Hoppersville?

Olivia and I had been on many adventures the past few years, but riding on the back of a beetle was something that we never even considered as a possibility before. It was thrilling. We zigged and zagged through the air. Eventually the beetle landed in a grassy area. It looked no different that any other surrounding grass area. So, Olivia and I were confused. "Here we are." "You sure this is the place?" Olivia asks. "You wanted to go to Hoppersville, right?" "Yes." "Then here we are. Now get off." We reluctantly slide off the beetle. "It's just... where is everybody?" I ask. "Sleeping. You came during winter, now what did you expect?" I shake my head and rummage through my pockets. I hand him what little money I have. His eyes widen. "That's it?" "I'm afraid so." I say. The beetle mutters "tourists" under his breath. "There is a little flap by my neck. Place the money there." I tuck the money under his shell, by his neck. The beetle takes out his wings.  "Wait, before you go.." Olivia says. "What? What do you want?" "Well, do you know of anything we can do around here?" The beetle rolls his eyes. "I don't stick around here very often, but there is a bar right there." He says, pointing his head to a grass hut. "Anything else?" "No, that'll do." Olivia says. "Good." The beetle takes off without saying another word. Olivia turns to me. "Want a drink?"

Waiting For a Taxi

"I'm surprised you're taken aback by all this." Olivia says. "I'm not taken aback. It's just, really, a taxi? Out here?" "It does seem a little far fetched. Perhaps she was joking." "Perhaps."  "At any rate I don't think it will do any harm hailing a taxi for a minute or so." "I suppose not. "I say. I stand next to Olivia and hail as best as I can. I feel foolish. There are absolutely no taxis in sight. I know I'm wasting my time. Then I feel foolish for feeling so foolish, and thinking such things. A taxi may never come, but I wave my arms as best as I can. We did this for a minuet. Nothing showed up. We decided to be on our way as we laughed at ourselves for being so silly. We picked a random direction and started walking. We figured that eventually we would bump into a sign indicating where Hoppersville is.  It didn't take long before a giant, black beetle swooped out of the sky and landed in front of us. Not knowing much about beetles, we were terrified. We stood, frozen, unsure if it would attack. It appeared to be studying us. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, it spoke. "Come on. I ain't got all day." "Excuse me?" I say. "You heard me. You think you're the only stop I' v got?"  "You're the taxi?" Olivia asks. "What? Were you expecting a Lady Bug?" Olivia and I look at each other. "We don't know what we were expecting." I say. "You two are not from around here, are you?" "No, we're not." Olivia replies. "Whatever.  Makes no difference to me. Hop on." Olivia and I comply. We start to climb onto his back. "No, not my back! That's where my wings are! Behind my head." We take a seat behind his head. There isn't much space there, but at least there are groves in the shell to hold on. "Where to?" He asks. "Hoppersville" Olivia says. With that our taxi flies us off into the sky.

Little Us

Within minutes Olivia shrank to my size. Her clothes also shrank with her. It made no damn sense , but it sure was convienent. Olivia and I marveled at our surroundings. It was like being in a real life version of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. There were gigantic blades of grass and massive craters, that I'm assuming were caused by our shoes. It was glorious. Olivia let out a loud whistle. "I'll admit. I'm impressed. " "Yeah, I just wish she told us how to get to Hoppersville from here." I say. "Who cares, we'll find it." "You are rather adventurous all the sudden." Olivia shrugs. "Thought I'd start trusting Hilda. That drink was painful,but it was worth it. My goodness, look at this." "I guess you're right. Shall we start off in that direction?" I say , pointing. "Sure." I start walking. Olivia stops me. "I know Hoppersville is the goal, but we should enjoy all of this. We might never see this again." She informs. I take a deep breath. "You're right." We start walking. Hilda' s voice cuts in. "One more thing." I look around to see her face, but I cannot. She must be closer to the Willow tree. "You are the perfect sizes to enter Hoppersville, but you'll need a taxi to take you the rest of the way. They shouldn't be too hard to find. They are everywhere. Ok that is all for now. Have a wonderful time. Bye." I wait a moment to see if Hilda has anything more to say. She doesn't doesn't , so I comment. "A taxi? Now that's looney." My comment falls to deaf ears. I turn around to see Olivia standing with her thumb out. She stares at me blankly as if she's surprised that I'm not doing the same thing. "You heard the lady. Start hailing."

