Pennies

Boston | Present Day

The rugged trek was stressful and my dreary eyes saw plenty of gnarled objects, twisted shapes and spooky faces to last a lifetime. Which, for a well-maintained sock kept in good condition, was very long.

I tried calling out to Chester numerous times to beg him to let me off, but every time I opened my mouth I caught salivating glimpses of the patrolling spiders. Lurking. Waiting for me to either fall off or foolishly jump. Chester’s back was unfortunately the safest place to be. Nightmares sure are cruel.

“We’re here,” Chester finally said, sniffling between each word.

The mouse lowered its abdomen to the cool ground and allowed me a moment to slide down.

“If you don’t mind,” Chester said, prodding his little nose into the air, “I would like to hold on to your loose strands and use them as a safety rope. The next part of the journey is a tricky one and I wouldn’t want you to get lost.”

I chuckled at the mouse's choice of words. Was it truly possible to get more lost? I almost accepted the challenge when the tinkering of encroaching insect legs sent chills throughout my fibers. I couldn’t turn back now. The only way through the nightmare and any chance of escaping the dark space laid before me. I needed to trust Chester. I needed to trust myself.

I twirled twice, tightening the connection of my loose strands then studied the thick wall of dog hair, cookie crumbs, popcorn kernels, dried leaves and slivers of either toe or finger nails. It was quite gross, and the smell was far from pleasant, but it was a safe space. At least I hoped it was.

“I’m ready, Chester.”

The mouse nodded, gripped my pile of string within its teeth then began burrowing a path through the barrier. As I was being pulled through, I shut my eyes and tried to hold my breath until we reached the other side. A protruding clipping of a nail had different plans and slapped hard against my face, forcing me to react and gather oxygen.

My lungs filled with stale air but my mouth filled with dry hair. I started gagging and choking profusely. Chester must have sensed my distress because the tension on the guiding line instantly increased, yanking me out of the dirty forest.

With the assistance of Chester’s small yet powerful hands, I coughed up the last of the knotted hairballs and collapsed to the ground.

“I told you it was a tricky one. But first timers always get a mouthful of hair.”

Chester delicately placed my pile of green and white strands next to me then combed the rest of my body with his nimble fingers until I was clean.

“Good as new,” Chester said, sniffling and prodding his nose into the air, “Except for your pile of string.”

“Where are we?” I asked, finally ready to get some answers, “Can the spiders get through that?”

“Copper castle. A few spiders have tried to come through the forest, but none have successfully made it all the way. They have too many legs you see, and they get themselves tangled in inescapable traps. Now, if you will please follow me. He is waiting.”

“Who is waiting?”

“Harry.”

“Chester, who is Harry?”

“Come and see,” the mouse replied, sniffling after every syllable, “Come and see.”

Something scraunched from the forest and sent a thousand chills rattling across my fibers, forcing me to look back into the disgusting void. Was it just a slight breeze? Or was it the rippling of ensnared spiders trying to free themselves. Either way, I wasn’t going to investigate.

Once again I focused on the unknown path that laid before me and willingly followed Chester into the impressive castle constructed solely out of an expensive cache of old pennies.

Copper gleamed against the faint burning of a small LED strip nestled in a bed of faded pennies and dimes. I knew it was an LED strip because I recognized it from when Ellie accidentally tossed me into the kitchen pantry one night while Derrick was making a fancy dinner for his new girlfriend.

The castle was single chambered yet quite spacious and uncharacteristically cozy. Chester scurried over to the far wall and adorably stuffed his tiny mouth with a pile of well-kept crumbs.

“Step forward. Step forward,” Chester said, while chowing down his breakfast, “Do not be afraid. You are in the presence of Harry, the protector of the lost.”

I saw nothing at first, and became concerned that Chester had been stuck within the dark space for too long and had constructed an imaginary savior to ease his mind, when something stirred behind the silver throne.

Inching myself back towards the castle’s entry way, preparing to make a run for it if Harry was actually Chester’s larger and hungrier companion, I watched as a long, dark, worn crew Harry Potter sock with Hogwarts castle stitching slid its bulk into the light.

“Hello, Lucky,” whispered the old sock.

“Wizard?” I said, in amazement, “Is that really you?”

“It’s Harry now, actually. And yes, it’s really me. I decided to change my name after a full year passed since my imprisonment within the dark space. Accepting my fate, I needed to create a new identity. Plus, Derrick watches Harry Potter almost every night on the couch and it’s just loud enough for me to hear every word. So naturally Harry quickly became my favorite character and I figured it would suit my cause perfectly.”

“Cause? What cause?”

Harry smiled before responding and slowly slid closer to me, “I have missed you my friend.”

“You’ve been missing for a long time, Harry. It may comfort you to know that none of the socks have forgotten you. Your mate has even refused to be repaired with any other sock by descending to the bottom of the pile where she awaits your return. A few of us have tried to mount rescue searches, but Ellie always catches us before we can even get close.”

Harry smiled again then embraced me, “Thank you, Lucky. It warms my heart and eases my mind to hear your voice and to see you here. Chester has been a great friend to me, but he’s not a sock. He doesn’t quite understand the bond we socks share with one another. And yet, I owe him everything.”

“I was just doing what any mouse would do. You needed help. So I helped you,” Chester said, while using his tongue and small arms to clean his face.”

“He saved my life,” Harry said, sighing, “Two days after I entered the dark space, Hnid and three smaller spiders caught me in a web. Chester risked his life to save me from their clutches and prevented me from being brought to her. As the year passed, and numerous escape attempts ended in horribly failure or injuries to Chester and I’s mind and body, we gave up trying to escape and built this fortress to help other lost souls seeking a safe haven from the hunting spiders.”

As Harry was speaking, droves of small dog toys, buttons, ants, unmatched ankle socks, batteries, bottle caps, bracelets and a charging cord emerged from hidden inlays built into the castle’s walls.

It was an entire community and my old friend, Wizard, who changed his name to Harry, appeared to be the king. My brain however, while still trying to identify all of the lost travelers, was stuck on something Harry said.

Chester risked his life to save me from their clutches and prevented me from being brought to her.

“Harry, who is her?”

The chamber instantly fell silent as I spoke the words aloud and the lost items quickly disappeared back behind the veils from which they came from. Harry slid over to me and embraced me with a gentle passion.

“We have a lot to talk about my friend.”