Fiddler's Cave

Faster, faster, faster!!! I couldn’t wait to tell her the news. Over the steps, across the porch – “Mom, MOM!” I was totally out of breath. I had to lean over, hands on my hips and pant. It was hard to believe – I could hardly believe it now. John and Donnie were here – right here in Piddleton and they were going to MY school. I looked up and there they were! But hold on. Back up. Let’s start from the beginning.

I was an only child until my sister came along when I was 7. My best friend then, was Lizaba who lived across the street. She also was an only. Her mom worked so she spent most of the summer with her grandma so I spent many long afternoons playing by myself in the backyard. I remember lying on my back looking up at the blue sky and watching the clouds floating by. The sounds of bees buzzing in the garden and an occasional car passing by out in front were all that could be heard. It sounds wonderful, I know, and it was, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes it was, well, just plain boring. It was on one of those days when lying there on my back gazing up at the clouds, I drifted off to sleep. The sound of someone else’s breathing must have awakened me because, looking up, I saw a curious sight – an upside down face – no two upside down faces grinning down at me. That was the day that John and Donny came into my life. They were hilarious. I wasn’t used to playing with boys and they taught me so many things that summer like how to climb trees and how to make a slingshot plus all of the good hiding places. John was the good one and Donny was the bad one. Every night at the supper table, I would tell mother and daddy about our adventures in the back yard. They would ask me questions and we would laugh so hard. Once I fell off the chair while eating dinner it was so hilarious. Mom suggested that I invite them inside to play but they never wanted to do it. I liked John the best, of course. Donny could be mean sometimes. He liked to trick me such as showing me a “secret” place behind the willow tree but didn’t tell me that it was loaded with bees. I got stung and mom had to take the stinger out of my finger. I didn’t like him very much after that. But I adored John. He was nice and funny and very gentle. He and Donny were identical twins but you could tell which was which just by looking into their eyes.

One day at the end of the summer they just didn’t show up and that was pretty much the last time that I saw them until today! Once I woke up during the night and I thought I heard them but mom came in and told me I was dreaming.

Maybe I should tell you about myself – such as my name is Susannah and I live in

Piddleton which is right in the middle of rolling hill country with my mom, dad, little sister Janie, and our cat Miss Prissy and our dog, Mattie. I am a sophomore at Piddleton high. I have three best friends and we have been besties since our first day in Love bug preschool. We always walk to school together, eat our lunch together and then hang out after school - usually at Dottie’s Drug store where we always get vanilla cokes and cherry mashes. Sandy is the funny one – she says anything and everything to everybody! Judy is the one who always knows the rules and then there’s Molly. She is the quiet one but always comes up with the best ideas. We call ourselves the “Gaggles.” You know – after a “gaggle of geese?” There is also a mean girl named Dorthea in our school who has her own set of friends. Even though they are thought of as the “mean girls” still they are also thought of as the “pretty” and “popular” girls too. We all pretty much stay in our own little groups and then nothing happens but then sometimes, like today, for instance, something DOES happen. At least, it looked like it happened.

School started out this fall with a bang. Things were going so good that I guess it was preparing us for what was to come later. The first thing good that happened was that we got a new band teacher, Mr. Finch. He is so young looking that at first, we thought he was the new student in school. He has a pony tail! All of the other teachers roll their eyes when they think he isn’t looking. He also wears jeans and sneakers and has an earring! Egad! But boy can he play the trumpet, sax, clarinet – well you get the idea. He started an actual jazz band – something this school has never had before. We all auditioned – me on the piano, Sandy on the clarinet, Judy on the drums, and Molly as one of the singers. Mr. Finch made it easy to try out. We all just sat by ourselves around the room and played our favorite piece and he would drop by and listen in. Finally, he said, “Time!” And we all picked up our music and walked out the door. The very next day the list of the ones who made the band were on a list put up in the hallway for all to see. Sandy pushed to the front and then squealed “We all made it!” We freaked out and started jumping up and down and hugging each other.