Disappearing Boy

It was a few moments of agonizing pain, and then I shrank. I shrank until I was no larger than an ant. Mysteriously and convinetly my clothes shrank with me, so it would be easy for one to assume I vanished into thin air. Indeed, that's what Olivia thought. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?" Olivia's booming voice nearly knocks me off my  feet. "I didn't do anything with him." Hilda says innocently . "THEN WHERE IS HE?" "He's right here." "SHOW HIM TO ME. POINT HIM OUT."  Hilda bends down. Her giant face is inches from my tiny body. "Hello, little friend. Do you see him now?" She says, turning to Olivia. Olivia jumps back. "Don't worry you're not going to step on him. I'd warn you if you were close." "Why did you do that?" Hilda looks confused. "Didn't the two of you say you wanted to go to Hoppersville?" "Yes, but-" "I mean you weren't expecting to enter as two fully grown humans, were you?" "I guess I was." Hilda half smiles. "An honest mistake, but I assure you this is how you get to get to Hoppersville." Olivia stares at her bottle. "I don't know about this." "You don't have to do this, but honestly he's fine." "Is he?" "See for yourself." I wave my arms, and I try to shout to get her attention. "I can't hear a word he's saying, but I guess he's ok." Olivia sighs. "Guess, I'm doing this then."

Mysterious Drink

Neither Fredder or Norm had any interest in going, but Olivia at least showed a slight curiosity, and that was good enough for me. We said our goodbyes and exited the Willow tree. "You have no idea where you are going, do you?" "I'm not entirely sure." "Did Hilda or Jacob tell you where it is?" I look down. "No." Olivia sighs. "Hey, we'll find it." I assure. "How?" "We'll start walking and then when we see a group of grasshoppers we'll ask them about Hoppersville." Olivia shakes her head. "Lead the way." I start walking forward, but I look at my feet the whole time so as not to step on any friends. A moment later Hilda runs out of the Willow tree carrying two green, glass bottles. "Wait." She says, rushing up to us. "You forgot these." "What are those?" I ask. "They're gifts." "Oh, thank you." I say taking a bottle. I'm about to take a swig. Olivia stops me. "Aren't you gonna ask what it is?" "It's so you can find Hoppersville."Hilda says."Good enough explanation for me." I take a giant gulp. It wasn't the best flavor, but I appreciated the gesture all the same. Then all the sudden my bones felt as if they were shrinking. I was soon unable to stand, and I found myself hunching over. Even that was soon too painful. I was now down on my hands and knees, regreting my decision.

Consulting With the Gang

"Hoppersville?" Olivia says with a tone of "Are you serious?" "Yeah, Hoppersville." I reply. "What is it? Some grasshopper utopia?" Norm snickers. "Something like that." "Count me out. I'm not into that whole hippy business." He says. "They're not hippies, but whatever. What do you think, Freddy?" "Stay here. Good food. Warm bed." He says, curling up under the blankets of the king sized bed. "But they have warm beds and good food there." "Nope. He has spoken." Norm shouts. I shake my head. "What about you, Olivia?" "I don't know. Is this something you want to do?" "I am curious." "And we can come back?" She asks. "That's what Hilda told me." Olivia shrugs. "Then maybe we should go."

