Okay, as part of the ongoing quest to have something for people 
other than Ranma fans to read, and as a blatant ploy to be reviewed by 
"Magical Girls Fanfic Theatre", the first part of a story referenced in 
"Sauce"...


	Once upon a time that might be tomorrow, in a town not too 
different from your home town, a fairy came to live on Earth.  She found 
a nice human couple to live with as their daughter.  They operate a bed and 
breakfast, and the fairy helps them out.  But that's not all she does.  
Her magic allows her to become a grownup woman, with whatever skills she 
needs to solve a problem.  She uses this to help people with their 
troubles.  Her name is
			Magic Princess Minky Momo
				appearing in
			      ONE MINUS ONE
			by Scott K. Jamison
(Note:  Minky Momo and the associated characters are the property of some 
Japanese animation company and used here without permission.  No 
infringement of rights is intended.)

	In April, it often rains, as it had earlier this morning.  But at 
the moment the sun was shining, so Momo had furled up her umbrella and 
was playing follow-the-leader with her pets. 
	"C'mon Rupipi, keep up!" called the perky pink-haired girl. 
	The little yellow birl flapped her wings in a valiant attempt to 
match Momo's speed.  "I'm--trying--Momo!" she chirped.  Rupipi gained a 
little ground as Momo jumped over a bush.  Charmo the monkey also easily 
cleared it, but Cookbook, Momo's dog, got caught and fell into a mud 
puddle. 
	"Hmph!  I think I've had enough of this game."
	"Oh, just till we get to the other side of the bridge.  There's a 
hose there you can clean off with."  So saying, Momo jumped up on the 
wide stone railing.  She swayed a bit from side to side, then opened her 
umbrella to balance like a circus performer.  Charmo and Rupipi followed 
her up, but Cookbook chose to run on the sidewalk inside the railing. 
	About halfway across the bridge, the wind came up in a strong 
gust.  As misfortune would have it, there was still water standing on a 
particularly smooth bit of the rail and Momo lost her footing.  The wind 
filled her gaily-colored umbrella and she found herself falling towards 
the river below.
		*			*		*
	The Fairy King and Queen were watching on their magic viewer, to 
see how their daughter was doing.
	"Taihen!" cried the King, "Momo's in danger!"  The funny little 
man's feet looked like little balls floating beneath his body, he was so 
excited.  
	His tall, elegant wife laid her hand on his shoulder.  "Be calm, 
dear.  You know we cannot do anything from here.  And I do believe she's 
caught herself."
		*			*		*
	Indeed, by dropping her umbrella, Momo had managed to keep one 
foot hooked on the railing.  But it was slowly slipping, and even the 
combined strength of her pets wasn't pulling her back. 
	"Been hitting the chocolate cake a little much lately, have we?" 
joked Charmo through gritted teeth.  It was pretty obvious this wasn't 
working, and Momo screamed as the whole group dropped forward another 
inch.  Suddenly she was in free fall. 
	Momo had the breath forced from her as her fall was suddenly 
stopped by something warm around her ankle.  It hauled her up and sat her 
down on the sidewalk. 
	At this point she could see her rescuer.  It was a man, old 
enough to be called "oji-san", but not quite old enough for "ojii-san".  
He had a neat beard and tinted glasses.  A cloud passed over the sun, and 
the partial darkness made his face look distant and cold, like the night 
sky. 
	"Be more careful, sweetling." he said, and he sounded a million 
miles away. 
	"Thanks, mister.  Oh!  My umbrella!"  Momo got up and looked to 
see what had become of her umbrella.  She didn't find it, and when she 
looked back, the man was gone. 
		*			*		*
	It was mid-afternoon by the time Momo returned to the Legend Inn, 
the small hotel her Earth parents ran.  She'd finally got her umbrella 