The second awesome thing that happened was the new boy. We Gaggles talked about him on the way to school, at lunch, after school – well you get the idea. We weren’t the only ones. Every girl in school is in love with him. His name is Cliff. He’s tall, has the greenest eyes, whitest teeth, has a brilliant smile…..okay, okay – so I checked him out. So what? Dad teases us by calling him Mr. Dreamboat. Oh, I almost forgot – Cliff is in the jazz band too. He plays the guitar and makes up his own songs even and they are good! He’s a senior so the gaggles are way out of his league. Oh, I forgot to mention, Vicky and her two best friends, Frick and Frack – okay, okay, Janice and Sharon, also made the band. And of course, Vicky latched onto Cliff like glue, batting her eyes and squirming around which is gaggy.

That night at dinner, I announced the good news about the band selection and immediately my mom and dad looked at each other and almost in unison said, “Are you sure you aren’t overloading your schedule?”

My dad said, “Don’t you have to tutor one of those nights? When will you have time to get your homework done? I don’t want you to repeat your first semester from last year.”

First off, I was selected to be a tutor this semester which has its good points as well as its bad. And second, last year was a whole different thing. Last year, I made friends with a girl who turned out to be a witch. Literally! The good news about tutoring is that I get credits towards graduation and the bad new is ---RICHARD! I have two students who I meet with to tutor in music and math. Stella, my math student, is easy. She comes on time and really is eager to learn. Richard is another thing. For one thing, I have known him since kindergarten and he is brilliant in just about everything and is only taking piano so I have to tutor him. He is a pest and a tagalong and if I had known he was going to be my tutee, I would have gotten out of it. He likes to play jokes that aren’t funny like hiding my music book so that by the time I find it, his time is up or showing up at the most embarrassing times and just listening in on private conversations as though he was invited. He also has a humongous crush on me and makes goo goo eyes at me while I try to tutor him in music. He stops by my house all of the time and if mom isn’t home, we hide until he gets tired of knocking and goes away. Otherwise, I have to be polite to him and at least talk to him. I am annoyed with him most of the time and then I feel guilty for feeling that way because he can’t help it if he so pathetic.

Mr. Finch played at our community arts fair right after he moved here and before school started and everybody came unglued, he was so good. He was immediately asked to play at all kinds of civic events. So when our first meeting was actually at his house, all of our moms let us go. We were shocked. He gave us his address and said we were all going to “chill.” Twice a week, we meet after school and “jam.” – a new word used by Mr. Finch. We all want to be like him so now some of the boys are growing out their hair (until their dads make them cut it). And we have all started using words like, groovy, and dig it like Mr. Finch. He books the PJB (Piddleton Jazz Band) for a lot of community events. It’s almost like we are celebrities. People crowd around and clap so hard and of course, we all really ham it up. Finchie (our name for him) just gives a little cool sort of smile and walks around while we just play – not like a regular band director but much neater. Then, of course, he plays at the end of our program and the crowd goes wild and keeps clapping until we play another piece. Once, he pointed at Cliff to play instead – same thing – wild applause. Cliff was like the star – he always had solos and the girl singers always wanted to be the one he chose to sing his newest song. Sometimes he would have all of the girls sing and the rest of us played along. It was very groovy.

But the most exciting thing that happened was a startling discovery on Piddleton Mountain at about the end of August. It all started when Judy’s brother, Will, was hiking up the mountain when the squeaky sound of the Fiddler came over the treetops. There is a legend around here about a mysterious fiddler who came into town a hundred or so years ago and disappeared in a mysterious cave on the mountain that nobody has ever found. Sometimes you can hear a strange squeaky noise and sometimes it sounds like a tune, coming over the mountain – especially on nights of the full moon. People just pass it off as the sound of the Fiddler. But back to last February. When the sound came over the mountain that afternoon, Will’s dog, King let out a yelp and bounded into the brush and was gone. Will just thought he would come back or at least bark and let him know where he was. But the evening got late, and King didn’t come back. Will kept searching without finding him until almost dark when he heard a small yelping sound and knew that it had to be King and it sounded like he was in trouble. It was getting dark and so Will hiked back to his bike and hurried home to get help.