Hilda's Words

Admittedly, that eccentric grasshopper peaked my interest. However, I wanted to find out more information before committing to a vacation spot. Fortunately, Hilda was not hard to find this time. She was baking cookies in the kitchen. The scent wafted in to the lounge. It picked me off my seat and brought me to Hilda. She smiled tenderly when I saw her. "I see you've met Jacob." "I have. He seems interesting. He was telling me a bit about his home town. He suggested I visit." "Hoppersville?" "I guess. He didn't say the name." Hilda nods. "It is lovely." "So, you've been there?" I ask. "Oh yes, many times. Good dining." "That's what he was saying." "I take it you'll be leaving then?" "Maybe. I don't know." Hilda looks up at me. "You can go. You won't offend me. You can always come back." "I know it's just -" "It's just what, dear?" "It's gonna sound silly, but I don't know if it's safe. I suppose you don't know what I'm talking about." Hilda stops stirring.  "Of course I do. That bomb that went off could be heard from here." "Then how come Jacob has no idea what I'm talking about?" I ask. "Because he's a grasshopper. When he leaves this house he's his normal size and therefor he has a different perspective." "So he wouldn't have seen or heard anything?" Hilda shrugs. "He might have heard something, but he wouldn't have known what it was. He would be in a  different world." "Huh. Perspective really is an interesting topic." Hilda nods in agreement. "It is, but Hoppersville is even more interesting." She says. "So, it's worth seeing then?" "I think so." "Good, I'm going ask my crew about visiting then."

Jacob

I felt the warmth from the fireplace as I stared at the flames. "Are you from around here?" Jacob asks. "No." "Might I ask where you are from?" "I don't think you've heard of it." "Nonsense. I'm a world traveler." "Ok. Well, originally I'm from a suburb of Chicago." I say. Jacob leans in. "Chicago?" "Yeah, that's it." Jacob leans back. "I've never heard of Chicago and I've been to every small town from Mudd Town to RiverBank." "Where exactly are you from?" I ask. "It's a swell town. Not very large but I think you'd like it, and I'm sure you'd be able to find a room because most my kin would be gone." "Where do they go?" "Warmer places. My kind don't care for the winter." "Don't grasshoppers hybernate?" I ask. Jacob looks at me funny. "You mean like sleeping all the time?" "I suppose you could call it that." Jacob chuckles. "There are some lazy folks, but I have a feeling you don't want to talk about the sleeping habits of creatures." "I don't mind." I say. "Tell me, what brings you to Hilda' s Inn?" Jacob asks, changing the subject. "We were seeking refuge." "From what?" "There was a war." "Really?" "Yes, a bomb went off. Many people died." "Huh. I'll be damned." "You didn't know?" I say, amazed. "I surely did not." There is a moment of silence. "How long are you planning on seeking refuge here?" He asks. "I don't know know. I guess until it's safe." "Hilda' s place is wonderful. There many good first editions to read, but as great as this place is I would be remissed if I didn't suggest you visiting my home town. We have art and museums. We have the finest dining. We have everything you could possibly want." "But is it safe for me to leave?" "I assure you it is. I just came from the outside, and I didn't have the slightest problem." I think for a moment. "And like I said this is the best time to go. No crowds." I don't respond. I'm still worried. "I can see you are on the fence. I suggest you talk to Hilda about it." "She's been ther?" "Dozens of times. She loves it." I take a deep breath. "Then maybe thats what I'll do."

Downstairs Investigation

I was a little dissapointed that no one wanted to go with me downstairs to see the new guests, but I suppose they had a point. They were concerned for their own well being. The nice thing was, however, that as worried as they were they didn't try and stop me. Though I don't think they could if they wanted to.  Not when I having enough curiosity burning inside me. I ventured downstairs. The lights in kitchen were off and there was no sigh of Hilda. I would have giving up if I hadn't of heard a crackling fire. I walked to the nearby living room. I had never stepped foot in there before. It was absolutely beautiful. It has bookshelves filled with first editions, oil portraits on the walls, glass chandeliers, and a six foot tall grasshopper wearing a top hat and overcoat sitting in an armchair, staring at the fire. The floorboards creaked under my feet. The grasshopper turned his head to me. "Oh hi. Hilda told me there were others here." I don't say anything. "The name' s Hopper. Jacob Hopper." I still don't say anything. I'm too stunned and amazed. "You're shy I take it. That's alright, but would you like to take a seat by me?" I don't move. "I don't bite. I promise." With slight hesitation I comply and sit in an armchair adjacent to Jacob.

Other Guests?

