"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."

"I don't much care where -"

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go."

(Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll)

During lunch, Pete and Lola could only talk about the coming night. Pete was ecstatic. He would have a great adventure Even if Grandma didn't want the children to be out in the woods at night, the garden was good enough for the boy.

In his head, Pete had planned the spooky stories he would tell his sister, the snacks they would eat late, and the scary faces that would frighten Lola the best.

"You still need to find the camping mats and the sleeping bags," Grandpa reminded the children. "Are you sure you looked in the chests and the cupboard earlier? There are many places in the attic this could be."

"We could have missed some areas," Lola nodded to Grandpa. "We'll go back there after the lunch and search in all the corners," she added, thinking of the morning discoveries.

When they went into the loft under the roof, they did not look for the camping equipment, but rather for the creature. Monty. It was no surprised to them they did not see him, though they found what they think was his den. Between two tall chests, they had found a treasure of old drawings and magazine clippings.

The place had been easy to find. With Cookie and Kitty with them, Pete and Lola just had to follow their friends' instinct and efficient sense of smell. However, because they had been in the house and not in the woods, the cat and the dog could not answer the children's questions.

When Pete called out to Monty, they had heard some noise. But still there had been no other sign of him in the attic. Taking the sound for proof of the creature's presence, the boy invited him to join them later that night, outside in the garden for their camping party. Kitty added a mewl or two, and Cookie, a gentle growl. Pete hopped this meant the cat and the dog were also inviting the monster, and not warning him to come and join them.

~~

"Monty?" Pete, Lola and the two animals were back in the loft under the roof. They had quickly helped Grandma to clean after the lunch so they could climb up again and try to see Monty.

"What's going on, Cookie?" The dog was nudging her, shaking his head. "Do you mean Monty is not here?" He nodded then. The monster was not in the attic this afternoon.

"Oh, well..." Lola sighed, "we better find those mats and sleeping bags and go help Grandpa set the camp."

The search was short. They found all they needed in the second chest they opened. Obviously, they had not looked anywhere earlier that morning, more interested in finding Monty than anything else.

"We found everything, Grandpa," Pete shouted as soon as he saw the old man."What do we do now?" He asked, looking at his grandfather who was sorting through small and bigger metallic sticks.

"Those are the tent poles, we set them together and put them straight to keep the roof high up. This is this big piece of fabric. And we hold everything in place with those," Grandpa explained the way the tent was to be set and the use of the small pegs and the rope.

"Won't we be wet if it is raining?" Lola asked, doubtful about the whole settings.

"The rooftop is doubled, see?" Grandpa showed her. "If it rains, it's okay, the water will not go through. Though, if it rains, you better come back home. I don't want you to stay under the tent if there is a storm, or even thunder. But I don't think there will be any tonight," he added mentioning that he had checked the weather to get sure it would all be safe for the children. "The moon is almost full, you will have light so it won't be too frightening."

Installing the camp in the garden took a good part of the afternoon. Pete and Lola were more playing than really helping Grandpa. The roof fell more than once. The first time had been an accident, a hazard. The next ones, the two children had an active part in it. Kitty even helped them the last time. Though it had seemed like the cat did not realise what she was doing, Lola was almost sure she willingly climbed on the fabric and set herself on the weakest point of the structure.

Grandpa did not get too much angry at his playful helpers. He even helped to trip the tent once.

The mood was joyful in the warm afternoon weather. When teatime came upon them, Pete and Lola happily joined Grandma for the break. The chatter centred around the coming night.

"Do you have everything set?" Grandma asked. "Did you think to take extra pillows and blankets? The nights can be chilly sometimes."

"I brought some extra clothes in case I am cold in my pyjamas." Pete nodded. Secretly, he hoped he could convince Lola to go into the woods at night. Grandpa and Grandma wouldn't know anything. He was still a bit frightened at the idea, but what adventure this would be, he thought.

"I will make some sandwiches and prepare snacks for you," Grandma's voice interrupted Pete's daydream.

