The four travelers had followed the remains of what was once US Highway 377 west higher into the Ozark Mountains. The surrounding woods had had ample opportunity over the past two hundred years to claim back the trenches that man had cut into its canvas. The region had been abandoned soon after the war had climaxed to an all out confrontation between the various sectors and coalitions so there had been nobody left to keep the woods at bay. The center of the once wide road was still smooth and almost free of vegetation. Long branches of mighty trees provided shade with a thick canopy of healthy green leaves allowing for a swift and effortless hike. They were in an uplifted mood having fled the drudgery of the central camps for a few days. Life was good for right now.
For the umpteen’s time Hunt started to tease Taylor, “I still can’t believe they gave you all this good stuff for your wild goose chase. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time but...”
A high-pitched loud shriek right above them sent chills down their spines. The memories of screaming raider victims were still fresh on their minds, but this was different. They whirled around on their heels and scanned the area for effective cover when the shriek was followed by uncontrolled laughter of an obviously very amused female of undetermined age who was swinging by her feet hanging upside down from one of the lower branches of a gnarly oak tree.
“What is the most important thing?” she inquired in a funny sounding voice that reminded Taylor of the cartoon characters that he found while searching the archives. A hilarious little mouse in a red jumpsuit came to mind right away.
“What is the most important thing? Come on guys, I don’t have all day,” she repeated when she didn’t get a satisfactory reply right away.
“Well, health and safety,” finally came from Tim Farmer.
The others followed suit reluctantly.
“Survival!” exclaimed Hunt to nobody’s surprise.
“Information?” Helen Spade’s reaction had a big question mark painted all over it.
“Someone to share your life with,” Taylor’s slowly uttered response earned him raised eyebrows and wry smiles from his travel mates. It was quite out of character for him to grant anyone let alone a stranger an ever so brief glance into his private thoughts.
There was more giggling and laughter from that curious female while she quickly and without any effort made her way down the tree trunk onto the mossy ground. She held her sides and gasped for air in a vain effort to control her outburst. For a second she pretended to be all serious.
“The most important thing,” she lectured, “is that I feel good!”
Really, it sounded more like, “The most important thing is that I feeeeeeeeel gooooooood!”
With that she burst into more laughter and started to escape into the woods.
“Race you!” she screamed at the top of her lungs while she disappeared between the trees.
Taylor and his team stared at each other for a moment and then turned to chase after her, not wanting to loose contact with the first human they had come across since their airplane had touched down two days earlier.
“Hey!” Taylor shouted after her, “Wait up, where are you going?”
Suddenly he had an idea, “What did you mean by ‘That I feel good’? What about everyone else? What about me?”
They ran and stumbled through the woods and lost the woman out of their sight within half a mile. The four of them stopped to catch their breath when they were startled yet again by that giggly voice above their heads.
“Who are you guys?” she inquired, “Watcha want here in Oz?”
Hanging upside down from tree branches was obviously her favorite place for a conversation. She had a quizzical look on her face, not quite annoyed, not quite serious, and not quite hostile. She was trying to keep her distance and at the same time she was obviously curious and entertained by the three guys and the girl chasing her.
“This is Oz?” Taylor asked half jokingly, “So that would make you Dorothy, right?”
“No, I am Lilly Ann.” She replied, “What’s your name?”
“Well, Lilly Ann, I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, I am Taylor, John Taylor, and these are Helen Spade, Tim Farmer and Cody Hunt, all friends of mine.” Taylor was glad that this conversation continued without another chase through the forest.
Lilly Ann looked him disarmingly into his eyes, “She is not your friend,” she said pointing her finger at Helen Spade, “she looks like a fox. I would not trust her. She is pretty though,” she added looking Farmer squarely in the eyes with a quick wink.
“Hey, what are you talking about,” Spade started to argue but Taylor motioned her to let it go. She was not happy about that at all. She wanted to let this weird Lilly Ann have it, but she gave in to keep the peace for right now.
