Abigail wasn’t going to come this far only to come this far.
Even if this was a trap.
She’d dealt with far worse than an overzealous gnome who may or may not be making lies up to ensnare her in some sort of diabolical plan.
Compared to cavorting around the court of Saturn decked out in peacock feathers, simply to avoid the calamity that would have been Y2K, this was going to be nothing.
“Kompis, I would be absolutely delighted to join you for the Darkest Night,” Abigail said with the prim and poise her grandmother taught her, simply to be able to better parley with the creatures of the Underworld.
Kompis lowered his upraised index finger, Abigail noting the curled yellow nail at the end.
“How splendid, how splendid!” he shouted as he danced back and forth on his two feet. If anyone knew the power of verbal agreements and their weight in the world of the paranormal, it would be gnomes.
“I have a question, Kompis, before we go…” Abigail said.
“Anything!”
“You mentioned the Darkest Night. It will be the Full Moon in about two nights, in the Upperworld. I have a very important mission I’m on and the safety of many children depends on it. Isn’t the Darkest Night the night of the New Moon - the actual darkest night? If so, that’s more than two weeks away.” Abigail knew the moon cycles like she knew Sumerian cuneiform - like the back of her hand.
“Silly girl, silly girl, do you know nothing of the Underworld?” Kompis actually tsk’ed.
“This is the land of Topsy Turvy, child.” Kompis took on a sacred air, as if he was sharing precious knowledge. He very well may have been.
“What’s up is down, what’s wrong is right, what’s in is out, what’s day is night,” Kompis rhymed. “Don’t you know where we are? When it’s your Brightest Night up above, it’s our Darkest Night down here!”
Abigail hadn’t spent much time in the Underworld - it wasn’t ever encouraged, as one had to be as wily as a coyote to make it out without some sort of lifelong obligation to the creatures of the Underworld, if one made it out at all. They were notorious for making offers humans wouldn’t - couldn’t - resist.
“Ah, that’s right,” Abigail said, not missing a beat. “It’s been a dog’s age since I’ve visited your esteemed kingdom.”
Kompis turned down the cavern they were standing in, light from an unknown source dancing along the amethyst walls. The light may have been coming from the stones themselves, as far as Abigail could tell.
“We should go, we should go,” Kompis chimed. He was enthusiastic if he was anything, Abigail trying to grin and bear his saccharine nature. “We have much to do to prepare for the Darkest Night. Malcolm is always tired when he arrives so we make sure he has plenty to eat and drink!”
Just hearing her father’s name brought her heart up into her throat.
As Kompis began skipping down the cavernous path, all Abigail could do was follow him. As they continued to walk, the walls grew taller and the hall they were walking through grew wider. It wasn’t long until the soft roar of noise began to grow, echoing down the path toward her and Kompis.
“What’s that noise?” Abigail asked suspiciously, trying to keep her suspicion out of her voice.
Without turning, Kompis shouted over his shoulder “Wait until you see, you’ll love it!” He seemed to go faster, his excitement apparent. Before Abigail could further question the questionable little gnome, they walked into an even larger cavern.
The most beautiful waterfall she’d ever seen fell from the vaulted ceiling far above her head.
Slightly confused, Abigail took note of the path they were on. There was no way but forward and forward was straight through the waterfall. Before she could ask, Kompis explained.
“Welcome to Alice Falls,” Kompis said somberly. He took off his purple hat and held it to his chest as if he beheld the holiest of places. Perhaps to him, he was.
“You see, Abigail, to get to where we’re going, we have to walk through Alice Falls. We can only get there from here, and we can only get here from there,” Kompis chirped.
“Okay,” Abigail replied, not understanding completely. This was, after all, the world of the Topsy Turvy.
“You should be fair warned, as a citizen of the World Above. Alice Falls are perfectly fine for those of us born in the darkness of the Underworld…but it has a peculiar effect on those from Above. Hence the name, Alice Falls…” Kompis trailed off.
Abigail let her silence be her reply. This was where the other shoe dropped, or so she figured.
“When citizens of the Upperworld walk through the falls, something…happens. Most folks grow larger, much larger. That happens to everyone unless they know the secret,” Kompis was speaking very quietly now.
“If you walk through and plug your nose, you won’t grow larger. You’ll grow smaller.” Kompis looked up at her with somber eyes. “I have to warn you, though. Small humans are delicious to many of our, er, unfriendly citizens of the Underworld. You’ll be a delicacy. A delicate delicacy, in fact, and where we’re going I won’t be able to protect you from most of them.” Kompis paused.
“Growing large causes you to lose your memory. You won’t know who you are, you won’t remember your magical training, and you won’t remember anyone from your past…including your father.”
Kompis looked down at the floor, purple hat clutched in his gnarled hands.
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