Don't be afraid of the dark

M and T were sitting in their cozy little house, carefully writing letters to their best friends.

Once a month, they loved to send friendly letters, sharing stories, drawing cheerful pictures, and good wishes.

M smiled as she added a tiny rainbow to her drawing. And T decided his zebra needed sparkly boots and a pair of ear muffs.

A soft knock at the door interrupted them. Standing outside was Mrs. Housebeside, looking worried.

“Oh, M and T, have you seen my biggest bed sheet? It’s gone missing. The big dark blue one I always hang on the line.”

M and T shook their heads. “Sorry, Mrs. Housebeside. We haven’t seen it.” Mrs. Housebeside sighed. “It’s so windy today. I’m worried it’s blown away.”

As she left, a frown settled on her face. "It's my favourite one... so soft and warm." Her voice trailed off.

M and T went back to their letters, but soon… They opened the door to find their friend Tom, his eyes wide with alarm. “M and T! The rocket’s gone missing!” “The rocket?” M’s eyes widened. The big, silver rocket the town had been building, was now gone?

Tom nodded, nervously glancing over his shoulder. “It was right outside town this morning… and now it’s vanished!”

The Fixers were furious. That rocket had been built with the curiosity, dreams, and wonder of the town’s children. Now it was gone. They had to act and they climbed onto their favourite thinking spot, the little balcony overlooking the town square.

The sun shone brightly, but as they sat there, shadows started to stretch, and the sky turned a deeper, duskier blue. 

“It’s getting dark so early… but it’s not even evening,” M whispered into the wind. They watched on, as the sky grew darker still, the sunlight fading. One by one, windows in SnoozyTown lit up, but outside, darkness smothered the streets.

“Is it an eclipse?” M wondered. But it wasn’t. The darkness didn’t move. It stayed, thick and heavy. T leaned close. “This feels wrong. Like the darkness is… hiding something, from us.” 

“We have to figure this out,” T declared. “Fixer T-shirts on, let’s go!”

They hopped on their bicycles and rode away from their house. It was so dark, that T nearly knocked into Mrs Housebeside, who was still looking for her sheet in the nearby streets. “Big lights on T,” said M and off they went, with their headlights cutting through the dark alleyways.

They arrived at Mago Maggie’s house, her kitchen glowing with warm candlelight. Mago Maggie’s brow was furrowed. She couldn't believe what was happening to the town. “I can’t figure this out. This darkness and the missing rocket… Could they be connected? But how?” she murmured.

Without making much progress on their investigations, the children sat together for some time. Before M’s walkie talkie buzzed.

“Oh, hello Dear! I’m just wondering if you saw my favourite sheet anywhere in town,” enquired a still nervous Mrs. Housebeside. “It’s so big, I can’t believe someone won’t find it”.

“Oh no, sorry Mrs Housebeside,” said M. “We will look later though. We’re just working on another mystery right now.”

As M put the walkie talkie down, she looked up to see Mago Maggie’s face staring right at her. Her eyes wide. Quick as a flash, Mago asked M about Mrs Housebeside and her ‘giant sheet’.

Thinking nothing of it, M and T explained, telling Mago all about Housebeside’s giant sheet, which she loved so much. “We will help her look for it later,” said T.

“But no, Fixers don’t you get it!” said Mago Maggie, her face now beaming with a smile.

As she scribbled a quick drawing in her notebook, she was whispering to herself. “Of course! Of course!”

Mago was perhaps the wisest of all of SnoozyTown’s residents and she had put all the pieces together.

She lifted up her book to reveal a rocket, a giant sheet and a sun.

“Fixers, someone has stolen the rocket… and the sheet… to cover the sun!”

M & T stared back. They couldn’t believe it.

“But who would do that?”

Mago Maggie’s gaze sharpened. “This smells like the work of Devilly Donkey and his cousins.”

“But we can’t beat them alone,” T whispered. “We need more kiddies. But they’re all inside… scared of the dark.”

Mago Maggie smiled. “Then we’ll help them be brave. First, we must find a way to communicate with everyone.”

