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The minute I walked outside, I saw a familiar bird of prey flapping at the top of a pine. Hurry into the woods so I can change you, it demanded. What took you so long?
“Don't even ask.” I rushed into the trees. I wasn't nervous, and I had mostly forgiven him. All I wanted to do was fly. “What kind of bird am I going to be? And please make sure it's something that won't be eaten.”
He emitted a squawk that sounded like a laugh. You're going to be a hawk like me!
And suddenly, I was.
The drastic change in height was disconcerting. The added feeling of having my arms plastered to my sides as wings, plus having bird toes and a beak, was simply surreal. I tried to take a step and tumbled clumsily to the earth.
Allen joined me on the ground. Careful, balancing on bird toes is a bit different from standing on human feet.
I looked at him with my new raptor eyes. My vision was so sharp and bright that I had trouble putting names to some of the colors around me.
Get used to working and grasping with those toes, and then we'll fly, Allen suggested.
He was beautiful and majestic, his feathers perfectly groomed and in place. I could see him posing for a coin or statue.
Awkwardly, I bobbed around until I got the hang of my new feet. Then I pumped my wings enough to lift me slightly into the air.
Wow! This is a rush! I exclaimed. I came back down too hard on my spindly legs and they gave way under me. But other than being embarrassed, I was fine.
Allen flew up to a branch above me. Now, flap like you just did, but keep it going. Try to get to where I am, then reach out, grab the branch, and steady yourself to land. It's not hard.
After one or two abortive attempts, I finally managed to join him. Bracing myself on the thick bough, I forced myself to not look below.
See? You're a natural.
That's because I'm one with nature, I answered sarcastically.
But it's true. And don't worry about the height. As your bird instincts kick in, it won't bother you. They might have started up already.
And indeed, when I glanced down, I wasn't as scared as I had expected to be. Whether it was because I knew I could catch myself if I started to fall, or because I now possessed an avian disposition, I wasn't certain. But I did know that I wanted to soar.
I launched myself into the air with abandon, letting out a squeak of pure joy. This truly was freedom. This form, more than any previous one, provided me with sensations of deep fulfillment and a marvelous lack of restraint.
Allen whizzed past. Don't dangle your legs like that! Tuck them in! You'll fly better!
I obeyed, and immediately found it easier to maneuver. Then I headed into the clouds.
The wind rushing beneath my wings made me understand why birds sang, and I was ready to chime in with them. The breeze played with my feathers as my body was gently buffeted by the air currents. I’d left all of my everyday teenage worries far below on the ground. They meant nothing to me now, and I wanted to kiss Allen for giving me such a fantastic gift.
It's so wonderful! I cried as he flew up beside me.
Isn't it?
I could see why Daniel wanted Allen to change him so frequently. What sheer elation to dive and glide! My brother probably loved this!
Daniel. What had happened to him?
Allen detected the drop in my mood. Are you okay?
I'm just so worried about Daniel.
Allen descended to a branch. We were very near his “shack” – I could see it through the trees. I could swear he’d enlarged it, too.
I came down beside him. Maybe I should go look for my brother.
Oh, Corinne, I know him. I'm sure he's fine.
I don't think so. He'd never just disappear without telling my parents where he is. I fluttered to the forest floor. Allen, can you turn me back?
Why? he pouted.
Allen, please.
Very well.
Gaining back my human form left me breathless. I began to pace around on the carpet of leaves. Allen soon followed me, human once again as well. It didn't take very long for him to become annoyed with my restlessness. “Corinne, stop it. Why are you doing this? We could be flying!”
I flipped around to face him. “I feel like I should be doing something to help Daniel. My mom was saying I might be able to. I should get back home before they think I disappeared too.”
“You know he's fine. I guarantee it. I'd never let anything bad happen to him. He's my savior.”
He stood there, his hands across his chest, with an expression I'd never seen on him before. It was an odd mix of anxiety and anger, which made me furious at him.
“How do you know that? Do you even care that he's missing?”
“Of course!”
“You don't seem so worried about it!”
“That's because he's probably having the time of his life, somewhere off in time.”
Something nagged at me. Of all people, why had Daniel chosen to save Allen? My father had rescued special people who were very talented. What was so important about Allen that my brother had decided to bring him forward from the fourteenth century?
“Why did Daniel pick you to save, Allen?” I inquired.
He looked up, surprised. “What, don't you know?”
“Know?”
Cocking his head in amazement, he studied me. “No, you really don’t, do you?”
I was getting frustrated. “Allen, if I did, I wouldn't be asking you, would I?”
“I guess not.” He grinned to himself, plucking a leaf from a nearby shrub and playing with it. “I'm famous.”
“Famous? I don't know too many famous Allens born in 1302.”
He went past this. “I'm a big name in your folklore. You know me very well.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. “No, Allen. I really don't.”
“I'm Aldous.”
“Aldous?” The Sad Little Peahen story flooded into my brain. Aldous, the wizard who punished his daughter for seeing the prince... Who turned the prince into a horse and set him to pulling the king's carriage...
“Aldous...” My jaw dropped, and I froze, trying to grasp what he had just told me. “That’s...” I searched his face for some kind of evidence.
“Daniel says the villagers called me 'Aldous the Fox'. I love the whole idea. I do enjoy being a fox, it's true.”
My heart began to pound in my chest. The Sad Little Peahen was no story. Aldous, its main character, was a changer, and Allen was Aldous!
I gulped, waiting for him to say something, but he just stood there with a broad, proud smile on his face.