Later that night a group of men and boys returned to the place that Will had marked and spread out searching and listening. And finally, someone heard the faint whine. “It’s coming from up yonder ,” someone shouted and they all started climbing up the steep mountain side through the pines and soft mud as fast as they could, carrying their flashlights and gear. It was hard going because it had started to thunder and the wind was coming up. They couldn’t hear the sound anymore and lightening was getting bad when Will’s dad made the decision to stop the search and go home. He leaned back against the rock to catch his breath and….disappeared! Literally – he was there one moment and was gone the next. After the guys got over their shock, everyone got quiet and that’s when they heard him from somewhere deep in the mountain calling, “Hey boys, you’ll never guess what I found.” Yes, he had found King but that wasn’t all. They threw him a rope and pulled him and King up and boy what a story he had to tell. He had accidentally fallen into the legendary, mysterious, Fiddler’s Cave!

And that’s how it all began – the project of Fiddler’s cave. All of my life, I have heard the squeaky sounds coming from the mountain, especially in the summer evenings when all else has died down and the cicadas have gone to sleep. People call it the Fiddler’s song but I guess I never knew exactly what that meant. One day, while visiting Clara in her little parlor with her canary, Happy, tweeting happily on her golden perch, she brought me an ice cold frosted glass of peach tea with lemon and a plate of her delicious sugar cookies with sprinkles. “Would you like to hear the tale of the fiddler?” She asked.

“Oh, yes,” I answered eagerly. She reached up on the top shelf of her bookshelf and pulled down a slender volume. It had a cracked spine and the picture on the cover was faded. When she opened the yellowed pages, a dusting of powder floated up in the sunlight and for a moment, I thought I heard the soft, sweet sound of a violin. She settled herself next to me on the cushiony couch and told me the wonderful story of a young man who appeared one morning in the glen. He had curly blond hair that stuck out from his old brown faded cap. On his back was a fiddle in a bag. The old lady Carson said that she was coming into town and had stopped to rest her feet when she saw him. She called out to him in greeting and when he raised his head he looked straight into her eyes with eyes so green that it took her breath away. He smiled a big smile and then reached into his bag and took out his fiddle. He put it on his shoulder and began to play a tune so lively that she forgot all about her sore feet and began to follow him into town. He made quite a splash, he did. People gathered around to hear his beautiful music and it wasn’t long before he was making the rounds of meal tables far and near, playing for his supper. At night, he left the town and went high in the forest on Piddleton Mountain. Nobody knew where he went but they could hear him playing his fiddle sometimes in the still of the night. At the tables of those who invited him to dinner, he told stories of a beautiful cave in the mountain where precious stones twinkled from rocks high above and crystals dripped from the ceiling and grew up from the floors. He had stories of mysterious passageways and tunnels – some that led to more riches and some that led so far into the center of the mountain that nobody could ever find their way back once they started down their dark passageways. Mealtimes were stretched out longer than usual in order to listen to his stories and hear his beautiful music.

His music had an effect on everyone who heard it – almost an enchantment – it seemed to cast a spell. Men forgot to plow and women burned their pies whenever his music floated around their heads. But that wasn’t all. Young maids became besotted with him. That was the word used in the old book. They dropped their mending and tending to the chickens and followed him about unaware of their own folly. One morning, it was discovered that all of the beautiful maids of the town were missing and the last thing anyone could remember was the sight of them dancing behind the fiddler on his way down the lane and out of Piddleton. A few days later, a man arriving home after a night of drinking with his fellows, saw a strange sight. Out in the meadow in the moonlight, the fiddler was playing his beautiful music of enchantment while a circle of maidens danced around him. Their voices of happiness could be heard, he said across the space, and it sounded like the tinkling of tiny bells.