“Well, Taylor, John Taylor, are you going to tell me what brings you out here or are we going to have a little quiz game until I can guess it right? I go first. Yes or no, did you fly here?” Lilly Ann was having a ball at Taylor’s expense.
“Well, yes,” Taylor stuttered, the total lack of insecurity on Lilly Ann’s part made him all the more self-conscious, “We flew here for the most part and then hiked two days until we met you. We don’t have to play games, though, I’ll gladly tell you what we came here for.”
Lilly Ann was feigning to pout at missing out on a fun game but she swung up on her branch and climbed down to sit on one of the lower limbs right above eye level of Taylor. It seemed she did not want to give up the security of her tree entirely.
“This is not nearly as much fun,” she complained with a smile on her face that betrayed her words, “go on, I am listening.”
“We came here because we would like to borrow something,” Taylor started cautiously. It was obvious that the woman was bright and witty but she was also wild and they were in the middle of nowhere so he did not know how much of his request she would understand. “Is there a town somewhere nearby?” He thought maybe a game of quid-quo-pro would get them somewhere.
“Yes,” Lilly Ann was not too forthcoming yet.
“I think it would be best to talk to one of your leaders, a mayor perhaps or a chieftain, maybe one of your elders?” Taylor did not want to scare off Lilly Ann with his request for DNA samples or reports of war and struggle in his home area.
His last question earned Taylor a laughing fit that would have made any big city standup comedian proud. Lilly Ann had tears in her eyes and gasped for air. She could hardly hold on the branch she was sitting on and Hunt reflectively stretched out his arms several times to catch her in case she fell off. All of a sudden she had an idea. She looked at them for a moment and with a giggle jumped off the tree right in front of them.
“Follow me,” Lilly Ann announced very importantly, “I shall take you to my leader!”
She picked up a long stick from the ground and held it up in front of her as if presenting the royal crest. Then she swiftly marched off between the trees following a trail that none of the others could see.
They were quietly walking single file behind Lilly Ann trying to remember the direction they took through the woods. More than once they thought to have crossed a particular brook or clearing before, making them suspicious that they were not led the straightest path to the village. Nobody raised any objections because they did not want to jeopardize the fragile understanding they had come to with the woman.
All of a sudden the forest opened onto a beautifully crafted cobble stone road. There was still some asphalt left from the original street surface but the frequent holes and frost damage cracks had been artistically patched with colorful patterns of stone, rock and tile of various shapes and textures. It was quite a surprise to Taylor and his travel mates to see such beautiful artwork displayed for utilitarian purpose in the middle of a supposedly deserted mountain wilderness.
Lilly Ann walked up to a toddler of about three years of age who played at the side of t
he road. The little child wore colorful denim carpenter pants and a straw hat. She had her bare feet firmly planted in a puddle of water and was contemplating the various ripples the water made when she moved her legs and feet.
“Hi Lilly love,” Lilly Ann greeted the little girl, “where is your mummy?”
The girl pointed in the direction of the road where at some distance a woman was kneeling on the ground working on the filling of yet another hole in the road.
“What are you doing?” Lilly Ann asked the girl.
“I am painting rings in the water with my feet,” Lilly replied enthusiastically. “Look, they all talk to each other. If I make them the same they like it and grow bigger, if I make them different they don’t like it and wipe each other out. It’s just like the vibies, don’t you love it?”
Taylor was shocked to hear such an astute observation so clearly expressed from a three year old. Did she really talk about the physics principle of harmonic interactions of waves in the water? She surely must be a very special child. Maybe her father was the town leader and she enjoyed special schooling. In any case it was quite a wondrous thing to hear.
“This is great, Lilly, thank you for sharing it with me,” Lilly Ann agreed, “Honey, these folksies came from far away in an airplane to borrow something. What do you think, should we help them out?” Lilly Ann asked very seriously.
