Often, I’m finding that characters introduced quite some time ago have skills and talents that are useful much later. Such is the case of David the Barn Owl who appeared previously as an expert of anything related to animated cartoons and newsreels that are shown in the local theater (which is much like a barn). By introducing him quite some time ago, it doesn’t appear that he is an afterthought who simply appears out of nowhere to solve a problem.
And just to be truthful, David, the Barn Owl, has been based on our good writing friend here on Substack, David Perlmutter, who is an expert in cartoon animation among other things. Because of him, it seems like the Barn Owl character found a pleasant home in movie theater buildings where newsreels are shown along with the cartoons before the featured film. Those skills do indeed come in handy in this edition’s chapters that we are sharing from Volume Three: Through the Gate.
When we left off, something had happened when Pearl had made her leap through the gate. Only Amelia and Nate were left behind and with no way to join the others who had gone ahead of them.
“Amelia, the best way you can help them is to stay right here.” I said.
“You want me to miss all of the fun don’t you? You want to be the hero all by yourself don’t you!?!”
“Amelia, you know me better than that. We have to be careful. We don’t know what we may be getting ourselves into.”
Amelia did not seem convinced.
“Remember when you flew away over the chimney. There were mysteries you left behind that Emily and I had to solve. Now Emily has flown away, and you and I have a mystery with clues to unravel.
“Because you can communicate with Emily through her drawing, you are our one chance now to rescue everyone and help them get home. So let’s look for clues.”
With Amelia calmed down, we studied the ground beneath Emily’s drawing and searched for any clues as to what may have happened.
There was chalk dust and pastel dust on the ground in all of the colors Emily had used. What was left on her drawing paper no longer made a complete picture. It was only a ghostly image of a garden gate.
“Do you think that’s what happened to them?” asked Amelia. “Are they somewhere in all that colorful dust?”
“I don’t know. There is no music playing from the record player. But I faintly hear music, so maybe sound from what’s in Paris can still get through. Let’s call out and see if our sound can get through to them,” I suggested.
“What shall we call out to them?” asked Amelia.
“Trick or treat!” I called out towards Emily’s drawing, and then Amelia and I heard from the drawing ever so faintly, “Smell my feet!”
“It’s Pearl!” Amelia said. “She couldn’t resist finishing her funniest saying from her comedy show.”
“Find out what you can as quickly as you can, but use Old Chicken. The sound travels farther and clearer than regular speaking,” I said.
Amelia called out in Old Chicken and listened carefully for Pearl’s return message which was shared in parts because it was so long and detailed.
“She says they all arrived safely. Gracie is worried because they can’t spot the Eiffel Tower. They weren’t even sure they were in Paris until they asked some of the local songbirds and a chicken.”
“Tell Pearl they should not worry. I think the 1888 that Emily put on the Parisian gate wasn’t for an address number, it was for a year. The Eiffel Tower was being built in 1888. It’s not tall enough yet for them to see it from the ground. Someone who can fly higher should be able to find it.”
“Pearl says that they have already figured that out, much of it was discovered by David, the Barn Owl. He is an excellent guide,” said Amelia. “I suppose when one is traveling though time and space, the most important number to know is the year before the address.”
Amelia continued talking to Pearl, and then she listened for Pearl’s response.
“She says that there is no drawing on their side and nothing to draw with.”
“Tell her that the dust from the chalk and pastels has fallen off of our side of the drawing. We see only a ghost of a picture but it does not glow or shimmer like it should for us to go through.
“And tell her that I don’t know what we can do here because Emily and Gracie are there. Only they can open the gate again. Let Pearl know that we need to be where she is. Then we can do anything.”
After more conversation, Amelia said, “Pearl says she can hear a different kind of music, not ballet music or accordion music, but her own kind of French music that is wild and free. She says the birds there in Paris call it Can-Can music because people dance something called the Can-Can when they hear it.”
“Tell her that’s nice but we need to get to Paris and then we all need to get back home.”
Amelia continued her conversation with Pearl and told me, “Pearl is going to find the music and the dancing. The Parisian chickens say it all happens in a section of the city close to them named Montmartre. There are also artists there who might give her some paper and chalk and pastels so Emily can draw again.”
