Butterscotch Sundae

Andy was never what one might call a lucky kid. When he was just 3 years old, there had been a terrible accident at the stone quarry which had resulted in Andy’s father losing the use of both his legs. Of course, Andy & his mother had been so grateful that it hadn’t been worse that they never complained about what had happened that day, although it did mean that Andy wasn’t able to play ball games with his father, or enjoy quite a few other things kids can usually share with their fathers.

The accident also resulted in Andy’s father not being able to work. Unfortunately, as no cause or blame had been established for the accident, there had been no insurance payout. This meant they’d been unable to maintain their home payments, & they’d been forced to move into a mobile home.

Andy’s misfortunes included the everyday things too. If somebody was going to step into a puddle which turned out to be 6 inches deep, that somebody would usually be him. However, Andy was a happy kid; he was popular enough & always willing to help a friend in need. That was one of the reasons why he was popular.

Right, let’s get back to the unlucky thing. Because of what happened to his father, Andy wasn’t much for playing sports, so when the school bell rang there was no team practice for Andy; he was out the door & on his way. Not on his way home; just on his way.

This particular day was a Monday. It was August... & a hot day in Westlake, Andy’s small home town. Andy headed for the ice cream parlour; there was a Butterscotch Sundae with his name on it. That may well have been why he didn’t notice the hole he was about to step into. Another reason was possibly because the hole hadn’t been there the day before.

The day before, you’ve probably already figured out was Sunday. What you probably won’t know, is that this particular Sunday was the day of the biggest thunderstorm Westlake had experienced in over 50 years. There had been several trees struck by lightning & split right down the middle. The lightning had even struck old Mr Griffin’s equally old Caddy, doing a pretty good impression of the July 4th fireworks when it exploded after taking a direct hit from a huge Lightning bolt which seemed to come straight from Heaven.

Right, let’s get back to the hole. One of the Lightning bolts had hit a tree with such mighty force that the ground had visibly shaken. This had caused an underground rupture 10 feet down, which stretched for about 100 feet toward the old disused stone quarry. It was this rupture which had created the hole that Andy was destined to fall into the following day, which we agreed earlier was Monday.

Such holes had a tendency to appear from time to time in Westlake. The stone quarry had been extensively mined right up until the early 70’s, at which point pretty much all the really useful stone had been extracted, which was why the quarry had fallen into disuse. It was the method by which the stone had been extracted which caused holes to appear from time to time. The quarry had been subjected to many explosions over the years. Nobody really knew just how much damage had been inflicted on the bedrock beneath; they just knew it caused the occasional hole to appear.

Right, let’s get back to Monday... 3:35pm to be exact; well, pretty close to exact. Andy’s thoughts were on his Butterscotch Sundae, & who could blame him? So when his foot missed solid ground, Andy’s momentum caused him to lose his balance & tumble down into the hole. Fortunately for Andy, the sides of the hole weren’t straight down so rather than fall, he actually rolled into the hole. He still hit the bottom with quite a jolt, but after a quick inspection, Andy was pleased to find he was pretty much unscathed.

It was dark in the hole & Andy needed a minute for his eyes to adjust. He blinked a few times; then blinked a few times more. Gradually his vision adjusted to the little light available & he could make out some shapes in the shadows. With the sides of the hole not being very steep, Andy wasn’t too worried about not being able to climb out again, & seeing as he wasn’t badly hurt, his curiosity took over.

With his arms outstretched in front of him, like Boris Karloff in that Frankenstein movie, Andy walked carefully, shuffling his feet slowly so as not to trip over anything. He made his way to the shape nearest to him. He crouched down to look closer & could see it was a miner’s helmet. Andy was quite pleased with his find, which appeared to be intact. He was about to make his way to the next shape, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Andy turned toward the far side of the hole. It was darker in that corner & he couldn’t see anything now. He was pretty sure he’d seen something, so he started his Frankenstein shuffle thing again & slowly made his way across the floor of the hole. As he shuffled, he again saw what had attracted his attention before. There was now a green light, more of a glow, emanating from another small shape on the floor. As he got nearer, Andy could make out the shape was that of an old style lamp. He crouched down & picked it up. It was indeed an old lamp.

Andy realized he had been down in the hole for a while now. He didn’t want to be in trouble with his parents for being late home from school. More to the point, Andy realized it was teatime… & he was starving. He put the miner’s helmet & the old lamp into his schoolbag & made his way toward the faint light coming from the entrance to the hole, which he could just make out.

