by Megan Stoddard

Created on: October 12, 2010

“Look, Kate,” Hannah said, showing me five large seeds. “Magic pumpkin seeds!”

“We got them at Kimmie’s party,” Hannah’s twin brother, Jonathan, chimed in. “Kimmie’s dad said they’re magic seeds from magic pumpkins.”

“And what’s magic about them?” I asked, playing along. I learned early on in my career as a nanny never to tell four-year-olds there’s no such thing as magic.

“You can turn into a pumpkin seed if you say the right words,” Hannah said.

“And then you have to say something special to turn back,” Jonathan added. “Only I guess you think it, ‘cause you can’t say anything if you’re a pumpkin seed. Or maybe somebody has to say it for you.”

“And why would you want to turn into a pumpkin seed?” I asked.

“Cause it’s special,” Hannah said. “When you’re a pumpkin seed, you can dream magical dreams, and when you wake up, they come true.”

“But what if you stay a pumpkin seed?” I asked.

“Then I guess you grow into a pumpkin,” Hannah said. “A big magical pumpkin.”

“If I grow up into a pumpkin, I’m going to be a house,” Jonathan said. “A big, giant pumpkin house. I’ll have big doors and people can come in and look out the window and say, ‘Peek-a-boo!’”

“How about a coach?” I suggested. “A pumpkin coach like Cinderella’s?”

“Yeah!” Hannah shouted. “Only I’d be a pumpkin limo. A great big limo made out of pumpkin, like we rode in to Aunt Sandy’s wedding.”

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” I said. Their aunt Sandy had gotten married in August. It was the first wedding the children had ever been to. They still talked about it almost every day. They did indeed ride in a limo, though it wasn't made out of pumpkin, of course.

“Yeah,” Hannah said dreamily. “I wonder what it would be like if I were a pumpkin seed and grew into a pumpkin limo.”

“I’d be your driver,” Jonathan said.

Hannah fingered the seeds and said something that sounded like pure gibberish.

“Are you turning into a pumpkin seed now?” I said. I turned to Jonathan and said, playfully, “Doesn’t Hannah look like a seed?”

“She is a seed,” Jonathan said, pointing to the floor.

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