The townspeople were up in arms upon hearing the tale the next morning from the man’s wife, they gathered a posse to search him out and teach him a lesson. There was no trace of him or the maids in the meadow except for the flowers strewn in the grass. But they were never to be seen again. And that’s when the eerie sounds of the mountain began to be heard, especially on moonlit nights. Sometimes, there are those who say they can hear the laughter of young women as well. I was entranced by the story and I could almost see them dancing in the moonlight. I was shaken out of this vision by Miss Clara. “Here, my dear. You may keep my book for me,” she said with her sweet blue eyes looking into mine. “I know you will keep it safe.” And with that, she thrust the little book into my hands. It was in a silk bag tied at the top with a lacy rose-colored ribbon.

“But, Miss Clara, what ever happened to the maids?” I asked.

“That, my dear, is the lesson of the tale. Be careful whose words you listen to. Do not get lost in the magic of the moment.” I carried the book home with me and spent many happy hours turning the old yellow pages of the little book with the lovely faded pictures.

At school, things were busy. But so much fun. The meetings at Finchy’s house were very unusual. For one thing, he always had incense burning plus lots of candles dripping their wax over glass bottles. There was food like hummus and carrot juice and pizza with no hamburger – and you won’t believe this but it was good – honestly! We would sit around on the floor and play our instruments and he would teach us new music and somehow, it always turned out good. He would end by having us hold hands in a circle and sway to the music that one of us played and then – time to go! But of course, sometimes I had to miss a performance because of my tutoring job. Stella soon did not need tutoring so now I only had Richard. Mr. Frick suggested that I used the big room where we practiced to teach music to Richard which made a big difference.

Well, soon the people of Piddleton began excavating the beautiful cave. True, it was a fairyland of sparkling rocks of all colors and crystal stalagmites and stalactites, they said. The public wasn’t allowed in so we just waited for information to sift down through the ranks. Classes were directed to use the cave as a learning tool and theme for the semester. Many of the tunnels were said to be unsafe but some led to further large rooms and openings. The wind coming through the tunnels and escaping out the holes in the rocks made the eerie sounds, it was determined. To the city council, it was a dream coming true because now, Piddleton was on the map for something other than the county fair. They could almost hear the money rolling in from future tourists. Construction began on the cave in order to make it safe for tours and concessions. Plans were made to host a town celebration at the end of October.

Mr. Frick scheduled more and more performances and Cliff began meeting with different members of the band to practice together on the side. The gaggles all discussed this around the lunch table every day with our heads together whispering and giggling. It was creepy in an exciting sort of way. Once, while we were bent over the table, someone cleared their throat to get our attention. And there stood Cliff with a big smile on his face. “May I talk with you Susannah?”

I jumped up and spilled my milk right down the front of my blouse. “Me? Oh, I mean sure!” I gulped.

He looked at me with those beautiful green eyes and said, “Would you meet me after school? I think we need to practice together and I was wondering if you would come over for a while.”

“You mean to your house?” I asked.

“Yes, he said with a smile, “My car’s in the lot.”

“In the lot?” Mom would never let me ride in his car, I was thinking but I heard myself say, “Sure. Should I meet you in the lot?”

“Yes, I’ll be by the East door. Thanks. This helps me a lot. See you..” And he turned and walked out of the cafeteria.

I stood there for a moment and then Sandy tugged on my jeans, “Sit down!”

We all looked at each other and then we all said together: “Your dead!” My mom will kill me! But wait. Richard had canceled for tonight and my mom will just think I’m tutoring.