"Can you make chocolate cupcakes, please?" The boy asked, salivating at the idea. "You cupcakes are the best in the World, Grandma!" He added not just to gain her agreement but because he really liked the sweets.

"Sandwiches, cupcakes, some snack... Do you want something else, Lola?" The old lady asked the girl.

"How about a pot of tea?" The younger one proposed? "I think we will need some water also. "

"Oh," Pete added, "do we need some treats or food for Cookie? If he spends the night with us, perhaps he will want some food?"

"That's a good idea, Pete. This way, if he is hungry he will not try to steal your snacks," Grandpa said while looking at the dog. Cookie was unfazed by the comment. He just sat there, his head tilted as to tell Grandpa his worlds made no sense to him.

The relation between the old man and the dog was interesting, Lola remarked to herself. Grandpa seemed to try and tease Cookie at any occasion, and the dog never reacted openly. Though, when it was Grandma or the children themselves, he usually acknowledged their worlds and their presence... Not Grandpa, though...

"So? Are you impatient for tonight?"

Pete and Lola nodded to Grandma with big smiles on their faces and twinkles in the eyes.

The children and the two pets spent their time until dinner in their bedroom. The purpose was not only to do a last check of what they would need for later, but also to try and sneak one last time into the attic. They wanted to get sure that Monty received their invitation for their camp party.

The clock was not running fast enough for Pete and Lola. They ate their dinner quickly, and did not wait for Grandma to ask them to clear the table. The kitchen was all cleaned mere seconds after the end of the meal.

The time to settle under the tent had finally come.

~~

"Do you think Monty will come?" Pete asked Lola.

They had watched the sun go down behind the trees with Cookie and Kitty. At first, Pete had been talking nonsense a mile a minute, but after a time, the silence settled between his sister and himself. Now, pensive, he spoke in a low voice.

"We will see," Lola answered with the same tone of voice. "I think Cookie and Kitty went to fetch him... We will see..."

"What kind of creature he is, you think?" Pete continued with the questions.

"Do you think he will talk to us? Oh, I forgot, the animals don't talk if they are not in the forest... Do you think we can go in the woods tonight? I want to talk with Cookie, and Kitty, and Monty. I want to go..."

Pete was back talking animately. His enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming, and Lola had no time to speak. As he was taking a deep breath, the silence came back into the tent.

"Did you hear that?" Lola shushed her brother to try to hear outside. There were voices out there. Nothing she could understand yet, but it seemed the voices were coming nearer.

"... quiet... people in the... alarm..."

There were at least two different tones of voice, and perhaps a third one, but Lola was not sure. She gave Pete the universal sign to shush, a finger on her lips, and they listened in silence.

"Faster... kids waiting for us."

Puzzled, Lola and Pete looked each other. The situation was starting to get a bit scary, the boy thought, yet exciting also. People were coming, and they knew who was under the tent.

Cautiously, the children went to the back of their tent, were the light did not reach, and tried to be as invisible as possible. Few seconds later, the flap of the entrance opened and three small forms came in. In the moonlight, shadows were distorting, giving a dreary appearance to things and creatures.

Pete and Lola were scared.

~~

"How come you talk now?" Pete asked Cookie and Kitty.

It appeared that the ones who were coming to them with conspirational voices were only a trio of creatures the children knew quite well. Cookie and Kitty had succeeded in convincing Monty to join them that night.

"I don't know," Cookie answered, "it's just like that. Perhaps, now that it is night, you are listening to us. Really listening, I mean, and that you finally hear us talking."

"How come?" Pete continued. "How is that even possible?"

"You seem to like the notion of impossibility too much, boy," the dog commented. "You always go on about things not being possible...I thought we agreed on the possible impossibilities... or the impossible possibilities... how ever you want to call it."

"So," Lola interrupted the dog and her brother, "let say we can understand you at night and in the woods... Fine with me. It is good, at least we don't have to go out in the forest to talk to you tonight."

"Are you scared of the darkness, little one?" The cat questioned with a smirk.

"Let the kids be, Kitty," Cookie stopped her. The cat nodded with a shrug.

