Susan in Sweden and at Home III

Continuing my tale. I still have not used all the words. Actually only one more. And I still have some dramatic ones left over:
Rivers
Heavy
Shell
Mischief
Searchlight
Yell
      And / or
Arm
East
Fruit
Languages
Voice
Thought

They got off the shuttle bus and walked through the city's bustling streets towards Susan's home without any further incidents. As they walked, Susan asked Helge  more about details from his escape from home.
  "In books, it's always so easy," Helge said regretfully. "The one who has run away from home, finds some nice people who take care of them, or help them on. And all problems are solved in the end. In reality, it's just cold and lonely. I took the train to Helsingborg, so that my mother should not be able to find me. I gave up getting help from Harald and his siblings, because that was probably the first place mother would look for me. I had some plans about finding Kalle and Anna here in Helsingborg, but I did not know where they lived, it was as hopeless as finding a needle in a haystack. Do you know how many are named Berggren in Helsingborg? I ran out of money, so I slept in the parks or up there by Kärnan, where I also found money in the gravel outside the cafe before I was thrown away by the waiters. I did not even have enough money to go home again, and I do not know how my father is doing ... and without my wand I could not do anything. " Helge looked so very sad.
  "We'll have to go down to Unicorn Farm," Susan said. The teachers can definitely help. That kind of thing doesn't just happen in books."
  "No, it also occurred to me. But then it was too late. I was already in Helsingborg. And as I said, my search for Kalle and Anna did not lead to any result."

They turned the corner to Susan's road. Then Helge asked: "But what do your parents say to you taking me home?"
  "Nothing," Susan replied. "We are welcome to take friends home. If you are lucky, we can have dinner before we go to Unicorn Farm."
  "We ... are you telling me that you will come along?" Helge said, a disbelieving smile spreading across his face.
  "Yes I will. Firstly, it's not nice to be alone doing that kind of thing, secondly, I've become curious about what it all ends up with," Susan replied.
  Helge smiled gratefully at Susan and they turned into the driveway to Susan's home. Inside the driveway, between Susan's house and the fence, Helge thought of their clothes. "Hey, Susan, what do you think your mother is going to say when she sees your fine new skirt?"
  "Oh my God," said Susan, "you remembered just in time. It would have been very hard to explain. How is it? How do I cancel it?"
  "I do not know," replied Helge, "maybe you just conjure the right colour back again."
  "It's probably the easiest way, yes. Thank you. I can always look in my book later." Susan thought intensely about the right green colour, swung the stick over the skirt and said, "Grænn!" The skirt looked normal again. "Phew! That was hard," Susan sighed. "Couldn't we just leave your clothes as they are?"
  "Yeah, there's no one to know that it's not their right colour. And it's fine as they are, more practical too."
  Susan opened the front door and shouted: "I'm home again!" The house was two stories, with attic and a basement too, so she had to yell to be heard.
  Mum stuck out her head from the kitchen door and said, "Welcome back, did you have a nice trip? Well, who is that?"
  "Yes, it went well," Susan replied. "This is Helge, one of my friends from the Unicorn Farm, I met him in Helsingborg. Can he eat with us?"
  "Yes, OK. We're going to eat have 'Half Reds'," Mum replied. "Does his parents know where he is?"
  "Yes," Susan replied with her fingers crossed behind her back. "He's on his way to visit an aunt here in town. I'll follow him there when we've eaten." She gave Mum the cigarettes and dragged Helge out of the kitchen again. "Pull off your shoes and wash your hands before eating." Susan showed Helge into their nice bathroom and slipped into the old one behind mom and dad's bedroom.
  "What was it your mother said we were having for dinner?" Helge asked with a puzzled expression.
  "Half Reds," Susan replied. It's a family name for macaroni with sliced red sausages. "