The girl looked intently at the four strangers. Her gaze was piercing and relentless and evoked the strong desire in all of them to find a hiding place and escape those innocent blue eyes.
“Sure,” she said easily, smiling at them briefly and turning back to her water ripple game.
“All right, you heard her,” Lilly Ann said with a sigh turning to Taylor, “now tell me again, what is it that you really want?” She started to slowly walk down the road.
Taylor was perplexed. Surely Lilly Ann was playing games with them. This Lilly child was obviously gifted and bright but he refused to believe she was the town leader. Taylor was getting a bit impatient and annoyed by Lilly Ann’s weird behavior but she was their first contact with this colony and he was not going to let his emotions run away with him. She had said that she would help them after all, didn’t she?
Taylor put on his best Sunday-morning-church-smile.
“It is a bit complicated. Do you know anything about DNA or genetics?” he asked Lilly Ann to find a starting point for his request.
“Sure, it’s what our bodies know,” she replied without hesitation.
“O.k., that’s one way to look at it, I never thought about it that way. Well, DNA is at the heart of my request. You know, we come from an area a few hundred miles south west of here. For the last two hundred years we lived in conflict with neighboring areas and there was a war and all kinds of nasty stuff going on.” He was watching to see her reaction to that news, if it was news to her.
“Yes, we heard that a lot of peeps were playing the rage and anger game for a while. How did that work out for you?” Lilly Ann replied lightly.
There was this feeling of not being taken seriously bubbling up again in Taylor. He blinked hard and tried to push it away with a brief chuckle.
“Not so grand, I’m afraid,” he admitted, “we have been able to keep a seize fire intact for some time now but the trust between the regions is fragile. We still have much work to do.”
“One thing we have been really struggling with is healthy and wholesome food supply for the big cities. You see, when the federal systems and regulations started to crumble at the beginning of the war, the restrictions that were imposed on genetics research were not enforced anymore. A few overzealous scientists thought their day had come and released altered DNA into the food supply chain on a large scope without really knowing what they were doing. They wanted to be the heroes of the day, I guess.” Taylor did not want to appear too desperate but he thought it would help his cause to relay the big picture.
“I understand,” Lilly Ann agreed without the slightest hint of judgment on her part, “peeps sometimes make decisions and then forget to make them right.”
Taylor just took that comment as a refusal of taking sides and continued, “The unpleasant reality we have been facing for decades now is the steady degradation of all our natural food sources be it plants as well as animals. We deal with slow grow rates, degenerative deceases, unreliable yields and poor general quality of most foods which in turn has its adverse effects on the human population.”
He paused to let the information sink in for a moment.
“So, what can I do to help?” Lilly Ann simply asked.
Taylor thought for a moment and decided it was best to be open and forward with his agenda. “The reason we took the trip is that we hoped to find healthy animals and plants here. See, I found these reports in the news archives from fifty years ago of a gentleman who claimed to have come through this area. He reported to have met a colony of people that lived in the mountains and the food that he saw was healthy and delicious. There were pictures of cows and pigs and grain and vegetables that looked so appealing to me that I had to find a way to see for myself if these stories were true. So, here we are, and you are for real. It is kind of mind boggling for me, to be honest.”
Lilly Ann looked at Taylor in disbelieve, “You want to have our cows? You must have a very big airplane if you want to take enough animals to make a difference in your herds. Are you sure you have thought this through?”
Now it was on Taylor to almost choke on the laughter that exploded in his chest. He did not want to seem impolite or offend Lilly Ann and it was his own fault for not offering the information in a more useful succession so he swallowed the outburst and continued quickly.
“I apologize,” he started, “I am afraid I left out a tiny little detail. We brought a device that can scan and record the complete genetic information of any living entity without inflicting any damage to the specimen. You just have to get the DNA scanner close enough and it reads the data from any tissue it can access. Once we have the sample data it will be analyzed and synthesized into the reproductive cycle of the various herds. It takes about two to three generations for the new genes to have an effect. We were successful so far to eradicate a few genetic imperfections but to have the full DNA set of a healthy sample would allow us to almost start over from before the damage was done. Tim Farmer here is a genetics engineer and an expert in reconstructive DNA synthesis.”
