Now walking toward the courthouse, Dana noticed that the river now had a large amount of water running in it. The rain had created a stream within a stream. Dana stopped to look at the water flowing under the river. What separated these two water types? Was regular water somehow different from magical water? Someday she would unlock the mystery about the river. How it worked and why no one recognized it as a river. Dana started to wonder. What if she was the only person who saw it as a river? Then she laughed a little bit. That was a ridiculous idea.
Looking back to the path Dana was on, she focused on finding the courthouse. Dana looked around but the large trees blocked her ability to see far into the distance. Jeremy said it was a stone building. So that was her point of reference. Dana walked and looked around every tree to find a stone building. But will no luck.
She crossed three rivers looking in every which way. Finally, after the three river she spotted a stone structure. Dana's heart fluttered with the idea that she had finally reached her destination. Was it the courthouse? She ran over to the large, elongated stone. It had stair coming out of one side. Dana climbed up the front stairs to see a sign in the window. The sign read, "Closed for Renovations." Dana's heart sunk. Unfortunately, this was not the courthouse. But instead, it was just an abandoned temple of some kind. Dana walked back to the river feeling a little defeated. There was a small branch from a nearby tree that she used for cover from the rain. She felt her shirt. It was moderately wet. This rain needs to stop.
Dana looked down the river she had been following. Was this the right way? She looked back toward the snake tunnels. Dana was now so far away she could not see them anymore. All she could see was endless trees. She could not afford to linger here for very long.
After a few minutes, the rain lightened up. Dana started walking the same direction again. She tried to bend this stone structure encounter into a positive one. This was just one stone structure, she thought. That is one stone building down, one to go. The next stone building could be the real deal. She just needed to walk a little bit more. That is all. Something good will happen, Dana told herself. But nothing good was about to happen.
A group of four beavers were walking her way. She had passed by many animals in her journey, but these animals acted strange. As Dana walked toward them, they were talking, but as Dana passed by, they were completely silent. A little unsettled by this Dana looked back at them. Not only did they stop talking, but the beavers also stopped walking too. All four of the were just staring at her. Now Dana was really unsettled. She started to speed up. Looking back the four beavers waved at her. What did they want? The next river was nearby. She saw a group forming but wasn't going to wait for it. Dana darted across the river making a Shoe honk at her. Several other animals yelled at her too, But Dana did not stop.
She ran to the next river. Luckily, she caught it at the right time. She passed the group of animals as they were crossing. Once across that river she slowed down and started walking again. Dana double checked over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her. Just to be sure at the next river Dana made a left. This would throw her off course, but she wasn't exactly following a map.
To continue going the same direction, Dana planned on making a right at the next river. But before she got there, Dana heard a noise. It was not a sound animals make. It was more like a siren. And it was coming this way. Looking further down the river Dana was shocked to see several marshmallows headed her way. Flashing lights and everything. Dana began to panic again. She had to hide. And fast.
She saw a gap in the trees up ahead. She quickly ran to the gap and ducked inside. The gap was full of Portals to Nowhere. Dana stood behind one as the marshmallow passed by. She counted them. One, two, three marshmallows all with dogs inside of them. That can't be good. Marshmallow dogs are all over this jungle. How was she going to get to the Courthouse with so many dogs running around? Maybe, they were looking for her again. Worry overtook her for a moment, Mr. Doberman is out there. He could be hunting for her right now. The thought gave Dana a chill.
Dana straightened up and walked back toward the river. The marshmallows were out of sight now. It was safe for her to continue but now she was afraid. Afraid of being caught, afraid of getting lost, and afraid of being alone. This feeling began to overwhelm her until she heard something behind her. A voice? Dana heard a someone talking between the trees. A small voice. Yelling and saying odd phrases. "Exacto stupendo!" Then nothing. Dana looked in the direction of the voice then heard it again, "Exactus stupendous!" Dana walked away from the river back between the trees. In this direction there were large crates against the trees. At least 6 or 7 of them. Dana had seen these before. Each one was a "Portal to Nowhere". Some of them even had it written on the side. "Exactar stupendar!" the voice shouted again.
Having heard enough Dana spoke, "Who is there? I hear you." The voice stopped. Dana continued to walk in the direction of the voice. But whoever it was had stopped talking. Dana strained her ears to listen, but she could only hear the sound of the river.