"There could be guests , but that doesn't mean that there are." Norm says. "What do you think?" I ask Olivia. "I suppose it's possible." She says. "Then we should go downstairs." Olivia shrugs. "You can if you want." I furrow my brow. "Aren't you guys curious?" Norm shakes his head. "Not really." "But this could be helpful." I plead. "How?" Olivia asks. "It's probably someone else who lives in the city. Maybe a soldier." "And that's all the more reason to stay upstairs. He wouldn't like to see us." "Outside our window is a mess." I shout. "I know, but Norm is right. He wouldn't like to see us." Olivia says. "We can put all that behind us." I say. "Can we?" Olivia questions. I hang my head. "I can." Norm walks over to me. "This is nothing personal. Just how we feel. Go down there if you like, but we won't follow."

Norm's Story

EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT

We see Norm, a six foot tall raccoon. He has huge body builder muscles a carries a crossbow.  There is a bandanna wrapped around his head.

He casually walks down the the street, picking off enemy soldiers. He makes his way around a corner into an alley. There he finds Olivia tied up.

Without skipping a beat, he pulls out a huge bowie knife and cuts her loose. Olivia looks up at him in wonderment.

                                                            NORM

                                 Come with me if you want to live.

All the sudden Olivia's voice cuts in. "Are you kidding me?"  We jump back to Hilda's INN. Everyone is gathered around Norm.  "What?" He says as innocently as he can. "First of all, "Come with me if you want to live?" You stole that from the Terminator. "I borrowed it. What can I say? I like cinema." "That's not the only thing you borrowed. You made yourself look pretty good." Olivia says. "So I embellished a little. Who cares, it's what all good storytellers do. Isn't that right, Ms. Hilda?" Hilda smiles. "Well, I was enjoying the rather colorful story." Olivia shakes her head. "You made me looks helpless." "Did I not untie you?"  Norm asks. "Technically. But I had one hand out. I would have gotten out eventually." "Perhaps, but we are not counting technicalities." Norm replies. Olivia squints her eyes. "Maybe we should because I recall you could barely hold that crossbow." "I was holding it just fine." "Were you? Because if I think you were struggling with it the whole time." Olivia snaps. "You're memory's fuzzy." "My memory is just fine." She shouts. Hilda looks at her watch. "Look at the time. I should check on the other guests." "Don't go. We'll behave." I say. "No, honestly I should see them out  before they leave." Hilda exits the room.  Norm and Olivia watch her leave and then begin bickering again. "Look what you did. You just made her leave." Norm says. "I made her leave?" Olivia replies, aghast. "Yes, you did. You nitpicked my story till she could take no more." "Guys, shut up." I say. They both turn to me. "Who do you think the other guests are?" I ask. Norm rolls his eyes. "Come on, even I know she was using that as an excuse to get out of here." I shrug. "What if she wasn't?"

Freddy's Story

We meet up with Freddy months ago at the meadow. He is all alone. At first he seems worried as he wanders about aimlessly. Then, he finds an abandoned brown, paper bag in the grass. Curious, he opens the bag. To Freddy's surprise and delights he sees many brightly colored jelly beans. Freddy grins as if he won the jackpot of a lifetime. He finds a good place to  sit down with his back against a giant rock, and spends the remainder of the afternoon eating jellybeans. Red, yellow, orange, green, he is in heaven. He'll even take the black licorice. He doesn't care at this point. Nothing else matters.
"Hold on." an impatient voice shouts. We cut back to Hilda's Inn. Evidently, Norm has a problem with Freddy's story. "That's the story you're gonna tell?" Norm asks. "Yeah." "I enjoyed it." Hilda says. "But so much interesting things have happened to us, and this is what he chooses to talk about?" "Sometimes the simplest stories are the best ones." Hilda states. Norm shakes her head. "And you grabbed a bag of candy off the ground? Do I have to explain why that's weird?" "It is kinda weird." Olivia says. Norm starts to smile smugly, but Olivia starts again. "But he is a Fox." Norm sighs. "At least that explains where you went..sort of. Freddy, I'm sorry. You can continue." "I'm done." "You're done?" Norm jumps up. "Then everyone, be prepared for my story. It will have action, drama, suspense, and a little romance." "Romance?" I say. "Yeah, romance. Now, shut up. This is my story."

