I put my arms around hisneck and hug him tightly. He gives a superficial hug back. He has never beenone to hug his mother with enthusiasm.We sit in ...he living room and talk for a few hours. It is nice to have himhere with Bob gone. It gives me a chance to talk to him privately.Tonight, he goes to a party at a friends house and returns around midnight. Iam already in bed, but since I am not asleep, I get up to talk to him somemore. He isn't interested in talking and immediately goes to his. ’ Jen walked out of the room. The three girls slipped down her hair and fell onto the bed. ‘What are you three?’ Danny said, poking at Chiu. ‘We’re sprites. I know it’s a little strange, but we’re quite real.’ April said, ‘Now, do you mind if we return to your size?’ Danny nodded and the three tiny girls grew into three full sized girls sitting on his bed. ‘You are real…’ Danny said, prodding Chiu’s leg. ‘Please don’t poke me.’ Chiu said. ‘Sorry.’ Danny said, sitting back on the floor. ‘It’s. I will see that you are rewarded.” “There’s no need for all that, M’lady. You just rest and tomorrow we will get you home.”After eating the meagre, but tasty broth placed in my hands, I lay back and tried to sleep but I just spent the night staring up at the thatch of the roof and listening to Alfred and Martha snoring and the gentle breathing of the cow, wondering what had happened to Isabel. It seemed a lifetime before the light began to filter through the shutters and I knew that dawn was. My favourite spot had two large benches which were simply old trees that had been shaped so one or two persons could sit on each log and have their picnic lunch or stretch out for a nap if they wished. The farmer had used more old trees to line this side of the creek bank to try to prevent the bank from being washed away when thevice melts in spring and the creek is running in flood spate. Earth has been sc****d to make the bank stable and grass had grown so fishermen could sit on portable.