Suddenly from behind one of the Portals jumped a tiny mouse. It landed on the lid of one of portals and pointed a stick at Dana. "Behold! The power of magic!" the mouse shouted at Dana. This was not a usual mouse. Unlike the large human sized creatures in this jungle this mouse was very small. Only a few inches tall. It wore a red cape and a matching red pointed hat with a brim. The mouse continued to wave the stick in Dana's direction. Then shouted, "Exacto stupendous!" The stick began to glow ever so slightly then a spark appeared and disappeared again. That was it. The mouse continued to wave the stick even though nothing was happening.
The mouse started to wave the stick at Dana harder. Still nothing. Finally, when he was tired, he put the stick down. Defeated. After watching the whole ordeal happen Dana finally asked, "I am sorry that was very impressive, but was that supposed to do something?"
"Yes," the mouse stopped looked at her with frustration, "I was trying to stop the rain. But enough of that, what are you doing hanging around my part of the jungle? And in this heavy rain? With no coat on? Young lady, you must be mad!"
Dana looked up at the sky then back to the mouse, "It's not heavy rain. Only a light mist. Why would you call me mad? You are a mouse sitting here waving a stick at people. I think you are mad."
"It is not a stick, it is a magical wand." the mouse spun wildly and announced himself, "AND I am no regular mouse! I am a master of the arcane. You see all these portals around you? I made them. Each one a self-sustained portal of incredible power."
Dana looked around at all the crates nearby and said, "They are very nice. I have seen them before. I just haven't used them much."
The mouse dropped his stick. "What? These are Portals to Nowhere! They allow you to throw anything in it and… poof, gone forever. These portals are all over the jungle allowing people to throw away their unneeded items."
Dana looked into the Portal to Nowhere. All she could see was a black void. Then she asked, "Where does the unneeded items go?"
The mouse shook his head, "It goes to another world that I created myself. I won't bore you with the details but know that anything you put into the portal will be out of sight and out of mind forever."
Dana put the lid down and looked back to the mouse, "Well, I guess that is kind of helpful."
"Kind of helpful?! Girl, you don't know what a great service these are to the jungle? Did you know that before I built the Portals to Nowhere, everyone just threw their trash in the river? That sound like a simple answer to your trash problems but everyone was doing it. After years and years of trash build up the stench was just terrible. You could smell the jungle for miles in every direction. Absolutely disgusting."
Dana looked back to the river and then back to the mouse, "Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem."
"A problem? You bet it was. The extreme amount of filth in the river was unbearable. A cure was needed for the entire jungle. The creatures of the jungle looked over their choices and picked the most capable mind available. Me. For a small finder's fee, I came up with the solution to all their problems. Go ahead, ask me. Ask me what the solution was."
"The Portals to Nowhere?"
"You were supposed to ask me… Nevermind. Yes, the Portal to Nowhere. A pocket dimension to the World of Want. Everyone there wants everything. Want is their only desire. They want everything. Even the trash on the floor is worshiped and cherished by the people in Want. So, the Portals to Nowhere were created. We get rid of our trash, and the World of Want gets free stuff. It's a win/win situation."
Dana was starting to see inconstancies in his story. She asked, "Wait, a second ago I thought you said that you MADE the pocket dimension. Now you are saying you DISCOVERED a World of Want. Which is it?"
The mouse froze for a second then said, "Do you always ask this many questions? The people of Want wanted me to take credit for the creation of their world."
Dana thought about it for a second then asked, "Why is it called a Portal to Nowhere when the portal actually goes to the World of Want?"
"It wasn't my call. It was a business decision. No one would throw trash into the Portal to Want. It sounds like an important place. Everyone likes the idea that their trash is going into the massive void of Nowhere. So, it was given the name Portal to Nowhere and it stuck."
"So, you solved the trash problem? I see Portals to Nowhere all over the place. You must be very talented mouse to create so many."
The mouse sat down on the lid of the portal. "Yes," he looked down in a defeated way. "At least I used to be. I have been having a problem lately. I have made the Portal to Nowhere so many times that I think I have worn out my magic wand." He picks up the stick and waves it a few times. "See this wand used to be charged with endless magical powers. I could do anything with it! Levitation, invisibility, even conjuring tools and magical helpers. But now it has lost its power." He drops the wand for a second then picks it up again. He shouts, "Exacto Stupendus!" Dana watches as the little wand makes a tiny spark but fizzles out within seconds.
