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I’ve been reading up on these ‘krakens’ lately. Nothing I read makes me any more inclined to want this thing to turn into one of those. Not even a baby one. I’m still doubtful, but I can’t deny that this…wand is strange. I’m starting to think it’s not all that unlikely, and I’m just a tad apprehensive.
Most of what I’ve read says something about a squid, or an octopus, but there are some things about giant crabs, or crosses between both. I’m not sure which would be scarier, tentacles, or giant pincers.
I let it slip what I was told, to Chrissy. She didn’t want the wand any less. If anything, she wanted it more. Creatures have always fascinated her. Why should giant versions be any different? That’s supposing it does change at all, and it’s not just a wand that likes to leak water all over the place. That’s become quite a problem, and I have to keep it in a tub now, in the laundry. Though, it seems to have stopped once it was completely submerged, maybe it wanted to be wet? I don’t know, it’s ridiculous one way or another.

I’m starting to get fascinated, though. I didn’t think there’d be so many different stories for one creature. And it’s not so unbelievable that they exist. I mean, the ocean is huge. And it has things like whales, why not giant crabs, or squid, or octopus, or whatever the heck this thing is? God only knows what ELSE is down there. And it would be pretty awesome if this bloody leaky stick turned into a giant sea creature.

I’m starting to think I should find someone who’s actually had their wand turn into…something. I’ve only met people with wands, and I want proof that this isn’t some ridiculous hoax. If it is, kudos to those who pulled it off. At least all it caused me was a ruined carpet and an overexcited daughter, who’s anticipating the arrival of a monster.

Needless to say, she’s become more interested in pirates than wizards. I think it’s because of that movie that was playing in what I now fondly call ‘the real world’ before we came here. Something about a kraken in it, I don’t know.
She’s begging me to buy her a sword, or a gun. Safe to say, I got her a plastic one, and a water gun. Which she lost very quickly after ambushing me in the living room. It was fun, but I didn’t want to risk it happening again. That and I’ll be able to ambush her some day and return the favor.

I’ll end it here, because Chrissy wants to go to the beach. And she’s trying to get the wand so it can come too, and if she keeps tugging like that, the tub’s going to fall down on her.

~William.

Almost a month and I haven't written in here, but a lot has been going on. My sister went into labor about mid-April, and I had to help her out about. Her and her husband are new to this, and don't seem to think they'll be good parents. It's not true, they're doing a good job. And Chrissy loves their little baby boy. She wants me to find a lady friend so she can have a baby brother.

Chrissy got the chicken pox shortly after that. Poor kid. Didn't like the itching, and didn't like the methods used to get rid of it. She couldn't win. It's gone away now, but she has one odd, circle scar on her forehead. It amuses her, I don't know why.

The wands been kind of 'quiet' lately. Usually, something strange would happen every so often, but the last couple of weeks, absolutely nothing. When I emptied it's water, it didn't fill it up again. It concerned me, so I did it myself. I hope it's not dead...

Listen to me, thinking a wand can be dead. But it's true. There's something in the wand, that's more than obvious by this point. And I don't want it to be so quiet. I like it, I want to see what happens to it. But maybe that's all it was? Lived as a wand, and died as one?

Sigh. Oh well. I'll keep it anyway, Chrissy will get upset if it disappears. Or if I stop 'looking after it'. Maybe it misses the trips to our pool. Chrissy like taking it for a swim, but hasn't done that lately because she's been wanting to play at the park nearby. Maybe I'll take it out there, it's kind of hot and I can use a swim.

Yeah, I will. Chrissy's at day care for the day, and I'm home alone, so why not?

Ah! Yes, I almost forgot to tell you about our new puppy. He's a mastiff, and my God is he gorgeous. His name is Levi.

That's it for the first update of this month.

~William.

Trent's Room Quest, part 1

We're all settled into the house. Unpacked the last box today! It took so long, because I wanted to decorate some of the rooms, give them a more personal touch, you know? Namely my room, Chrissy's room, my study, the walls in the kitchen and bathrooms, and the wand's room. Yeah, the wand's got a room. It just feels too..alive. I believe what I was told about it, I'll be honest. So I gave it the room that leads out onto that fishbowl-like deck, thing. It just seemed like a good idea.

We've been actually living in the house for about six days now, and it just seems happier. The wand I mean. The water around the wand is always bubbling in a happy kind of way. But yeah...I may have gone over board on the ocean theme, for his room, but those things were irresistable.

Look at that rug. That's an awesome rug.