The Gang Meets Her

I would have thought Freddy had at least seen Hilda before, but I was wrong. This was first time anyone from my gang met her. "You live here?" Olivia asks. Hilda nods. "Are you here all the time?" "Most of the time." "How have we not seen you before?" Olivia asks. Hilda shrugs. "I wouldn't worry about that. You don't need your eyes examined if that's what you are concerned about." "It's not, but thanks." "She means can you make yourself invisible?" Norm blurts. Hilda giggles. "Invisible? I don't think so." "Then why couldn't we see you before?" Norm asks. "I don't know. Some of my guests can see me and some can't, but now it looks like you all can." Olivia looks at me for a moment. "Wait a minute, we couldn't see her till you broke open the globe." "I think you're right." I say. "Have we figured out the mystery?" Hilda asks. "We just might have." Olivia says. Hilda claps her hands. "Oh good." I smile again. "Hilda is not gonna charge us, but she would like to hear our stories." "If it's not too much trouble." She adds. "Not at all. I guess I could start." Olivia says. Freddy caughs loudly and sits up in the bed. All eyes are on him now. "I want to start."

Hilda

I watched the old woman clean with a stupid look on my face. She eventually turned to me with a kind smile. "I'm sorry, dear. Is there something wrong?" "Have we met?" I ask. She giggles. "Not officially." "Not officially?" The old woman shakes her head and puts out her hand. "You're right. I'm being rude. My name's Hilda." I'm still confused, but I shake her hand anyways. "Hi Hilda. I'm -" "Yes, I know. You're often referred to as Sparky Boy." "You've heard of me?" Hilda giggles again. "You could say that. You've been staying here long enough." A lightbulb finally clicks. "So, this is your house?" "It's my Inn, yes." I rummage through my pockets. "I don't have much on me." I say. "That's fine. I couldn't ask for your money anyways." "I have to give you something." I insist. Hilda shakes her head. "I couldn't. What kind of hostess would I be then?" "A profitable one." Hilda smiles. "Tell you what, if it is eating you up that bad then you can tell me a story. That's what I sometimes ask my weary travelers." "I can do that. How about we all tell you a story together?Have you met everyone else yet? I mean officially." Hilda shakes her head. "Perfect. They're across the hall and we can all meet and share our story."

What I Unleashed

It took me a long time to get off the floor. Not so much because I was in pain, but rather because I was not ready to face what  I had unleashed. However, I knew I had to face my fear as scary as it may be. I slowly made my way up the stairs. My concerns started to dissipate as I heard Olivia, Freddy and Norm laughing. I was relived to know they were fine, but my stress still lingered. I was sweating. I knew something was , but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Holy hell. What happened to you?" Norm shouts as I enter the room. "Hmm?" "I said what happened. You look like shit." "Oh, do I?" "Yeah, you don't look too good. What happened?" Olivia asks. "Well, I was able to open the globe." Olivia jumps up. "You did?  Are you ok." I nod. "I'm fine. There was just a pink light that pushed me back. What about you guys? Are you all ok?" "We're fine. We were just up here talking. We didn't even hear anything." Olivia says. "What about the pink light?Didn't it pass through this room?" I ask. Norm shrugs. "If it did we didn't notice." I sigh. "What's wrong?" Olivia asks. "We could have done anything with the globe. I feel like I wasted it and I don't know what happened." Olivia half smiles . "If it makes you feel any better we're not mad, and we're no better or worse than we were before." "I guess you're right. I think I'm going to take a nap. I'm beat." "You want us to clear out of here?" "No, I won't make you move. I'll crash in another room." I walk across the hall to the bunk bed room. I expect it to be vacant. Instead I see a jovial old woman. She has grey hair that is pulled back and is dusting the room. She turns to me with a big smile almost as if she knows me well and says "I'll only be a minute."