“He looks smarter than to try to mess with God’s hand writing,” she teased in Farmer’s direction. “I can’t see any harm in what you want to do. I have to ask you for something though.”
“Right,” Taylor sighed, “we are authorized to offer you a substantial sum of energy credits for helping us.”
Lilly Ann interrupted him with an impatient gesture.
“No, no, I don’t know what an energy credit is, but I sure don’t want any of that. All I must ask you is not to reveal our location. I do not necessarily want us to become a tourist attraction or a cheap resource for treasure hunters. It’s not easy to find us if we don’t want to be found but I would still like it if you all promised to keep our little secret,” Lilly Ann insisted.
“That is the least we can do for your generosity,” Taylor agreed.
“I would like to hear it from Ms. Foxy here. I think she is the nosey one, right?” Lilly Ann walked up to Helen Spade and looked her squarely in the eyes. “But you are also not breaking promises once you make them, quite a dilemma, hmm?”
Spade did not back away from Lilly-Ann.
“I suppose I can leave your exact location out of my reports. I can play the I-owe-you-you-owe-me game as well as anyone. Anything else?”
Spade’s challenging tone did not dim Lilly Ann’s bright smile for even one moment.
“No, that’s all,” she said lightly, “It’s settled then. I see you have brought tents. You can set up camp right here. I’ll come back later and take you to a place where we can eat supper.” With that she turned a
round and skipped down the road out of sight.
Taylor and his mates stared after her until she disappeared around a bend in the road. They looked at each other for a moment before they all started to talk at the same time.
“Did she really ask that baby for permission?”
“Do you think this is the place we were looking for?”
“Did you see the artwork in the road?”
“Was she just teasing us or is she for real?”
“Where is the village? I can only see a road in the forest.”
“Man, Taylor,” Cody Hunt drowned out the other’s questions, “you were quite the flirt back there, nice going. Did you guys see how she was looking at him? You could have asked for that whole damn mountain and she would have given it to you.” Hunt slapped Taylor on the back almost knocking him over and laughed.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Taylor answered unable to hide the smile that claimed his face, “Shut up, Cody. Put up a tent or something, will ya?”
“You are aware that we would have walked right past here if she hadn’t been waiting for us,” Hunt added on a more sober note, “I wonder what that is all about.”
“I am aware of that, I am aware. Let’s see how it goes tonight at dinner,” Taylor answered thoughtfully.
Setting up camp was a practiced routine by then and only took them a few minutes. It was time to prepare for the task they had come for.
“Tim, how much free memory do you have in your DNA scanner?” Taylor started the discussion.
“I have room for about fifty-five hundred scans, sir, when I compress the backup maybe six thousand. We need to keep records of the completed scans separately so we don’t lose track of our progress. The data management within the scanner is a bit cumbersome,” Farmer suggested.
“I brought a data pad,” Helen Spade volunteered, “we could work out a data base to give us an overview about what we want to accomplish. We should probably catalog the animal and plant species that they can provide and take it from there.”
“Very good,” Taylor agreed, “you two stay put and get going on the catalog. Cody and I will explore the area to get an idea where we are. Remember, we are guests here and we are not familiar yet with the customs of this place. If you interact with anyone I expect you to be at your best behavior.”
“Yes, sir,” Tim Farmer acknowledged instantly.
“Yes, daddy,” mocked Helen Spade, batting her eyes. She turned around to join Farmer before Taylor was able to respond.
“The girl is warming up,” Hunt noted, “mostly to our young cowboy, though.”
“Good,” Taylor agreed, “come on, let’s have a look around.”
