By Caitlin Eha
Harmony often found her name ironic.
Peaceful moments spent strumming her ukelele or holding a fluffy, sleeping animal formed only a fraction of her days. The rest was a hodge-podge of chaotic attempts to keep up with her ever-forgotten to-do list, budget for food and rent, and chase down magical varmints that would rather infest a poor human’s house than scamper off to find their own hidey-holes.
That last one proved how fun discord could be.
Like the wrong notes played when learning a new song, mistakes just heralded the start of something wonderful.
“We can’t afford any mistakes!” Jessie’s warning reverberated in Harmony’s earbuds as Harmony dashed through their client’s house, chasing a fleeing creature whose bushy tail whipped around a hallway corner.
Jessie—Harmony’s business partner and the entrepreneurial genius behind Magical Creature Catch and Release—did not have the same opinions regarding chaos, making Harmony question why her best friend had teamed up with her to run this company.
Harmony skidded down the hallway in pursuit of her quarry, holding tight to the ukelele she carried. Ahead, the fluffy tail disappeared around another corner.
A grin burst over Harmony’s face. “You worry too much, Jess.”
“You worry too little.” Over the phone, Jessie took several deep breaths. The sound of shuffling papers followed. “So far,” Jessie said, her tone forced into a slow, even cadence, “Plans One through Three have failed, along with Plan B and Operation Madcap… and what have I told you about consistency when naming the plans?”
“Boringggg,” Harmony teased, but she understood Jessie’s stress. Their fledgling business depended on this job’s success, and more importantly, so did the well-being of the magical creature.
Their client had left for the weekend to give them space to work—and to avoid more surprise encounters with the lonnimor. In their client’s absence, Harmony and Jessie had plugged all but a few nooks and crannies inside the house, limiting the lonnimor’s hide and escape options.
Then Harmony had set up a few harmless traps—including baited cages and scent trails leading outdoors—so she could return the lonnimor to its natural habitat. Finally, she and Jessie had placed portable surveillance cameras and watched the footage in their van, waiting for the creature to emerge.
Unfortunately, the lonnimor had avoided every trap and lure for the entire first day. Now, on the second day—with only hours until their client returned—Harmony had entered the house with her ukelele, determined to try her secret method: soothing magical creatures with music.
If she could get the lonnimor to stay still long enough to listen.
Harmony’s first attempt to sneak up on the creature had failed, resulting in this headlong chase through the house.
“Stop!” Jessie yelped. Still in the van, she monitored the cameras to guide Harmony. “The lonnimor paused in the living room.”
Harmony obeyed, then cautiously peered around the corner into the living room. The lonnimor stood on the rug, its back to Harmony, its nose in the air as it sniffed cautiously.
Shaped like a mink, the lonnimor had a furry ruff of long hair that framed its narrow head like a lion’s mane. The rest of its body—sleek besides its fluffy tail—shimmered in iridescent colors created by tiny scales, like those on butterfly wings.
“Wow,” Harmony breathed as she edged into the room, positioning her hands over the ukelele strings.
The lonnimor whirled toward her.
Then it exploded.
Or rather, a layer of scales burst from its body, becoming… well, the fauna equivalent of a glitter bomb. Harmony coughed as the sparkling “dust” went up her nose and into her eyes. She needed to…
To what?
As the scales settled, Harmony blinked her gritty eyes. Why… was she standing here with her ukelele? She’d been… about to play a song… for someone…
“Harmony?” Jessie sounded worried. “Are you okay? What was that?”
“What was… what?” Harmony asked.
“Um, whatever the lonnimor just spewed at you before it ran?”
“The… lonnimor? Wait, did we find it?”
Silence answered her. “Harmony…” Jessie said slowly, “you told me something yesterday about the lonnimor having a defense mechanism.”
“Yeah,” Harmony said, relieved to remember something clearly. “They expel some scales, which cause temporary short-term memory loss when inhaled. Why?”
Jessie groaned.
Harmony grasped the implication. She stared at the sparkling rug around her and the scales coating her arms and clothes. “Oh, drat.”
“Don’t worry,” Jessie said. “I have a visual on the lonnimor in the kitchen. We can do this.”
Harmony grinned. “All right. Um… which way to the kitchen?”
Jessie gave her directions, and Harmony settled back into the work. She may not remember everything, but she could still… catch…
Harmony paused, noticing a painting on the wall with beautiful swirls of vibrant colors depicting a cerulean sea and a sunset sky.
“Harmony?”
“Yeah, Jess?”
“Get to the kitchen!”
“Why?”
“I just told you, the lonnimor is there.”
“You found it?”
After yet another explanation, Harmony made it to the kitchen. The lonnimor sat with its tail curled over its paws and watched Harmony approach, a smug glint in its purple eyes.
Harmony locked her gaze on the creature, lest she lose focus again. She strummed a chord on her ukelele and prepared to sing.
The lonnimor bolted, streaking past Harmony’s feet and through the kitchen doorway.
“No!” Harmony spun and charged after the lonnimor… then stopped in the main hallway.
Jessie stood just inside the front door, wearing the homegrown equivalent of a hazmat suit: a welding face shield, padded overalls tucked into tall rubber boots, and a thick sweatshirt enveloping her upper body down to her work-glove-encased hands.
Those hands cradled a squirming—but unhurt—lonnimor.
“Jessie!” Harmony grinned. “You did it!”
“Yeah, well,”—Jessie puffed a breath, blowing her bangs out of her eyes—“you needed backup.”
Harmony felt the forgetfulness ebbing from her brain, but… why spoil the fun just yet? “Really? I don’t remember that.”
Her grin widened as Jessie groaned.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
What a fun take on Harmony’s memory loss! And I absolutely loved this line: “Like the wrong notes played when learning a new song, mistakes just heralded the start of something wonderful.” So true in music and in life!
Thanks so much, Luca! I’m glad you enjoyed the story!
Wow, great story! The lonnimor is a cool animal!
I wouldn’t be surprised if this “lonnimor” is actually a Mark Rober build
Thank you, Tracy! I had fun creating an original magical creature for this story!
Fun story. The lonnimor was a delightful creature. Pretty sure I’ve had a few of them visit my house over the years. Their glitter lasts foreverrrrrr. :-)
Haha I’m so glad you enjoyed the lonnimor, JM! Years ago I worked in a store that had greeting cards, and whenever we unpackaged the glittery holiday cards (Christmas, Valentine’s, etc.), the resulting glitter chaos was about like I imagine the lonnimor’s reaction…you’re right, the glitter sticks around for a loonngg time!
A fun story, and a great take on Harmony and her memory issues.
Great short story! You did a great job characterizing both characters and their company in such a short time, I felt like I could already envision a whole series surrounding these two’s start up business of trying to catch and release magical creatures. It was such a fun read. Awesome work!
Thank you, Rosemarie and Katie! Your feedback means so much, and I love seeing how you enjoyed elements of the story that were some of my favorite things to include while writing it!