Magic Words

I was fine with the idea that no one wanted to help me, but then I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I stared at the mysterious yellow globe for a while. Then I decided to try a magic word on it. "Abracadabra." Nothing. "Open sesame." Also nothing. After that I went through a list of every conceivable magic word including "Please." Of course none of them worked. I was getting no where fast. I wanted to find out what this thing could do, so I tried the only thing I hadn't tried yet. I picked up a hammer and hit the globe as hard as I could. This proved to do the trick. It cracked the top of the globe. I realized that perhaps that was a bad idea however,as I watched the crack widen and the table shake. An intense pink light shot out of the crack. It hit me with such a force that it threw me against the wall. It then passed through me, and presumably into the next room. I layed there for a moment, wondering what I had just unleashed.

Scared Fox

Freddy hid under the king sized bed. He was curled up in a ball and shaking. "Freddy, you can come out of there. You've got nothing to be afraid of." "He's not gonna come out for you." I turn around to see Norm by the doorway. "He do this to you ever?" I ask. "Sometimes." "What do you do?" "Only thing I can do. I wait. He'll come out of there when he's ready." I get off the ground. "I guess you're right. I just want him him to know that he has nothing to worry about." "Can you promise that?" Norm asks. "No I can't." "Then you can't get him out of there any faster. Just wait." I take a deep breath. "It's just that the thing Sgt. Rodgers gave us...I refuse to believe it can only be used as -" "Watch what you say." Norm interrupts. "I refuse to believe that that thing can only be used for destructive purposes." "Hold on. You're telling me that that thing that basically leveled the entire city can be used for good?" "That's exactly what I'm saying." I reply. Norm starts laughing. "You have got to be Kidding me?" "Why is it so absurd? The other side of destruction is creation." Norm rolls his eyes. "You've got a point there, but if you want my opinion, you're better off forgetting about it." "I can't do that. I have to know how to use it." I say. "Fine, but you're not getting any help. Not from me, not from Freddy, and not from your lady friend. You know why? Because we're happy here and we won't do anything to jeopardize that." I squint my eyes at Norm. "I will figure out how to use it."

After Breakfast

Norm and Freddy inhaled their pancakes. There was syrup and bits of food all over the place. The kitchen was a mess, but it was nice to see them in good spirits. Olivia, true to her word, asked Freddy and Norm their opinions on leaving. She didn't exactly do it as I would have liked though. "Would you too like to stay in this grand willow tree, or venture out into the cold, unforgiving city?" "Stay here. No contest." Norm says. "Yep. Definitely stay." Freddy adds. Olivia turns to me. "There you go." "What abou the yellow globe?" I ask. "Yellow globe?" Freddy repeats. "Would you please show him what I'm talking about?" I ask Olivia. She sighs and places the yellow globe on the kitchen table. Freddy drops his fork. His mouth is wide open. "Something wrong, buddy?" Norm asks. "Bomb." He says quietly. "It's not a bomb." I reply. "No bombs." He says. "No. It's not a bomb. It was a gift from Sgt. Rodgers." "No bombs." He screams. "You're not listening. It's not a bomb." "No bombs." Freddy runs out of the kitchen and up the stairs screaming hysterically. I shake my head then follow him a moment later.

Preparing Breakfast

It took some time for Norm's schock to wear off , but when it did he was good as new. I'm sure he was pretending it didn't happen, but the way he was going on you wouldn't think anything. He was cracking jokes about Freddy's morning breath , and the two of them explored the Willow Tree while Olivia and I made breakfast. "It's good to have him back." Olivia says as she flips a pancake. "It is, but I'm wondering again if we should stay here." Olivia shrugs. "We may never know who's house this was originally, but it's ours now." "I guess I could get behind that. I guess I could believe this house was put here for us." "There ya go." Olivia exclaims. There is a brief silence. "Something else is on your mind isn't it?" Olivia asks. "What do you think that yellow globe does?" "I don't know." "How do you think we use it?" "I don't know." "Don't you care?" "Not really." "But Sgt. Rodgers told us to use it. She said it was our way out of here." Olivia raises her arms. "Why would we want to leave this place?" "Not here specifically, but the city." I say. "Eh. We can figure out what that thing does after breakfast." "You promise?" I ask. "Yeah, sure. Now go get Freddy and Norm. Breakfast is almost ready."