It's a little bit empty, I admit, but...what are you going to put in there for a piece of driftwood that has mild mood swings? I mean, the chair and books are only there incase me or Chrissy decide to go sit in there. Which we do do occasionally, but don't usually have the time for.

I've been unpacking, and she's been exploring the yard and beach. She really likes it here, keeps bringing home crabs, and other things she finds on the beach. Put one in the tank, and it tried to drag the wand out of it, so I guess pets are a no-no for my little stick friend. They like him a little too much.

I found out today that this house is actually quite old, and refurbished, and apparently has lots of hidden things. A couple of hidden rooms, they said, some hidden closets, things like that. Haven't found a single one, but I'm getting all the blueprints that have been done of the place, sometime soon, so hopefully that'll help.

I'll tell you, though...you can tell it's an old house, after being here a couple of days. I swear, this place is haunted...hearing weird things. Thumping, things moving, I may have heard soft voices once or twice. It's eery, but its no problem. Chrissy hasn't complained, at least. But then again...she's a strange child, she might try to make friends with any ghosts.

But yeah...the wand's room. There's also a fairly large (empty) closet by the door, that Chrissy decorated with glow in the dark marine animals. And a random giraffe. I gave her creative license, so it's ok. Very out of place, though. She also threw in a few stars. And I'm trying to find a nice shade for the ceiling light, to tie it all in. It was a fancy, mini-chandelier, and it just didn't fit.

I'd show you the rest of the house, but there's just way too much. Maybe when I have the time, I'll get around it, but not today, I'm afraid.
I need a nice, long rest, so I think I'm going to go put up the hammock, then have a refreshing nap outside where Chrissy won't be able to find me straight away.

It had been a shorter-than-normal, and lazy day of work for William today. And he came home feeling pleased, and relieved. It lasted all of five seconds after he opened his front door. There was something wrong...

And it wasn't that subtle, creeping feeling in the back of the neck, kind of wrong. It was, something was screaming to high heaven, kind of wrong. What was that? It couldn't be Chrissy, she was at a friends house. He shut the door and dropped his things, running in the direction of the noise. He wasn't surprised to find himself at the wand's room.
Maybe one of the neighbours kids had somehow gotten in. He winced, blocking one ear against the high, slightly abnormal, and gurgly screech. Gurgly...wait, what?

William swore and burst the door in, thinking for a moment the neighbours boy had somehow gotten into the tank. He hurried over, seeing a body in there. But he stopped in his tracks, and let out a short, startled scream, taking a few hurried steps back.

"What?! No! No, just NO!"

There was a baby in there, but not like any baby he'd seen before. It had claws, and extra arms, and-and...wait...

He slowly, warily, and shaking slightly, edged over to the tank. The baby seemed to be in mid tantrum, banging its claws and hands on the tank, the water seeming to be helping it stand on its feet, though it usually shouldn't have even be able to sit, judging from its size.



"Are you....no...you can't be.." he said disbelievingly, then tapped the glass. This got the baby's attention and it stopped screaming, blinking at him. Then it seemed to recognized him, and made a bubbly, happy noise, hitting the glass again.

"No way..."

William straightened up, and stared down into the water, before reaching in uncertainly and lifting the baby up carefully. The moment it was out of the water, it seemed unable to support itself, and William shifted to hold it in a safer way.

"Oh God."

It felt a little bit rubbery...and a bit slimy, but he guessed that was the water. The baby squirmed, and whined, and William heard it...his...? Yes, his, stomach give a soft whine, and he frowned.

"Guess you're hungry..."

THIS was the kraken? It didn't look anything like what he expected. Well, it wasn't exactly normal, but it..didn't seem dangerous, not like he thought it would. He carried him out into the kitchen, not sure what he was meant to give the poor thing.

"Ok..lets see what we got to work with."

He opened the fridge, holding the baby carefully with one arm, and crouching slightly to peer in. Ugh...he wish he'd known what would happen...now he had to set up for a baby.


The next morning, William was passed out on the armchair in the wand's...no, the baby's room, and the baby was happily curled up on the bottom of the tank, experimentally gumming on the plastic marine foliage that Billy had put in there. He wasn't at all pleased with the taste, and let go, screwing his face up, and using the glass to pull himself up to the surface, where he poked his head out, making soft grunting and whining noises, wanting Billy's attention, but having no reason to scream.

Thankfully, before he changed his mind on that, the man stirred and opened his eyes. It took a moment, but he eventually caught sight of the baby bobbing at the top of the water and got up to go over to him.

