THE BOYS HELD PHONE conversations with Walt. What could they do to save Fritz? What could they do to save the Colony? This latest episode had stretched public opinion against the Colony. What would happen if the authorities insisted on searching the Colony, freely roaming its woods? Were the maturing pods deep enough to go undetected? This was the worst time for the pending trial. Its outcome could prove the fatal blow to Walt's home.
Early the next week, the rains turned to occasional showers. Sammy and John arranged to meet Walt and pedaled the same wooded side road that skirted the river, finding it much easier to maneuver by day.
As they crossed the main road, Sammy noticed two small boys playing in the full drainage ditch. Are they kids having fun, or are they old men cleaning the culverts? Ever since Walt had told the boys the secret of the Colony, Sammy looked at everyone in a different way. Even his young English teacher was suspect. Was she really who he thought, and did it even matter? He guessed it didn't. He still liked her, no matter who she was.
Standing puddles made riding more difficult. They braked and bounced along the unpaved road in full view of the dam. When they reached the gate, Walt was there, holding it open. "Do you want to have a look around in the daylight?"
"Seriously? You won't get in trouble?"
"Not if we stay close to the river." They left the road before it swung behind a line of riverfront cottages nestled under fir trees. Beyond the homes was an open area filled with raised vegetable beds ready for the new spring planting. Walt pointed out the medical building and the adjacent warehouse. Sammy recognized a larger two-story building, its back door facing a parking lot, and beside it the kennel where Fritz was now imprisoned.
Walt directed them to the first cottage near the dam. "There's someone who wants to see you." He climbed the porch stairs and motioned the boys to follow. After peering through the front door, he opened it and walked in. Sammy and John waited outside. A young girl rounded the corner of the nearby shed. A light raincoat hung loosely over her frame. She carried a long stick whose large arrowhead tip was dotted with small holes. When she noticed them, she waved. "Let me get rid of this thing, boys." AnLillie seemed even more pixie-like than ever.
As she stomped the mud from her boots, she said, "It's so good to see you. Come on inside." They followed her in, neither boy knowing what to say.
"So, Grandma, what did you find in the woods?" Walt asked. Sammy wondered if they were totally ignoring the fact that he and John now knew about their reversed relationship. Just hearing the word "Grandma" made Sammy uneasy.
"I tested the ground in the lower section. It's getting pretty saturated with all this rain. I'm sure the diggers are keeping a close eye on it, though," she answered, and then turned to Sammy and John. "This must seem strange to you boys." She pointed to Walt and then back to herself.
What could they say? It rocked their world to the core and now another person was confirming the truth.
"In all my years I've never talked to an 'aging' who knew I wasn't one. I can tell you, it feels unreal knowing that you boys know about the Colony." Those few words put him at ease.
After she took her coat off, it was difficult to keep up with her. She began flitting from room to room, sharing her life's little treasures, telling a short story about each one. The living room was small, freshly painted but bearing the warmth of a home long lived in. Cherry-wood molding trimmed every room, top and bottom, and set off the lighter oak floor. Leaded-glass doors covered bookshelves that bracketed a stone fireplace. AnLillie took a poker from a rack and prodded the flames, which added to the welcoming feel of the cottage.
Sammy noticed a painting over the mantel. It depicted two ancient trees reflecting one another, one growing upward toward the sky, its autumn leaves filling the empty spaces of a bright background. The second tree was reversed, its lush new green leaves showing through flowing water, while its own roots spread out handsomely, touching the roots of the first tree.
AnLillie watched him study her painting. He seemed captivated by it. After letting the moment soak into minutes, she said, "Thank goodness for the others."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I spoke out of turn," she answered, and then walked off toward the kitchen. "I'll go get us some fresh cookies."
Are there more genetically different people? Are Walt and AnLillie going to introduce us to others? Others whose bodies keep me guessing: Are you old? Are you young? What does she mean, she spoke out of turn?
When she returned with a tray of chocolate-chip cookies, Sammy said, "AnLillie, all I seem to get are questions and not many answers. Tell me about the 'others.'"
"Sammy, you'll know soon enough. It's nothing to trouble your mind." She set the cookies on a low table and turned away. But he pressed on.
"Not knowing who or what they are is a little scary," he confessed. "I still feel uncomfortable knowing what I know, but I want to know more. All this secrecy doesn't help, especially since the Colony is in trouble."
"Oh, I'm aware of it. We all are. The trial and the rain are all we speak of." Slipping by John, who was helping himself to the cookies, she motioned toward the front of the house.
"Have you noticed the river?" She opened the front door and walked to the edge of the porch. "It's rising, pretty muddy from the rains, almost close enough to fish from right here. It's been years since it was this high."
That was the first and last time Sammy ever stood on AnLillie's porch.