“YOUR MOM?” They were right, my mom could see right through that. Oh, I forgot to mention, I’m from a family of witches and to tell you the truth, I still don’t know how that works. But……

“Okay! I’ll call and ask, “I said. And I tried but finally left a message on the answering machine that went something like: “Hi Mom, this is Susannah. I have to be someplace after school so I’ll be a little late – but not much – so don’t worry.” I know this is lame. I just won’t stay long and the good thing is – she really likes Cliff so maybe…..????

I ran to the girl’s room and tried to get to the mirror but it was too crowded – the bell rang and I dashed to my History class. All afternoon, I fidgeted, and I couldn’t keep my mind on anything. We were studying local history and for the past week it had been on The Fiddler’s Cave. We had all been given small booklets filled with amazing facts about the cave and blank pages for our own notes and comments. Today, I brought Miss Clara’s little book for the class to see. It was a good thing that we never got to the legend because I was having trouble keeping my mind on the cave. By the time the final bell rung, I was a total mess. I went to my locker to get my stuff and there was Richard waiting for me.

“Hey,” he said. “I got out of going to work and now I can come to tutoring.”

“But you canceled Richard and now I have other plans. I’m practicing with Cliff. Sorry.” I expected him to give me the “poor me” look but instead, he got mad and stamped his foot

“You’ve got to be kidding!,” he said. “You’re going to be one of Cliff’s girls? Oh Boy! You’ll be sorry!”

I was shocked. Little pathetic Richard maybe wasn’t so helpless and fragile after all. Oh well, I can’t worry about it now, I thought, and I took off at top speed down the hall towards the stairway and didn’t see Miss Hysteria come barreling out of her classroom pushing a cart piled high with books and video equipment. I skidded to a stop but it didn’t matter. I felt a hand shove me in the back right into the teacher. I was thrown over her and she was thrown over the cart and we skidded like that for a few feet and then the cart slipped out from under us and we crashed to the floor – me on top of Miss Hysteria and everything else on top of me. She screeched and I sunk into the floor never to be seen again. Okay – that didn’t happen. But I wanted it to. I turned my head to the side and tried to see behind me but all I could see was Dorthea with a smirk on her face and behind her, a bunch of kids scattering everywhere. And that’s when I felt that warm comforting feeling of someone’s strong hand helping me up. I turned and there he was!!! John!!

“Hi Susannah, remember me?” He had those sparkling blue eyes and sandy hair with a look on his face that everything was going to be alright – no, super-duper!!

He helped me to my feet and turned to Miss Hysteria. “Here, let me help you, he said but she was already on her feet and with a harumpt! She rudely stomped away leaving us and anyone else who would help us to clean up the mess. When everything was picked up, I picked up my books and backpack. But my little Miller’s Cave book was gone – it had vanished. John, took my elbow and said, “Don’t worry, Susannah, it will show up. How’s your ankle?”

“Where’s Donny?” I asked feeling the sharp pain in my ankle.

“Oh, he’s around here somewhere,” he said.

“When did you get here? Are you going to Piddleton High now? Where have you been?” My words were stumbling over themselves, I was so happy!

He smiled that wonderful smile of his and said, “We just got here. I’ll tell you all about it later. But, I have someplace to be now. See you!” He turned and walked down the hall and he was gone.

My ankle throbbed as I hobbled towards the stairs. That’s where Sandy, Judy, and Molly caught me as I was making my way down. What happened to you?” They all chorused. “We just saw Cliff pull out of the parking lot with Dorthea.”

But I didn’t care. It had worked out fine. All the way home I told them about John and Donny and how happy I was that they were coming to our school. “You will love them – well John anyway. He is so nice and kind.”

“But who pushed you? Do you think it was Dorthea? Really?”

Well, maybe, but the hand that pushed me seemed larger than hers would be.

I left them at the corner and now, here I was dying to tell my mom all about it.

“Oh dear, what happened to you?” My mom helped me into the kitchen and

started running hot water in the dishpan.

“You are not going to believe this, Mom. John and Donny are going to

Piddleton!”