M and T knew who they would call for help… Opa, the drone operator’s walkie-talkie buzzed. Today, even Opa was inside, taking shelter from the strange darkness, but he was ready to help. His cameras couldn’t do much, but his tiny drone could still fly. And off it zipped, going from house to house. As it worked, it gently dropped walkie-talkies on the bedroom window sills of all the kiddies.

Soon, Mago Maggie’s voice echoed on every walkie-talkie. “Hello, SnoozyTown kids! It’s M and T, and me, Mago Maggie. The Fixers. We need your help.”

“But it’s dark!” came a tiny voice back. “We’re a bit scared!”

Mago Maggie’s voice was warm. “I know the dark can be scary sometimes. But remember, sometimes what is scary is only in our minds. The dark is just daytime but black.”

In bedrooms across SnoozyTown, the kiddies listened, their ears pressed against the walkie-talkies as the Fixers’ messages crackled through. Slowly, as the Fixers spoke, the kiddies realized everything that was amazing about the dark. They heard how there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on Earth, and all the kiddies went, “Wow.”

They heard how moonlight is the light of the sun mirroring back from the moon, and all the kiddies went, “Wow.” They heard how more animals go on adventures in the world in darkness than in light, and they went, “Wow.” And most of all, the Fixers told the kiddies to be brave and not to fear the darkness. Slowly, the kiddies readied for action.

They packed their bags, collected their torches, and opened their doors. Stepping out they found each other, held hands and saw the courage in their friends’ eyes.

The town was still and the streets deserted. As they tippy-toed, the only sounds were the clanks of donkey hooves. As these got louder, the kids knew they were getting closer. Soon, by the factory’s edge, the donkeys’ shadows danced and their targets were clear. Moving with care, the kids spread around the edge of the factory. In the darkness, they made sure never to be more than an arm’s length from their nearest friend.

They worked as a true team. “Stay close,” M whispered. “When I say three… everyone turn on your lights.”

M watched as the kids silently made a circle around the unsuspecting donkeys. One. Two. Three.

The factory lit up like morning. The donkeys, caught in the glare, panicked and dashed into nets the kids had set. First, they got Devilly Donkey’s cousins. Then, Dastardly Donkey came running out to check what was happening and ran straight into a net.

A few minutes later, with the donkeys bagged up outside, the Fixers and all the kiddies snuck inside the factory. In the middle of the big old building, they saw a couple of lights on and a big screen, set up like a rocket control room.

There sat Devilly Donkey, munching crisps. He was working hard to push buttons on the control panel. Because even for the smartest donkey, blocking the sun was ambitious.

The rocket was not easy to fly. The further from home it went, the harder it was to steer.

From over Devilly’s shoulders, the children could see Mrs. Housebeside’s bed sheets fluttering behind the rocket in front of the sun.

Secretly they crept slow, slow, slow in the dark. All around the edge of the control room. And then one, two, three. Lights on and they shone the light at Devilly Donkey. He got a terrible fright and fell off his chair and the Fixers grabbed him.

“You’re not getting away, Devilly!” T laughed. “Back you go to where the beds never get warm,” the official residence for baddies who couldn't stop causing mayhem in SnoozyTown.

“Ah, sorry you guys!” said Devilly as he was brought for some down time. “I just did it because I lost my sunglasses last week and I really do not like sunshine!”

With Devilly under control, M jumped onto the control panel and slowly guided the town’s rocket safely back to earth. Mrs. Housebeside’s sheet followed on behind.

Slowly, the sheet’s shadow shrank, the sun’s warm light returned, and the darkness lifted.

SnoozyTown settled back into peace.

That night, the once-frightened kids told their parents about the stars. They shared how they had been brave together. And that they had held hands and moved forward, even when they could still feel a bit of fear.

That night their hearts smiled. Each one felt proud of themselves—and of their friends. Above them the stars seemed to twinkle even brighter. A reminder that light always follows darkness.

Bedrooms that had buzzed with action, now fell silent.

Somewhere beyond an owl hoo-hooed, just once, and then fell quiet.

Following it came stillness and calm.

Once more, SnoozyTown settled into sleep.

The End.