While they ate, Susan recounted a slightly revised version of the day's events. Dad said an alcohol smuggling ring had been busted down at the harbour that afternoon.
  "Aha!" exclaimed Susan. "That explains the many police officers we saw down by the buildings there. They were busy investigating an elderly couple. I always have a bad conscience when I see police officers,"
  "You do not have to," said mother. "Police officers are there to help us. You can always ask any police officer for help."
  After dinner, Helge helped Susan do the dishes, while Linda put them away and told about the horses at the riding school where she had spent the day.
  "Funny," Helge said, "at home I hated doing the dishes, but it's really nice to do it here, with you."
  "Other peoples' food is always tasty," said Mum, who passed by.
  "Huh?" said Helge, looking up at her. "Yes, your food was very tasty, but what has that got to do with doing the dishes?"
  "It's something we say," Mum explained. It means something like it is always more fun, better or more interesting to eat completely ordinary food or do even the most boring things somewhere other than at home. "
  "Well, like that," said Helge. "Yes, it seems to fit very well."
  "You'd better run now," Mum said. "It'll soon get dark. Susan, you take good care of yourself on the way home. You do not have to hurry, but on the other hand, I'm not happy that you're out all night. "
  "I'll bring my bike," Susan said. "I can push it there. It's downhill almost all the way home."
  "Remember the lights," Mom said, giving her a hug.
  Helge shook her hand and politely thanked her for the stay and for good food.

They went up to the portal through the darkening streets, it was still hot, their lack of extra clothes was not a problem. Strangely shy, they walked side by side along the road. Susan pushed her bike and Helge tagged along, kicking a small rock he had found. Then they turned left and up the hill towards the lumber yard. "How long has there been a portal here?" asked Helge. "Since Lis and Tage helped Heidi and me make one last fall. Jon came and cast the final spell one of the last days of October. Why do you ask?"
  "Probably mostly because I've always wanted to come to Elsinore. I've heard so much about the city. You know, Hamlet's castle ... all that. But we always had to go and visit my mother's family up north during the holidays. And my father said it was too bad there was no portal here."
  "It's not very big either ... not that I know if it matters. But we had to hide it well." The street lights came on and Susan said, "We're going in here," and went through the hedge to the old lumber yard.
It was almost empty, only a couple was hurrying home in the farthest end of the yard. The old lumber yard was a wonderful place to play for the children of that area, but only in daylight. There were holes and old, rotten planks here and there, and large puddles under a thin cover of grass even in the driest season. The paths that went through were used as shortcuts by those who lived in the large multi-storey building up on the other side of the yard, but they were all at home at that time of the evening. They passed the red, wooden barracks.
  "There's never anyone here," Susan assured. "It housed the accounting department in the old days. Now I do not really know what's in there. Now and then, mostly in Summer, there's a flea market or book sale just outside the barracks, so maybe all the things are stored in there." When they had almost passed the barracks, they turned right, along a slightly worn, winding path.
   "What a huge tree!" Helge said. "Is that your walnut tree?"
  "Yep. It's mega-hard to climb." Susan replied. "As you can see, the lower branches are all high up. We usually shoot the walnuts down with stones. We're going in there." Helge followed Susan down the winding path and around to the backside of the barracks. Susan parked her bike up against the back wall, locked it, and cast a "Do-not-disturb" spell on it.
  "You first!" they said simultaneously.
  "Okay, let's do it together," Helge said.
  "Yes," Susan replied. I do not feel like being alone either here or in the spooky storage room at Unicorn Farm tonight."
  "One, two, three!" Helge counted, and they jumped together through the portal. The familiar dizziness enveloped Susan, shorter this time, and then she could see the old furniture in the storage room at Unicorn Farm. Helge sat on the floor next to her. "Man, that's disgusting!"
  "How many times have you been through a strange portal?" Susan asked interested.
  "I think this was the third time."
  "It gets better with pracrise," Susan reassured him.
  "Thank you for the heads up," Helge said, shaking his head tentatively. "I'm ready now, I think," he said, getting up. "Let's just hope someone is here on the Farm."
  "Oh, I did not think of this," Susan said anxiously. "There is no teaching going on at the moment. What do we do if there is no one here?"
  "Then we must take another portal ... just not back to Stockholm. Do you know where the Icelandic portal is? I honestly would rather talk to Gilvi or Thora," Helge said anxiously.
  "The Icelandic portal ..." Susan mused. "I remember the portals were moved pretty soon after we started. At first, most of them were out in the yard, but people kept on running through them all the time. It was pretty inconvenient. Yes except yours. It was not moved, right?" Helge shook his head. "The Icelanders .. their portal ... Yes, now I know. It was moved to the big rowan tree at the end of the treeline, closest to the water. But for now let's go out and see if anyone is around. Quietly."

Part 4