“Here, put your foot in here”, she said. “Okay, now – you mean the two boys that

you used to play with in the back yard?” And that started a whole conversation

all through dinner and right up until bedtime. I didn’t think I would ever go to

sleep and then all of a sudden, I was awakened by someone calling my name. It

was from a distance. Something was scratching on my window, but when I

looked out, it was only a branch. But eyes were looking back at me from inside

the branches – my cat, Prissy!!! Who let her out, how did she……” I grabbed my

robe and ran down the stairs and out the back door. And then I heard it again,

only this time, there was the sound of beautiful music being played on a mandolin

and with it the calling “susannahhhhhhhh. Susannahhhhhh …..we’reeee waitttttt

for youuuuuuu.” Out in the meadow beyond our picket fence, in the moonlight,

was the most magical sight I have ever seen. Someone was playing a mandolin and a bunch of beings in hoodies were dancing around and around the muscian. Their voices could be heard wavering through the air. Before I could think, I was running towards the gate, “I’m cominnnng,” I called. My bare feet were barely touching the paving stones.

I was brought up short by a yelp behind me. Prissy! But turning all I could see

what John and Donny who had just jumped down from our big oak tree by the fence.

“Hi Susannah!” they said.

“I thought you were my cat!.”

“Nope, it was just Donny playing a trick on you. Sorry. Come on Donny, we’ve

got to go home. Susannah, you should go back to bed.”

“I’m going to the meadow, I whispered. But when I looked, the musician and the

hooded dancers were no longer there.

“It was just a dream,” whispered John in my ear.

I was in a whirlwind of voices, and music, and branches blowing in the wind and….my mother’s voice:

“SUSANNAH!!! GET UP! The Gaggles are here!”

The sun was up. I looked at the clock – 10 til 8!!! I’m late! I leaped out of bed and

yanked open my dresser drawer to grab my underwear and froze. Leaning

against the mirror was Miss Clara’s book! A chill went up my spine.

“SUS….”

“I’M COMING MOTHER!” I threw on something, ran a brush through my hair,

rubbed toothpaste on my front teeth, grabbed my backpack and ran out the door.

Then I ran back and grabbed the book, sliding it into my pack as I jumped down the

stairs.

“Mom, did someone come by and leave my…..”

“Not now, Susannah – Go, GO!” And she pushed me out the front door.

My friends were waiting but standing there too were John and Donny. They all seemed to have already met but none of them were saying anything. “I over slept!” I said as I joined them on the sidewalk.

“Don’t worry,” they said, “We did too!” And we all started running toward the

schoolground. The bell rings at 8:10.

“I…I..had..a..dream.” gasped Sandy. Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at her.

And then everybody said at once, “I did too!!”

“Mine was a beautiful dream. We were all out in a meadow and everyone was

there. Someone was playing some beautiful music and we were all singing and

dancing.”

“That’s exactly like my dream,” said Molly.

“Mine too.” Judy and I chimed in.

By this time, we had slowed down but were still walking fast. “We were all

waiting for you Susannah.”

“Right, we were calling out to you, “ said Molly. I must have been sleep-walking

because this morning my feet and ankles were covered with wet grass.”

Everyone nodded except me. I hadn’t checked my feet yet this morning – but

now I was afraid to look.

We all were late and got detentions. John and Donny had split off at some point

and gone their separate ways and as far as I know had gotten out of detentions –

that was so like them! As I sat in my first hour class, I couldn’t stop thinking

about everyone having the same dream – weird. AND I just now remembered, I

forgot to tell them about the book.

