-Everything is possible here. And even more, Yuki thought, enchanted. She scooped up a handful of the sparkle and rubbed it between her palms. The motes arranged themselves into the words: -You are beautiful. The girl flushed and immediately hid her hand behind her back so her brother couldn’t see and start teasing her.
Under their feet, the lawn stopped being ordinary grass. It glowed from within—long stems shimmered in shades of green and blue, becoming translucent while staying soft as ever.
From time to time they heard a faint chime, as if the stems were plucking strings; it blended into a gentle music.
On the horizon, right in the dark, a large spherical piñata shimmered, hanging on an invisible thread. It appeared and vanished, emitting a faint light. When they stepped closer they noticed a belt wrapped around it with a lantern clamped to it; the light jittered madly. Then the piñata began to cry out in a frantic voice:
-Help, good people! The tormentor wants to punish me for no reason! I’m innocent! I have a family, children, and a loan for a hundred laptops for all my great-grandparents! Take him away from me!
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They only saw him now in that wobbly light from the lantern and the soft glow of the grass—the boy who had been chasing birds. He really was, as Mami had said, stumbling blindly across the yard with a blindfold over his eyes, brandishing a huge bat that somehow stayed glued to his small hands. It was covered in spikes and ribbons that read, -Happy Birthday!
The boy snorted sullenly and, whenever he swung—WHAM—he never hit anything but empty air. It didn’t hurt anything, but he kept edging closer and closer to the piñata crying for help, and the piñata definitely didn’t want to be in the swing zone.
-Take it from him! Lil C. shouted and sprinted for the boy. The kid, apparently guided only by sound, barely registered Lil C.’s footsteps before he started whipping his bat around like a seasoned fencer.
A defensive wall of impossible combinations formed around him—no way to slip through. No matter how Lil C. tried to get close, he kept bouncing back, learning reluctantly that this fighter was untouchable for now.
-Come back, brother. Don’t charge head-on. We need something clever, Yuki cried, and he reluctantly backed away, glancing around with that sad little acceptance that this round had beaten him.
-Let’s hold a council. How do we free the lovely queen—er, the piñata—and disarm the kid? Yuki asked her advisers. Mami immediately spun in a circle on her hoverboard and suggested:
-Engage him in combat—armed, naturally, with a pillow! For only the bravest warriors know there is no weapon more powerful or terrifying than a pillow stuffed with down or polyester! I can also recommend hypoallergenic variants.
-Right, the girl grimaced. -And what do you say, Pom-Pom?
-A matter of import. Pom-Pom first retrieved a comb, smoothed his little beard, pulled his cap low, and declared in a professorial tone:
-She is Mami, Mami. (a nod to the Glasses) -And I am Yummi, Yummi—. He tapped his chest. -And you are Yuki, Yuki… and your bro is not some vibe-veteran but Rookie, Rookie. Together—we are the Quartet, Four. Not fantastic. Plain folk. Callused hands. Therefore…
-Okay, I didn’t understand a word of that, and you should probably bring it up with your therapist, Yuki snapped, exhaling. -So what do we do? Think, Yuki, think… she muttered to herself.
But who gives time for thought in such a twitchy, ever-shifting world? The giant heads that had been indifferent suddenly shifted from idle to active.
The boy stopped chewing cardboard and the girl ceased her blank stare. They opened their mouths and started egging him on loudly, cutting each other off:
-C’mon, little brother, hurry up! She’s waiting for you to smash her! Bash all the candy out of her! Why are you such a wimp, Archie? Always excuses, always closing your eyes and turning away instead of fighting back! Crybaby! Coward!
Those words shred eardrums, and even Mami—who had no ears—listened, stunned, as the big siblings stirred Archie to lash out at the helpless piñata.
-What do we do? Yuki whispered, seeing that Archie was getting angrier and, without seeing, closing in on his target.
Pom-Pom and Lil C. decided on their own course:
-We’ll get the grasshoppers! the boy cried. -Buddy, you said they’ve got a whole crew—can they help us stop this kid?
-Maybe. Or maybe not. First—we’ll parley, then we’ll see, the Muffin answered, and bolted into the bushes, followed by the brother.
-They won’t get there in time! Yuki fretted. -Negotiations aren’t quick, so we need to fix this right now with those who made the mess. She cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs:
-Hey you! Listen up here!
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The giant heads turned their gaze on her in surprise, and those saucer-sized eyes blotted out the sky above.
-Yikes, that’s creepy… okay, no panicking now. Time to act.
Shaking her shoulders once, Yuki steadied herself and spoke again:
-Let your brother go if you truly love him. He’s not you, and he doesn’t want to become just as bitter. So for once in your lives, stop bossing him around and accept him the way he is—for his own sake.
-Ha! Ha-ha-ha! Archie’s older sister laughed. -We’re teaching him to be independent and brave. Your words mean nothing, stranger. Don’t meddle in family business.
-Then… Yuki looked at Mami. -Could you talk to them like a grown-up? Scold them so they’ll listen. They need an authority figure to respect.
Mami froze on her board, voice cool and analytical:
-Emotional attachment, in their eyes, justifies their behavior. So it’s not certain they’ll listen. Their bullying of their brother is only an outlet for their own complexes. Still—I’ll try.
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and then Add to home screen.