(photo by Leanne Dyck)
Feeling Groovy (part 2)
Hand-in-hand, the bunny and I skipped up the path. I saw lollipop trees and candy floss clouds. Birds sang the familiar words, "Feeling groovy."
The music grew louder. We climbed a small hill and saw a group of people dancing to music made by a brown bear with a guitar and an orange cow with a cowbell hanging around her neck.
The bunny led me over to a woman who was leaning against a lollipop tree. Her dress was fashioned from a fabric of eye-popping colours—orange, yellow, and green swirls. The sleeves were wide, the skirt full. Round, steel-framed glasses balanced on her nose, and a thin, leather band wrapped around her head. Her sun-bleached, straight hair fell to the middle of her back. I watched as she wove daisies into a long chain.
The bunny seemed to explode with joy. "She came. She came."
"Chill, dude. Don't have a cow." Her words swirled around lazily in the air until they finally landed on my eardrums. "It's all cool. Everything is groovy."
"She came. She came," he sang. "This is her. This is Mara."
The woman finished making the daisy chain. She didn't walk; she danced in a flowing spiral over to where I stood. "Far out." She slipped the chain over my head. "Welcome to my side of the wall." And I thought she said, "My name's Wendy."
But when I repeated her name, she corrected me. "No, my name's Windy—with an 'I,' dig?"
"Dig? Dig what?" I asked.
Instead of answering me, she joined the party.
Everyone had long hair. The women wore dresses like Windy's. The guys' blue jeans were faded, and their cotton shirts hung loose.
Windy's arms flew gracefully in the air like wings. Her bracelets sparkled in the sunlight. Her dress floated around her like feathers.
A few minutes later, Windy rejoined me. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Don't you like the tune?"
"Yes, I like—"
She didn't wait for me to finish my sentence. "Well, then join the happenin', man."
"No, I'm too shy," I told her.
"Mellow out," was all she said before she returned to the party.
Maybe, here, I can dance. I closed my eyes. The music filled my body. I felt like I was flying on each note. I feel so, so groovy.
"Outta sight," I heard Windy say.
I opened my eyes, and I was dancing.
Next post: Sunday, September 11th approximately 5 PM PST
And then-- And then-- You logged on next week to see what happened next. (I hope)
photo by Leanne Dyck
Picture Books in Canada
'Locally, nationally and internationally, Nimbus is best known and widely recognized as the premier publisher of books about Atlantic Canada.' -from their web site
photo by Leanne Dyck
Sharing my author journey...
Acceptance is so close that I can taste it. Every time I open the mailbox I expect to find it, waiting.
I'll tear that letter open and read: Yeah, of course we want to publish it. Are you crazy? Who won't?
I received two letters on Tuesday...
