Chapter three

Little Zeke Tartal was growing quickly into an intelligent, charming, and polite young lad. He had just turned nine years old and was very comfortable living in his own little world. He still wasn’t very fond of his father but had started to tolerate his presence. He spent most of the time just playing by himself and reading. He loved stories about outer space and faraway lands the most. He loved going for long walks in the evenings with his mother, his little sisters, and Coconut. He also enjoyed exploring the woods and was fond of collecting different colored stones along the Straits of Mackinac.

Audrey had always noticed something distinctive about Zeke and his behavior that made her increasingly concerned. There were two very different sides to him, and he kept oscillating between the two extremes, trying hard to fit in and yet always remaining an outcast. He tended to go from a happy-go-lucky and playful boy to a brooding, lonely, and closed-off little creature that even his mother could barely recognize. At times he enjoyed being sociable. He would laugh, play, and make jokes, then suddenly retreat into his shell like a crab for no apparent reason.

Zeke’s twin sisters were growing up, too, and he started noticing them both individually and collectively. The more time he spent around them, the more he realized his sisters were like night and day. Leia would screech at the top of her lungs and stomp her feet at the slightest annoyance. She hated the very sight of both Zeke and Maya and never even smiled at them. Maya, on the other hand, was a much more sensitive child. She had a calm demeanor and always giggled at the people around her.

She would often whisper into his ears, “Zeke, I have secret wings and can fly sometimes!”

“Yeah, sure,” he would always answer, with apparent sarcasm as any brother would, but deep down, a part of him believed her.

Ziggy remained a loyal and regular visitor during those formative years. Zeke had come to terms with her choice not to speak around others. She would always come back at odd times, uninvited yet always welcome. She would sing and talk to him, giving his lonely soul some company as he fast approached his tenth birthday.

• • •

It was autumn in Michigan, a season of magical colors. Michiganders loved all their seasons as each one brought a distinct flavor and spirit, but they loved fall the most. Driving across the state in October was a real treat to the human eye. Nature would bloom in all its hues around the little towns, the countryside, and the immense shoreline. The leaves on the trees would change from their usual summer greens to yellows, oranges, reds, magentas, and pinks, making all of Michigan look like a colorful canvas painting come to life.

A wealthy local man named Max Wheeler signed a four-car deal with Ben that year and was quite satisfied with the services he received at Tartal’s Garage and Dealership. He was so happy that he invited the entire Tartal family over for a week-long stay at his orchard estate in Traverse City. The kids would pick cherries, apples, and the last of the blueberries while Mrs. Wheeler taught Audrey how to make preserves out of them.

Mr. Wheeler also owned a sleek, yellow speedboat named Bananadana, and the Tartals were treated to long boat rides along with wakeboarding and jet skiing on majestic Grand Traverse Bay. Zeke particularly loved cruising at top speed on Bananadana. He held on tightly with all his might and begged the driver to go faster and faster so they would lift up out of the water and fly straight to the moon.

It was the last day of their stay in Traverse City. They were planning to leave the next morning when Zeke suddenly noticed Zig hovering around him quite unusually, singing a new song: “A single friend had Tartal Zeke. Now he’ll make two within the week!”

Ziggy’s mysterious declaration left him confused. He had always ignored many of her rhymes, but this one felt different. He asked the bird, “What do you mean?”

But the only answer he got was, “For that riddle, you must wait. You’ll meet a newfound friend at the broken gate.” Zig’s answer only served to make him more skeptical.

In the spirit of the season, Ben planned an overnight stay at a friend’s empty cottage near McGulpin Point Lighthouse so they could celebrate a bigger Halloween in the city than just little Farley Street. The cottage had a beautiful view of the Mighty Mac just above the tree line. Once they entered Mackinaw, they noticed the festive Halloween decorations: glowing candles and lights, hanging rubber bats, pumpkins, scarecrows, overflowing cornucopias, and the traditional yummy snacks like kettle corn, candied apples, and monster-shaped cookies. The twins and Mrs. Braganza needed to rest for a bit before the evening festivities, and so did Mr. and Mrs. Tartal.

Zeke, however, was still high on energy. He had no plans to sleep or rest at such an early hour even though the sky was getting darker by the minute. He slipped into his boots and snuck out of the house so he could roam around a bit, enjoying what he could before the evening festivities began. He walked towards the lighthouse. The woods were generally dark, but that evening some of the trees were decorated with lights because of Halloween, making them much easier to navigate.

He had no idea how far he had come from the cottage when he saw an old house right next to the lake. Curious, he crawled into the house and checked every room, but it just seemed like an empty, abandoned barn house. Zeke was thrilled to have discovered a deserted place he could return to at will.

“Maybe I can create a little hideout and come back here from time to time when I want to be alone,” he said to himself.

He wanted to walk in the lake for a bit, so he wasted no time, removed his boots, tossed them in one of the rooms, and ran barefoot towards the shore. The water was cool, and nobody was around. He dipped his feet in the water. The moon was just huge that night, almost blood-red in color — something he had never seen before. There weren’t many stars, and the sky looked much darker than usual. He couldn’t take his eyes off the giant red moon against the black sky which made it look almost ethereal. It was a “Blood Moon” night for sure — a night of a total lunar eclipse.

