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energy to expel, it let loose on the Sister in a gesture of gratitude. It could sense great worry from the Sister . Why was that? Could she not see? The Oolahan stared at her as it tried to understand her actions. The Sister stared back. It felt the Sister picking it up. It panicked, mewing; a complaint, but relaxing as the Sister rubbed its back. Things are clearly out of control, the Oolahan thought, as it felt the Sister place a cloth over it as she walked out of the cavern with the Oolahan over her shoulders.

Chapter 3
    Netty struggled with the unwieldy broken door of the cabin, juggling the creature as she fought with the warped boards that were her protection from the elements. The creature made no further sounds as she trudged with her burden from the woods, her wayward gold coin having been returned to its hiding place, under her bodice.
    She went directly to her old straw mat by the fireplace. Fresh straw and a good sweep and dusting had made the room serviceable. Much of her mama’s possessions had been ransacked or stolen. Having purchased a used rocker and some pots, she knew a warm fire and something in their stomachs was all they needed for now. She set the creature gently on the straw mat and got busy making a fire. Soon the cabin filled with the sounds of crackling wood and warm air that moodily pushed away the evening chill.
    She finally had time to sit in her split oak rocker as her dinner pot simmered over the fire. She studied the creature as it appeared to study her, its expressive eyes now appearing bright and swirly with color . How odd, yet beautiful . The little thing looked dead, but she clearly was mistaken. But whatever injury or illness griped it could still cause its death.
    Netty decided she must give the poor creature an exam. She approached it carefully, although she no longer feared it would bite. She saw its limbs appeared shrunken and withered with a sort of attachment at the end of what appeared to be its legs. The attachment looked like a foot of sort, but it wobbled when she moved it. Was it broken? The creature did not appear to feel any pain when she wiggled it. She examined its head noticing it wiggled like the foot. She gently turned its body to the side to examine underneath. As she did so, she noticed the creature’s head turning to follow. And turn and turn . That cannot be. It is a physical impossibility. Looking closer, she found the creature simply had a different type of bone structure, allowing its head to rotate around the body, as its feet probably could too. On the creatures back, she found herself amazed by a crumpled structure that almost appeared to be tiny leathery wings; the poor thing. She wondered what unfortunate fate came knocking at the creature’s door. She picked up the creature’s lovely tail. Since they left the woods, a subtle sheen colored its crinkled leathery skin, fine golden hairs sprouting. Its abdomen was round and gold, firm to the touch. The striking similarity between its hands and that of great apes from the dark continent of Africa entranced her. The differences jumped out at her. She wanted to touch the very fragile and elongated fingers with itty, bitty fingernails just like hers. Turning them over she could make out tiny swirls that actually looked like they meant to be a device for suction. Interesting …
    Taking the creature’s head in her hands, she stroked what looked like golden fuzz on its head, stopping at the point where two glittery antlers emerged from the rear of its head, growing forward and twining together like a crown. They almost looked like they were made of glass. How could that be? As the creature suddenly smiled at her, she felt her bruised and withered heart miss a beat. Continuing the exam, she decided it sure looked like an odd and improbable creature. Well, she was an odd creature herself, wasn’t she?
    But it must have a name. In the back of Netty’s mind she was mulling over the idea of keeping the creature.