Po-Pee McGee and the Baby Salt Mines: Part Two

Note: to read part one, see previous post or click here.

Whomever this ethereal stranger was, Po-pea had a feeling that he meant no harm.

After several babies had trudged by on their way to the mess tent, the stranger gently whispered, “I am here to take you back to your mother and father…and your sister.”

Po-pee gasped. “I have a family? A sister?!”

There was a hint of a memory.. a little girl hovering around and pestering him, but he had just assumed he was raised by fairies or some such annoying creature.

The man chuckled at Joshua’s surprise. “Yes, you have a sister who is alive and well. Unfortunately, Don Jimmy has lured her away too. She is now under close surveillance at his Buffalo Chip factory in the frozen north.”

The man rummaged under his cloak for a moment then set a tattered photograph on the salty earth next to Po-pee.

So this was his sister?He leaned forward with great interest. Yes, she did bear a striking resemblance to that obnoxious fairy he had though a figment of his imagination.

Most of the babies and guards had moved out of earshot by this time, so the mysterious man edged closer to Poe-pee, kneeling down behind a salt dune to avoid attention.

“You are perhaps wondering why a stranger would want to help you, Po-pee.”

Po-pee nodded, his eyes wide.

“The first thing you should know,” the man said softly, “is that your name is not Po-pee McGee. That is just what Don Jimmy wants you to believe. Your true name is Joshua. And I am no stranger.” He gently put his hand on Joshua’s slight shoulder.

“I am your mothers brother. You may call me Uncle Thain.” With that the man threw back his hood and Joshua gasped. That smooth head, the warm brown eyes..

“Why, you look just like me!” he gulped in amazement.

“Yes. It’s a very rare condition , but I am in fact your twin uncle. We share a special bond, Joshua, and that is how I was able to find you. But I’m not the only uncle you need to worry about right now. Sadly, you also have another uncle known as Jimmy Cocoa puff. You may know him as……Don Jimmy.

Joshua gasped in horror, and his lip began to quiver. “Nooooo! He’s not my uncle! How could he?! Why would he do this to his own family?"

Thain held his small nephew close and rubbed his head soothingly. "We've been wondering that for years now, Joshua. Perhaps someday we will be able to ask him what made him such a bitter tyrant. But tonight, he happens to be away to his northern stronghold...and tonight you are leaving this place.

"I will need your help, Joshua. You are possessed of many powers you may not now remember. But together, we can rescue your sister and end this once and for all. What do you say?"

Joshua looked up into his twin uncle's eyes, his face full of determination. He nodded.

" Of course."