“I’ve always said if you have no bricks then you are ‘All bricks short of a hod’,” said Radu with a nod.

“When have you said that, I’ve never heard you say that before just now,” replied Basil.

“Always I’ve said it, or most always, most especially when I’ve no bricks for my hod,” Radu said, with a bit of a snort.

“No, you’ve not.  I’d have heard it long before now if you had, what with the missing brick and all, long before.”

The two stood quietly then for quite a long stretch of time.

“When you have no bricks for your hod, ‘You’ve a brickless hod’, that’s something I say quite regularly, you know,” said Radu.

“And I’ve always said if you have no bricks then you are ‘All bricks short of a hod’,” replied Basil.

“Ooh, I rather like that,” Radu said, with some admiration, “I wish I had said something like that,” and he kicked the ground a bit petulantly with his boot.

Basil smiled to himself and adjusted his halo.

“Should be any minute now, I would think.”

“Yes, yes, one to go and all that.”

And the two stood quietly then for quite a long stretch of time.

—–

“Hello, you,” said Radu as he shuffled his feet.

“Yes, hello there,” chimed in Basil and he doffed his halo with a flourish.

Radu bowed slightly and extended his arm, with the palm of his hand turned upwards, towards an empty wheel-barrow that was just a few paces away.  Basil, halo still in hand, indicated the same empty barrow and he raised his eyebrows in a somewhat hopeful and expectant manner.

“No time for the likes of you two,” sneered Momrasingbi, the Wicked Witch of the East, “not for you,” and she continued to trudge along the yellow brick road, heading for the land of the Munchkins.

“And what is that you have there,” inquired Basil, “something for one’s hod, perhaps?”

“Ooh,” said Radu, and he looked questioningly at the ugly hag.

“Not at all, fool.  What I have here,” and she gave a mighty jerk to a length of rope she had gripped in her bony hands, “is a flying monkey which will not fly,” and she jerked the long cord yet again, “it is, in effect, a non-flying, flying monkey.”

“It’s just, you see, we have a job to finish,” started Basil, “yes, quite an important job at that,” Radu finished.

“I bought the damned thing from those damned Munchkins and it’s supposed to fly.  But it does not fly.”

“If we don’t finish, it remains merely a yellow brick road,” said Radu, “and if we do finish then it glories and becomes the Golden Path, you see,” said Basil, “and we’re one short,” they both said in unison and glanced again at the empty wheel-barrow.

“Fly!” screamed the witch, whereupon the monkey, which had been laying on the ground in a pitiful heap, rose to its feet and performed a little dance.

“Bah!” she said in disgust and continued to walk away, down the yellow road, the silver shoes on her feet clicking and clacking on the bricks as she went.

Basil returned the ring to his head and adjusted it just so.

Radu bent down and brushed some dust from off of his shoes.

—–

There came a clicking and a clacking from the direction of the land of the Munchkins.

“I dreamt of poppies again,” said Basil.

“Again?” said Radu, “you’ve never mentioned poppies before and I wish you wouldn’t mention them now.”

“One short, and all that?”

“Of course.”

A girl appeared on the yellow brick road, heading toward the Emerald City.  She was dressed plainly in a simple white work blouse and a blue midi-skirt flared with white godets.  Below that, she wore ruby colored socks and a pair of silver shoes.

“Hello you, there you are again,” said Radu.

“Yes, hello again,” Basil chimed in.

“Why, I’ve never been this way before,” said the girl.

“Just yesterday,” said Radu, and Basil nodded his head in agreement, “just last year,” he said.

“Not last year and not yesterday either,” the young girl continued, “I’m quite sure.”

“And have you seen what we need,” asked Radu, “you must have seen some trace of it, lo this past year.”

“It should have been here yesterday, when last you came by.  Can you report its status,” said Basil, “report its position on the yellow brick road?”

“I’ve only just come from the very start of the road,” said the girl, “and I’ve traveled all the way to where we are now and I can report that there is nothing, and no one, on the road from there to here.”

“But the job is not finished,” frowned Basil, “not finished at all,” said Radu, “there’s still one to go, or it shall ever remain but a yellow brick road,” they said together.

“I’m so very sorry, but I do not believe whatever it is you need shall be arriving today,” the girl replied and she skipped away down the road, her silver shoes clicking and clacking with a different rhythm and cadence than before.

And the two stood quietly then for quite a long stretch of time.

—–

A monkey flew past, from the direction of the land of the Munchkins and towards the Emerald City, and it carried with it a length of rope gripped in its hind paws and to the end of the rope was attached the limp form of a dead witch.

Crows had pecked out Momrasingbi’s eyes and her silver shoes were missing.

Radu and Basil stood and watched as the pair continued along the yellow brick road and disappeared into the distance.

“Perhaps we should work ourselves to death,” said Basil.

“Agreed,” said Radu.

And the two stood quietly.

<fade to black>