back and given Cookbook a good cleaning.  "Mama, I'm home." 
	Mama (Momo had never heard her referred to by any other name) was 
behind the front desk, ready to check in the guests who would doubtless 
be arriving soon.  She had the usual smile on her round face.  "Welcome 
back, Momo.  Did you have a good day?" 
	"Well, it wasn't perfect--"  At that moment the bell rang as a 
customer came in.
	It was the man from the bridge.  He was carrying a portable 
typewriter and an artist's case in addition to his suitcase.  He set 
everything down in front of the counter and straightened up with a small 
sigh.  "A room, please." 
	"Certainly, sir.  Room 18 is open, and has a south window.  Will 
that do?"  Mama took the guest's silence for an affirmation.  She 
produced the register for him to sign. 
	"Mr. Jacob Welsh...you're *the* Jacob Welsh?  The writer?"  He 
nodded.  "Oh, I just love your books.  They make me cry so hard!  I'm a 
writer myself you know, I do mysteries..." and onward.  Mama loved to 
talk about her writing. 
	Mr. Welsh looked very uncomfortable.  He didn't seem to know how 
to respond.  At this point, Papa emerged from the back. 
	"Welcome, guest!  What room is he in, Mama?"  The writer visibly 
relaxed at this interruption. 
	"18, Papa.  Will you take his bags up, dear?
	"Of course, darling.  Oh, hello, Momo."
	"Good afternoon, Papa."
	"Momo?" asked the guest, who noticed her for the first time.  "I 
should have guessed." 
	"Huh?"  Momo didn't get it, and neither did her parents. 
	"Your pets.  A dog, a monkey and a bird, just like the hero 
Momotaro."  One corner of his mouth lifted a little bit, a ray of 
sunshine in his dark face.  Papa and Mama looked surprised.  Somehow this 
coincidence had never occurred to them. 
	"Pin-pon!  Mama, Papa, this man helped me earlier today." 
	"It was nothing, really."  Mr. Welsh rubbed the back of his head 
in embarrassment.  Papa and Mama were effusive in their thanks.  Shortly 
thereafter, Mr. Welsh was safely upstairs, and sounds of typing came from 
his room.
		*			*		*
	Over supper, Momo asked about something that confused her.  
"Mama, you said that Mr. Welsh's books made you cry."
	"Yes, he writes very sad books."
	"But if they make you sad, why do you read them?" 
	"Because he's a good writer, and sometimes I want to feel sad.  I 
always feel better after a good cry about someone else's problems." 
	"True," chimed in Papa.  "Even I enjoy a weepy now and then.  I 
think we have a couple of his books in the hotel library." 
	"Hmm, the typing has been stopped for a while now.  Momo, would 
you take some tea up to Mr. Welsh's room?" 
	"Okay, Mama."
	Actually, the writer made Momo a little nervous.  He seemed to be 
a bit more observant than most people.  She knocked on the door of #18, 
to hear a muffled voice tell her to come right in. 
	"I brought some tea, Mr. Welsh."
	"That's nice.  Just set it down over there."  Mr. Welsh was 
gesturing at a clear space on the desk.  He was sitting at an easel, but 
his body blocked what he was working on. 
	Momo set down the tray.  There was a lot of paper on the desk, 
all typed on, most wadded up, torn apart or crossed out.  It didn't look 
like the story was going too well.  She crossed over to see what he was 
doing.  It was a drawing, still far from completed, but it was 
unmistakably herself.  She could see the skill in the lines, but there 
was something about it that disturbed her. 
	"You're not smiling!" chattered Charmo.  That was it.  She looked 
sad in the picture. 
	"No, she's not.  Who said that?"
	"Ah, I did."  Momo did her impression of the monkey's voice. 
	"A ventriloquist, too?" 
	"I s'pose so.  Mister Welsh, why is the picture sad?" 
	"That's the way I draw.  I'm afraid I just can't do happy.  I 
came here to write a happy story, but I haven't even really been able to 
start.  It's supposed to be a sequel to my `Mockingbird's Song', and if I 
don't come up with a happy ending for it, the hero will be too depressed 
