The Shadow Puppet Theatre

Laurie’s mother found the shadow puppet theatre on the day that he was home sick from school.

“What’s that?” Laurie asked as June pulled the box out from the closet.

“It belonged to your great-uncle, Robert. I used to love visiting his house when I was little. You never knew what you would find.” She stood up, knees creaking. “Let’s get you some lunch, then we’ll have a look together.”

June made toast for Laurie and tea for herself. A crow perched on the fence beyond the kitchen window, jutting its head up and down. June placed the large cardboard box on the table, grinning as she pulled things out of it. 

“Oh my goodness, look at this! Uncle Robert’s shadow puppet collection!”

She arranged the things on the table. There were black fabric puppets with sticks attached to the limbs; a king wearing a large crown, a queen in a regal gown, a dragon, and more. She unfolded each puppet and backdrop piece, taking care not to tear the fabric or tangle the sticks. The fabric was stiff and musty but when his mother held up the dragon and waggled the sticks, its tail rippled into life.  

“You’re looking a bit peaky, love. Why don’t you sit on the couch and I’ll see if I can set this up?”

Laurie lay on the couch. He tried to watch what his mother was doing but his eyes were like shutters. He drifted off.

He woke up, confused. The room was dim. His mother had set up the shadow puppet theatre on the coffee table and placed a lamp behind it. The curtains were closed. 

“You’re awake! How are you feeling?”

Laurie blinked. “Ok.”

“Well, I think I’ve got it set up now,” his mother said, gesturing at the construction behind her. “Do you want to see it?”

Laurie nodded. His mother crouched down behind the shadow theatre. A castle appeared on one side of the screen, paper pennants fluttering. A king and queen entered from the other side. A conversation was enacted between the king and queen but his mother fumbled the sticks and the puppets fell against the screen. 

“Sorry about that,” came his mother’s voice. Another puppet entered the screen, a knight on horseback. A princess appeared in the castle turret. Again, the puppets flopped over. She stood up, laughing at herself. 

“Butterfingers!” she exclaimed. “ It’s a bit tricky, managing more than one at a time!”

Laurie laughed too but it turned into a coughing fit. His mother bent over him and felt his forehead. “You’re a bit hot again, love. Better have a rest.”

Laurie shuffled down the hallway to his bedroom and lay down on his bed. His eyes closed and he drifted into sleep. In his dreams, a troupe of puppeteers came to a medieval castle, where they were brought into the royal court to entertain the king and queen. 

It was dark when Laurie woke up. His mouth was parched so he slipped out of bed and walked down the hall to the kitchen. What time was it? He poured himself a glass of water from the tap and drank it. As he placed the glass down on the counter, a flicker of light caught his eye. He turned around. It was dark beyond the kitchen. The light flickered again and he walked slowly into the living room.

June must have forgotten to turn off the lamp before going to bed. A soft light warmed the edges of the shadow puppet theatre. He moved closer to turn it off but then the sound of a trumpet startled him. Was it coming from the theatre?

He heard the trumpet again; it was definitely a fanfare for something. Bewildered, Laurie crouched behind the couch and peered out, his mouth hanging open, as invisible hands drew the theatre curtains open. There was the castle along one side of the screen. The puppet king and queen proceeded out of the castle gates. They bowed to each other, hinged limbs moving with ease, then walked offstage. Frightened but transfixed, Laurie stared at the screen before getting up to look behind the stage. Another trumpet call sounded and, startled, he returned to his hiding spot behind the couch.

The queen emerged holding a baby. The king accompanied them, gazing with adoration at his wife and child. He then bent down and placed something on the ground. A leaf poked up, then spiralled out into a tree. The queen sat under the towering tree with the baby. 

Laurie looked around the living room, dark except for the light coming from the shadow theatre. His mother was sleeping in her room. He was alone here except for the story that was unfolding across the shadow screen.

There was a tinkle of wind chimes. A fairy flew down to the queen and baby. She waved her wand over the baby’s head then flew away. The queen rose, then walked off stage with the baby and the king. The curtains closed.

Laurie awoke to his mother’s face looking at him with concern. “Laurie, love! What are you doing here?” 

Blinking, Laurie tried to make sense of his night. He had been worrying about the fairy’s warning to the king and queen, then he wondered how he knew what the fairy had said to them. It was all mixed up in his head.

“Mum, I saw…” He faltered, not sure how to explain it to his mother. “I saw the puppets last night. The light was on and there was a trumpet and someone was pulling the curtains…”

June furrowed her brow. “Let me check your temperature. You must have an awful fever again, having dreams like that.”

“No, mum, honest, I went to the kitchen to get a drink of water and I saw…” Laurie’s voice trailed off. It did sound crazy.

It was another quiet day. Laurie lay on the couch and watched tv, but he couldn’t pay attention. The day passed slowly. 