Dana looked closely at the wand and asked, "Is it broken?"
The mouse shook his head, "Don't be silly. I am very careful. Whenever I am not using it, it sits on a soft blanket at my house. Although I am not sure why. It hasn't been doing its job. Why continue to treat it so well when it reverted back to a tiny piece of timber?" The mouse moved the wand around noticing that Dana was fixated on it. Wherever he moved it, she watched with wide eyed curiosity. He looked at the wand then looked back to Dana and smiled. Then he held out the stick for Dana and said, "Here you try it."
Dana shook her head and said, "How? I don't know how to use it."
But the mouse persisted, "It is super easy. You never know if you have the knack for the magical arts until you try it." He again held out the wand for Dana.
Dana took the wand. It was basically a toothpick in her oversized hands. She waves it up and back down. Nothing. She waved it left and right. After waving it a few times she handed it back and said, "Sorry, nothing is happening." But something was happening. The tip of the wand was beginning to glow and spark.
The mouse could see it. "It's working! Keep doing what you are doing, kid!" the mouse shouted.
Dana held it away from her body and said, "What is happening? Why is it is glowing like that?!" Before the mouse could answer the wand fires out multiple lightning bolts. Two straight into the trees, and one that fired straight up nearly hitting the tree line. Each bolt let out a loud crack. Dana dropped the wand and screamed. She ducked for cover crawling away from the tiny wand.
The mouse also ducked but as he did, he noticed the rain completely stopped. The cloudy sky disappeared revealing a beautiful sunny day. The mouse who had lost his hat in the commotion looked up to the sky and shouted, "Eureka! I figured it out!" He looked at Dana who was now crawling away at this point. He grabbed his hat and put it back on his head. Then he jumped down to the ground and shouted to her, "Hey human friend, where are you going?"
Dana looked back at him, "That thing is dangerous! It shoots lightning!?"
The mouse ran over and picked up the wand. He said, "Listen, listen friend. The wand reacted to you. In a good way, look at the sky! You did this! I have been trying to get it to cast for weeks. You must have a magical aura about you." He ran around in front of her to stop her as she crawled away. "You have the gift child! And with that you can help me."
Dana stopped crawling and replied, "No thank you. I don't want to be electrocuted. Your magic is clearly dangerous."
"Hold on, hold on." The mouse put the wand away and recomposed himself. "We need to start over here." He took a breath and turned around a full 360 degrees. Then he looked at Dana like he has never meet her before. "Oh hello! Nice to meet you!" He held out his little hand to shake hers.
Dana rolled her eyes and shook his hand with her index finger. "Nice to meet you. I am Dana."
The mouse did a little bow and continued, "Nice to meet you Miss Dana, my name is Jeremy."
Dana was surprised, "Jeremy?! I know a boy named Jeremy."
Jeremy the mouse brushed off his cape and hat. He said, "I believe it. I can imagine there are a lot of people who would name their kids after me. That and it is a popular name in these parts. So, Dana, you would happen to be interesting in hanging out with a Wizard, are you? Maybe a Wizard Mouse?"
Dana shook her head, "Not really. I don't have time to hang out. I am on my way to the courthouse. Besides magic seems really dangerous to me."
He looked at her in disbelief and said, "Magic is dangerous in the wrong hands. That is why I am, what they call, a True Wizard. True Wizards by definition are masters of their craft. We work tirelessly to make magic work for us. And be… less dangerous. And I am 100% capable in my field of magic."
Dana stood up and wiped the dirt off her pants, "You didn't look 100% a minute ago. Still no thank you, I can't stay and hang out. That lightning was too much for me. I might be scarred for life."
Jeremy looked around at the damage caused by his lightning. "Yes, yes, it is possible. However, I would like to make it up to you. As a True Wizard of the Jungle, I Jeremy Smalls do declare my allegiance to you Dana. I will be your True Wizard bodyguard for your travels around the area. What do you say to that?"
Dana started to walk away, "Why do I need a bodyguard?"
"WHY?!" Jeremy almost tripped over the words, "This jungle is full of dangers my lady. Every manner or terrible creatures live in this jungle. You seriously time that you are immune to the dangers of this place then you are fooling yourself. Plus, you and me working together will benefit both of us."
