Chapter Four

A Gift from the Divine Miss Piddlewinks

Ozette’s dreams were fitful that night, filled with the sounds of trees falling to the ax and animals fleeing in terror. Despite the Circle’s assurance that all would be well, Ozette couldn’t help but worry about the fate of Farlandia. Toward morning as she dozed, she thought she felt her beloved grandmother, the Divine Miss Piddlewinks, give her a swift lick on her nose and whisper, “Follow the heart, dear child. Follow the heart.”

The next morning, Ozette awoke early, snacked on her stash of seeds and nuts, groomed herself and scurried down her tree. She felt overwhelmed by yesterday’s experiences and longed to see her elf and fairy friends.

She foraged for some hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and slowly wound her way to Oliver’s house through thick woods. She had rounded a bend on the trail when something caught her eye. Something small, furry and gray was lying under a witch hazel bush. Ozette walked closer, and the creature moved.

“Goodness!” she said, putting a paw to her mouth. “It’s a baby gray squirrel.”

She knelt by the tiny creature. When he heard Ozette’s voice, he opened one eye, then the other. He looked startled when he saw Ozette, and his deep brown eyes grew wide.

Although fully furred, his tail was skimpy, and he looked to be less than two months old. Why was he lying under this bush, and where was his mother?

“Who are you, and where do you live?” Ozette asked gently, not wanting to frighten the squirrel.

“My family called me Gizmo,” he said.

“Why are you wandering in the forest by yourself? Tell me where you live, and I’ll take you to your family,” Ozette said.

He shook his head sadly and looked intently at Ozette, his gaze locked on her tiara. He nodded and then looked into her eyes.

“I think you’re the one I’m seeking.” He opened his tiny paw and Ozette gasped. Lying on his palm was a perfect replica of a white squirrel. She picked it up, examining it from every angle. It appeared to be fashioned from some sort of stone, possibly white quartz.

“Where did you come from? Where did you get this?” Ozette asked.

“I came from Earth World,” he said, locking his gaze with hers. I was born almost two moon cycles ago, not far from where you were born. You’re Ozette, aren’t you?” he asked.

“How do you know my name?” she asked, dumbfounded.

“I know of you because your grandmother, the Divine Miss Piddlewinks, raised me after my family was killed by men with smoking sticks. She took me in as her own, and she told me all about you. She sent me here to give you this,” Gizmo said, dropping the white squirrel into Ozette’s paw.

“But...how will you get back?” Ozette asked.

“I won’t,” the baby squirrel said, looking anxious. “She said you’d care for me and treat me like your son. She said you need the replica and me for your work here. I can stay, can’t I?” he asked, his lower lip quivering.

Ozette picked Gizmo up and held him to her chest, stroking his soft fur. Her heart was filled with love for this baby squirrel.

“Of course, Gizmo. I’d be honored to have you share my home. Now let’s go visit some friends of mine. They’ll love meeting you. You can carry the replica for me. Now tell me all about your time with my grandmother,” Ozette said, picking the baby up with her mouth and carrying him down the path.

Gizmo delighted Ozette with stories about his time with her grandmother. She hungrily absorbed every word. It made her feel closer to her beloved grandmother yet miss her even more, if that were possible.

Before they arrived at Oliver’s cottage, Ozette sat Gizmo on the ground for a moment and looked at him closely. “You certainly seem very advanced for your age. I’ve never met a baby squirrel as bright as you.”

Gizmo nodded. “Your grandmother said I was very preco…preco…” He looked at Ozette expectantly.

“Precocious, Gizmo. It means intelligent and mature. And that you are,” Ozette said, gently grabbing the baby squirrel by the scruff of his neck and carrying him in her mouth as they headed down the path.

Soon Oliver’s cottage came into view. Ozette always felt welcome in Oliver’s cozy cottage, with its bay windows—perfect for comfy seating—and cupolas that jutted from the roof. It reminded her of whimsical bird houses she had seen in Earth World. The window boxes were overflowing with late-blooming flowers in a variety of colors. She hesitated as they approached the door. She could hear laughter and voices coming from the back yard. She turned and headed to the back of the cottage where her elf and fairy friends, Oliver, Barnaby, Mateo, Sydney, Ariel and Annika, were sitting on porch swings and munching vegetables and fruit while drinking lemon balm tea.

