The Coat That Wouldn't Come Off! by A. A. Augustine

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stairs too and was holding the impossibly heavy door open starring down at him. Johnny lookedquizzically her and asked, “Hey ,What gives!? Why did we just go in a big circle down that hallwayonly to come out a little way down the same alley. And what’s with the door here? I’ve never seenthis before.”The lady with the polka dotted dress and the blue bird then released the large metal doorclosing it tightly with a deep reverberating thud behind her as she stepped down the first stair withJohnny.“Oh no, you’ve never passed this door before Johnny. It’s a very special door and we’veactually traveled quite far. Quite far. It’s not quite the same alley we we’re just in dear”Johnny looked up at her, scrunched his face in a questioning manner and said , “But it wasonly a little walk ma’am. We haven’t gone that far.”The lady in the polka dotted dress and blue bird hat then stepped out onto the sidewalkwith Johnny.“Johnny, in a moment you’ll see just how far we’ve come. Here I’ll help you. That last stepdown to Earth… I mean, um, the ground… the alley.” She laughed nervously. ““Forgive me, it’s my first big job like this. ”But that last step down can be quite a doozy.”She then lifted Johnny gently up in her arms and set him down into the alley just on theoutside of the doorway steps they just came down from. As she did this, she stepped down next tohim, grabbing him by the hand and leading him into the center of the alley and knelt down in frontof him, placing her hands on his shoulders. She was face to face with him now, looking directly intohis eyes like his mom did whenever she had something real important to say and wanted to make sureJohnny was actually listening and not just pretending to listen.“ Do you notice anything different?“ asked the lady rhetorically.“Hey, you know my ribs aren’t so sore anymore and… and my back doesn’t hurt either.And I feel kinda lighter. And... well, you sure are pretty. But I think your polka dots were a differentcolor before.” Johnny was now completely in over his head and overwhelmed, but going along withit anyway like any normal kid would do.The lady in the polka dotted dress with the blue bird hat began to laugh, turning her gazetoward the ground, visibly embarrassed at Johnny’s candor.“Not that kind of different silly.” She said, “Do you see anything different at all? Lookaround!”Johnny looked around for a second, proudly disclaiming to his newly-found, maiden fairethat he did not, in fact, see anything different.“Well, no. Not really ma’am. It’s the same old same old, if you ask me!”The lady then leaned in close to Johnny, shuffling to his left side with her her right arm stillheld tight around Johnny’s waist and still knelling on the ground beside him“Is there anything else? Anything at all? I think there's something you didn’t notice.” Sheencouragingly said to Johnny as she pointed down the street again. But this time, toward the doorwaythey had just entered in only what seemed like a few moments ago to Johnny. But was in fact, a goodlong time ago.“Do you see that man?” she asked, while still keeping her hand extended outward to an oldman sleeping, curled and shaking in the doorway that they had just come from a few hundred yardsdown the alley.Johnny did see the old man sleeping in a doorway now.“AWWWW… That’s the man behind the table! You know that lady! Why is he layingthere again?! I know who he really is!”“Johnny, that’s not the man from behind the table. That's the real old man who asked youfor money on your way to the store the day you tried on the coat!”The lady in the polka dotted dress and blue bird hat then stood up beside Johnny and pulleda small mirror out of her dress pocket and tapped Johnny on the shoulder and held it in front of him.“Here Johnny, take a look at yourself.”Johnny took a long look in the mirror and then even closer look and then finally snatchedthe mirror out of the ladies hands and moved it to an inch of his face and stared with deepwonderment into it. He moved it all around his face quickly and noticed that it was him alright but ayounger him. A him from a year ago. He began touching his face in disbelief with the mirror pressed
“Yes Johnny, said the lady, “it’s all true my dear. What you’re thinking just now.”“Everything is alright again. Believe it, because against all your deepest wishes and hope,it is true. You’re home Johnny. The estate is just around the second corner down to the south end oftown where it has always been. Just as you remember it. You’ll find the list that your mother sentyou to the store with a year ago is right back in your right pocket just where you put it. It even hasthe five dollar bill wrapped neatly inside just like always. Everything is just as it was that day Johnny.”Johnny quickly stabbed deep into his pocket with his right hand not believing what he washearing and seeing at this point in spite of everything he’d just experienced that the list would reallybe there. But just as quick as he quickly jammed his hand into his pocket he just as quickly did indeedfeel a bit of paper gently stabbing his fingers and yanked out the list so quickly that it almost spunhim around.The list still smelled fresh with ink and Johnny held it up into the air and shrieked with joy!He looked up at the lady. Astonished and all smiles and wrapped his arms around the her waist andhugged her with all the strength he could find in his little now unconstrained body.“Then IT IS true! It’s really true!” Johnny shouted!“Yes, Johnny. It’s all true. The lady in the polka dotted dress with the blue bird hat saidlooking down at Johnny reassuringly.“You’ve been given a great gift and now you have to go and share it. Share it with everyoneand don’t ever forget what you’ve been given. Here, I have a small gift for you to get you started.This is a little something from me and the crew.”The lady in the polka dotted dress with the blue bird hat then gently pulled Johnny’sclutched arms from around her waist and held his hands against her bosom and slightly opened hisright hand and with her thumb, slowly pushed a brand new, shiny nickel into his palm, gently closinghis small fingers around it while continuing to hold his hands in hers.Then knelling closer, she kissed him on the forehead and took his face into her hands.“Time is running short for me here, Johnny and it’s time for me to go. Your Mother iswaiting for you Johnny. She is waiting.”Johnny wrapped his arms around his Lady Faire one last time and with his face smashedinto her waist, looked up and smiled a slight, coy smile.“I sure won’t be buying that candy this time!” Johnny declared as he released his grip onher waist, thrusting himself away from her while starting to run up the street only to stop and lookback one last time a few feet later, declaring, “There’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a longtime now!”And with that, Johnny flicked the nickel the lady in the polka dot dress and blue bird hathad just placed in his hand high up into the air in front of him, catching it just in the “nick” of timeand darted off down the street toward the old man that was sleeping in the doorway.THE ENDThank you for reading....THE COAT THATWOULDN’T COME OFF!An Ebenezer’s Woods Tale by A. A. Augustine© 2022 A. A. Augustine with The Library of CongressWashington, D.C. U.S.A.All Rights Reserved
Page 2 and 3: THE COAT THATWOULDN’T COME OFF!An
Page 4 and 5: he had ever seen in all of his youn
Page 6 and 7: “Put him down, sir! Put him down!
Page 8 and 9: know what it is my son?! “The man
Page 10 and 11: The old women then came in from the
Page 12 and 13: On one particularly cold, dark day
Page 14 and 15: full of things that Johnny had neve
Page 16 and 17: And this time, there was no blindin

The Coat That Wouldn't Come Off! by A. A. Augustine

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