No Place Like Home

EXCERPT ONE: “Look down the wide path, my dear,” urged the witch. “See how it sparkles?” The wide winding path into the forest did indeed sparkle in the distance. It seemed to promise something wonderful. For a moment Dorothy longed to discover what it was. Then she gave herself a resolute shake and said, “I’m not falling for your tricks. You’re here to take me down the wrong path. You’re nothing more than a wicked witch! A very wicked witch! I can’t trust you.” “The wide path offers adventure,” promised Evileen. She tried to widen her eyes into a look of innocence. “Trust me,” she wheedled. “I can walk beside you. I’m so lonely. You are, too, right?” “T-t-t-trust her,” said Fear. “How can I trust you if you have ‘evil’ in your name?” asked Dorothy. “Oh, that,” answered Evileen. “It is an unfortunate circumstance of my birth that I received that name. I plan to change it legally once my attorney is out on probation.” “Sure. The name Evileen makes it pretty obvious who you are, don’t you think?” asked Dorothy. Princess Holly’s silver hair fell like a curtain as she bent to whisper into Dorothy’s ear. “Evil doesn’t always choose to appear in an obvious way. Evileen can change her looks. Sometimes she appears as things you desire or want. You must be careful, D, she changes forms. She will confuse and manipulate the Truth.” Pipken spoke solemnly, “To manipulate. This means to exploit, maneuver, engineer, to falsify, influence cleverly, unfairly or unscrupulously. To distort.” “I know what manipulate means!” Dorothy cried. “What are you guys? Munchkins or dictionaries?” EXCERPT 2: A large bramble vine entwined a tree, twisting up and up until it branched into a single giant bugle flower the size of a basketball. Its pretty rose color and fragrant smell were delightful. “Oh my!” said Dorothy. “How lovely!” She stepped from the path to admire the enormous blossom. Stretching on tip-toe, she breathed in the floral-scented air. As her face moved closer to the flower there came a sudden movement behind her. Eight pairs of arms pulled her backwards just as the flower’s bell closed with a snap! It opened again to show rows of tiny savage teeth. The Tin Man swung his mighty axe at the base of the bramble, cutting it in two. The flower screamed and shriveled immediately into a blood-red, wilted mass. Dorothy was frightened but not hurt, as she had stumbled back into the Scare Crow, who had obligingly fallen onto the ground to cushion her fall. “What the…” said Dorothy, her breath coming in great heaving gulps. “You have narrowly escaped the deadly fate of the ‘Caput flos manducans,’“ said Pipken. “Head-eating flower,” explained Harry. “What?” cried Dorothy. “Head-eating flower? But it was so beautiful and it smelled wonderful!” “It’s not so beautiful once it eats your head,” said the Tin Man. He helped both Dorothy and the Scare Crow to their feet. “Oh, my,” said Dorothy. “I must be more careful.” She brushed the dirt from her jeans and stood still for a moment, waiting for her quick-beating heart to slow down. “How can something so lovely be so dangerous?” she asked. Then she remembered Princess Holly’s words about evil sometimes disguising itself. “Oooo-weeee!” said the Scare Crow. “That was a close call, little miss. You don’t wanna be stickin’ yor head in them plants no more.” That sounded like an excellent idea to Dorothy. She helped the Scare Crow rearrange his straw. “Put a little extra in my biceps,” he said. “I gotta feelin’ I’m gonna need some muscle on this here trip.”