A Journey into the Land of Mooch - Part 1

In a time that was much like the time we are in now but not quite, there lived a little boy and girl. They were brother and sister and while they got along most of the time, they didn't see eye to eye every minute of the day. Their names were Delilah and Kieran.

They lived in a big blue house on the corner of their street. They had a husky dog, a tabby cat and 5 guppy fish they helped their Mom and Dad take care of. This particular day was a really rainy Saturday afternoon and they were bored as a couple sticks stuck in the dirt so they they were thinking of things to do. Delilah poked her brother in the ribs and asked him to open the door to the basement so they could go exploring. Their basement was kind of out of bounds because it was mostly full of dusty boxes, bags of their baby clothes and old toys plus you had to watch your step for the odd mouse trap here and there. Their parents didn't like them mucking around down there. Kieran knew he shouldn't and if he did he would have to be pretty sneaky about it because the basement door made a creaking sound when it opened and closed and for sure their Mom would know what was up. After about 10 minutes of rib pokes and little sister whining, he gave in to her request. They quietly snuck over and opened the door a sliver. No creaks. They opened it wider, shimmied through and closed it back up without a sound. So far they were in the clear!

Now, the basement was cold, dark and musty. Not really a place you would want to spend an afternoon but on this rainy day, it felt like there was some magic in the air. The kids could sense it and it made their skin shiver. Their big blue house was old. Older than 100 years and down in the basement there were little passageways and rooms off to this side and that, so you could hide pretty well if you wanted to. Delilah pushed past her brother and led the way. She wanted to climb into their old crib and make a fort out of their old baby blankets. Their Mom and Dad were always complaining that they needed to get rid of all this stuff but to them it was a fun escape.

On her way, stepping over her old pink trike with its shiny tassels and a ball that was so deflated it was almost flat, she spotted the crib and set about climbing up over the bars. Kieran grabbed her shoulder and reminded her not to make too much noise or they would get into trouble. This was true so she climbed over carefully. Her brother opened the drawers that were next to the crib and brought out their blankets. They still smelled like baby stuff and that was always one of their favourite things. To wrap their baby blankets around each other, take in the smells and giggle until they had trouble catching their breath. It was just then, wrapped up in blankets on their old crib mattress with dust bunnies floating around them, that they saw it. A twinkling light coming from under the green camping tarp their Dad always struggled to put up over their camp kitchen every Summer. It was getting brighter by the second.

Since Kieran was the older of the two, he felt he had to check things out first. Even though they didn't always get along, he was very protective of his sister. He climbed out of the old crib and slowly crept over to the green tarp. He lifted a corner and the twinkling light got so yellow-bright he thought he was looking into the sun. He was immediately frightened and he screamed. Oh no here we go. That will send Mom downstairs for sure! But no foot steps up above were heard. It was quiet in the house. Kieran lifted the tarp a bit more and then pulled it slowly across the floor. To their unbelievable surprise, there, under the tarp was a whole entire town. Green hills of grass and trees, little windy roads with tiny cars driving on them and houses with little chimneys, doors and windows. There were tiny mailboxes and streetlights but you had to squint your eyes to see properly because it was quite a ways down. The kids sat in a state of wonder as they watched the goings on in this tiny town. Then from somewhere behind them came a soft rustling sound. It scared them and they turned just in time to see their cat, Juniper jump right into the spot under the tarp! Just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone. She had disappeared into the tiny world below. 

They were both immediately concerned. This was, of course, their beloved little cat. Even though she scratched at their bed posts, chased their feet and sometimes even bit at their toes, they still loved her. Plus, what would they ever tell their Mom and Dad? The cat disappeared into the tiny town under the tarp in the basement? That sounded ludicrous.  There was no other choice but to follow her. They stared at each other. Each of them for the first time in their lives, unable to speak. Finally Delilah asked in a hushed and shaky whisper if now might be a good time to find a grown up. It was decided that they would have to do this on their own. There was no way anyone would believe this anyway. If they could find their cat, they would ask someone down there for help and then climb out and get their parents. On the count of three, Kieran and Delilah held each others hands and took a giant step into the world under their green camping tarp.

They fell slowly, like Alice falling into Wonderland or Dorothy falling into Oz. They saw all their basement storage stuff floating past them. Dad's old snow tires, Delilah's carseat she got carsick all over one Summer, Kierans water wings, the dog bed that the dog had ripped apart last year and a creepy puppet they never played with. Then, pop, they fell right on their bums onto the soft grass and there they were. When they looked up all the could see was sky. There was no basement ceiling and no green tarp to be seen. Delilah and Kieran looked around and saw people walking, people in cars, people watering their lawns and people riding scooters. Delilah pulled her brother sleeve and pointed out something very odd indeed. The scooter was not like the ones they have in their world, it was made of what looked like a wooden match. The ones her Dad used to light the camping stove. Then Kieran looked a little closer and saw that the car was actually one of his old hot wheels and the mailbox was a crayon. This world appeared to be made out of their old stuff! The lady walking across the street was wearing Delilahs old Barbie clothes. The dress she had lost a couple months ago and had searched all over for.

Just then a person came out of their house and waved at them. He walked over, extended his hand and said hello. Kieran and Delilah shook the man's hand. He asked them if they were new to town and they replied that they were. Even though that sounded very strange because wasn't this still in their house? The man offered to show them around a little bit and told them, "Welcome to Mooch".