THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WELL

Chapter 5 – page 3

The Big T cleared his throat and went on, cavernously. "My name is Tortilla and these are my people, the Chips." Well Granma got that pretty close; they could still call him the Big T. All the Chips bowed down as if they thought G & J were something special. Well … they were a lot bigger than the Chips.

"The name of this world, Master, Prince J, is Timbuktoo," the Big T continued. Granma laughed out loud. She couldn’t help it. She had always said she lived in the middle of Timbucktoo. Well seems now, that Timbuktoo lived in the middle of her, down in her well! Julio didn’t see what was so funny at all. He frowned and went on listening for more.

The Big T. waved his arms this way and that and said: "We are inhabitors, nest builders and keepers of all this land that you see. The mango trees are ours as far as you can see. Clear way across the marshy lands before the Peppermint Mountains," he said.

G decided to chance it and interrupted him herself. "Do you know how to get to the Peppermint Mountains?" she asked. Well, a lot of throat clearing went around among the Tortilla and Chips, head wagging, arm flinging, eyeball rolling and such, but no one could seem to remember the way …. it had been such a long, long time since the Big T’s great, great, great grandfather had planted this very mango tree. Seems they couldn’t remember anything other than being here at Mangoes End, in this very same mango tree, for eons and eons, ages and ages they said.

J gave a whistle when he imagined how old this mango tree must be. But then his brain began calculating as it was wont to do, being the carpenter-builder-mechanic-tape measure-pocket-knife carrying kind of kid that he was …. and he began to wonder … just how long do tarantulas live anyways ? ? ? Well this tree must be at least 100 years old. He gave another long, low, whistle = his newest thing.