“Tell Pearl that I’m very proud of her for being fearless and not doing anything goofy, but ask her what happened to the two drawings she was carrying of Blanche. I think they may have something to do with the chalk and pastel falling off of the Parisian gate drawing that Emily made.”
After more conversation, Amelia said, “Its no use. When Pearl unrolled the two drawings, there was only one drawing. What Emily had drawn on one had been lightly transferred to what Pearl had drawn on the other, but it’s still a picture of Blanche, only somewhat faint and without showing the Great Gardener. What do you make of that?”
“I think it may mean that even a gift as wonderful as what Emily has been given has limitations. The drawing that Emily made for Pearl at Christmas was a window into heaven where Pearl is with the Great Gardener. But when it went through the larger drawing of the Parisian Garden Gate, the lesser gateway could no longer work. It seems like a safety mechanism.”
“I think Pearl is a little sad because she feels as if she has lost what little of Blanche she has to hold onto.”
“But even so, she is set on helping us all to be reunited and to complete our mission.”
“It seems to me that when Emily opens a gate with her drawing,” suggested Amelia, “Another drawing can not pass through it.”
“Yes, you may be right. For now, tell them that no one should experiment with any drawings. Time is short. We still need to be reunited and then find the Palais Garnier and set up for a ballet. Pearl and you can team up to work the puppet ballerinas because you both have experience! Amelia, there is no one I’d rather be helping me. We will stun all of Paris!”
As the first group of travelers looked around, Gracie spoke. “I’m not so sure we are in Paris the way we thought we would be. I see a real garden gate just like the one that Emily drew, but I don’t see the Eiffel Tower.”
“I’ll fly up and take a look,” said David. After circling around, he landed and said, “There are no towers anywhere, and there are no cars on the streets like I see back home. There are a lot of big buildings all over, but I’m not sure any of them are a movie theater.”
“Let me try,” said the Laughing Gull. He disappeared, and when he did not return right away, Pearl called out to him. He returned with a scrap of newspaper that looked like a front page. Everyone examined it carefully for clues, and there at the top was “1888”— the same numbers that Emily had included in her drawing of the Parisian Garden Gate.
“Now I’m not as clever as I could be about the things that people do with their newspapers, but I have a feeling that number is the number of the year that we have traveled to through Emily’s drawing.”
Everyone looked suspiciously at Emily as if she may have tried to thwart the plan to get to Paris.
“Please believe me,” said Emily. I wanted to help Gracie as much as possible. I only drew what I saw in my imagination.
“I don’t fault you,” said Gracie. “You did what you felt was the right thing to do, just as when I dance ballet. I can not blame you for what has happened.”
“If I may,” said David. “The reason we don’t see the Eiffel Tower is quite simple. If we are in the year 1888, it was not finished until 1889. It’s still being built somewhere. It just isn’t tall enough yet for us to see it or use it as a landmark to guide us. But I will be your guide, just as I promised. I’m sure I can fly high enough to spot it.”
“Thank you,” said Gracie, “I believe that in the end we will find we are exactly where we have needed to be all along.”
Bessie and Emily nodded their agreement.
Since I took French in high school, and my third year French class went to Paris without me, I have always wanted to visit there. Some of this journey is imagination and living out a dream for me as a writer. But I must admit that I am enjoying this trip equally as well as I imagine my high school friends must have, but I get the added enjoyment of making the trip with you, our readers! Let me say, if you have been to Paris and notice anything that is “off,” please let me know! Thank you.
Until Next Time
If you have any comments—good or bad—please share them on Substack or you can also reach me directly at John.Spiers@yahoo.com. We are looking forward to sharing with your exactly what happens when our cast of characters (made of chickens, songbirds, and their friends) journeys through Emily’s Parisian Garden Gate!
Our Best Advice for the Days Ahead: Remember that somewhere is a real adventure just waiting for you to use your real gifts and talents, even if others don’t recognize or appreciate them!
Thank you for reading!
John, Gracie, Bessie, Pearl, Blanche, Emily, and Amelia
Thank you very kindly for turning me into a wise owl. I'm definitely going to have to return this favor one of these days if I can figure out a good plot involving chickens.
They'll be able to see the Tower clearly once it's finished, because it was originally painted in a very bright orange color, which some people used it as a way to ridicule them.
And if they see a rather short man illustrating the night life, that would be Toulouse-Lautrec.