CAT and FIDDLE Island is now a wonderful place to live. Lili Pilli has her cottage and the Tinykins are all over the place. The Cats are as happy as cats can be – and that means that they are VERY happy indeed.
On the edge of Cat and Fiddle Island, the edge closest to the Perfumed Sea, a special Home has been built. It is called RUO EMOH. It is a Home for the Lonely Ones. Each Lonely person has a beautiful room and there are plenty of places to sit and make friends and smell the perfumes coming in from the Sea.
It is very important that Lonely People find a Home where they are safe and happy.
Some of the Beings that come to RUO EMOH are simply lost and just need a place to stay awhile till they find our how to go Home again.
Some of the Beings who come to RUO EMOH just don’t have anywhere else to go and they can stay forever.
Some of the Beings who come to RUO EMOH are lonely and just need some Friendship. RUO EMOH is a good place to make Friends and some of those friendships are quite unusual!
Jovial John and Wallace Wolf are taking the Ferry to Poppy’s Place for lunch. Once upon a time they would not have spoken one word to one another but now they go to lunch every day. It is a fine friendship.
When Lonely People first come to RUO EMOH, they are sometimes sad. Some of them have been lonely for a long, long time. Sometimes, they just sit in a chair and look at the floor.
They don’t want to eat and they don’t want to talk to anyone. They just sit there.
It takes a while before the Perfume smells come in from the Sea and make them fell a bit better.
It takes a while till the Music starts to make them feel safe and happy.
Sometimes, the Lonely People stay in their pyjamas all day and just sit in their rooms looking out the window.
The Lonely People see Jovial John and Wallace Wolf going out for lunch and they can’t even imagine having a friend like that.
They can’t imagine being so happy.
They can’t imagine wearing such good clothes or such big smiles.
LilliPilli knows what it feels like to have no Home of your very own.
LilliPilli doesn’t BOTHER the Lonely People. She doesn’t BOTHER them. She just smiles. She wears her pretty clothes and paints colours on the flowers.
She plays the Fiddle and she sings while she is working in the Garden.
It makes Lonely People very curious to see happy people with friends.
LilliPilli is VERY good at making people CURIOUS!
One of the best signs that someone is feeling at Home in RUO EMOH is when they start to talk to other people. Hallina has been there for months and months and still has not spoken one single word. Some of the people think they should try to MAKE her talk, but most of them know that gentleness and kindness are the best things. So they SMILE at her. And they leave flowers at her door.
Now she has started to walk in the Garden with a big basket and a lovely hat. She has not spoken one word yet – but we are pretty sure that she has smiled once or twice and Jenny Wren thinks that she heard her singing a little song while she was picking flowers. We think that Hallina will soon be making friends and going to Poppy’s Place for lunch.