They started down the street to the point where Lilly Ann had disappeared. On both sides of the road stood mighty trees of various kinds. The underbrush was cleared in most places and was getting lighter the further they walked. A few hundred yards further they came up on an intersection. There was a wider road leading to the left and to the right but still no sign of a town or village. Taylor and Hunt looked at each other.
“Let’s go right.”
“Let’s head left.”
They suggested at the same time. They laughed, hesitated a moment and started walking in opposite directions almost smacking into each other.
“This place makes me feel silly,” Hunt admitted, “do you think there really is a town somewhere out here?”
“No clue,” said Taylor, “let’s just walk down here some more. If we don’t find anything we return to the camp and wait for Lilly Ann. Maybe she is in the mood for a few questions. I am kind of worried about the answers though.”
They turned right and did not have to walk far until they saw the first house, if one would want to call it that. A few large trees had been removed next to the road to create a parking space for what seemed to be an ancient travel coach. The vehicle was mostly intact on the front but its backside was surrounded by a bizarre conglomerate of wooden panels, fabric canopies and stone pillars to create an enclosed room that served both as shelter as well as an artistic canvas. Colorful paintings and mosaics covered all outside surfaces creating a stark contrast to nature’s colors all around.
Taylor wanted to avoid direct contact with anyone until his rapport with Lilly Ann was solidified further. If the colony had survived out here for the last two hundred years with little or no contact to the outside world there was no telling what the reaction to their presence would be. Taylor definitely did not want to make matters more complicated than they had to be. They took in as much as they could while slowly walking on. Besides the soft bark of a dog and the sound of a closing screen door there was no sign of the occupants anywhere.
“If they don’t want to be seen, we’ll pretend not to see them,” Taylor said quietly to Hunt.
Encouraged by the discovery of the first house they grew even more curious of other homesteads. They did not have to search for long. Just a short distance further on the other side of the street an old Jeep vehicle was parked next to the road.
“Farmer is going to like this,” Hunt pointed at the car, “looks older than dirt, though.”
“No wonder,” Taylor answered, “if our information is correct all the industrial technology in this place is at least two centuries old. If this thing actually moves by itself it is the epitome of a bona-fide miracle. Wonder what they use for fuel.”
“I don’t see a house or something else that looks like a living space, do you?” Hunt wondered. He didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
The noise of a screeching door opening high above their heads made them look up. Their jaws dropped as they saw an expansive wood structure built into the crowns of adjacent trees sprawling across the street and into the woods. There were numerous separate room units connected by decks and rope bridges and ladders between them. One of the most intriguing features was a set of ten feet tall wind chimes hanging high overhead made of wood of various colors and grain patterns. The air was calm so the chimes did not move or sound but they were impressive nonetheless.
A man wearing dark green coveralls stepped out of the door onto a deck. He dropped the end of a rope ladder and swiftly climbed down to the ground. Without even a glance at Taylor and Hunt who were looking on from across the street he jumped into the old Jeep and slowly drove off.
Hunt flared his nostrils and announced, “Smells like French fries, no wait, doughnuts. They use recycled vegetable oil for fuel, sweet.” He grinned at Taylor.
“This trip is getting more interesting by the minute,” Taylor admitted, “let’s head back to the camp before our love birds run out of work and get weird ideas. I hope Lilly Ann is going to be back soon. I am kind of hungry.”
“Hungry for Lilly Ann,” Hunt mocked ducking out of reach to avoid Taylor’s punch at his ribcage.
“Grow up already, Cody, will ya?” Taylor chased Hunt up the street laughing.
The two friends made their way back to the camp discussing the unexpected events they had witnessed on the journey so far. They enjoyed themselves dreaming up wild speculations of what else could be in store for them during their stay. Serious contemplation of little green men and unicorns passed the time of their return walk.
They were a little annoyed but not too surprised to see the camp abandoned at their return. Everything was neat and tidy and nothing was missing but no sign of Farmer or Spade.
“Did you hear this?” Hunt asked Taylor cupping his right ear in the direction of the forest. “Here it is again. Hear the laughter? Someone is having a good time back there.”
