Book one in a new unFOOgettable trilogy!

Foo is the remarkable realm that allows us to hope, imagine, and dream. Geth, a fearless Lithen, is one of the wisest and most respected beings of Foo. At the conclusion of the bestselling Leven Thumps series, the realm of Foo achieves balance - dreams can once again thrive and grow. With things in order, Geth and the beloved sycophant Clover set off to find a new adventure that leads beyond the hidden border of Foo and into an unknown land where dreams have been trapped and freedom has been crushed. Join Geth and Clover on a page-turning, mind-blowing, laugh-out-loud, and imagine-the-impossible quest. Your dreams will thank you!

Contents
Foo--Nopsis
1.  Idle Hands, Feet, and -Minds
2.  Let Sleeping Problems Sleep
3. Stop in the Name of Living
4. Look What Fate Dragged In
5. Welcome to Zendor
6. Hit and Run
7. Bring On the Night
8. The Stone Holders
9. Kevin
10. There’s a Kind of Mush
11. One for Them
12. Have a Seat
13. Give Me a . . . Boost
14. It Takes Two to Tangle
15. Five Questions
16. Pencilbottom Castle
17. What’s That Smell?

Idle Hands, Feet, and Minds
Geth peered over the cliff and smiled. He could see the still water of Wet Lake below. His blue eyes glanced at the jagged rocks that lined the cliff wall. The stones looked like a huge set of teeth in need of major orthodontia. The suns of Foo were out, making a person feel as if he were standing near a glowing furnace in the middle of summer while wearing a parka made of polyester.

“Are you sure about this?” Clover asked.

“This is nothing,” Geth insisted.

“Well then, you first,” Clover whispered, wiping sweat off his brow.

“You’re riding on my shoulders,” Geth reminded him.

“Right,” Clover said coolly. “Then we’ll do this together, and remember, whoever stays under longest wins.”

“Don’t worry,” Geth answered happily. “You’re going to lose.”

“And make sure you jump far enough to not hit those rocks,” Clover warned.

The realm of Foo was perfect at the moment, a place of unparalleled beauty and endless possibilities. The suns and the moons rotated in perfect motion and the dreams coming in made every inch of soil glow softly. Those who had fed on darkness for so long were gone, and left in their place were souls hungry to enhance dreams and improve Reality. The fowl in Foo sang clearer, the water ran cleaner, and the nights, though dark, were drenched in a feeling of security. Of course, truth be told, as wonderful as things were, Geth and Clover felt a bit restless. So much had 
happened, but now, as the suns shone the way they should and all was in balance, they were more than just a little anxious for something exciting to occur.

“Seriously,” Clover said. “Are we really this bored?”

“It looks like we are,” Geth said, shrugging. He stepped to the edge of the cliff and stared at the water some hundred feet beneath them. “Think of it this way. If we don’t get mortally wounded, at least we’ll be cooled off.”

Clover gripped Geth’s neck and closed his eyes.

Geth leaned forward and then, like a firecracker, he exploded from the edge of the cliff. He shot headfirst toward the calm waters of Wet Lake. His body sliced through the air like a spear, narrowly avoiding the sharp rocks on the side of the cliff. His hands pierced the glassy surface of the water. A small splash celebrated above the point of entry, and in the blink of an eye Geth completely disappeared into the blue liquid. The water rippled and then became placid once more.

Fifty-seven seconds later, a circle of water began to pop and spray as Clover surfaced, gasping for breath. He thrashed around, making the water appear to be boiling.

“You can come up now,” Clover insisted, staring at the water around him. “It’s probably been over two minutes.”

Clover bobbed up and down like a furry cork. He lifted his right hand and looked at his wrist as if there were a watch there. The only sound was that of small drops of water dripping from his wet ears and plinking against the lake’s surface.

“Seriously,” Clover yelled. “It’s not that I’m worried, I just don’t want to have to swim back myself.”

Ninety-six seconds later Geth popped up ten feet to the left. He spotted Clover and with three smooth strokes swam over to him. Clover grabbed onto Geth’s wet head.

“I won,” Geth said calmly.