“Ozette!” called Oliver. “Come sit with us. We were just talking about you.”

Ozette walked over to the swing with Gizmo in her mouth and set him down gently on the ground. She heard gasps as her friends looked in amazement at the baby squirrel.

Gizmo looked up, his eyes wide. Oliver reached down and picked him up and started bouncing him on his knee.

“You’re a cute little rascal. Okay, Ozette. I know there’s a story here, so let’s have it,” the elf demanded.

Ozette told her friends how she’d found Gizmo. Gizmo opened the paw holding the white squirrel replica. Oliver scratched his chin and stared.

“This is an amulet, a magical charm,” he said, holding it to the light and squinting. “Where did you get this?” Oliver asked.

Gizmo told his story once again, while Oliver stroked the squirrel’s back.

“Amulets harness powerful magic. I’ll be curious to see where this leads you,” Sydney said, examining the charm. Barnaby and Mateo nodded in agreement.

“Oh. I forgot,” Gizmo chimed in. “Your grandmother said you’re to wear it.”

Ozette picked up the amulet. Wear it? How could she wear it? It had no hole for a ribbon.

“I guess we could somehow make a little hole in it...” Ozette started.

Sydney looked up in horror. “You never deface an amulet. Never. It can cause the magic to escape. There must be another way,” she said.

Ozette experimented with tucking the amulet behind her ears, but it fell off into her paw as soon as she moved. She tucked it in the curl of her tail but to no avail.

Gizmo tapped his head with his paw. “Now I remember! Your grandmother said this was a Heartstone. But what does that mean?”

Ozette looked intently at the Heartstone. It seemed to gaze back at her. She gently placed it over her heart, and the Heartstone stuck firmly to her fur. It felt warm where it touched her chest, warm and comforting. Ariel frowned and ran her small hand through her dark curls before she reached over and tried to pull the Heartstone from Ozette’s chest.

“Ouch!” Ozette yelped, but the amulet didn’t budge.

“I guess this is where you’re to wear it,” Ariel said, patting Ozette’s chest.

Once again, Oliver stroked his chin. “Most interesting,” he said. “I suspect this has to do with saving Farlandia,” he added.

“Saving Farlandia? What does that mean?” Gizmo asked.

Oliver explained the queen’s cousins’ plans to claim Farlandia as their own, and Gizmo shook his head sadly.

“Just like in my homeland,” he said.

Annika pursed her lips and ran her slender fingers through her reddish-gold hair. “If I were you, Ozette, I would hold onto my tiara. The one other time I saw an amulet, its possessor began an initiation into nature magic. Might be quite a ride, dear friend.”

Before Ozette could speak, Gizmo’s stomach growled noisily.

“Where are my manners?” Oliver asked, slapping his head with his hand. “You must be hungry. How about some unicorn milk? Full of nutrients and delicious.”

Oliver set Gizmo on the ground and soon returned with a walnut shell cup filled with unicorn milk. Gizmo took a tentative drink then smiled; droplets of milk began dripping from his fuzzy chin.

“This is delicious,” he said, drinking the rest greedily.

Oliver cleaned the milk from the baby’s chin with his tunic. “You can call me Uncle Oliver if you’d like,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be an uncle.”

Gizmo smiled, his face lighting up. “Okay!” he said, clapping his paws together.

Annika busied herself cutting the leftover fruits and vegetables into small pieces, which she offered to Gizmo while Oliver refilled the walnut shell cup.

“That boy sure can tuck away some food,” Ariel said. “Just like you, Ozette.”

“I wanted to talk to you about yesterday, to understand...”Ozette started.

Oliver stopped her with a look. “Just let it unfold. Don’t push anything. It will happen when it happens.”

Gizmo yawned, then yawned again.

“We’ll head home now. I think Gizmo needs a nap. And so do I,” Ozette said, grabbing the baby by his scruff.

“I’ll be over later with bottles of unicorn milk,” Sydney said. “And we need to figure out what this Heartstone business is about.”