• "Come on Billie, we have to hurry before the sun gets too high." Micheal, Billie's father, was tip-toeing silently across the wooden floor to where Billie laid still.
    "Billie..." Micheal called softly, coaxing his 9 year old son out of bed and out the door.
    "Daddy, where are we going so early? Is Mommy up yet?" Billie wiped his hands across his drooping eyes, walking blindly in the wake of his father.
    "No, we have to be really quiet. We're going to a magic meadow where the sun makes the grass all sparkly and beautiful." Micheal took Billie's hand when they reached the edge of the forest and walked into the shade of the maples, oaks and evergreen trees.
    "Daddy, look a squirrel!" Billie shouted, startling the baby squirrel up the nearest oak.
    "Shh, Billie. We have to be quiet. The animals are still sleeping."
    "Not that squirrel, it was the most pretty thing you ever seen, Daddy. It was a little baby just like lil' Luize, Daddy." Billie talked himself into silence by the time they had reached the half-way point in the forest, marked only by the red scarf Billie's mother had tied to an old pine tree 5 years ago.
    "We're getting closer, Billie. Almost there." Micheal comforted his son just as he opened his mouth to complain. Billie had sandy hair just like his father, and a nice round-boyish face that fit with the rest of his boyish features nicely. He was about 3 feet tall and came up to his dad's belly button. Micheal was 5 foot 6 inches and plump. They were similar in so many ways, but Billie had hazel eyes like his little sister and his mother, Micheal had sharp blue eyes like his father.
    "Why are we going so far, Daddy?" Billie asked when they kept going past the 3/4 marker, a blue flag tied to a maple tree branch.
    "We have to to get to the magic meadow, Billie. Here we are." Micheal held the branch out for Billie to walk into the meadow ahead of him, and Billie walked briskly into what was a silent meadow.
    "Yaa! Onward, men! ONWARD!" A giant four-legged and hairy man raced past Billie clutching a spear and a shield.
    "Daddy!" Billie shrieked, trying to back away from the raging war, but only hitting a concrete wall. "DADDY!!" Billie looked around frantically, searching for his father but only seeing the unicorn's gleaming bronze coats, the dwarves axes clashing and sending sparks high into the air, the four legged men ramming into anything and everything that stood in their way, and then to the small children sitting not too far from where he stood.
    "You, yea you. With the blondie hair, you better get outa the way less you wanna get yourself squished by them centaurs there." One of the boys called out to him, gesturing with his hand for Billie to join him and his friends.
    "Aw, Chester. He ain't in the way right there. Braket'll look out for him."
    "Shoot Leslie, Braket ain't looked out for nothing since he lost his one hoof there." Chester argued, then waved more urgently at Billie. "We ain't gonna bit you, what's your name?"
    "Billie, I'm Billie Trescot." Billie stumbled over to where Chester, Leslie and the other kids were sitting, most intent on the battle, but some were watching Billie's progress curiously, as if they thought he was the mythical creature.
    "Dang, you see the size of that there 'splosion. Looks like them dwarves be getting real into that there war now. Ain't used to losing nothing, them dwarves." The boy sitting next to Leslie suddenly shouted, startling Billie as he stopped in front of them, unsure of what to do.
    "Chester! Take your lot back to the villiage, this is getting rough." A unicorn shouted over to Chester as he dove horn-long into a 12 legged spider approaching Billie menacingly.
    "Yes sir, General Gourg. Alrighty then troops, you done heard the General. Up and at 'em." Chester and the others jumped to their feet and started marching in a line down the slope to a small door in the concrete wall.
    "Ain't you coming Bello?" Leslie called, looking at Billie.
    "I- uh... ok." Billie trotted after them, and falling in step behind her in the line. "What's going on here?" Billie asked Leslie when he finally caught his breath.
    "This? This done be the war of Magic Meadow."