“It’s really not that fair,” Clover complained. “I got water up my nose.”

“I can’t help it if your nostrils are bigger than mine,” Geth said.

“My nostrils are just right for my size and height,” Clover replied defensively.

Geth began to swim back. His arms moved in large strokes, his thin wake resembling a string of white foam lying on the still surface of Wet Lake.

Geth reached the shore and crawled on his hands and knees up onto the soft yellow sand. His muscular body showed under his wet clothes and his dark green shirt and black pants were dripping, creating a small rain shower beneath his chest and stomach as he moved. His breathing was labored and his wet brown hair was hanging down and hiding his blue eyes. He stopped crawling, took a deep breath, and then exhaled.

“I wonder why I’m not breathing hard,” Clover said, puzzled.

“You didn’t do any of the swimming,” Geth reminded him.

“Yeah,” Clover argued. “But I was way more jostled about.”

“Maybe you should lie down and rest,” Geth suggested.

Clover jumped off Geth’s back and lay down on the hot sand. He cleared his throat as Geth flipped over. They both stared up at the largest sun with their hands behind their heads. The sun’s belly hung like an expectant mother’s, sending heavy rays of warmth down over the tranquil scene.

“So, that was kind of fun,” Clover ventured.

“Yeah,” Geth agreed halfheartedly. “But we need something more.”

“Hey, remember when the island of Lith was collapsing and we barely made it out alive?” Clover asked.

“Yes,” Geth said with excitement. “Or when we were in Reality and Winter froze that path for us to drive across the ocean?”

“That was the best,” Clover said sadly. “Is it me, or do things seem overly peaceful now?”

“Well, everyone’s happy,” Geth pointed out.

“But most of them don’t remember what happened,” Clover complained. “It’s only been six months and already the sycophants that do remember seem to be sick of me talking about it. I mean, what’s the point if I can’t even brag about all the stuff we did to save Foo?”

“We didn’t do it so we could brag,” Geth said, laughing.

“Maybe you didn’t,” Clover pointed out.

“Well, you’re welcome to brag to me,” Geth offered. “None of this would have been possible without you. Besides, look at you. You’re treated like no other sycophant in Foo. You come and go as you please and speak your mind without any hesitation.”

“That’s true,” Clover said reflectively.

“Without any hesitation at all,” Geth emphasized. “None whatsoever.”

“Right,” Clover snipped. “Hey, I told Leven from the start that I wasn’t a very good sycophant. He knew what he was getting into.”

“Leven had no idea what he was getting into,” Geth contradicted lightly, still staring up at the sun. “When will he be back, anyway?”

“He’ll be in Cusp with Winter until next week,” Clover answered. “I offered to go along, but I guess they wanted some alone time.”

“Sorry,” Geth said.

“Actually, I’m kinda glad,” Clover replied, his large, leaflike ears wiggling. “I mean, if you think this is dull, try hanging out with them while they just stare at each other. It’s like being at a really boring love museum. Besides, Leven doesn’t really need my help anymore; he can do everything himself now. He’s got more gifts than that fat guy who chases children in Reality.”

“Santa?”

“No, I think his name was Steve.”

Geth looked over at Clover. His small friend had long gray hair that covered his whole body except for his palms and feet and face. He had large, maple-leaf-shaped ears and wide blue eyes. He was about thirteen inches tall, but if you were to ask him, he was just shy of fifteen. He wore a small dark robe; not only was it sycophantically fashionable, but when its hood was flipped up, he became invisible.

Sycophants were an important breed of creature. It was their role to help with the adjustment for those who had been snatched into Foo. Clover had been given to Leven, but now that Leven was the Want, there was little for Clover to help him with. Normally a lithen and a sycophant wouldn’t have had much do with each other, but the things Geth and Clover had been through had made them almost inseparable.

“It’s concerning,” Geth said, frustrated. “I don’t remember the calm bothering me before.”

“I know,” Clover agreed. “Things are pretty smooth.”

Geth gazed around and shook his head. “Yeah, it makes me uneasy.”