Now Taylor heard it too. “Let’s have a look,” he said walking towards the trees.
They found a little path that someone had recently hewn into the bushes. The sound of a girl laughing grew louder with every step they took into the underbrush. After a few hundred feet they stepped out onto the banks of a shallow creek to see Helen Spade standing right in the middle of the ice-cold water. She had zipped o
ff the lower leg parts of her Khaki pants and her jacket was thrown over a bush. Her skin tight T-shirt made every man keenly aware of her shapely figure. She stood on the rocks with her bare feet splashing the cold water in Farmer’s direction. The boy was sitting on the banks of the creek, his hat pushed into the neck, a big smile on his face, gnawing on a wild oats straw and enjoying the spectacle before his eyes.
“Did you two run away from the bear that just ransacked the camp?” Hunt just could not pass up the opportunity to have a little fun with them.
Farmer’s and Spade’s eyes were big as saucers.
“No way!”
“That’s impossible!” they started to stutter at once.
“Oh boy,” Taylor laughed, “the sight of a bad conscience. I’m outta here. You can find me at the camp when you are done with your frolicking.” They could still hear him laughing after he was out of sight.
Cody Hunt could not retreat quickly enough to escape an angry fountain of cold water that Spade tossed at him. He ran after Taylor as quickly as he could.
Shortly after Spade and Farmer had rejoined the group at the campsite they heard a vehicle approach some time before they were able to see it. The little engine strained against the load it was charged with, screaming a high pitched whine that was interrupted by vicious backfiring at an interval way too short for comfort. Around the corner came a little box like van with a two-piece windshield and a huge round peace sign smack in the middle between its headlights. Every piece of sheet metal and the occasional wood panel were painted in bright colors with paisley and floral designs. The side windows and back doors were adorned with drapes of similar colorful artistic expression. The wondrous vehicle stopped in front of them with a loud screech from the brakes and a pitiful sigh from the motor as it was relieved of its duty.
Lilly Ann jumped out of the driver’s side door with a joyful squeal. She looked proudly upon her trusty ride and turned to her visitors with a beaming smile.
“Whatcha think, isn’t she a beauty? I painted her all by myself, over and over and over,” she laughed her infectious laugh, “Who is brave enough to ride with me?”
“Shotgun!” Taylor claimed the front seat for himself to the amusement of everyone.
They were not laughing half as loud when Lilly Ann opened the side doors of the van, revealing an eclectic mess of indescribable items cluttering up the rear cargo room almost entirely.
“Careful that you don’t break anything,” Lilly Ann cautioned jokingly, “No, not my stuff, I meant your bones,” she burst out into more laughter. Hunt, Spade and Farmer squeezed into the van and she quickly shut the door behind them. What a pity that the only place left for Helen Spade to sit on was Tim Farmers lap.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” she whispered into his ear with a smile.
“My pleasure, ma’am,” he replied startled by his newfound boldness.
“I like it when you call me ma’am,” Helen purred her agreement.
Lilly Ann and Taylor mounted the front seats.
“All comfy back there,” Taylor teased over his shoulder.
“Hold on to your mama!” Lilly Ann screamed when she wound up the engine and sped to a neck breaking top speed of at least fifteen miles per hour.
It was all but impossible to carry on a conversation over the whining engine and the back firing that resumed as soon as they drove off. They went down the same road that Taylor and Hunt had walked before. They passed the trailer house and the tree house and continued to roll through the trees, which were never further away from the street than a few hundred feet.
Many of the homes they passed on their ride were sights to behold. There was a converted feed silo with a winding staircase all the way around the outside and stained glass windows providing light and decoration for the inside, tree houses of all shapes and sizes connected to each other by ladders, rope bridges and small cable cars, and an apple shaped fire engine red construct more than twenty feet tall with a deck on top that was framed by a beautifully carved banister.