Andy climbed out of the hole & blinked in the late afternoon sunshine. He was disappointed, as he remembered the plans he’d had for a Butterscotch Sundae, but he was more than happy with his treasure trove from the hole. Andy setoff for home & wondered what he was having for tea.

Andy’s tea turned out to be fish fingers with baked beans & a couple of slices of thick home-made bread. His mother made this tea most Mondays as it was quick & cheerful... & it was Andy’s favourite. He ate it quickly, excused himself from the table & went to his room excitedly.

Andy hadn’t mentioned his finds to his parents, as he wanted to investigate them first. He thought the helmet was pretty cool; however it was the lamp which Andy found more exciting. He was sure he’d seen a green light, more of a glow, coming from it when he had been in the hole.

The helmet & lamp must have been underground for years & it showed. The helmet was yellow, but coated with dust accumulated over the years; you could be excused for thinking it was gray. Andy put it on a shelf in his room & picked up the lamp. It also looked gray & Andy couldn’t tell what colour it was supposed to be, unless of course it was supposed to be gray.

Andy wondered if the lamp was made of silver, or maybe even gold. As I mentioned earlier, Andy wasn’t what one might call a lucky kid. However, you never know, & Andy hoped he’d found a valuable treasure. He took the oldest T-shirt he could find in his cupboard & began rubbing the old lamp. As he continued to rub the lamp, Andy noticed two things. First, the lamp wasn’t made of gold. Second, the lamp was VERY dirty.

Then, Andy noticed something else. The green light he’d seen earlier in the hole now began to shine from the lamp, casting an eerie glow in Andy’s bedroom, as the daylight faded quickly & late afternoon had turned into evening. “Time for bed Andy,” Andy’s mother called. “Brush your teeth!” “Ok Mum!” Andy replied & put the lamp back on the bedroom shelf.

With teeth cleaned & parents hugged, Andy climbed into bed. He was rather excited & wondered about the lamp with its mysterious green light. The first thing he thought of wasn’t what you might think it was. Andy wondered whether the lamp was radioactive. He decided it couldn’t be or it would most likely glow continuously in the dark, which it didn’t.

Then Andy began to think more like you would expect with the whole rubbing lamp thing... & exhausted after a long day, he fell asleep.

Andy didn’t know what had woken him, however he was awake nonetheless. His room was filled with a green glow. He immediately thought about the lamp. He looked toward the shelf & noticed the glow was brighter than before. He got out of bed & walked over to the shelf.

Andy picked up the lamp & rubbed it. SHAZAM! There was a bright flash of green light & there in front of Andy, stood a real live genie. “Greetings, Andy! How may I be of service to you?” The genie had a young appearance & a voice to match. This was most definitely the first time Andy had seen a genie; it was also the first time for a very long time that Andy had been lost for words. It didn’t last long.

“Wow,” Andy said. “Are you a real genie?” “Do I get 3 wishes?” “Will my wishe...” The genie held up his hands, “Please!” The genie smiled at Andy. “I understand your excitement & confusion,” he said. “I’ve been waiting a long time for someone to awaken me. Now you have found me, I am yours to command. I will help you whenever you summon me. I will also grant you 3 wishes”. The genie continued: “Please understand that I am yours to command until the day you ask me to grant you your third wish.”

Andy was delighted, certainly. However, he also had a very kind heart. Although he could think of 100 things to wish for, he knew he should think carefully before making any wishes.

The people of Westlake still speak today of the astonishing recovery made by Andy’s father a week or so after the ‘Big Storm’. The way he had regained total use of his legs was regarded by many as nothing short of a miracle. Others described it as being like a wish coming true.

That could also be used to describe the amazing win Andy’s parents had when they bought their very first Lotto ticket, having being strongly encouraged by Andy who had told them he “just felt lucky”. That win had enabled Andy’s family to buy a nice house. Nothing too grand, but a big improvement on the mobile home they’d been living in.

Andy had gotten his ‘kind heart’ from his parents. Indeed, with their Lotto win they had sponsored refurbishment of the town’s church. They also paid for a much needed new roof for the town’s school. Andy had chosen his 2nd wish after a good deal of thought.

With Andy’s father recovering full use of his legs, he & Andy made up for lost time, having all kinds of fun. This included playing ball games & other sports which meant Andy became quite a keen sportsman.

That brings us pretty much up to date with Andy. With one wish still his to make one day, I think it’s fair to say he is now what one would probably call a lucky kid since the day he fell into the hole... & first saw the green light.