Wedge Pond

"Hi Fantasy.  How are you today?" I'm in the forest again.  It's raining, but that's ok.  I'm dressed for it, and I need to give Fantasy a story.  She is bigger now, almost full size.  Clearly, there was a lot of meat in the last story.

"Not bad." She replied.  "I'm not one for the rain because it keeps me from flying well, but we need the rain.  Got a story for me?"

"You betcha." I smiled.  She sits on a stump in front of me and I read.

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 Wedge Pond

    "Where do you want to go today?" I asked the others.
    "I dunno." The shrug rippled around the room; everybody felt like relaxing just where they were.  I sighed, "Ok.  Just let me know when and if you want to go on a hike."
    An hour later, we were headed out to hike.  I wasn't a good hiker, but I had been put in charge of four teenagers who had special needs on a trip into the mountains.  We decided to picnic it, and found a good site near a pond.
    Each teenager had a special gift; most had one, but the odd one had two.  Greg could see auras, but I could sense there was another one budding and it had to deal with his electronic ability.  He was relaxing, taking in the feeling of the surroundings through his senses; he was curious about everything.  He looked tense.  I prayed everything was going all right at home.
    An hour later, we had lunch, and people seemed to be starting to relax.  Ariel was the eldest of the teens; she wouldn't be coming with us next year, so she was the most ambitious.  She put down her hotdog and glanced at each of us in turn.
    "Hey, do you guys want to just sit on your duff all day and do nothin'?  It's a beautiful day out there!" She said, "I want to get out there and hike, or do somethin'!  Maybe you're gonna be able to come here next year, but I'm not!"
    "We know Ariel." Mark speared another weener and put it on his bun, "You've told us about a zillion times."
    "So?' She asked, "What do you guys want to do?"
    "Why don't we dig out the maps after lunch and decide then?" I opened another bag of chips and poured it into a bowl.  "We can start out with whatever type of walk you like."
    "Yeah!" Ariel grinned and started wolfing down her food.
    "Ariel, slow down.  I don't want to have to treat you for choking." I chided gently.
    "Yeah, the rest of us want to enjoy our lunch, not get sick on it." Greg said.  Greg had always been a slow eater, but that was ok.  We all had our ways of doing things, and that was his way.  The others either grunted or nodded in agreement and lunch proceeded without event.
    Later, I brought out the maps, and there in the midst of birds, and nature, we debated on the place we could go.  We had decided that the trail that we were close to, Wedge Pond, would be the best  Then we could go on to a trail created by Alister Kaden - The Ankle Lake Trail.  Most people could walk it; only two couldn't because they were wheelchair bound.  They didn't mind though.  They told me that they could take a spin around the parking lot and then take pictures of the view.  I told them to keep in touch every once in a while; they all had smartphones, and an app called HeyTell, a walkie-talkie like app.
    The rest of us began the 1.5 kilometer loop, many of us with cameras in hand.  Even Greg had his own version, his digital recorder.  He wanted to record the sounds on the trail, if there were any.  We were in our element, enjoying the sights and sounds of the Rocky Mountains.

The Beach

I arrive at the forest to find that the seasons have come more into balance.  Spring has come, and flowers have begun to bloom.  Fantasy is two inches tall now, and her colors aren't as transparent.  I hold out my hand to her and she sits on it. 

"Hi Fantasy.  Feeling better?" I ask.

She nods, Much.  I don't ever want to be sick again.

"I will try to always honor that my friend.  I have a story for you.  Hopefully someday I will be able to bring art back into our discussions." I reply.

This is art too. She replies.

"I know, but I mean pictures, and the discussion of pictures and the meanings of colors like I did a while back.  I think that would be a good thing." I reply.  "Now, I have a story for you.  Ready?"

She bounces up and down on my hand, smiling.  You bet.

"Here we go then.  The story is called The Beach, at least for now."

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The Beach

                ”Look at that ant!” Abel’s eyes were close to the insect as it bore a seed toward its nest.  Abel had always been interested in ants, insects, and anything else that crawled or even slithered on the earth.  He was a typical boy.

