Gardeners Rest #18 (2023)

[rary]

Now if only I knew what a tutu was thought rary and I also wish that they would find another way of expressing those pauses, possibly at expectant pause no, no that just as bad, I think I will disappear for a time, I can feel trouble and blame coming my way, possibly if I offered to buy around that would ease things a bit, no that's a definite no, there's nothing that bad I will just disappear now.

[Florence Fennel]

With a flash, pop and a bang, Rary vanished into thin air

[Snoop Puss]

'That can't be good', said Snoop. 'Rary's behaving very oddly, you know. I mean, a bit earlier, he wanted to know where the logs were from, but he was the one that brought them in. So he ought to know. And all this putting ideas into other people's heads. And now just disappearing in a flash. Do we have an impostor Rary in our midst?'

Everyone gasped at the thought. All except the fairy. And Flo, who had a beady eye on the fairy.

[Florence Fennel]

"Doppelganger" cried Nicos, "We have paranormal phenomena in the Gardener's Rest. While the real Rary is inspecting the inside of his eyelids, someone, or something is impersonating him. Oh no!"

[Snoop Puss]

There was a huge noise as everyone gasped. Though to be fair, most of the noise was caused by the giant, whose sudden intake of breath nearly caused a tornado in the confines of the GR.

Flo pointed at the fairy and exclaimed 'She knows something, I am sure of it!'

'And indeed I do', said the fairy. 'But I wanted you to see it for yourselves. Why else do you think we hid under the floorboards, with nothing but mince pies to eat?'

[Snoop Puss]

Suddenly Snoop found herself outside the GR. Behind a huge pine tree, alongside Rary, or a Rary look-alike. She couldn't be quite sure, and wasn't even sure what to ask to find out.

'Did you take some logs into the GR earlier?', she asked.

'Yes', replied Rary, 'some pine ones, from this very tree, but then I don't know what happened. I suddenly found myself out here. I'm very cold you know, feels like I've been out here for ages.'

'And how are your eyelids?', asked Snoop, continuing the interrogation.

'I daren't inspect them in case I fall asleep', Rary said.

Only the real Rary would answer that way, so Snoop proffered Rary the hip flask she just happened to have in a pocket. As they sat there looking at each other, wondering what to do, they heard several loud whees, whizzes and whoomphs.

'Was that Flo who flew by?', Snoop asked.

'I don't know', replied Rary, 'but I'm pretty sure I saw Nicos, GF and a few others.'

Whatever was going on?...

[rary]

Just at that moment rary stepped over the threshold, good afternoon folks, who has been fortunate enough to have mince pies to eat, and is there any left for someone willing to get the cleaning done, in the past few months I have become an expert on that, so line up and I will,,,,,

[Florence Fennel]

Dissect a mince pie, there must be a magic ingredient ?

[rary]

Rary suddenly found himself back outside beside Snoop and having a drink from her hip flask, now rary started to get very worried, would she be looking for a drink in return, he thought, but fortunately all the others seemed to fly past, rary let out his breath, he hadn't realised he had been holding it, with a sigh of relief he held Snoop the empty hip flask and whispered to Snoop, you head back into the GR and I will go and see what Flow is up to, things are a bit mixed up here at the moment, and with that he.....

[Nicos]

…. looked up into the sky. Something had caught his eye- yes, he wasn’t wrong- it had started snowing!
”Oh my” he said to no one in particular….

[rary]

Look at that he said, people moan if there is snow on the roads, yet the snow brings a sense of peace and adds a bit of magic to the land, why with snow on the ground my garden looks as good as everyone else's, plus it let's you play on a sledge and you know what else it does it.....

[greenishfing]

Closes the roads, strands you in isolated places.....and it's cold.....What if we needed help and it couldn't get through?... Galloping paranoia was setting in....and then....

[Nicos]

….poooof…..suddenly the fairy was seen ‘almost’ hovering above them, waving her wand….

[greenishfing]

......she instantly wiped out all the paranoia, bad memories and thoughts of doppelgangers but there were still two Rarys, and as everyone agreed, there really could not be more than one. Was Einstein actually right in his incomprehensible (to me) theories? Or were there dark forces at work.... at Christmas?

What was happening to the world.........?

[Snoop Puss]

The fairy headed back into the GR and everyone decided to follow her. Seemed like the safest option, seeing as she had her wand. They could have a stiff drink, finish the cleaning, light the fire, start putting up the tree. In short, do everything that needed doing in readiness for... tomorrow.

'Better get a move on', said Nicos. 'We haven't got long. Any sign of trouble and we'll dive under that floorboard...'