Mr. Bernstein, announced in History that he had been give permission to take our class to tour parts of Fiddler Cave on Friday, a week before the big grand opening. Then in band, Mr. Finch announced in band that we would be playing at the Halloween party at Fiddler’s Cave so there would be extra practices

almost every night until the big night. Things were really getting exciting. I met Richard for tutoring after detention in the band room and he seemed to be over his anger. He actually had worked on his piano lesson and I have to admit, he sounded pretty good. When he got up to go, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a hooded sweatshirt and pulling it on, took his music and said, “See ya.” I had goosebumps. I walked home in the gathering darkness through the falling leaves. Pumpkins and scarecrows decorated porches and lawns. Porch lights were coming on as I walked down my street. What a day, I thought. I must have been dreaming but who brought back Miss Clara’s book? I forgot everything in my mom’s warm kitchen. “How’s the foot?” she asked. I had forgotten all about it.

Friday came and Mr. Bernstein’s history class met in the parking lot waiting for the van to take us to Fiddler’s Cave. Everyone was excited and it met our expectations and more. The first opening in the cave was enormous. Lights were pointed at the walls and ceiling. The sparkling gemstones and crystals glittered like twinkling stars. It was breathtaking. Ropes had been strung around the room to guide you through safely. There were a jillion tunnels and cliffs. Some had big red signs and some had green.

“Nobody is allowed to go into the tunnels with the red lights. Some have been explored and found to be dangerous but most of the red tunnels have not been explored yet so for safety’s sake , DO NOT GO THERE!” Miss Peabody, the town chairlady had been chosen to head up the Halloween Festival committee and she took her job seriously. We toured many of the green tunnels and other amazing openings in the cave. One of the biggest caverns was named “The Fiddler’s Room” so named because of its size but also because it has an echo. A stage had been set up and the Community Theatre was presenting a play entitled “The Legend of the Fiddler.” It was going to be great fun.

We were all given hot cider, put in our vans, taken back to school, and the field trip came to an end. Judy is in my class and was on the trip so we went back up to our lockers together. On our lockers was a note. “Meeting tonight at Mr. Finch’s.” Yippee.

The big night was here. All of us were given a hooded sweatshirt with PJB in big blue letters on the back to wear for our performance. They gave us a team look and they would be needed as we had discovered on our field trip. The cave had air currents that flowed throughout and so it kept a chill in the air despite heaters that had been placed everywhere. We were ready for our performance. The whole school was buzzing with excitement and very few were actually able to get anything done. When the final buzzer sounded, everyone dashed out of the building and hurried home through the fall splendor to get ready. Now jack o’laterns glowed and eerie noised came out of doorways. Halloween was here!

The PJB members were all in their places early, tuning their instruments and watching the cave come alive with the hustle and bustle of food trays and pumpkin lanterns being lit. Decorations had been put in place earlier in the day and activities were being checked and re-checked. Everyone was in a costume and recorded cackles and shrieks were heard up and down some of the tunnels.

