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“Magical forest, is it, then? Do tell me more,” Graham said, eager to initiate the unavoidable conversation as they exited through the prep room door on the first floor. He pushed back his bangs and tucked them under the brim of his cap, revealing a devious grin. Despite his desire to heckle, however, his instinct to be protective of Elinora and Tillie was always first and foremost, so it was only after slipping outside and making their way to the garden maze that he mentioned their letters. But now, out of earshot of anyone else, he felt free to relentlessly tease. “Oh yes, and the talking animals, how could I ever forget.” He arched his eyebrow playfully.
Tillie put her hands on her hips and furrowed her brows.
He glanced at Henry, who was trotting down the stone steps beside him. “How do you do? Splendid. I am doing quite well, too, thank you,” he said to him. He looked at Elinora and smiled.
“Oh, stop now. He can understand you whether you believe it or not,” she said, flapping him in the stomach with the gloves she was carrying before slipping them on.
He winced, pretending to be hurt. “Right. Have you ever actually seen this so-called monkey, or are you just letting your imagination get the best of you?” He rubbed his hands together briskly and breathed on them for warmth.
Before she or Tillie could respond, he fired off more questions. “Could it have been your grumbling stomach you heard, and not Henry’s thoughts? Oh, wait, please, tell me more about that Lady of the Forest; I think that was the most creative bit of all. How did you come up with that? Oh right—a talking squirrel told you!” He looked at Tillie and feigned doubling over with laughter.
“I can’t wait to see you eat your hat, Gray, because you will,” she replied. “You are going to fall over onto the ground and faint when you find out it’s all true. And when you do, I will shake you awake to make sure you finish every last bite!”
“Oh, come on, you can’t really communicate with animals, just admit it. You’re just a bunch of story tellers; rather inventive story tellers at that, to be honest.”
“Graham O’Conor,” Tillie said rolling her eyes.
“Will you two please stop!” Elinora tried to sound like she was scolding, but even she was laughing.
“If you say so.” Graham pulled his cap down over his face protectively to shield himself from his cousins.
He continued to pester them, and as he did Abigail’s words floated through Elinora’s mind. The energy of the forest will only reveal itself to those who truly care. Graham had always teased them relentlessly about many things, but it was always in good fun. She knew deep down he was actually sensitive and kind and would come around sooner or later. She just wondered how long it might take.
“All right, Gray,” Jamie said. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
They walked ahead, and for old time’s sake Jamie made his way to the center of the snow-covered garden maze, stalking the others and jumping out every now and again from behind the towering hornbeam shrubberies. “I’m going to get you!” he threatened.
“Come, this way,” Tillie said laughing and catching her breath after being chased by him through the hedges. She led them out of the maze to the entrance of the forest trail.
“Ah yes, the infamous Kellandale Wood,” Graham said ominously as they approached.
“Puckish, aren’t we,” Tillie teased.
“Puckish, eh? Did you find that word in the mythology book that helped you make up your stories? And you do know that my mother would not condone this illicit activity; what kind of trouble are you trying to get me into?”
“Oh Gray, she’ll never know as long as you keep quiet,” Jamie said, pushing forward.
“Yes, just shush and come on,” Tillie needled Graham.
Just then came a familiar rustling. “Hello, Mister,” Elinora said when he jumped out of a pile of ice-encrusted leaves. She ruffled the fur on the top of his head, then bent down to give him a few peanuts.
Mister put his paw in her hand and gently took them. He turned and regarded Graham and Jamie, then scampered down the trail.
“Gray, Jamie, that was Mr. Squirrel, but you can call him Mister,” Tillie explained. “He’s usually here waiting for us when we take our walks.”
“He’s adorable I’ll admit, but it still proves nothing,” Graham said, giving a sideways glance at his brother.
Jamie, meanwhile, was thrilled by the interaction with the friendly squirrel. “I believe what they’ve told us could very well be true. I mean I really, really hope it’s true, because how amazing is that?”
“It is true!” Tillie protested.
Elinora walked ahead. Graham smirked, but he continued to follow; Henry was still at his side.
Jamie walked a little slower, exploring and inspecting the trail closely. “Why would they make up such an elaborate story and not let it go by now if it weren’t true?” he said quietly to his brother.
“That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?” he replied.
“Hold up a minute, I want to try something,” Jamie said, stopping on the trail. He put his head down and remained silent. Henry sensed his intention and came to his side. Jamie’s eyes widened and he smiled. Then he reached out and placed his hands on each side of Henry’s face and closed his eyes dramatically. Graham watched closely and stifled a laugh when Jamie lowered his head and touched it to Henry’s forehead.
But he didn’t need to make a production of it; all Henry needed was absolute trust, and he had already felt he had Jamie’s when they’d met. Now he was letting him in completely.