                I smiled, remembering the day I became governess of the Bexby household.  I had been looking for employment one day when I noticed the advertisement.  “Wanted, a governess to look after three children from ages three to six.  I immediately answered the ad, with my resume and within a day was informed that I should come the next day for an interview.

                I did, and so I began my journey with these children that I began to feel that I shared with Mrs.  Bexby.  There were three children, and at the time, she was very pregnant with what turned out to be twins. 

                My thoughts shifted back to the present as I chided myself.  This isn’t the time to be reminiscing Maka.  These children need you.  If it weren’t for their parents hiring you three years ago, you wouldn’t have the job.  Yadia only knows where you’d be.”

                I smiled at the child as he followed the aunt around.  He was the six year old when I arrived at the sprawling Bexby estate.  He had been a handful then, but with the help of schoolwork, I had been able to challenge him and focus his passions.  He loved bugs of all shapes and sizes, so I made sure that our lessons were outdoors as much as possible.

                ”Watch me Maya Maka, watch me!” Seven year old Daya was swimming out in the lake, and she decided to do a hand-stand.  She was good at everything, especially water sports.  I cheered and clapped along with her brothers and sisters.  Being that she was the eldest girl, she was the favourite of the family.  In the three years that I had worked there, I couldn’t figure out why, but it was something that only niggled at the edges of my thoughts, so I only thought about it at night when I put my observations in my journal. 

                Suddenly her feet dropped out of sight and she didn’t come up again.  Daya was drowning!  I bolted off the chair where I had been sitting and raced to the water until a child’s firm hand stopped me.

                His eyes seemed to be glassy, yet he was coherent, “Stay back.  She is my protection.”

                ”But…” I stepped toward the water.  He blocked me.

                ”NO.” He had never been this way before. 

                ”All right.” He sprinted off into the water, but I continued to walk in.  Why am I not being permitted to do my job!  And  by a mere slip of a boy!  That is strange behaviour too!  I watched as Abel swam strongly to where his sister disappeared.  I watched, biting my nails in anticipation as he too vanished beneath the surface.  A minute or two later, he surfaced, bringing the girl with him.

                I met them where the water was up to my mid thigh, and between the two of us, we carried Daya to shore.  I observed the increase of musculature on the boy, and wondered not for the first time if this was a an old magical families.  There were a few around whose magic was inbred, not taught.  It seemed to be so from what I saw.  Abel wasn’t interested in developing his muscles, and he looked like he had been at the time.  We laid her on the shore, and I used a word of power to pump water from her lungs, or rather two words.

                ”Yadia broka.” immediately water started coming from her lungs; she coughed and sputtered.  I breathed a sigh of relief, for she had begun to turn blue.  She began to cry, and I hugged her to me, “It’s all right Daya.  You’re safe.”

                Daya clung to me as she cried out her feelings.  The others had gathered around, not knowing what to do.  “Put your things away in the boathouse.  We’re going inside,” I said.

                ”Aw, do we have to?” Saja asked.

                ”Yes Saja.  Your sister needs her bed,” I gazed at the sun, “and besides, the cook will have your snack ready.”

                ”Oh goody!” Kaya, the eldest of the twin girls began packing her things and putting them away.  She was the foodie of the family and always wanted to help out the cook, much to her parents’ chagrin. 

                I watched as the children picked up their toys.  I suggested to Abel that he help his siblings; he protested, but I told him that Daya was safe in my care.  Within minutes, we were on our way back to the nursery with Daya safe in my arms.  I couldn’t help wondering what type of magic was in Abel, and if it indeed was inbred.  It was almost as if he had been linked to another mind and been given someone else’s strength, but whose?

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 Fantasy has fallen asleep, but I know the magic of the wood has taken the story into her.  I laid her in the hollow of a nearby tree that she has made into a temporary home for herself and kissed my finger, placing it on her forehead.  "Sleep well, my friend and muse."