The Magic Book

The golden lock on the magic book looked simple enough. Ualaxy had ask, in a polite way, if the lamp would please shine, so she could study the mysterious writings in the book she held on her lap. "There must be a way for me to understand what is written here." she said as she opened the book.

It had taken her several days to figure out how to open the lock that protects the ancient manuscript. She had tried for hours, and was just about to give up, when she closed her eyes and ran her hand over the strange metal medallion in the shape of a dragon. The dragon's eyes began to glow in a ruby red light. Click! "Oh!" she said, "It opens by touch."

Outside the brightly lit cabin, snow fell in quiet flakes of soft white. Inside, the cabin was warm and cozy. Ualaxy opened the small wood stove door to put another log on the fire. "Maybe this is a book of fun and adventure." she said, "How will I ever learn to read it. I'm not smart like the others. If only I had a friend, a teacher to help me." Sitting cross-legged by the fire with the book in her lap and the lamp by her side, Ualaxy hung her head in her hands with her elbows on her knees. She pouted looking very forlorn and depressed.

Bam! Bam! Bam! The lamp flickered, and a rainbow pattern of colour began fill the small room. "Oh! What shall I do?" For a moment, fear sprang in to the young girl. Her mind raced thinking of all the horrored things she had seen while on the planet. Her heart pounded wildly, and she trembled not knowing what to do. "Do not fear. Fear cannot hurt you." she remembered her father saying, "You must face your fear in order to be strong, and achieve success."

"Who is there?" she said, struggled to regain her composure.

"Open the door child. It's cold out here, and I'm freezing." The voice sounded as if it were coming from high above the cabin.

"Who are you?" Ualaxy ask. She pushed her fear away and a feeling excitement began to take it's place.

"You'll never know unless you open the door" said the towering voice.

Placing the book on the beautiful Oriental carpet she had also found in the once abonaded cabin, the young girl rose to her feet. She ran a hand through her jet-black wavy locks, and opened the door. There on the door step stood a huge wolf in a long shaggy coat.

"Are you a talking werewolf ?" she ask.

"Why yes I am. Are you afraid of the Loup Garou people? I can change my appearance to something more suitable if it will make you more comfortable. Perhaps you would prefer a snow leopard, a panther, or a tiger?"

"Are you a good wolf, or a bad wolf?"

"My dear, that is a question that has been ask much to often, and to answer it would take hours, perhaps days. The wolf shook the snow from it's long coat as if he were a rotating fifty-five barrel drum. "I'm hungry and thirsty, and you did ask for a friend and teacher didn't you?"

"Oh! So you have come in answer to my query about the book?"

"No sweetheart, I was just in the neighbor hood, thought I would drop by and introduce myself."

Ualaxy smiled, and the wolf smiled too.

"Then by all means, please wipe those hairy big feet of yours and come in."

"Thank you."said the wolf and he stepped into the cabin's living room. He stood by the stove, his coat dripping from the remaining melting snow that he hadn't manged to shake off.

"May I offer you something to drink? What do werewolves like to drink?"

Again the wolf smiled, showing his large white teeth. "My, my, my, you really do have a lot to learn don't you? You know nothing of the "skinwalkers" that live in the Northern Regions?"

"Skinwalkers? No. I can't say that I've ever heard of a Skinwalker? I saw a Skywalker once in the history files. Of course, that was aboard the spaceship before it crash landed on this planet."

"Surely you're pulling my tail." said the werewolf.

"Why I wouldn't think of doing such a think." she said putting her hands on her hips and arching a brow. That wouldn't be a nice thing to do now would it?"

Outside, and not far up the hill in the thick forest howls erupted. "Ahwooo, Ahwooo." A coral of howls arose in various forms of harmony, a rather wild and scary, "Ahwooo." trailed off into the night.

"Pay no attention to that dog-faced pack of rabbit chasers." said the Loup Garou. "They're looking for a free meal. Have you been throwing table scraps out the window?"

Ualaxy sheepishly nodded her head yes and smiled. "I couldn't let the poor things starve."

"You are not afraid of the Roux-Ga-Roux Voodo Hoodoost Queens?" ask the shaggy wolf.

Ualaxy shook her head. "Of course not. What a silly question. Why? Where I come from, we put collars around their necks and keep them as pets. Haven't you ever heard of the Iditarod wolf sled races of the Arctic regions on Earth?" Franky Naidanac and the Akaslan teams are the fastest and the bravest of them all."

The wolfs yellow eyes became very wide at the thought. His lips snarled, showing all his big white fangs.

On the back of the stove sat a crock pot of spiced cider that made the room smell of apples and cinnamon. Ualaxy had found the ingredients in the cabins kitchen cabinets. The cabinets were stocked with many things she had never see before. She had been use to eating and drinking the prepackaged food in tubes of tasteless nourishment while on board the ship. Now she enjoyed preparing real food an drinks that appeared by some kind magic.

"Do wolves here drink mulled hot apple cider?'

"A cup of spiced apple cider sounds good to warm my bones. Thank you."

"I can make you a chicken sandwich if you like."

"Ahem, apple cider and a chicken sandwich?

"Ahwooos" continued outside in the snowy night.

"Make sure you never throw any chicken to that bunch," the wolf twitched his long ears and nodded his head sideways towards the window that looked on the forest, "or they'll be hanging around day-and-night looking for more."

Ualaxy picked up the lamp and went into the small kitchen to fix a chicken sandwich. The werewolf wagging its tail was right behind her.