Jamie’s eyes popped open and he stumbled back, a rush of strong feeling coursing through him. “Gray, it’s not a joke, it’s for real!” he shouted. “I know what Henry is thinking and feeling right now, right this very minute. He’s happy we’re here!”
Elinora and Tillie heard shouts and turned back on the trail.
Graham raised his eyebrows. “I certainly didn’t hear anything.”
“No, it’s not like that at all, it wasn’t words, or even sounds I heard. I just felt a whole lot of things; I just know what he’s thinking and feeling.”
Graham folded his arms.
“He thinks you’ll come around, too, by the way,” he snickered.
“Is that so.”
“It is so.”
Graham strolled over and knelt so that his face was at the same level as Henry’s, then he looked directly into his soft brown eyes. Henry’s tail wagged and thumped on the ground playfully. Graham flicked his wrists, then mimicking Jamie, put both hands on either side of Henry’s temples like a fortune-teller would to a crystal ball and...he waited.
Henry sloppily licked his face. He wagged his tail again and panted, which gave him the look of someone laughing.
Graham pulled away, laughing, too. “Nothing. I heard absolutely nothing,” he said, releasing his hands and rubbing his cheek with his sleeve. He turned to Jamie. “So, you’re in on this too, now? All right, three against one—no worries, I can handle it. This is going to be a long visit, fella,” he chuckled.
“For crying out loud, Gray,” Jamie groused.
Graham looked into Henry’s eyes again and couldn’t help but feel lighthearted. “He really is beautiful, and I can tell he’s really smart, talking or not. And the woods are magnificent. I don’t need magic to enjoy any of this, you know.” He stood back up and spun around to take it all in.
Tillie watched him closely.
He turned to her abruptly. “Now I get it. You know you don’t have to cook up a fantastic adventure so I won’t miss the city.”
“Oof, you’re absolutely exhausting,” she groaned.
Henry wagged his tail again, aware, and very much enjoying the game. He liked Graham a lot, and his resistance was making him feel very playful. Even he knew Graham would come around; he just wanted to make him work a little first.
Elinora, Tillie, and Jamie sensed this. Jamie snickered when he realized Henry could understand Graham and was playing with him.
“Just give it time, Gray,” Elinora said gently.
“Can you take us to the place in the woods with the animals? Maybe he will believe us when he sees it,” Jamie asked.
“It’s where we are headed now—the amphitheater.”
“It’s another world there, you’ll be amazed. It won’t be so cold either,” Tillie said, then exhaled and looked cross-eyed at her breath.
“Righto. By all means, lead the way,” said Graham, shivering and laughing.
Henry wagged his tail again. He continued to walk next to him and even gave him a little nudge.
Graham ruffled Henry’s fur once more and noticed he did seem exceptionally aware. It made him pause, even if only for a moment.
The snow began to fall lightly again as they moved through the stand of pines on the trail.
“Has Graham told you that he’s applied for school again?” Jamie asked Elinora and Tillie.
“Gray, that’s wonderful,” Elinora said. “I’m sorry you’ve been having such a hard time getting in. It’s not right.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll just keep at it. And hopefully things will change. A lot of people are angry about all of it.”
“Gray wants to study international law,” Jamie added proudly. “It’s proper good, but I thought he’d become an inventor.” He looked at Graham, who smiled.
“I think that’s what you’re going to be, James. You certainly have the mind for it.”
Jamie looked down and smiled, glancing over at Henry again. He still couldn’t believe he could understand Henry. But in some way, it just felt natural. He smiled again.
Henry wagged his tail. He didn’t need to see Jamie’s face to feel his joy.
“And how about you, Nor?” Graham asked. “You actually got in, but I heard you declined your acceptance. I was really surprised to hear that. Why did you do that?” He looked at her intently.
“She’s afraid of leaving home,” Tillie said bluntly. “I think she’s making a huge mistake.”
“I am not afraid,” she said defensively. “Maybe I am a little...but that’s not the only reason. I told Tillie I don’t feel right about it—I only got in through lottery and that feels so unfair. We are getting by here, so for the time being, I would rather figure out what I could possibly do to help change things in the long run. At least the community school is being built. It’s a start. As long as they aren’t shut down like some of the other schools have been. I don’t know, there’s got to be something that can be done about it. Now can we talk about something else right now?”
Jamie shrugged. “It’s all right, Elinora, you’ll figure it out.”
“What are we going to do about Lina?” Tillie asked. “She is certainly going to tattle if she sees us going into the woods every day, I just know it. She has always wanted to get me into trouble.”
Jamie shrugged. “Don’t be so angry with her, Tillie. I quite like her. And we haven’t seen her in a long time. Maybe it will be different this time.”