Laurie had a fever again that night. “This will be the third night,” his mother said, tucking him into bed. “Might have to see the doctor tomorrow if you’re no better.” He was asleep before his mother left the room.

Dreams of royal courtiers enjoying the puppet show merged with images of the castle silhouetted against the linen screen. His eyes opened. He needed to go to the toilet. 

He walked quietly to the bathroom. He could hear June’s light breathing; she must have left both their doors open so she could check on him. 

After using the toilet, he heard the trumpet call. He turned and headed for the living room. Like last night, it was dark except for the lamplight behind the shadow theatre. What was going on? 

He saw the castle and the tree. The princess, now grown, stood in the window at the top of the castle. Clip, clop, clip, clop. A knight on horseback rode up to the castle and extended his arm to the princess. She shook her head and the knight, head hung low, turned and rode away. A second knight arrived to declare his suit. The princess turned him away also. A third knight came and was dismissed. 

The princess descended from the castle and sat under the tree. Then she put her hands to her face. Laurie craned his head around the side of the couch to look closer. Was she crying? 

The bodies of the king and queen were brought on stage. They were buried in the royal garden. The princess wept. 

Wind chimes announced the arrival of the fairy who spoke to the princess. The princess seemed buoyed by the fairy’s words of strength. (How did Laurie know what they had spoken? If he thought about it he could not make sense of it.) Wind chimes accompanying her, the fairy flew up and off stage. The curtains closed. 

Laurie awoke to his mother gently shaking him. “Have you been sleepwalking again, love?”

“Yes,” he said, deciding not to tell his mother about the puppet theatre’s second act. If she said that it was just a dream, he would be crushed.

“Hmm, still a bit warm.” June placed her hand on his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

Laurie opened his mouth to speak but he started coughing. His mother shook her head. “I’m going to take you to the doctor. It’s been three days now of this ‘flu.”

He lay on the couch and listened as she called the doctor. 

Another day passed in a haze. Laurie couldn’t stop thinking about the princess and her grief over her parents’ death. 

June put him to bed early again. “You get a good sleep. Doctor Kamali says it’s just a nasty virus.”

She kissed him on the forehead. “And no more sleepwalking!” she scolded as she left the room. “I’m closing your door but I’ll leave mine open just in case.”

“Ok, mum.” 

Laurie closed his eyes and the royal court filled his dreams again. He was only half aware of rising from his bed. The house was as still as moonlight on a calm lake.

The trumpet announced the beginning of the third act. The curtains drew back and Laurie gasped. The dragon! Flames rolled out of its jaws. The princess appeared at the top of the castle, brandishing a sword and a shield. The dragon breathed fire towards her. She ducked and parried. The dragon retreated to the edge of the stage.

The knights who had courted the princess earlier returned, eager to fight the dragon. One by one, they attacked but were eliminated. Laurie held his breath as the princess descended from the castle and put down her sword and shield. She was addressing the dragon. What did it want? 

The dragon’s home had been destroyed by men, seeking riches by mining gold and silver from the earth. The princess offered it food and sanctuary if it would leave them unharmed. With a tinkle of wind chimes, the dragon vanished and the fairy stood in its place. The princess had passed the test of courage and kindness, realising that greed and violence lead only to more greed and violence. Her kingdom was blessed by the fairy with abundant harvests from then on. The curtains were drawn one last time.

Laurie’s eyes closed as the lamplight was extinguished. He was jolted awake by June standing over him. 

“Oh, Laurie!” she exclaimed. “You’ve been sleepwalking again!”

Sitting up, Laurie smiled sheepishly. He didn’t know what to tell her. She would never believe him. “Sorry, mum. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“How are you feeling? You sound better. Let me grab the thermometer.”

Laurie stretched. He did feel better. His mother checked his temperature. “What a relief, no more fever. Let’s have some breakfast.”

Laurie followed June into the kitchen. He kept picturing the shadow puppets’ play. How had it happened? His mother hadn’t seen or heard anything. He must have been sleepwalking and dreaming from the fever.

“Dig in,” June said as she passed him a plate of eggs and toast. She turned to fill the kettle but gasped, looking out the window, as Laurie also jumped. He had heard the windchimes tinkling; it was unmistakable and his mother had heard it too!

“What was that?” he said, looking at his mother.

“Bloomin’ crow, nearly flew straight into the window!” she said. “Gosh, it made me jump.”

“No, the music, like wind chimes. I thought I heard wind chimes.”

“Oh!” June said, craning her head to look at the wall beyond the kitchen window. “There was a set of wind chimes in the bottom of the shadow puppet box. I put them up outside. That bird has taken off with them! Imagine that!”

Mouth open, Laurie looked outside. He didn’t remember seeing his mum putting up wind chimes but maybe she had done it when he was feeling unwell. It had been a strange couple of days. He looked again through the window and then leaned back in his seat. Screwing his eyes shut, he tried to make sense of it all. 

In the distance, a crow called and the ever-so-faint sound of wind chimes tinkled through the air.