"Chrissy's gonna be thrilled," he said, watching the baby spin in a slow circle. He gave him another look over, for about the hundredth time, and frowned, "Those nippers sure look painful, little man..." he said, reaching in and lifting one, inspecting it carefully.
The baby allowed it, but after a couple of moments, got irritated and snapped his claw once, making Billy jump.

"Oi! Hey now, don't be doing that, you little bugger. You'll take my finger off."

He picked him up, and carried him back over to the chair, sitting down, and looking down at the stack of old baby name books, and sighed.

"You just don't suit any names in here...Guess I could find a name that means six," he said, chuckling. "Or squid..you're not really a squid though, are you? No tentacles, or cone head...guess you're a lobster, or a crab."

He let out another side as the baby just stared up at him.

"You're not helping much."

He picked up the last book he hadn't gone through, and flicked through it, then frowned, and stopped. Ah, this was the one Chrissy had got ahold of, when she thought she was going to have a baby brother or sister. He got a sad look on his face for a moment, then smiled and looked at Trent.

"Guess you're just what she wanted, uh..." he looked at the page, where his baby girl had circled a name that she liked. "Trent. Ok...Trent. That's not so bad," he said, still smiling. "You like that, huh? Trent?"

The baby seemed indifferent, but Billy was happy with his choice.

"Trent Swanson." He grinned, settling back, and stroking the baby's cheek gently, "Guess we need to go shopping and get you some baby things, little man."

Family Reunion (part 2)

It took a long, long time, and a lot of repeating, to fully explain his situation to his family. By the time he was finished, it was approaching late afternoon, and he knew they still weren’t entirely sure what was going on. But they seemed a little more at ease with Trent now, despite the slight mishap with nearly snapping at his brother’s hand. He’d tried to grab something from him and used the wrong arm.
But at around five in the afternoon, they’d gone back to their hotel with promises of coming around the next day, so they could go out and spend the day together.

Which is what they were getting ready for. Or trying to. Billy was trying to put custom made clothing on Trent, for the first time. It was going very badly. The way the clothes had been made, they should have been easy to get on, but Trent was screaming to high-heaven. He did not approve of this restricting piece of fabric being wrapped around and put on to him. He was lying on his back on his blanket, on the floor, flailing his arms, kicking, and smacking his claws against the floor in indignation. Billy felt horrible, he sounded so distressed! And he was crying, he hated it when he cried!

“I’m sorry, bub, but you gotta get used to it!”

Trent just screamed louder, and Billy winced. Then the worst possible thing happened…Trent caught some of the shirt in his claw, and Billy’s eyes went wide at the sound of tearing fabric. He stared, looking horrified, as Trent stopped cried and looked confused as he was suddenly undressed. Billy made a pathetic whining noise. That shirt had cost him so much money to get made…

Trent looked up at him, then gurgled and lifted the claw holding the ruined clothing. It slipped and fell onto his face. He gave a surprised shriek, and started flailing again. Billy sighed and removed it, tossing it to the side, and lifting Trent up. “You’re such a nuisance…” And, of course, Trent was completely happy again. He looked up at Billy, then hid his face behind his claws.
“You galah.”
He took him out to the car, were Chrissy was waiting, and moved to strap him into his car seat. He looked to his daughter, who looked irritated.
“Don’t look at me like that. Can you go grab the baby bag, then lock the door behind you?” he asked, handing her the keys. She sighed and ran into the house, coming back out with Trent’s baby bag, and shut and locked the door behind her.

Before long, they left, and arrived at the park they were meeting his parents at. There was a mall across the road, so the kids could play then they could do some shopping, before heading to the zoo. Billy was looking forward to that. They had an aquarium, with one of those tunnels. Something both he, and Trent, could enjoy. He was still a big kid when it came to that, his family could never understand his fascination with ‘fish’. They were a farming family, who didn’t live on the coast. The most fish he ever saw were the goldfish in his tank, and the guppies and yabbies in the creek. He sighed, smiling and briefly reminiscing about the days when he used to care for the horses, and teach a six-year-old Cory how to ride. He missed it, but not enough to move away from the sea.
He moved to get Trent out of the car, “Maybe we can go visit sometime. What do you think, buddy?”
Trent just looked at him, not at all knowing what he was talking about.
“Take you and Chrissy to the farm, see all the horses and cows. See what you make of a scrub turkey, or the koalas.” He looked to the playground then back to Trent, “Make some yabby friends,” he said, grinning. Trent only took notice of Billy’s big smile, and kicked his feet happily.