Tillie snorted. “Unlikely.”
“What happened between you two?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Jamie sighed. “All right. I like your outfit,” he said, quickly changing the topic.
“Oh yes, thank you for loaning me the trousers,” she said looking at the baggy brown pants and heavy stockings peeking out from under her long overcoat.
“You can keep them if you’d like. They’ll keep you warm when we walk,” he offered. “I hope we can walk out here every day.”
“Brilliant. Dresses are unbearably impractical. I feel much more comfortable, and I want to be able to run and climb and wade in the river and not have to deal with a stuffy, ridiculous dress,” she said.
Jamie nodded approvingly. “Tell us more about Kellandale Wood,” he prodded.
“You mean Wyches Wood,” Graham interjected, holding up his hands and wiggling his fingers.
“Yes, those who are afraid of it call it that,” Elinora teased, then recounted the history of the estate as she and Tillie had been recently told by Abigail.
“People used to hunt tigers here?” Jamie asked.
“Yes, animals of all kinds, from all over the world,” Tillie replied.
“That’s horrible,” Graham remarked.
“Apparently when the manor house was built, the hunting parties were excessive; loads of animals were hunted. Abigail said they brought in game from other places; not just tigers, but rhinos, giraffe, bear, water buffalo—anything big and exotic. The menagerie we used to wonder about was used to display them for guests, like a zoo, until they were released for the hunt.”
Jamie wrinkled his nose.
“Awful, isn’t it?” Tillie agreed.
“That’s why the animals of the forest formed a council, to protect themselves.” Elinora looked over at Graham, expecting his reproach, but she continued. “Kellandale Wood is so vast that hunters sometimes still enter the forest without us even knowing. The forest council works together to chase them away when they do.”
Graham had been listening attentively to the history and was engrossed, but the part about the forest council made him shake his head. Yet his mind wandered, and he couldn’t help but wonder—if it were all true, why was he alone the one that was unable to sense Henry’s thoughts. Bah, what am I even thinking? It is impossible, he thought. He glanced over at Henry, who had been watching him closely. They locked eyes. Graham sensed his deep intelligence and awareness and he flinched. Elinora, meanwhile, had continued with her story, so he turned his attention back to her.
“...and the reason Kellandale Wood was thought to be haunted in the first place was because the forest really does possess some sort of magic,” she said. “The ability to experience it depends on whether you are here out of love, and want to help and be part of it, or if you’re here out of greed, and trying to take from it or destroy it. That’s what we believe, anyway.”
“Wonderful,” Graham teased.
They walked on for a bit then Tillie stopped. “Right here. This is where we found Henry,” she said, pointing to the riverbank and the little rocky beach. She lowered her head. “It was so awful, Graham.”
Henry gazed over toward the riverbank and sat down.
“We thought he was dead,” Elinora said, her voice low and solemn.
As they shared more of the story, Graham suddenly breathed in deep and began to feel a tightening in his chest. He looked at Henry, imagining the trauma, and what his cousins must have felt. All of the emotions he had tried to hold back, the hiding behind disbelief, suddenly came crashing down on him. “How could someone do that to Henry? To any living being?” His voice cracked as he said this. The rising emotion was so strong it overwhelmed him. Then he realized it was not just his own emotions he was feeling. Henry had let him in, and now Graham felt everything. He saw fleeting images in his mind—all that had happened to Henry on that day, just as they had said. Then, in another flash, he knew what Henry was feeling right at that very moment.
A sense of belonging. A teasing nudge.
Love.
“That was...oh, Henry, did that really happen?” Graham blurted. He moved over to him and stroked his fur. He looked around, dazed.
Tillie pushed him playfully “I told you!” she needled.
“But how?”
“It’s the forest, Graham...we’re sure of it,” Elinora replied softly.
Suddenly, another rush of feeling slipped out of Henry; something he had been holding back even from Elinora and Tillie. Only Graham perceived it.
Sadness. Horrible, aching sadness. Fear.
“What is it, boy?” Graham gasped.
Henry’s ears dropped, but he went silent.
Elinora quickly looked over. She, too, felt something pass through Henry’s mind. She shivered.
“Gray?” Tillie asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. But it felt like something is really bothering Henry.”
Henry quickly stood up and wagged his tail, shaking off whatever had caught Graham’s attention. The feeling lifted.
“You sure you’re all right?” Graham asked him. Henry wagged his tail again.
Tillie raised an eyebrow at them both. “All right then, let’s get moving to the amphitheater,” she beckoned. Graham, Jamie, and Henry followed.
Elinora, meanwhile, fell behind a few steps, keeping her eye on Henry. She, too, had sensed something within Henry that unsettled her, but she did not know what to make of it. She felt another shiver pass through, but composed herself, running to catch up.