When I woke up, the patch of sun was huge and almost hot. A pile of blankets covered me up to my chin. I could hardly move under their weight. Iris sat next to me combing her hair. It bounced and coiled into ringlets with each stroke. I worked my arm out and touched her arm.
“You’re awake,” she said.
“How long have I been out?” I asked.
“All night. It’s morning,” said Iris.
“Is everybody okay?”
Iris tucked her comb into her pocket and said, “We’re all fine. I found some of our old diapers for Horc and Easy. I made them some shirts and pants from some of Mom’s fabric.”
“You’ve been busy,” I said.
“It was easy.”
I patted Iris’s hand. I didn’t trust myself to speak. My throat felt all hot and twisty. A headache bloomed in my forehead and my stomach flipped around like I’d swallowed a fish.
“Do you want something to eat?” asked Iris.
I wasn’t sure I could eat anything, but I nodded anyway.
Iris jumped up and clapped her hands. She flitted away, past the mom with her mug and landed on the granite-covered table in the center of the kitchen. She strode across the table with her shoulders thrown back and lightness in her step that I’d never seen before. She went to a spot of brown, and then flew back to me with a thick flake.
I sniffed and took a small bite. It tasted like Mom’s flatbread, except crispy and sweeter. “What is it?”
“Bran flake. It’s good, isn’t it?”
I nodded and nibbled on the flake.
“Matilda?” Iris’s happy expression vanished like it’d never been there at all.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“When do you think Mom and Dad will get here?”
“I don’t know. Shouldn’t be much longer.”
“What if it is? What if they don’t come?” Iris asked.
“They’ll come. It hasn’t been that long.”
“What if they’re not looking for us?”
“Of course they’re looking for us,” I said. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“It’s not ridiculous. Easy cried last night for his mom. He thinks she’s never coming. Gerald doesn’t say it, but he’s worried, too.”
I didn’t say anything. I was worried, too, but I didn’t want it to show.
“What if they’re hurt and waiting for us to help them?” asked Iris.
I watched the mom pour a brown liquid into the bowl and sneeze. I couldn’t lie to Iris. Something could’ve happened to them when the humans came to take our mantel. Something definitely happened to Easy’s mom.
“We could ask the humans for help,” said Iris.
I heaved the blankets off my legs and stood. The mom left the kitchen, but Judd remained slurping what looked like bran flakes out of a bowl with a spoon. I pointed at him. “Ask the humans? They can’t see us. Remember?”
“We could make them see us and they could take us back to Whipplethorn to find Mom and Dad.”
“How, Iris?” I asked. “When’s the last time a human saw any wood fairy? Six generations ago. Even Dad can’t do it.”
Gerald landed on the shelf with a frown on his face. “You could do it.”
I crossed my arms and leaned against what had to be a piece of yellow fruit. It felt hard and silky under my hand. The smell was glorious, sweet, and exotic.
Gerald frowned deeper. “You could do it, Matilda.”
“I’ve never done it before, and believe me, I’ve tried,” I said.
“You didn’t want it bad enough,” said Gerald.
“That’s what Dad said.”
“See. You want it more now and so you’ll do it.”
“Why me?” I asked. “You want it just as badly.”
“You’re bigger. Size matters.”
“Now that’s ridiculous. We’re so tiny to them. My being a bit taller won’t make any difference.”
Gerald went to Iris’s side. “It’s you that will make the difference. Humans would want to see you.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Humans love fairies. They write books about us, draw pictures, and make fairy toys for their children. If a human could meet a fairy, they’d want to meet one like you. You’re…” Gerald swallowed and his usual resentful expression came over his face. “You’re perfect. You’re just what a fairy should be. Not me, and not Iris.”
“You think I’m perfect?”
“I think a human would find you perfect. It’s not the same.”
“You do think I’m perfect.” I grinned and punched him in the arm. “You like me.”
Gerald rubbed his arm. “I like you the way you like Horc.”
“That’s good enough for me,” I said.
“What about me?” asked Iris.
Gerald raised an eyebrow at her.
“Do you like me?”
“You’re all right when you’re not annoying me,” he said.
Iris smiled and linked her arm with his. “I’ll take it.”
I looked over at Judd, wondering if I could make him see me. What would happen if he did? I’d never made contact with a human before. What would he do? As I watched him, Judd dropped his spoon on the table, glanced around, and drank out of his bowl. He plunked his bowl down on the table, splattering white stuff across the gleaming surface.