“I really can’t wait until you’re old enough to swim with dolphins though,” he said, then frowned and looked up, “Wait…” he chuckled, “I don’t have to wait, really, you can keep up with me when I’m swimming. But they wouldn’t let you in with them. They might think you’re food or something.”
“….Dad, he can’t understand you.”
Billy jumped and cried out, “Chrissy, don’t sneak up on me.”
“I’ve been standing here the whole time!”
He just made an awkward noise and lifted Trent out of the car seat, and grabbed the baby bag, before shutting the door with his foot. He moved to get out and set up the pram, to put Trent in. Chrissy rolled her eyes then ran to where her grandparents were already waiting. Billy pushed the pram after her, at a slower pace, looking down at Trent to see him wide-eyed and staring at all the people running around.
As he reached his family, he put Trent’s pram by the picnic bench, and sat down, keeping the baby facing him, and a foot on the bottom of the pram.


They ate breakfast there, shopped for about two hours, before all piling into the cars for the zoo. They had all gotten excited about it by then, so when they reached the zoo and had parked, they were talking louder than usual, and Cory and Chrissy were running around like kids, and even though Billy’s mother reprimanded them, she had a wide smile on her face and looked amused. Trent’s eyes were impossibly wide, and he was shaking slightly. Billy told them he was going to take him to the entrance, and did so, while they were getting their things out of the car.
After they got there too, and after a brief mishap with paying, they were inside, and everyone started debating on where to go first. Billy was thrilled when they agreed to go to the aquarium, and he raced Cory and Chrissy there, still pushing the pram. Even Trent got into the race, letting out high-pitched happy shrieks. They all skidded to a halt at the entrance, and Billy frowned when the other two started staring at the pram with an odd look.
He leant forward to see Trent grunting, and whining, squirming and seeming to try and get out.
“Little buggers excited, isn’t he?”
“Apparently.”

-to be continued-

The Aquarium (family reunion, last part)

