I like this… Who-ville… Instantly Dr. Suess pops into my head…. Can’t help it… ;) Great story!

It shouldn’t be helped or avoided, Jenunique. The reference to Who-ville should invoke images of Dr. Seuss, the Grinch, little Cindy-Loo and, of course, Max.

Thanks for the support.

By the way, I’m hoping this will be a “branching ficlet” — a ficlet that has multiple divergences in the chain as various authors continue the writing from this point or that.

I’m really interested in how each individual directs and tells the story.

I appreciate your vocabulary very much. You give me ideas of how to use words—you seem to give the language new avenues that lead to original descriptions. I liked your simple usage of “refinding” instead of using a more obvious choice of phrasing in one of the prequels to this story.

Thanks for the compliment, Tad. I’m usually overly concerned with the vocabulary, so it pleases me to know that someone appreciates it.

A real screwdriver? Not one with an eerie blue light? Pedestrian. Everything else was great. I love the yo-yo, just once. :)