Commander Annie – Part 5

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Part 1 2 3 4 5 6]

Annie reached out too, but hesitated before touching the silvery surface.  “May I?” she asked.  “Is it safe?”

“Can I show you something?” Ootel asked, standing up from the bed and stepping toward the closet.  “I’ve been building something too…  Not a spaceship, but I had hoped it would let me travel to other worlds.”

Ootel scooped a bunch of the clothing off of the floor of the closet and dumped it in the corner of their room; then they kicked a few of the remaining robes out with their hind hooves.  Once the closet was clear enough for both of them inside, Annie followed them in.  Ootel pushed aside the hanging clothes, and behind them, Annie saw the two of them reflected in an oval mirror.  A green bipedal giraffe standing beside a human girl, both of them wearing simple, practical clothing.  Annie smiled.  She knew that Callie thought their space helmets looked goofy, but she loved how she looked in a bright red bicycle helmet.  Space helmets are cool. Continue reading “Commander Annie – Part 5”

Commander Annie – Part 4

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Part 1 2 3 4 5 6]

“Annie’s heart jumped at the idea of bringing Ootel back to Earth with her to visit.”

Annie resisted the temptation to explore the rooms more thoroughly and simply scanned each of them from their color-coded doors to see if her Roomba was inside.  Though when she came to the topaz paneled room, it seemed to be a pantry of some sort, filled with objects that her scans suggested were edible.  She grabbed a few handfuls of brightly colored blobs wrapped in some kind of foil paper.  They looked like candy, and she stuffed them in her shorts pockets and the empty spaces in her backpack.  She couldn’t turn down sustenance.  She might need it later.  At least, that’s what she told herself, but truly, after the deliciousness of the baby’s chocolate cake, she simply couldn’t resist stealing this alien candy. Continue reading “Commander Annie – Part 4”

Commander Annie – Part 3

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Part 1 2 3 4 5 6]

“By the time Annie craned her neck around to look over her shoulder, down at the ground below, she was easily three stories high.”

The more Annie thought about knocking on that door, the more she pictured the total chaos that would ensue if one of the alien creature’s she’d met on her journeys had shown up on her own doorstep.  Her parents would have freaked.  They didn’t like a harmless little garter snake; if they met an actual alien from another planet, they’d call the police or beat it away with a rake.  Something horrible. Continue reading “Commander Annie – Part 3”

Commander Annie – Part 2

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Part 1 2 3 4 5 6]

“You want to come with me?” Annie asked. The tiny flower-eye winked at her.

Annie grabbed her backpack from the far side of the pile of sleeping bags, slung it over one shoulder, and went out the back door, carefully avoiding the entertainment room where Doris and Ryan were doing their puzzle.

Outside the air was crisp; a breeze had come up and blown the earlier heat away.  The stars looked bright.  Beaming.  Calling to her. Continue reading “Commander Annie – Part 2”

Commander Annie – Part 1

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Part 1 2 3 4 5 6]

“Commander Annie was a daredevil, and she’d built her spaceship to handle rough landings.”

The Checkerboard Ultrarocket cruised through the upper atmosphere of Zorpa II.  Commander Annie sat cross-legged in the cramped cockpit of her tiny, homemade spaceship and watched the enticing purple deserts and pale green oceans glide by.  After her first aborted attempt, she’d never had the courage to land on Zorpa II alone.  She’d been waiting all summer for Captain Callie to have time to join her, but Callie had been busy with a summer math class her mother was making her take. Continue reading “Commander Annie – Part 1”

Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 6: The Golden Halls

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Chapter 1  2  3  4  5  6]

“…the gods spoke, telling each other words that Nawry could no longer comprehend, making plans, arranging for visits, sharing secrets not meant for mortal ears.”

The rain soaked the mountain until its red dirt was dusty no more.  Chira’li spread his wings testing them, and the water beaded on his feathers like glittering gems.