The inside of the aquarium had a repressing, but calming atmosphere. It was moderately dark, casting shadows over people’s faces, and everywhere thick glass walls held back the water that surrounded them. Not to mention the critters the water housed. It was a large dome almost, and as Billy pushed the stroller through he felt closed in, like any moment the domed building would begin to shrink, until the water was bearing down on him. But it was fascinating. They’d set it up to look like it was all one tank, when really it was divided, for the safety on the marine life, and the whole place was bathed in blue and green, thanks to the minimal light that occasionally lit up the people that passed by, in an eerie way. He stared with wide eyes at the dazzling schools of fish that darted by in swarms, like underwater bees, and at the manta ray that glided over head like a large, diamond-shaped, gray ghost. He wanted to touch it, to stroke his fingers along its underside as it floated gracefully over them. He could barely reach the rounded glass ceiling, let alone the beautiful creature.
He continued on, having been left behind by his enthusiastic daughter and her equally excited uncle. His head turned quickly from one side to the next, trying to take in all there was to see. It looked so realistic, just like in the ocean, with coral, and seaweed, sea sponges and anemones. Eels, starfish, fish of all types, and crustaceans. He stopped, his eyes going immediately to the bloated, alien-like head, the many long, coiling arms, and the bulbous eyes of the giant octopus. Its skin was a deep reddish brown, it looked almost dirty, but under its arms it was a lighter, more pink color.
“Would you look at that,” he said, grinning and wheeling Trent over. The baby was beside himself, had been since they’d arrived. His face was screwed up in an almost frustrated way, but the noises he made were often what Billy would class as happy.
“Did I tell you about my run in with one of these buggers? Was a lot bigger than this. See those suckers, honey? See his arms? I was out in the ocean when I was young, maybe eighteen. Went scuba diving with some friends,” he watched as Trent leant forward and tried to touch the glass. He kept him far away enough to stop him from banging on it with his claws.
“We swam down to the bottom, wasn’t that deep. Sunlight was still reaching us. I remember it was a nice clear day. Hot out. Swam down, and I followed this gorgeous little fish through some rocks. It went into a crevice, big enough for me to go into. I was a stupid kid back then, went to follow it. I’m lucky my buddy octopus decided then was a good time to reach for me. His tentacle was bigger than my arm, seemed almost as long as me. Never been so scared in my life,” he chuckled, watched the octopus move lazily towards them, “Never swam so fast.”
He stood there for a moment then continued through the aquarium. Trent suddenly started to whine, and smack his claws on the pram, squirming, and leaning forward as far as he could, body tilted towards the glass wall. Billy, curious, moved to see what he was looking at, and his eyes went impossibly wide. There, sitting not two feet from the glass was a monster of a crab. A king crab, he guessed, its leg-span had to be over the maximum six feet. He moved over to it, and it twitched its front legs forward. It was a beast. Trent gazed at it, stunned into silence, his eyes wide, and his arm outstretched. He sat like that for a moment then made a startled motion. There were more, though none as big as the first. A whole pod of giant king crab.
“Jesus Christ,” Billy muttered, leaning over the handle of the pram, “I want one.”
He looked down at Trent, who continued to gaze transfixed as the crabs all gathered at the glass to stare back. Billy frowned, looking around, then gazing at the odd gathering off crustaceans. What were they doing? Trent had his claws up, did that set them off? No, they weren’t acting defensively. This was all very strange. He looked around again, taking a closer look at the animals. Come to think of it…all the ones nearby seemed to press as close as they could to the crabs. No. Not the crabs…He hesitated for a moment, then wheeled Trent a little further along then looked again at the animals. Low and behold, they had moved closer, and some that had been paying no attention before, had joined in. What Billy didn’t notice was that if he moved far enough away, which was only a meter or two, they seemed to forget, and went back to what they were doing.
“I…think its time to go find the other two.”
Trent did not approve as Billy moved him back towards the middle of the dome, and continued on, and he let him know with angry cries, and lots of tears, which only caused Billy to move faster, to avoid the odd looks that they were now getting from the crowd.
“Come on, honey, don’t be like that. We’ve seen all the things we can…” he cut himself off, freezing in spot and staring, his back rigid. Swimming slowly and casually by them was a great white shark. It was the biggest Billy had ever seen, and it stared them down with sharp, black, lifeless eyes. Billy was struck by a paralyzing dread as it seemed to slow, its pointed noise turning ever-so-slightly towards them, its thick body seeming all too close, and its white stomach standing out vividly in the dark tank. The poor man was hit by sudden ideas of demons, and other such things that hid in the dark. In all the ocean, the only thing he feared was this monster.
Trent, however, had a very different idea. He was thrilled, just as thrilled as he had been to be near anything else. To him, the shark seemed to look at them with curiosity, if such a thing could occur to someone so young. But to his father, it stared at them with a merciless uncaring, like they were nothing but a potential irritant that could easily be swatted, like a half-dead housefly. He stood frozen, as Trent strained to try and touch, and test out this new thing, so huge, and so very interesting.
“Billy!”
The man gasped, brought out of his terrified trance as his brother moved over and grabbed his shoulder roughly, “What is wrong with you, man? Just walk away.” He looked at his older sibling with an annoyed look. He didn’t get it; he didn’t understand how bad phobias could get. He wasn’t scared of anything.
“Come on, Chrissy has something she wants to show you.”
They walked away, Billy shaking all over, feeling weak and light-headed, and Trent once again angry, but showing it in a much quieter, more accepting way, having thrown himself back against the pram, balled his little fists, and stuck his lower lip far out in a very, very angry way. That changed, however, as they found Chrissy in a gift shop. She had a wide grin on her face, and as they appeared, she threw her arm out and pointed to a large shell that sat high up, with a price displayed boldly overhead. Billy’s eyebrows rose as he looked at it. You could put a baby in there. Trent’s eyes went wide, the same thing seeming to occur to him too, but for a different reason.
“Chrissy…”
“Daddy, please! It’s so pretty!”
It looked like a large rock, and was a similar color to Trent’s claws.
“Look how expensive it is, darling.”
She looked completely heartbroken, her smile sliding off her face, and her arm falling to her side limply, “But…”
“That’s a lot of money for a shell.”
“You spent more on your seahorse!”
Billy frowned, “Which you promptly took out of the tank and killed. And since then I’ve put a limit on what I’ll buy, haven’t I?”
He knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment it came out, as Chrissy’s eyes welled up, and her mouth pulled back in an upset grimace. He didn’t mean to make her feel guilty; he was just making a point. She started to sob, and he moved over to her, kneeling down and pulling her into a hug. She resisted a little, making an angry noise.
“Darling.”
“I never ask for anything!”
There was a long silence, and he looked up, trying to think of his next argument, but he saw his brother move over to the cashier, and ask for the shell.
“What are you doing..?”
“Getting Chrissy an early birthday present.”
Chrissy made a shrill, happy noise, and moved away from Billy and over to Cory. All Billy did was sigh. Why could no one say ‘no’ to that girl?