A Small Holiday — Jane Tesh

Belinda Banner promised her mother she'd look after her younger brother, Jay, but when a well-dressed stranger named Ivor comes to her door with a tempting job offer, she sets aside her normal caution. She regrets her decision when she and Jay are carried off through a blinding light to Ivor's world of Belfair where Jay is expected to play the lead in an elaborate play for the annual festival. Jay is immediately taken by the director of More than Legend, a round yellow blob of self-importance named Parvan, who has been banished by his people to Belfair to learn humility. In Jay, Parvan sees a way to win his way back home, but he and Belinda immediately clash. Desperate to return to her world, Belinda insists Ivor take them back. He says he can't predict the doorways of light. Jay is having such a good time she finally resigns herself to the fact they'll have to wait. While Jay is rehearsing, Belinda helps Parvan's neighbor, a handsome young man named Martin, out of a serious depression by finding his living musical reeds, creatures he depends on for his part in the festival. Martin encourages Belinda to dance, a talent she has put aside in order to care for Jay. Yet there is something sinister about Ivor she can't explain, and no one in this peaceful world believes her warnings. And Belinda sees her dreams for Jay's future disappearing as her brother becomes more and more involved with the exciting opportunities this new world affords.