DREAM CALCULATOR - Fantasy

Tommy made certain that his coat pocket no longer had a hole at the bottom, before stashing the fortune of coins Father had given him there. Seven coppers. That could’ve been all the money in the house! Still, if necessary, Father was willing to part with it in exchange for the newspaper.

“As soon as you have it, make haste for the mines. Send one of my coworkers after me and wait until I come out.” Father put his arms around Tommy’s shoulders, and looked him in the eyes. Father had skin the color of volcanic ash, a shaved head, and was as tall and wide in the shoulders as the doorframe.

Tommy on the other hand, was short for his ten years of age, had a narrow chin, and his skin was the color of chestnuts.

“But if I spend all this, what will we eat next week?” Tommy asked.

“Let me worry about that.” Father helped Tommy put on his gloves. “Now hurry. That paper will not stay on the shelf long.” Father nudged Tommy out the door and into the snowy path.

The cold sun glowed beyond frozen mountain peaks, while nearby trees shifted and whistled, casting inky shadows across the carpet of snow at Tommy’s feet.

Typically, Father wouldn’t allow Tommy to be caught dead outside the house at such hours, or let him leave on an empty stomach. But that morning, Father didn’t even seem to care that he might miss the entire school-day.

In light of these facts, Tommy knew he was in for a strange day.

He drew a large breath of stinging cold air and stepped forward. Rattle! A metallic sound rang from his pocket.

Tommy froze.

It was dangerous to walk around with so many coins, especially in the morning.

If Mom were here, she would’ve taken the money from Tommy, and sent him back to bed. Back to safety.

But she had left so long ago, and Lanodifri was too far to even fathom seeing her return anytime soon.

That newspaper wasn’t goanna buy itself.

Lifting his boots high to clear the snow, Tommy threaded up the lightly forested hillside, trying to keep tears from growing in his eyes. Now was not the time to weep after Mom. He’d done that far too long anyhow.

In the distance, a herd of so called 'fainting goats' grazed on pine trees.

Hoping to cheer himself up, Tommy moved closer, hid behind a bush, and prepared to use his magic.

The ability to bring objects to life was something that very few children could do, and no one could keep forever. So, he’d been told not to rely on it for anything serious. But it sure was a ton of fun!

Tommy closed his eyes, and wished for one of the baby pine trees to come to life.

The tree uprooted itself and walked away, perplexed of its own existence. An understandable reaction. Being personified was a very confusing stage in any plant’s life.

Having witnessed the personification, half of the goats lost their minds, screaming and hopping away as if they thought the tree was about to eat them. The other half fainted in sync. One moment twelve goats stood, the next they fell over as if suddenly napping.

It was the most silly routine of playing dead and rolling over Tommy had ever seen, and he laughed so hard his belly hurt.

And it was harmless fun. The fainting goats bounced back up cheerfully, and returned to grazing like normal.