• • •

It was a while before Zeke realized it was getting late, and he needed to be back at the cottage before the others left for the festival. He hurried back to the room where he had kept his boots. The place looked even darker, with only moonlight entering from a corner window. The moment he stepped into his boots, he felt something scratching his right foot.

“Whoa!”

He jumped, pulled his feet back, and almost freaked out as he saw something fly out of his boot. At first, he thought it was just a frog, but on second glance, he found it to be an ugly, freakish creature. The creepy little monster stood right in front of him, bold and unfazed. In the bright moonlight, he could now clearly see a tiny old man, the size of a thumb, wearing a little green coat, standing in the middle of the room. The creature was bald and had big cone-shaped ears, a bushy unibrow, a fat nose, and a reddish-brown beard. The moment Zeke’s eyes fell on him, the man bowed in reverence. Before he could react any further, the imp jumped up and sat right on Zeke’s shoulder.

Smiling at him, the little man said, “Happy Halloween, little Mr. Tartal!”

“Ahhhhhhhh!” Zeke screamed and started running for his life.

A screechy, high-pitched, equally scared voice screamed, “Ahhhhhhhh!” right back into Zeke’s ear, clutching his shirt collar as they took off.

Finally, the little imp fell off Zeke’s shoulder and bolted. Zeke ran aimlessly until he reached the cottage where his family was staying. The moment he saw his mother, he passed out. He regained his senses when a splash of water hit his face, and he found himself lying on his mother’s lap. Everybody thought he just got spooked confronting one of those Halloween figures roaming the streets in freaky costumes meant to scare the kids. On the other hand, he thought he must have had a perfect Halloween experience: meeting a real ghost inside a haunted house on an ominous Blood Moon Halloween night.

Much later, Zeke came to know there was indeed a haunted house near the lakeside, according to local lore. “Oh yeah,” a farm kid told him. “I’ve heard about that place a lot. My dad mentions it from time to time. He says there’s this abandoned old house down there. It’s supposed to be haunted. People say they see weird stuff, so you’d best stay away.” Zeke knew it to be true, and he never dared to share this story with anyone. So naturally, he decided to avoid the lake house from that point on.

Children across the country happily enjoyed this festive time of the year, and the kids of Farley Street were no exception. Folks weren’t really wealthy in this part of the state, but there were vast lands covered with fields and orchards, and children knew little ways to keep themselves happy and occupied. One Saturday morning, a few days after Halloween, the sun was high and the weather was unusually pleasant. It was that time of year known as “Indian summer.”

The kids were still in a festive mood, and they would play in the fields around the neighborhood. As they were running from one field to the other, they suddenly came upon a corn maze — a secret farmer’s corn maze, a magical corn field that came alive only for the children of Emmet County. They called it “The Amazing Maize Maze.” Gael, Kai, Nora, Zeke, Maya, Leia, and even Coconut all had such fun running around this magical labyrinth, playing hide and seek and scaring each other. Zig was in a leisurely mood, too. She flew idly over the maze, never taking her eyes off Zeke.

During a game of hide and seek, Zeke was about to catch Nora hiding behind the crops, as he could see her shiny, long hair from one of those turns in the labyrinth. Just then, something popped out of the crops. He instinctively knew what it was and froze to death, watching the creepy little creature pounce on him again.

“Good morning, Mr. Tartal! Remember me?” With record speed, and before Zeke could even react, the little creature crawled up Zeke’s leg, past his torso, and sat right on his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

“Ahhhhhhhh!” Zeke screamed before passing out.

Luckily, Nora heard him and found him lying unconscious in the cornfield. She called the other kids, and they picked him up and brought him back home. Zeke told his mother everything about the lake house and the corn maze when he woke.

“It was so small, Mom, barely bigger than my thumb.” Audrey worried about her boy more than ever, fearing that he had even started seeing ghosts in broad daylight.

Throughout fall, Zig had a new song to sing. She kept humming into Zeke’s ears, “Tartal Zeke lives on Farley Street. He has a newfound friend to meet. Ziggy Bird’s now happy to tweet, ‘Zeke’s life’s about to get really sweet!’”

This wasn’t making him happy at all. Zig had sung a new song in Traverse City, and he chose to ignore it. This time he was more cautious since her last message came true. He realized she was a messenger from the animal kingdom.

“I have got to start paying more attention to you,” he confessed, but Zig just ignored him and flew away.

Zig’s song continued to ring like a warning bell in Zeke’s ears. It scared him even more. He was in no mood to make an ugly little ghost of a friend, so he avoided sneaking out of his house or visiting lonely, abandoned places after dark. He chose to stay close to his family, especially his mother. The experience he had at the magic maze was no ordinary encounter. It was a meeting that was going to change everything. That encounter, paired with Ziggy’s little rhyme, meant that life was about to change for Zeke Tartal — really change.