“No...Daniel wouldn’t...Aldous is...” I couldn't say “evil”. What if he didn't know about what he had done yet? Allen seemed so young.
“Are you...married? Do you have children?”
“Not yet.”
My God, Daniel had taken him from before any of the events in The Sad Little Peahen took place! Assuming that story was true, then history would be changed, perhaps drastically, if Allen remained in the present.
This was what my parents had been fighting with Daniel about! Horrified, I clasped my hand over my mouth, understanding finally dawning. Despite my residual anger at him from when I had nearly gotten devoured, I knew that I wanted Allen to stay here. After all that had transpired between us, I was deeply drawn to him: his power, his personality, and his desire to help me see what I might be capable of. I had found him attractive from the first time I had met him, and in truth I had grown to want him for myself more and more. But now it was clear to me: I couldn't have him; he needed to return to his proper time. Allen had to be brought back!
Without my prompting, Allen started to explain more. “Daniel says when I'm older I'm famous for being a great wizard. Well, changer, at least. The king and queen call on me for my services. They even give me an English name, Aldous, since it's a fashion of the time. My birth name is Aaron.” He paused, his eyes bright. “I don't want to read too much about myself, though. Then I'll know the future. Daniel and I both agreed that I wouldn't. It might be dangerous, and there would be no adventure in living if I know everything that happens.”
“What does it matter whether you know or not? If you stay here forever, you'll change the past. Then the whole story won't happen...” I didn't want to say it to him, but the impact of what Daniel had done could truly be world-changing.
“You’re right. I could read it since I’m staying in this era. But I don’t care what would have happened to me. Why would I want to go back to my old life?”
“To have the family you're supposed to have! If you don't, your children will never exist!”
“I can have children here instead.”
I stopped to think. Allen didn't know he had changed his daughter into a peahen, or that he was eventually killed. I was glad that Daniel was wise enough to keep his future from him. I wondered what had befallen him that he had become such a cruel, bitter man later in his life.
And I hoped he did not get ahold of The Sad Little Peahen. Had he heard any of us read it? There was that time when I babysat Shaina and I didn't read it to her...
“Were you at Shaina's?” I demanded.
“As a gnat. Did you sense me there?”
I started to cough. “Spying on me again! Shaina knew you were there,” I said, recalling how the young girl had insisted she was being watched.
“I left when I thought you were going to read the book. I didn't want to hear it. I came back after, when she was sleeping. She reminds me of my mother.” He sighed.
I should have been incensed that he was eavesdropping on my life. Instead, I drew myself up to my full height. “Allen...Aldous,” I lowered my voice. “Don't you think you should go back to where you belong?”
His face turned scarlet. “No, I don't. Did your family return Mozart? Or Jonas? I'm afraid not. So why should I?”
“But they'd already lived their lives. You haven't yet, so you'll change everything. You won't be a...famous...wizard.”
“I'll be one here instead!”
“But you can't! Your family, and...”
“And what? You think I'm your ancestor?”
I stopped cold. “What?” I whispered, praying he was not about to say what I was expecting.
He guffawed. “Daniel said there was a tale in your family that you're related to me.”
“You're not on our family tree.”
“Your tree only goes back to the 1600s or 1700s, or whenever it was that Jonas managed to travel back to.”
I promised myself I would help Uncle Jonas go further back to find out Allen's relationship – if I could just solve the current Allen/Aldous problem.
Tears formed in my eyes. “Allen, I've had so much fun with you, and I thank you. But who knows what’ll happen if you stay? If you're my direct ancestor, and you don't have your children–”
Hannah flashed into my head, and I knew now: Cousin Hannah truly was the Hannah from my favorite childhood tale. Daniel had even called Andrew “Prince”, and Mom had mentioned that both Andrew and Hannah were rescues. My parents must have saved them from their cruel fates which were recounted and immortalized in the story.
“You think you won't exist if I stay?” Allen asked me, pulling me back to the present.
I nodded, desperately trying to hold back the tears. He couldn't do this to me. I wasn't sure exactly how the intricacies of time paradoxes might work, but I couldn't risk his wiping me and portions of my family out of existence because he wanted to have a better life in 2031.
“We don't know that you're a direct descendant of mine. I had seven siblings,” he noted in an unfeeling voice.
“Allen, you can't. Let me take you back. Please! I'll visit you. I'll even take you to visit the future when you’re older. I'll do anything!” I lunged at him, and there was a blinding flash of light. Then I was looking up at him from the ground, a hawk once more.
“You will NOT take me back. I won't have it.” He patted his arm. “Now get up here.”
I blinked at him in shock. What are you doing to me?
“As much as I care for you, you've shown yourself to be a danger to me. So I changed your form. If you take me back, or if you escape me, then you're dooming yourself to live your life as a bird.”
For a moment, I thought he was joking. But the expression on his face was one of determination, not levity.
“I'm sorry, but I have to take care of myself first. I'm giving you the form you've enjoyed most after being human.”
But you can't do this to me! This isn't the way to solve anything! It's awful!
“Awful? Hardly.” He stretched his hand out to me. “Do you know how many people would die to give up all human existence and live out life soaring through the skies? If you miss humanity that much, maybe occasionally I'll give you a few minutes in human form so you can cook and clean for me.” He actually winked, as if making a cute joke.
“Now come on up here, and do as I say,” he commanded.
I was so aghast, I simply obeyed, landing on his arm. He stroked my head. “You make such a beautiful bird, Corinne. Truly.”