People began to arrive and Mr.Finch gave us our nod and down came his baton came down. The band burst into an opening sound and we were off and running, playing our hearts out. Cliff stepped up to the mike and the singers surrounded him to the tune of Rock Around the Clock. The crowds cheered and clapped and suddenly it was already time for a break. I thought I saw John standing near the popcorn stand and stepped down into the crowd. People patted me on the back and said “Good job,” or “we love your music,” or something as I pushed my way through the happy throng. But when I got to the spot I thought I saw him, he was gone. I helped myself to some popcorn an headed back to the stage. Everyone was gone – taking their break – and I sat down on the edge of the stage swinging my legs. A scrap of paper seemed to be stuck to the piano bench leg as though it has fallen off of the piano. Leaning over, I retrieved it and opened it to find a message. It read: “PJB’s are meeting in the Fiddler’s side room at break for refreshments and awards.” Wow, was I glad that I accidentally found this. No wonder, everyone is gone. I jumped up and headed for the tunnel marked Fiddler’s Room. Making my way down the tunnel, I looked again at the note. It read “side room.” Hmm, must be somewhere close to the big room – makes sense. I slowed down as I came near to the opening to the Fiedler’s room and saw a slender opening in the tunnel and a sign had been taped by it that read “Side Room.” As soon as I started down this narrow passageway, I could hear the music. This is it! I got so excited that I started running and the closer I got, the louder the music got. I ran around a corner in the tunnel and was hit by the bright glare. I was blinded at first. I could hear the murmur of the voices and when I could finally see, there in the center of the room was Mr.Finch. He was dressed in a shiny coat and all of my friends were standing in a circle around him swaying left and then right almost like in a trance. “Come on in Sweet Susannah, the band teacher sang out,“We’ve been waiting for you to arrive. What’s taken you so long?” I cried out to my friends, “Sandy, Judy, Molly – let’s go!” Because suddenly, I began to see the scene begin to look like the story of the Fiddler and could hear Miss Caroline’s words, “Be careful whose words you listen to. Do not get lost in the magic of the moment.” I ran to the nearest one and grabbed her by the arm. But she looked at me with a blank stare and said in a whisper, “Susannah, come join us.” There in the circle were all of my friends, all of the girls in my class, Dorthea, Judy, and Sharon, and standing in the center with Mr. Finch was Cliff but he had the same sickening smile on his face as the girls did. I felt myself being drawn into the circle like a magnet. I strained to get free and just when I thought I couldn’t pull away, there was a pop. Swinging through the air on a vine was Donny. As he flew past Mr. Finch, he knocked his hat off. The band teacher became enraged and took a swing at him but missed. The second pass and Donny had his mandolin. The pull got weaker and I yanked on Sandy’s arm so hard that it seemed to break the connection and she looked at me in shock. “Susannah? Where am I?”

“Hang on!, I shouted, and I started running towards the entrance dragging the string of kids behind me. But now there were many entrances and all of their lights were out. Which one? I heard a scream, “Run!” It sounded like Donny. So I picked a tunnel and started running down it while holding the hand of Sandy who was holding onto Molly’s and the circle had become a chain. I ran in the dark feeling my way. I could hear the shriek of Mr. Finch and the screams of those in the back of the line. The tunnel seemed to be getting smaller and smaller but I was desperate now and I kept going. First we had to bend down and then hands and knees and then we were crawling. I could just barely see the light and the people at the festival through the small opening in the end, if I could just make it. But, no. I felt the walls close around me and suddenly I was stuck. Sandy grasped my foot. I tried to back out but no use. Stuck. In the dark. The tunnel was filling with water and I took a big gulp of air and tried to hold it before ……and there was that hand. Nice and warm and comforting. I’m dreaming. The walls sprung wider and someone pulled us out the end and into the light. I opened my eyes and there was John smiling back at me. “Hi Susannah”, he said. I looked back at all of the girls and Cliff at the end. Aunt Katy was sprinkling them with something glittery. I could hear her say, “Girls, have a little starlight. You’re going to be just fine.”

“Where is Mr. Finch?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about him, John said, “Donny has that taken care of.”

“He’s the fiddler, isn’t he?”

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said and suddenly I was standing there alone in the tunnel. I walked toward the bandstand and Molly rushed out towards me.

“Hurry up Susannah, we’re about to start. Nobody can find Finchie. Somebody said they thought he went home sick. So Cliff’s going to lead us.”

I looked her in the eye and thought, “Don’t you even know what just happened? But then I knew – Aunt Katy’s starlight in their eyes and now they’ll never know what almost happened.

I played the second set but I was thinking how John and Donny “just happened to show up” every time I was heading the wrong direction. Hmmmm And why wasn’t my mom more surprised to see them? And could my friends even see them? And was Donny really the bad twin? After we were finished playing, all of my friends scattered throughout the cave, bobbing for apples, eating sweets and dancing to the DJ. Cliff tapped me on the shoulder and asked in his sweet, smooth voice, “Dance?”

I shook my head. He was nice and he could play beautiful music, but I’ve decided stardom isn’t my thing. By the way, anybody see Richard?