Water streaked down Nawry’s face, soothing him.  It was like the entire world could finally cry for all the wrongs that had been done, the cold shoulders turned; every minute of pent up pain got released.  And the tears were beautiful.

Nawry stretched his arms up and spread his flippered fingers, remembering the feel of the ocean against them when he swam.  He wanted to swim again. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 6: The Golden Halls”

Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 5: Argos Peak

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Chapter 1  2  3  4  5  6]

“But Kassy didn’t look like she had days left.  She wouldn’t make it to the top of the peak.”

Nawry stayed for the night in the castle.  He slept in a downy bed under a canopy of rich green velvet, much the same color as the forest canopy itself.  But the bed was much more comfortable than sleeping on the forest floor, leaned against a fallen log.  He awoke to find Kassy curled up on the pillow beside him.  The pillow’s soft cotton covering was a pale shade of lime, so the tiny gray cat looked like she was sleeping on a grassy hillside, just the right size for her.

Nawry watched her tiny side rise and fall with her breathing.  At first, he thought he’d wait for her to awaken, but as the sunlight in the window shifted, shortening the mornings shadows, he began to worry about wasting daylight. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 5: Argos Peak”

Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 4: The Evergreen Masquerade

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Chapter 1  2  3  4  5  6]

“His journey had only lasted a few days so far, but he was farther from his family than he’d ever been before, and even if he turned around and headed home now, it would be days before he’d see any of his family again.”

According to the maps drawn up by Benter’s guards, Nawry’s quest must take him South.  The shoreline was only two days’ swim in that direction, a much shorter journey through the depths of the ocean than the one that had brought them to Benter’s Kingdom.  A shorter swim was certainly an appealing prospect.  However, Nawry worried about denying Kassy the chance to return home.

In the mere days of their journey so far, Nawry had seen Kassy’s small body grow leaner and longer.  The silver fuzz of her fur had smoothed and dimmed to a gentle gray.  Although Kassy hadn’t noticed it, Nawry could see her growing older.  She had bare seasons to live compared to the many years he could look forward to, and he didn’t want to keep her from the society of the other kit-seeds if she wanted to return. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 4: The Evergreen Masquerade”

Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 3: Benter’s Kingdom

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Chapter 1  2  3  4  5  6]

“Nawry was wonderstruck by the sights he’d seen — there had been more magnificence in the minutes he’d spent in Benter’s Kingdom than graced a fortnight of traveling along the Rocky Shores.”

For three days, Nawry had swum through empty water over barren sand in deep dark.  He was used to his eyes playing tricks on him.  So, when blackness lifted to blueness, he paid no heed.  Surely, he’d imagined it.

Yet, the water ahead of him continued to grow lighter, paler.  The light was diffuse.  Even once Nawry was sure it must be a sign of the kingdom he was approaching, he couldn’t make anything out of the azure and cerulean blurs ahead.  It didn’t look like a kingdom.  He saw no buildings, no castle.  It looked like a fragmentation in his vision.  His eyes had grown too tired, he thought, and had invented an hallucination.  Then, suddenly, the darkness, the blueness, and the light pulled together, and Nawry understood what he saw. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 3: Benter’s Kingdom”

Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 2: The Karillow Tree

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023

[Chapter 1  2  3  4  5  6]

“The kit-seeds absorbed the basics of language directly from the mother tree while still budding.  The rest of their education came from studying the records studiously scratched by previous generations into the mother tree’s bark.”

Nawry discovered the Karillow tree nestled between the bounteous persimmon and peach trees behind Aumna’s house.  It was a little, silver branched waif, and, unlike all the other trees in the glade, it was winter-naked all winter long.

When Nawry asked Aumna about the incongruous little tree, she told him, “That’s a Karillow tree, and it’s an immigrant to this world too.  The seed for that tree traveled as far as your people did before settling in my garden.” Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 2: The Karillow Tree”