"How so?"
Jeremy started following her as she walked, "I can protect you from the dangers of the jungle. And while doing that, me being near you will allow my wand to charge up its magical power. Yet another win, win situation." Dana was almost back to the river. She looked down at the little mouse. Jeremy stopped and looked up at her, "Come on Dana, don't you need a friend? Everyone could use a little mouse friend, right?"
Dana bent down and held open her hand. Jeremy walked over and climbed into her palm. Dana stood up holding him said, "Okay Jeremy. You can come with me but only until I get to the courthouse."
Jeremy smiled and said, "I am glad you see it my way. Now how are we going to do this?" Jeremy climbed up her sleeve to her shoulder. He brushed her hair out of the way and looked in her ear. "This works for me. I will sit here so I can give instructions and provide ranged support. Fear not Dana, we will get you where you need to go. Where was that again?"
Dana stood up and said, "I just said it! The Courthouse. I need to see the Judge."
Jeremy agreed, "Yes of course, the Judge. Is he a friend of yours?"
Dana answered, "No, I have never meet him. But he is the only person standing in the way of me getting back home." Dana walked back out to the river. No one seemed to notice the lightning bolts that flew by or the mouse that was now riding on her shoulder. "So if that is what it takes, then that is all I care about." Dana started walking to the next river crossing.
"Sound easy enough," Jeremy settled in for the ride, "If home is your only goal, then that is my goal too."
Dana thought for a second, "Oh that is not my only goal." She looked at Jeremy then continued, "I need to find 50 lbs. of candy too."
Dana continued to walk down the side of the river and make the right turn like she had planned to. Every once in a while, she would look back to see if anyone was following her. She also looked out for the marshmallows just in case they were on their way back. Every time she looked back Dana because a little bit more nervous. She started to walk faster. As Dana got to the next river, she ran across as quickly as possible. A banana came dangerously close to hitting her. The driver, who was also a banana, yelled out the window at her. Once safely on the other side of the river Jeremy, finally spoke up, "HEY! Are we fugitives or something?"
Dana was confused, "What? No, I mean, I little bit. But why would you say that?"
"Oh, I don't know, probably because you are acting like one." Jeremy waved his wand in the air and said, "I can use magic to protect you from all sorts of creatures in this jungle, but I can't protect you from yourself. So, what's up?"
Dana did not say anything, but Jeremy pulled her hair, "OUCH, that hurts."
"Yeah, well don't ignore me, it's rude." Jeremy let go of her hair. "So, what is the deal? Who are we running from here?"
Dana didn't want to tell him, but she figured she had no choice, "The dogs are trying to take me back to the Michaels's house. And I am never going back there. Ever."
"I see, are the Michaels evil?"
Dana shook her head, "No they are cats."
Hearing that Jeremy nearly had a heart attack. He clutched his chest with one hand. Then he said, "That is the worse form of evil."
"Yeah," Dana agreed, "I have to get to the stone building. The courthouse. And we have to do it without being seen by the dogs, okay?"
Jeremy nodded, "Stone building, Courthouse. No dogs. I see. So, we ARE fugitives. Well first thing to do is stop drawing attention to yourself." Dana looked at him puzzled. Jeremy continued, "You keep jumping the river like you did back there and you will bring a lot of unneeded attention. Dogs, cats, everyone. Try waiting for an opening or better yet."
Dana smirked at him, "I know how to cross the river. I was just in a hurry that time."
"I have heard a saying for that. Hurry makes worry? Something like that. It's not important. The next river is mine. I will show you how it is done."
"Oh you will huh?" Dana questioned him while she was scanning the area for stone buildings. Dana walked to the next river and stopped. She looked at the heavy flow of object in the river, "Okay Jeremy, you're up. And I want to be impressed, okay?"
Jeremy stood up and cracked his knuckles. Then he wave his wand around and said, "Traffico! Stoppus. Maximus!" A flash of blue light radiated in all directions. Dana was surprised at the speed of the blue light, it traveled down the row of trees and disappeared in the distance. But nothing seemed to change.
Dana looked around expecting something to happen. She looked at Jeremy again, "So, did you do it wrong?"