At the leisurely speed they were moving about they had ample opportunity to feast their eyes on the unusual architecture that was paraded in front of them. The further they traveled the closer the houses stood together and the more people crowded the streets. Occasionally they were passing other cars, all of them of ancient build with obvious signs of makeshift repairs to keep them operational. Lilly Ann had to slow down more than once to carefully pass a mule or a donkey, which carried loads on their backs or pulled all kinds of wagons behind them.
It seemed that no one was in any particular hurry. People were obviously familiar with Lilly Ann’s van. They stepped off the street when they were passing by as if they wouldn’t trust her driving skills and waved at her and her guests.
After driving at that pace for about thirty minutes Lilly Ann turned sharp left off the main road into a small side street and parked the car in front of a round clearing. Lanterns of various colors were strung between the limbs of a mighty oak tree at the center of the place to light a great number of tables and chairs, some of them covered with canopies of fabric and straw. Spaced between the tables several clay ovens, fired with aromatic wood, radiated cozy warmth into the dusk.
“This is Schwyzer House,” Lilly Ann exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement, “Best food in town. Anybody hungry?”
The tavern was buzzing with people either sitting at their tables, enjoying food and drink and others running back and forth between the house that stood to the side and the tables to bring an endless supply of large plates with steaming hot food and big mugs of what seemed to be ice cold beer.
Lilly Ann jumped out of the car and ran up to an old man who sat in a large rocking chair under the big tree close to an oven with a big smile on his face. His long snow white hair was braided in the back and he was wearing deer leather pants that reached just below his knees and a hat with a pheasant feather sown into the band. She hugged the old man enthusiastically and kissed him on the cheek while waving to Taylor and the others to join them.
“Papa, these are the travelers that I told you about earlier. This is Taylor, John Taylor and these are his friends Cody Hunt, Helen Spade and Tim Farmer. They came a long way to find us so I thought the least I can do is feed them right, what do you think?”
“Well, you know,” the old man said to her with a twinkle in his eyes, “these young lads and lasses, always on the move, never able to sit still for a moment. Go ahead enjoy yourselves. May be we can have a chat later on. Good to have you here, folks.”
“Let’s find a table and get some food,” Lilly Ann ushered them to a vacant spot and sat down. “I hope you like pork,” she said, “the best item on the menu is grilled pork legs served with fresh horseradish and bread. Sound good?”
One of the waiters came up to their table with a large tray filled with mugs and steins overflowing with the white foam of fresh draft beer. Without asking he put drinks in front of each of them.
“Willie will be right over for the food order,” he said, “enjoy the beer!”
“I didn’t even ask if you all wanted to drink beer, but usually when people come here that’s what they have in mind anyway, so the waiters don’t even ask,” Lilly Ann explained, “I can get you water if you’d like.”
“I can’t talk for everyone but beer is just fine with me,” Cody Hunt stared greedily at the mugs. He was first to grab one and hold it high above the table, “To our gracious hostess and our good fortune to have found her,” he announced waiting for the others to join him in his toast. Everyone followed his lead and clanked mugs expressing their gratitude. The beer was cold and had a pleasant hops and malt taste, not overpowering but definitely a delight for the palate. After he finally put down his mug Hunt glanced around the table a bit embarrassed. Was he really the only one who had finished his glass in one big gulp? Taylor rolled his eyes.
“No worries, big man,” Lilly Ann encouraged him, “there is plenty more where this cam
e from. We enjoy it when our hospitality is appreciated.”
Seconds later another foaming mug magically appeared in front of Hunt. He was starting to like this place a lot.
Willie, a young man of maybe sixteen years of age, approached their table.
“Hi sis’,” he kissed Lilly Ann on her cheek, “what’s it gonna be to eat this evening? We have grilled pork legs, spare ribs or grilled chicken for the lighter appetite.” He explained to those unfamiliar with the tradition of the restaurant.