to go on."
	He threw a cloth over the easel.  "Time for a little tea, and 
time for you to go, little one."
	Momo remembered what Papa had said, and checked the bookshelves 
provided for the guests.  Yes, there were three Jacob Welsh books there:  
The Girl in Green, Faraway, and The Mockingbird's Song.  She remembered 
Mr. Welsh mentioning the last one. 
	All the books had painted covers, and she recognized Mr. Welsh's 
art style.  Very pretty, but all the people looked wistful, as though 
something were missing.  She decided to try Mockingbird's Song, and put 
the other two back on the shelf.  
	Momo got ready for bed and began reading.  It was slow going at 
first.  The book was written for grownups, and she had to get out of bed 
to fetch a dictionary for some of the words.  But Momo was a quick 
learner, and soon got into the flow of the story. 
	It was about a young man, Jeff, who fell in love with a girl he 
met accidentally.  But as he got to know her better, Jeff realized she 
was in love with another man who didn't even know she was alive.  Momo 
read as long as she could stay awake, which brought her about a third of 
the way through. 
		*			*		*
	The next day was a school day, and Momo was late rising, so she 
didn't have time to check up on Mr. Welsh in the morning.  When she 
returned, Mama told her he'd gone out walking, so Momo decided to read 
more of the book.
	Jeff decided to help the girl he loved, so he worked behind the 
scenes to help her win the heart of the man she wanted.  At the end of 
the book, Jeff succeeded, but the girl didn't even say "thank you", or 
seem to notice Jeff at the wedding.  Jeff was left all alone. 
	Momo wiped away her tears.  Such a sad story!  But Mama had been 
right.  A good cry did make you feel better. 
	She returned the book to its shelf, and saw Mr. Welsh returning. 
	"Ah, Momo!  Your eyes look a bit red.  Are you all right?" 
	"Yes, I was just reading your book.  I liked it, though it was 
awfully sad." 
	"Did you now?  You seem a bit young for the sort of thing I 
write." 
	"It was a lot more grownup than I'm used to, but I'm pretty mature 
for my age.  Mr. Walsh, why did you write the ending that way, with Jeff 
all alone?" 
	"Because that's the way it happened, Momo.  That's the way it 
happened..." His face took on that look again, like the night sky.  "Good 
afternoon."  He went up to his room.
	"That's the way it happened..."  What an odd thing to say. 
	Momo finished her homework, then skimmed the other two books.  
"The Girl in Green" was about a man named Jason, who fell in love with a 
woman who had cancer.  He sacrificed everything in an attempt to find a 
cure, and she finally said she loved him--just before she died and left 
Jason all alone.  "Faraway" turned out to be Mr. Welsh's first book.  
John, the protagonist, was a high school student who...yes, fell in love 
with a girl, helped her, she left, he was all alone.  A definite pattern 
was emerging. 
	Jeff, Jason, John...Jacob.  Then it hit Momo.  He was writing 
about himself!  "The way it happened" meant exactly what it sounded like; 
the events in Mockingbird's Song were at least partially based on 
reality.  And if that was so...Mr. Welsh never wrote happy endings 
because he'd never had one! 
	She talked it over with her pets. 
	"I'm not too surprised." said Cookbook.  "Unhappy endings are 
more common than not in the human world." 
	Rupipi chirped, "That's why we're needed here, to make more happy 
endings." 
	"So you could turn yourself into a lady who's nice to him?" 
suggested Charmo. 
	"No, I can't keep one form indefinitely; eventually, I'd have to 
leave, and he'd be alone again."  Momo balanced a pencil on her 
forehead.  "We're going to have to be a bit more subtle."
		*			*		*

	To Be Continued...

Send comments, criticism and suggestions for what Momo should do to:

SKJAM!
majks@cyberx.com

Thanks!