Now, Audrey started to notice something different about her son but assumed it was just an aftereffect of the scare he faced on Halloween night. Halloween marked the beginning of the holiday season which was always bittersweet for Zeke. Thanksgiving was a big event at Tartal House. The televised parade from New York City with the giant balloons and marching bands followed by a lavish turkey dinner paved the way for the buildup to Christmas. Zeke was fast becoming aware that he had to share his upcoming birthday with a certain someone named Jesus, and it was beginning to bother him. He noticed that his birthday and Christmas gifts were more or less combined whereas other kids got separate gifts for their birthdays as well as Christmas.

“Why do I get gypped just because I share the same birthday with this dead guy who hangs on a cross at Saint Anthony Church… and just who is Saint Anthony anyway?”

• • •

The next several months passed without much ado except Zeke being occasionally triggered by the thought of the little old man. One day, he chose to confront his fears. He skipped school and returned to the haunted house to deal with the little munchkin once and for all. “There are no ghosts. There are no ghosts,” he continuously declared to himself, trying to keep up his courage. He snuck out of his house wearing the same old boots and headed for the haunted house. He placed his shoes in the same place in the same old room. This was all a trap to catch the little goblin.

The shore was dry and desolate on a lonely spring afternoon. There was no wind blowing, and there was pin-drop silence all around. He could even hear his own footsteps. He walked along the shore for some time, occasionally throwing stones in the silent lake water, creating circular ripples that seemed to fade into obscurity. As he bent down to pick up more stones, he suddenly felt an invisible hand upon his back. It felt freakishly small, yet it pushed him with an unfathomable force straight into the frigid lake. Luckily, he was still close to the shore and didn’t go too deep. He pulled himself out of the water immediately. As he was coming up to the sand and trying to catch his breath, his eyes caught something on a tree branch – the same tiny old man, smoking a little pipe, smiling at him and swinging his feet. Only this time, he wore a long, tall hat covering his bald head, which made him look a lot wiser than he was.

“Good afternoon and a happy spring to you, sir!” He tipped his hat and bowed his head.

Shivering, Zeke headed straight towards the tiny man and was going to tell the creature to leave him alone. As soon as the imp saw him coming, he jumped out of the tree and darted in the opposite direction, as if they were playing a game of Tag and Zeke was “it.”

After a couple of minutes, he turned back and saw Zeke standing in the same position, not chasing him. Instead, he rested his hands on his waist and looked curiously at him. Zeke was an intelligent kid, and this prank had told him that the little gnome was only toying with him.

“Are you making fun of me?” he curiously asked the creature, as by now he was sure the tiny man could converse.

“Oh no! Good sir, I was simply trying to lighten the mood. I thought you would scream again, so I got scared and ran to save my life… and my poor little eardrums. It is surely not for the faint-hearted, that noise you make!” speaking in a thick, Irish brogue.

“Who are you?”

“I’m your loyal royal servant, sir!”

“Why do you call me ‘sir’?”

“Your lordship had received a knighthood in his last life, and I was your loyal butler, sir!”

“Knighthood? Last life? That sounds made up,” Zeke quickly countered. “... and even if it was true, why would a knight have a butler as small as you?”

The little man winked at him, his eyes twinkling, and a naughty grin appeared on his face.

“You are correct, Master Tartal. You’ve seen through my words and recognized my hidden talent. You see, sir, I am quite good at making up stories.”

Hearing the tiny man’s lies and the blatant admissions felt fun to him. “Okay, I’ll play along. My name is Zeke. What’s yours? Are you a ghost?”

“My name is Zag. I’m a leprechaun, and that answers your last question, too, little Mr. Tartal. I am no ghost, sir. I am only your humble and loyal servant.”

“A leprechaun? What’s that? Where do you live, Zag? In that haunted house?” He wanted to know more about this leprechaun.

“That was my temporary address, sir — that is, until I could find you. Now I live in your cellar.”

“What??? You mean, you live in my house?” He thought about it for a second. “Ah, now I get why Coconut is always tugging at the bottoms of my trousers, trying to drag me down there. He wanted me to find you.”

“Forgive my words, sir, but that scary little monster of a dog often wants to bite me, chew me up and spit me out like a chicken bone!” His bouncy, singsong accent fascinated Zeke.

“Hahaha!” Zeke chuckled, feeling more at ease with the little creature now. “By the way, why did you jump out of my boot last time?”

“The little cobbler that lives inside of me was mending your shoe, sir. Don’t you see your shoe has a hole the size of an asteroid?”

All his fears seemed to have faded away, and Zeke laughed out loud, reaching his hand out to Zag for a warm handshake. A happy Zag jumped onto one of Zeke’s shoulders instead. Ziggy Bird suddenly came flying out of the woods and landed on the other shoulder.

“Mr. Zag, have you ever met Ziggy before? She’s been a loyal friend to me since I was three!”

“Dear Mr. Tartal, how can I not know her? Zag gets to do all the things Zig only wishes she could do. You see, Zag is Zig’s alter-ego. We are two, and we are one — both parts of a whole.”

Zeke now had two magical and mysterious friends, but he was still very much an ordinary child. Nevertheless, fate had a different plan for him, and he would need both Zig and Zag if he had any hope of fulfilling his destiny.