The Lost Flower Children by Lisle Janet Taylor;Ichikawa Satomi;

Author:Lisle, Janet Taylor;Ichikawa, Satomi; [Taylor Lisle, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1807419
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

“Nellie, you’re hurting us!” Olivia screamed, trying to stumble toward her. Jill had scrambled behind the stone wall.

Another step or two and Olivia might have reached Nellie, and pinned her arms in a big bear hug, and made her stop—but in the next moment a huge stone came flying through the air directly at Olivia’s head. A terrific explosion rocked her back on her feet, and she felt herself fall off a cliff into darkness.

The next thing Olivia knew, she was on the couch in Aunt Minty’s living room and her head ached as if it had been split in two. Jill and Leo were standing near her feet, and the nanny was holding a cold cloth on her forehead.

“There you are,” said the nanny. “Lie still and you’ll be all right.”

“You have a big red lump,” Leo informed her. Jill stared at her and didn’t say anything. Olivia knew she was thinking that this would never have happened if they had been at her house.

Aunt Minty stood over her then, and asked how she felt, and reported that Nellie had run off and was hiding somewhere in the garden.

“I’ll go find her,” Olivia said, sitting up at once, but everyone jumped forward and made her lie back. She did feel a little dizzy. “I’ll go in just a minute,” she whispered.

“Nellie will appear when she appears,” Aunt Minty declared in a high, shaky voice. “You stay right where you are.”

In a little while, Jill and Leo had to leave. Lunch was out of the question after everything that had happened. Olivia had some chicken noodle soup and dozed for a while. When she woke up, it was late in the afternoon and she felt much better. But Nellie still wasn’t back.

“I’ve called and called,” Aunt Minty said. “Perhaps, if you feel up to it, you could try instead of me? I’m afraid she will never want to speak to me again. What a fool I’ve been!”

She looked very old and tired as she said this, and Olivia saw that her hands were trembling.

“Nellie!” Olivia called, out in the garden. “They’ve gone. You can come out now. I’m all right.”

She walked slowly up and down the long flower beds, trying to see in between the leaves and weeds. The tangles were too dense and the shadows too dark to penetrate more than a foot or two. She felt a little as if she were calling to the lost flower children in the story, because the garden was so silent and unresponsive.

“Your animals are all alone!” Olivia cried. “They miss you and need you to come home!”

There was still no answer, which was unusual. Nellie always stood by her animals. Olivia began to feel a real panic rise up in her chest.

“Nellie!” she shrieked. “I’m scared! Where are you?”

A tiny rustle erupted in the bushes near the stone bench. A second later, Nellie stepped out. Her hair was wild and full of leaves, and her knees were dark with dirt.

She stood looking accusingly at Olivia for a moment.

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