Jeremy sat back down and said, "Give it a minute." 5 second went by. Then 10 seconds went by. Suddenly the objects in the river began to slow down. And just like that they stopped. They stopped perfectly in a row. Dana could not believe her eyes. Jeremy reached over and lightly pulled her hair, "Hey, you going to walk or not? They won't stay still forever."
With that Dana started to run across the river. Jeremy pulled her hair again, "Hey, don't run! That draws attention to yourself." Dana stopped running and started walking again. Jeremy continued, "You need to blend in with the jungle around you. Move like everyone else moves. You get that?" Dana nodded. When she was fully across the river Jeremy mentioned, "They stop automatically if you wait long enough. I just used magic to speed up the process." Jeremy pointed to the large tree up ahead. "That place there is a dog hang out. You are going to want to avoid that place."
Dana changed direction and headed down a different river. She asked him, "How do you know all this stuff?"
Jeremy shrugged, "It's a gift. It comes with years of experience. And magic. Did I tell you that I made all the Portals to Nowhere in the whole jungle?" Dana nodded. "I put all the Portals in the most valuable locations. Mainly where the trash builds up. Trash is my business."
"Can I call you the Trash Wizard?" Dana said with a smile.
"That is an unfitting title." Jeremy said scratching his chin, "But yes, accurate." Jeremy laughs a bit. Dana looked at him laughing. She had never seen a mouse laugh before. Watching him she began to laugh too. When they were both done laughing Jeremy straightened up. He continued to watch for possible threats.
Dana asked, "I was just thinking about your claims. How you created ALL the portals. If that were true and you saved the jungle from the trash build up, then why aren't there posters of you all over the place. The Great Mouse Wizard, Jeremy." Dana made hand gestures like she is reading a sign in the distance. "I don't see any signs. Nor have I heard anyone talk about you."
Jeremy looked at her like she was mad, "Dana, do you know how expensive signs are? I am not paying for giant signs of myself. And how many people have you met in the jungle? Four? Five?" Dana did not answer. Jeremy crossed his arms and said, "See, you are new here. I wouldn't expect you to hear of my services. But enough talkery. Down to business. Can you read maps?"
Dana held out her hand and made the so/so wave with her hand. She said, "I can read simple stuff. Words on the map. Lines and stuff like that."
Jeremy crossed his arms in frustration, "Are you telling me that your plan was to walk ALL the way across the jungle with NO map and NO map reading skills? Were you just hoping to run into the courthouse by accident?!"
"I said I have some map reading skills. And where I came from there was no maps being handed out. I figured I would find one along the way."
Jeremy nodded to her, "Yeah, we had better find one. Everything is bigger here in the jungle. Without a map we would be searching all day. So, step one we find a map and locate your stone building."
"You sound a lot like the other Jeremy I know."
"How so?"
"Well, you are both male," Dana tripped over the words, trying to find similarities, "and knowledgeable about the jungle…"
"This other Jeremy, is he your boyfriend?"
"Dana snapped back, "No. He is just a guy."
"Just a guy?"
"YES! Just a guy."
"We have been walking for five minutes and you have already brought him up twice. If I were a therapist, in my professional opinion I would say that it sounds like you like him."
"Umm, no. I just meet him yesterday."
"Yesterday was a long time ago. A lot of time to think. A lot of time for sparks to fly. Is he cute?"
"Please stop."
"Just answer the question. Is. He. Cute?" with that Jeremy made a kissy face to Dana.
Eww, gross. Stop that." Dana leaned away from him.
Jeremy stopped making the face. "Okay fine, you don't have to tell me anything." He went quiet for a few seconds and waited for Dana to say something.
After a solid 30 seconds of silence Dana said, "Just so you know, the other Jeremy that I know is not a mouse, so…"
"This is the 3rd time you have brought him up. Seriously, if I had a pen and paper, I would subscribe you some anti-love pills right now."
Dana laughed and said, "Please stop! I promise I won't mention him ever again."
"Promises, promises." Jeremy sat down on her shoulder, "You want to hear about the girl I like?"
"Sure."
"Too bad, I don't walk around talking about my love life like you do." Jeremy teased.
"Okay, how about we change the subject?"
"Good idea, and before that, we might want to find something to eat. An army marches on its stomach, right Dana? Tell me, how do you feel about cheese?"