white braid lying out across the pillow. It took more than a little sunshine to wake Ooog.
            Thaga dressed quickly. She may have had an inkling about the day, because she put on her newest floral print dress, and a nice pink striped apron. It felt warm in the room, no sweater today. She slid into her knitted slippers and went out to locate Harold.
            He was waiting patiently by the door, as always. She opened the door and watched Harold stroll out, tail in the air, then she stepped out herself, to get a breath of morning air. As she usually did, she looked to the sky, to assess the weather and to take some time to plan her day. It was a fine deep blue morning sky. But wait, there was something up there. It was hard to see because of the light conditions. Just a speck of something, very high.
            Thaga squinted up at it. It wasn’t a bird, not even Maeve, not a normal human aircraft either. It was silver and rather cigar shaped. It was still very small, but was descending, growing just a bit larger moment by moment. It looked an awful lot like Mak’s ship, the one she had seen at Cherry’s birth party years ago. Then she remembered Mak’s promise to bring Twigg and Leely home when summer came.
            This could only mean one thing! She headed straight back into the bedroom as fast as she could go.
            “Ooog! Wake up, they’re back!” Thaga called, breathlessly.
            Ooog’s eyes flew open, and he said, “Wah? Who’s back?”
            “Mak! I saw his ship returning! He’s got Twigg and Leely! Put your pants on, Man!” she added, running around the room finding him an outfit.
            “How do you know it’s his ship?” said Ooog. “It might be something else.” He was a bit reluctant to wake up just yet.
            “I saw Mak’s ship way up in the sky! If it isn’t, there are two just like it! We need to get over there!” Thaga pleaded. “Ramona said he would bring them back this summer!”
            So, Thaga got her shoes and socks on, and Ooog dressed too, then they ran through the kitchen, grabbed a bite of leftover biscuit, gulped some cold tea, and left the cottage, heading for the general area of the Home Clearing. Harold watched them go without comment. His mind was taken up by some small squeaky voices, and scratchings somewhere under the floor.
            When Ooog and Thaga tumbled into the Home Clearing, breathing heavily, no one was there. A most unusual sight! A thin column of white smoke curled and ascended from the ashes of Ramona’s morning fire. Not even the wind was there. A batch of unwashed bowls and cups lay in Ramona’s five gallon bucket.
            “He must be landing by the Alder Tree House!” said Ooog. “That’s where everyone will be!”
            “You’re right!” said Thaga, and off they trotted to the meadow, as fast as they could manage to trot.
            Now then, just as Mak’s silver vessel, with a bit of a greenish halo about it, settled silently onto the grass of the meadow, Ooog and Thaga bustled up to join the waiting group. Ramona turned her head when she heard them, startled.
            “Oh, I didn’t even think,” Ramona said. “Of course, you must be  here!”
            “All is well. We got ourselves here as quickly as we could, when I saw the skip,” said gentle Thaga. Ramona put her arm around Thaga, and they all watched together.
            The greenish nimbus around the vessel evaporated. The morning sun glinted off of its curves. For a moment all was still, except for some crows flying low overhead. Impossibly exotic, lay superimposed on the familiar scene of the meadow and the waiting Alder Tree House. The fantastic scene would remain in all of their memories for the rest of their days.
            An opening formed in the ship’s side as naturally as an eye opening, as the silver vessel lay at rest. This hatch seemed impossibly inadequate for a person of Twigg’s stature to step through, but somehow he did. First he appeared quite distant and even small, matching the interior of the ship, but when his feet touched the meadow grass he stood before them, even taller than before he and Leely had gone. He had grown in presence. He smiled at the waiting group, glanced around at his beloved meadow, and then turned back to the hatch, holding out his hand.
            Leely took his hand, and stepped out onto the grass of home. She was beautiful, standing in the sunshine. Stately, and serene, with her long dark hair pinned up and woven full of the flowers of Mak’s home planet, she wore a gown of shifting shining colors. She smiled at Ramona and Ralph, with Maeve on his shoulder, then Cherry and Blue, then Berry and Bob, and Thaga and Ooog. She greeted each one with her smile. Leely had grown in presence too. Little Marge was transformed.
            In Leely’s right arm, cradled against her body, was a child. Just a wee tiny child, wrapped in a fine white blanket.
            Leely went to Ramona, offering her the child. Ramona held out her arms, both were silent as Ramona took him into her bosom. She studied him carefully, noting every feature, except his eyes, as he was sleeping.
            “Mother, we named him Koba. It means star in the language of the Old Book,” said Leely, simply.
            “How can this be, Leely?” said Ramona, in wonder. Ralph attended to the conversation, but was silent.
            “In the Maker, all good things are possible, is it not so, Mother Ramona?” said Leely.
            “I do believe it must be so,” whispered Ramona, cradling Koba near her heart.
            Right then, Mak himself stepped out onto the meadow, saying, “May I have your attention, please!” He was grinning, and his blue eyes were twinkling…