Clover stared at Geth. He had first known Geth as a tree, then as a toothpick, and then as a man who was missing part of himself—due to its having been shaved off and placed in another toothpick by the name of Ezra. Ever since Geth had become reunited with Ezra, his personality had become louder. Geth seemed taller, quicker, and considerably more restless and passionate than ever before.

“You know,” Clover said, cocking his head, “the old Geth wouldn’t have said that. You would have said something like, ‘Fate has frosted our future with happiness,’ not, ‘It makes me uneasy.’”

“That’s not true,” Geth said, laughing.

“Yes it is,” Clover insisted. “Now that you have your Ezra part back, you seem a lot more . . . I don’t know . . . energied.”

“Energied’s not a word,” Geth informed him.

“Well then, pepperfied.”

“Still not a word.”

“Spicy?”

“That’s a word, but I don’t think it works.”

“How about less-dull, then?”
“Maybe,” Geth lamented.

“It’s like you’re still sickeningly optimistic,” Clover explained. “But you’re also looking to cram things down fate’s throat.”

“I do feel different from how I used to,” Geth said reflectively. “I think when Ezra split off from me he became stronger. Now that I’m back together, I feel whole, but uneven and restless.”

“Like an apple someone’s sat on?” Clover suggested.

“Not at all,” Geth insisted. “It’s just that nobody misses the excitement because there’s no memory of it. There’s such a strong feeling of contentment and satisfaction for everyone here in Foo.”

“It stinks, doesn’t it,” Clover said sadly.

“It is what it should be,” Geth replied.

“There,” Clover pointed at Geth. “There’s that old boring part of you again. When does Phoebe return?”

Geth smiled.

Phoebe was the last remaining longing. She was a woman of insurmountable beauty and allure. She was also in love with Geth, as he was with her. But her days were filled with traveling over Foo and working her spell on all those who lived there.

“Not soon enough,” Geth answered. “Two days, to be exact. I’m supposed to be getting things in order while she is away. I need to be organizing a new Council of Wonder, but I think we should do something truly interesting before I have to go and get serious.”

“I’m in,” Clover cheered. “How about we visit the Eggmen, or we could make kites.”

“Both great ideas,” Geth said, standing up quickly. “But I’ve got a better one.”

“I don’t know,” Clover said enticingly. “Kites are fun.”

“How about instead of that we go back to that cave we found last week—the one on top of the bluff.”

“Really?” Clover questioned nervously. “The snoring one?”

“Don’t you want to find out what was snoring?” Geth asked. “If we’re lucky, it will be something interesting.”

“What if that interesting thing wakes up?” Clover asked.

“Let’s hope it does,” Geth grinned.

“Something that snores that loud could really mess you up.”

“I know,” Geth agreed.

“You should also know that you can’t count on me for help,” Clover insisted. “Interesting things might not be able to kill me, but I’ve seen stuff chew up sycophants so badly it took a year for them to heal.”

“That’s fine,” Geth promised. “You can run away. There’s no shame.”

“I don’t care about shame,” Clover argued. “I just need to look good for Lilly.” Clover was referring to Winter’s white sycophant, with whom he currently had a budding relationship.

“Lilly will love you no matter how you look,” Geth said.

Clover closed his eyes. He disappeared and then reappeared two inches farther to the left. “All right,” he said, excited. “I’m in, but remember I still might run away in fear.”

“I’ll count on it.”

“You know, I think I can feel my blood pumping already,” Clover cheered.

“Good,” Geth said.

“And my toes are tingling like peppermint.”

Geth looked down at Clover. “Really?”

“What?” Clover said, blushing. “Peppermint tingles.”

Clover leapt up Geth’s right side and crawled around his back and onto his left shoulder. He patted Geth on the head and disappeared.

“I’m ready,” Clover announced. “You know, if Phoebe were here she would try to stop you.”

“Phoebe’s not here,” Geth pointed out. “She’s somewhere over Cork doing her thing. She won’t be back for a couple of days. Besides, she hates boredom just as much as I do.”

“Well then,” Clover smiled, “what are we waiting for?”

Geth pushed his hair back behind his ears, smiled with his blue eyes, and took off running.