“Why don’t you bring us three pork legs and some ribs and chicken for everyone to get a taste,” Lilly Ann ordered, “We’d also like potato salad, some bread and rolls and don’t skimp on the horseradish. Thankle you mucho, muchacho,” she added with a sweet laugh.
“Does your whole family work here?” Taylor asked her after Willie had left.
“On occasion we all help out,” she replied simply, “Papa founded Schwyzer House a long time ago and our family has enjoyed having lots of guests ever since.”
“I bet it’s good business too,” Hunt suggested.
“We can’t complain about a lack of diners every night,” Lilly Ann kind of not answered the question.
The food came on large serving trays and Willie started to carve the wonderfully fragrant meat from the pork legs and cut apart the chicken he had brought. Between the meats, salad and bread there was enough food on the table to feed a party of ten. Lilly Ann pointed proudly at the feast and exclaimed, “Dig in!” With that she helped herself to a hefty piece of pork and a slice of dark bread.
Slightly overwhelmed by the abundance of food before them Taylor and his travel mates hesitated for a second before they too filled their plates with the delights of the kitchen. For the time being the only words to be heard around the table were uttered quickly between bites in praise of the supreme quality and tastiness of the meal. It was a simple enough dinner that they enjoyed and shared together but it could have come from a king’s kitchen for all they were concerned. Lilly Ann had the time of her life observing the four strangers devour in complete agreement and innocence the treasure they had been offered. Nobody would have believed it when the plates arrived but only a short time later Tim Farmer and Helen Spade shared the last piece of pork ribs taking turns in gnawing at the bone until Spade dropped it all bare on her plate and announced, “I am never going to eat again, but this was good!”
Everyone around the table laughed at her out of character remark as they all knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Who saved room for desert?” Lilly Ann surprised her guests.
“Mercy!”
“No way!”
“I’ll burst!”
“What are we having?” All eyes turned to Hunt who had eaten at least as much as anyone else.
“What?” he protested, “A man can ask, can’t he?”
Lilly Ann held her sides from laughing so hard at the perplexed faces around the table. She looked around for Willie and nodded slightly when they made eye contact. Two minutes later the meat plates in front of them had been replaced by a three-foot long piece of apple strudel topped with creative patterns of whipping cream. They claimed to protest at the vicious attack on their waistline but they did it with their mouths full of the most heavenly sweets they had ever tasted.
“This was wonderful, Lilly Ann, thank you so much,” Taylor said as the meal was coming to an end, “any chance that you let me pay for this?”
“You already did,” she answered without hesitation, “we are richer for having had you as our guests. Mi casa tu casa,” she added after a short pause with deeper meaning in her words than was obvious.
“John, did my little girl feed you right,” Lilly Ann’s grandfather had come up behind him, “come on, let’s have a schnapps before it is time for me to hit the mattress.”
He had brought a tray with him loaded with six shot glasses filled with an ominous looking clear liquid. He passed the drinks around to everyone.
“I don’t recall being introduced properly,” he said with a wink to Lilly Ann,” I am Fritz, Friedrich Neuwirt from Oberwart in the Austrian wine country to be exact, but all my friends call me Fritz. Prost together!”
With that he raised his glass and finished the drink in one big gulp. He exhaled loudly and looked encouraging to the others. Taylor was the first to follow suit, after him Hunt, Spade and Farmer.
“Sorry, I don’t usually drink,” Spade excused herself after an audible burp had escaped her followed by a cascade of giggles.
“That’s too bad,” Farmer replied sheepishly, which prompted more giggles from Spade.
Taylor could not stop to stare at Fritz Neuwirt slowly grasping the full weight of what he had heard.
“You are F. Neuwirt,” he said to Fritz incredulously, “you wrote the reports I found in the archives. It is a most surreal pleasure to meet you, sir.” He grabbed the old man’s hand and shook it vigorously.
“Small world, son, a small magical world indeed,” Fritz replied with a knowing smile.
Chapter 5: Bounty!