"What kind of creature are you, Monty?" Pete asked bluntly the monster.

"Oh, perhaps you don't talk? Can you talk? Do you understand when I talk..." The boy, curious and excited, couldn't stopped the words flowing from his mouth.

"Calm down, boy," Cookie tried to calm Pete. "Take a deep breath and give some time to Monty so he can answer. He is not used to talk with human, and he is still a bit afraid of you, children."

Pete looked at Monty. Effectively, the creature seemed uncomfortable and a bit frightened. "I am sorry, Monty, I didn't want to be rude," he added.

"Do you have any family? Or are you living alone?"

"Have..." The word was pronounced with difficulties, as if Monty was not used to speak. "I... have... family. People... in house. No other." Monty shook his head. "Am... lonely. Dog... Cat... friends."

"Oh!" Lola summarised what she understood, "you live in the house and you consider Grandma and Grandpa your family. Otherwise, you are alone and you don't live with anyone else. Cookie and Kitty are your only friends... Did I understand well?"

Monty nodded.

"It's okay, Monty, take your time. We have all the night to talk and know each others."

~~

Once Monty had surmounted his bout of timidity, the discussion went easier between he and the children.

The creature did not remember how long he had been living in the house with Grandma and Grandpa. He did not remember anything before that either. For him, he always had been there, always had known Lola and Pete's grandparents. Always had been friend with Cookie and Kitty, though he did not see them often.

The strange thing, Lola thought, was that none of them, Cookie, Kitty and Monty, were able to provide an realistic time frame. If she was to believe them, the three were as old as Grandma and Grandpa. The girl did not think too much of it, as Cookie had put it earlier, what could be possible or impossible, who knew?

"What was that?" Pete asked, frightened. They heard a loud noise. Something sounding like an angry beast, or a storm brewing.

The boy looked around him. Kitty was leaving the tent, ready to investigate. He hoped the saying about curiosity and cat would not apply in the situation.

"Wait!" Cookie was following behind the cat. The dog left a quick instruction to the children before heading toward the woods. "Stay there and wait for our return!"

Pete and Lola were petrified. For a time, at least, after which they started talking again.

"What do you think happened?" The boy asked his sister. He did not left her answer, however, telling her his ideas of what could have happened.

Monty looked scared, huddled in a corner.

After what appeared a long time to the children, they started to feel impatient. Monty had checked two or three times already through the tent opening, to see if their friends were coming back. There was no sign of the animals.

"We shall go and see," Pete tried to convince his sister. "They may be in danger, or need our help," he tried to convince her.

"We shall call Grandpa," Lola countered. "He will know what to do."

"And what will he think of Monty, here? I don't think we need him," the boy continued. "Look, we have the torch, the phone, the map. I even have a whistle to make noise and frightened anything out there. And we can get sticks in the woods to defend ourselves."

"Maybe... we go see?" Monty got over his fright and shyness to try and be assertive. He really meant to go out and find Cookie and Kitty.

The children agreed. Pete was excited thinking about the adventure, Lola more circumspect. She was thinking of all the things that could go wrong. It was night. In the woods they did not know. Two children alone...

~~

With the moonlight, they did not need the flashlight. Pete and Lola followed Monty, carefully, through the trees and bushes they used to roam with Cookies during their daily walk.

Pete had stopped to pick two sticks to serve them as weapon. He felt more secure holding it in his hand. Lola accepted hers with the same sentiment. None of them dared speak, not even murmur. The night was clear and bright, the woods oppressing and dark.

At the head of the expedition Monty stopped here and there, listening to the silence and looking for signs only him could see.

"Here!" He pointed in a direction.

The children looked, frightened but determined. They were on a mission.

The excitation of the adventure did not last long. It left them at the gate separating the forest and Grandpa's garden.

"Here!" Monty repeated, showing the way with his hand.

Looking in the distance, Lola started to distinguish something strange. A halo, a colour. Some blue emanating from the path, the trees.

"This is like in my dream..." The sister and brother said at the same time.

The blue light was calling them...