“Nice,” I said.
“Just because he’s a slob doesn’t mean he won’t help us,” said Iris.
“What is it with you and asking for help?” I asked.
“Help is good. What would we have done without Soren?”
“You’re right about Soren, but that’s different. He’s a wood fairy. These are humans.”
Gerald paced back and forth on the edge of the shelf, muttering to himself. I took the opportunity to look around. Beyond the yellow fruit was a basket filled with huge spoons and spatulas. They had to be at least one hundred foot lengths long. On the other side of the shelf, a three-tiered metal basket hung from the ceiling. The top level contained yellow ovals with pitted skin. The middle held round blackish-purple things and the bottom was filled with apples. I smiled at the apples. At least something was familiar. The smells of the fruit drifted around together, creating a sweet invisible fog that made my mouth water. Mixed in with the fruit smell was a more pungent scent. I looked until I spotted a conical tree, standing in the corner of the shelf.
“Gerald, do you know what all these things are?” I asked.
Gerald jumped when I spoke. He looked surprised to see us still standing there.
“I was thinking,” he said. “Maybe we could get the humans to drive us to Whipplethorn. It took vehicles to get us so far away. It’ll take a car to get us back.”
“Maybe we should wait for our parents to come here,” I said.
“Do you know how long it would take to fly the distances we’ve been driven? Are you willing to wait when we don’t know what’s happened to them?”
Iris shook her head no and turned to me.
“I’m not getting these humans to see me until I know more about them,” I said.
“That’s prudent,” Gerald agreed.
“And slow,” said Iris.
“For once, I’d like things to happen slowly. It would be a nice change. Now, Gerald, do you know what these fruits are or what?”
Gerald smiled and pointed to each one. “Those are bananas. Those are lemons, plums, and apples.”
“What about the tree? I didn’t know trees could smell so strong,” I said.
“It’s not a tree. It’s rosemary. An herb.”
“Can we eat it?” asked Iris.
“I think humans cook with it, but I don’t think they eat it straight. Horc probably would though. He’ll eat anything.”
I spun around. “Wait a minute. Where are the babies?”
“They’re sleeping,” said Gerald.
“Still, they probably shouldn’t be alone.”
“Easy’s mom left h
im alone.”
Iris crossed her arms. “Don’t start that. She didn’t do it on purpose.”
“I don’t know that. Maybe that’s just the way they are,” he said.
I fluttered up and landed on the banana. Gerald’s words bounced around in my brain. I couldn’t quite figure out what he was getting at. I walked the length of the banana, trying to find a way in through the thick peel, so I could taste it. The fruit appeared to be well protected. I kicked it as Iris and Gerald landed beside me.
“You won’t get in like that. We’ll have to wait for one of the humans to open it,” said Gerald.
I turned to him and said, “What did you mean by ‘that’s just the way they are’?”
Gerald stared out into the kitchen and ignored me.
“Yeah,” said Iris. “No wood fairy would ever abandon their baby.”
“Well, they’re not exactly regular wood fairies, are they?” Gerald met my surprised gaze.
“Of course they’re wood fairies,” said Iris. “What else would they be?”
“They’re not like us. Just look at them and you can tell,” said Gerald.
“Mrs. Zamora is beautiful,” I said, thinking of how Mom kept looking in the mirror after Mrs. Zamora moved in. She would fluff her wings and rub berry juice on her lips.
“I’m not talking about being beautiful. They don’t look anything like us,” he said.
“So what?” Iris frowned fiercely. “Neither do you. You’re wings aren’t iridescent at all.”
“Right and I’m not a real Whipplethorn. We’ve established that. Now, what are they? Think about it. They avoid us. Stay inside. Never come to council meetings. Easy can read minds. Come on, girls.”
I looked out of the kitchen toward the stairs. I didn’t really care what the Zamoras were as long as they didn’t care what I was. I felt better and was itching to explore. We were in a real human house. A human house filled with human stuff. I wanted to see the rest of it. “Okay. So I think I’ll take a look around and check things out.”
“Don’t you even want to know?” asked Gerald.
“Gerald, I already know. They’re different. So are you and so am I. Who cares?”
“They’re mindbenders. All of them. Jeez, you two are dense,” said Gerald.
CHAPTER 17