You are not meant to be like others. You are not meant to fit in. Break free from what you think you should be . . . (Gowman)
Finding herself back in the purple tree with Alfred and Tennis Shoe, Suzy Bell heaved a huge sigh of relief, and hugged them tightly, whereupon they both woke up and started slobbering all over her and chattering at her with assorted meows and whine-barks. She laughingly pushed them away, and took a big, long stretch. Wow, was she ever glad to be off that old North Road; what a trip. And how about that Angel-in-the-moon . . . Now that she thought about it, she wished she had asked the Angel about how she could be like the other kids, so she could have some friends. Maybe home wouldn’t be so hard if she just had somebody to talk to — somebody who liked and understood her.
And now that she thought about home, how was she going to get back there? Did she even want to? When her daddy came home from losing his job, he sighed a lot and was very quiet. And he started drinking even more and keeping to himself, and ignoring his family. After that, she remembered doors slamming shut, arguments erupting, and her parents finally settling into a stony silence. She hated it all.
And what was she going to do about her phoophoonikkee? Before, when things got bad, she could just imagine herself somewhere else. Now it wasn’t working like it always had in the past; she wasn’t able to control where it took her . . .
And no sooner had that thought popped into her mind than she found herself floating in a golden forest. Slowly she landed, coming gently down onto a mossy path. Ahead of her . . .
(to be continued)