“I-I-I. Dear Lord, she’s asking to go to the bridge.” Manny spoke very slowly and deliberately, his eyes staying riveted on the Hawk. He was trying to decide if he had truly heard her speak to him.
“She? Who is she?” demanded Milda. “And what bridge? Manny, what are you talking about?”
“The bird… it is the bird.” said Manny. “She is asking for my help.”
“Can’t you hear her?” gasped Maggie. “She’s speaking to us as plain as anything.”
“I can,” said Molly.
“Me t-t-too,” said Tim.
Horris just grinned and turned away. He was not about to validate Manny’s claims.
But, no one else could hear her… and those that could not, did not believe that the others could. Only the kids and Manny could hear her speak. The others could not. And sadly, adults tend to believe their eyes and ears more than they should at times.
“Manny, please come inside and sit. I’ll make you a nice cup of camomile tea,” said Milda with concern, as she and Matilda tried to lead him away from the Hawk.
“Manny, please,” said the Hawk with urgency.
“Milda, Matilda, please, no,” he said as he shook himself free. “I must help her.”
No one understood what was happening. But something needed to be done. The situation had gotten out of hand. So, greatly outnumbered as he was, Manny was gently but firmly whisked away into the house. But not before he caught Maggie’s eyes with his. For a brief moment they both felt something pass between them. A spark of understanding, as if each were looking into the other’s heart and reading the other’s mind.
Manny was fairly forced to sit and drink a cup of tea. The Morgans, Milda and Matilda hovered about him, trying to make certain he was all right. But all he could think of was the Hawk, how no one believed him, and how everyone was treating him like an old fool. The tea left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Chapter Seven
Maggie lay awake and stared up at the ceiling, listening to all of the many sounds of the house, and waiting until she was sure everyone was asleep. On the bed next to her Molly slept quietly, with Bernie curled up next to her. He occasionally whined and his paws peddled through the air as if he were running through a field.
Slowly and carefully Maggie moved the covers aside and eased out of bed. When she had gotten into bed earlier, she had done so fully dressed, so now all she needed to do was grab her shoes and go out into the hall without making noise. Then, she would go see Manny to talk about the Hawk.
After the earlier evening madness, Tim had found a cardboard box and had lined the bottom with hay for the Hawk to rest in. This makeshift hospital bed was moved to the tool shed. They gave her water and hung a heat lamp over her. It was the best anyone could think of doing.
As Maggie looked over to Molly, she saw Bernie staring up at her. His tail started wagging, and soon it started pounding. Maggie put a finger to her lips and said softly, “Shush, Bernie. Be quiet.” But being a dog he didn’t quite get the message, and soon, in the silence of the night, his tail started to beat like a bass drum. Maggie moved towards the door and was about to slip out when…
“Where you going,” yawned Molly. “Why are you all dressed?”
Maggie sighed, then explained that she felt she had to go and see Manny. That she felt compelled to do so. That she thought she and Manny might be able to help the Hawk. And that she had not said anything about her plans because she did not want to get anyone else in trouble. Clearly, the adults did not believe the Hawk had spoken.
Molly looked confused. She herself was no longer sure she had heard the bird speak. It all seemed like a dream. But Maggie said, “Look, I need to do this. I can’t explain why. And I think Manny knows I’m coming to see him.”
“OK, then I’ll go with you,” whispered Molly. “But only because I don’t think you should be wandering around the house by yourself. You might make it to the kitchen, forget where you’re going, and eat all the ice cream… but Maggie, do you think we should wake Tim?”
Pausing for only a moment, Maggie said, “Yes, yes, I think we should. The three of us are a team, after all.”
Bernie wanted to be on the team too, and licked Molly’s hand as a reminder that he was there. But she said, “You stay here Bernie. You’ll make way too much noise.” Then she gently patted his head. He snorted and sulked as he watched her get ready.
And finally, when the girls opened the door, they gasped. Waiting on the other side, holding a flashlight and fully dressed, was Tim. His instincts were uncanny.
*****
A house is never ever totally silent. Heat pipes rattle in the winter. Air conditioners drone in the summer. Refrigerator motors whir as they cycle on and off throughout the year. The house itself groans, as it surrenders to the pull of gravity, settling even further into its foundation. And sometimes you can hear, and even follow, the sounds of little creatures as they scurry about the attic. Then… there are those sounds you hear, but you haven’t the slightest clue what they could be. What they might be. At least that’s what you tell yourself.
Maggie, Molly, and Tim walked very slowly but purposefully toward Manny’s room, which was on the first floor, all the while taking in the strange sounds around them. Molly, herself, occasionally made a thumping sound with her cast, as she limped down the stairs. She held on to the banister with one hand and on to Tim with the other.
Then, at the bottom of the stairs, they walked towards the back of the house, made a right turn and, “We’re here,” whispered Molly.
“G-g-good,” swallowed Tim, “I think.”
Suddenly Horris emerged like a ghoul from the shadows. “Where you three going?” he asked. “Strange to be walking around the house this time of night. Up to something, maybe?” he mused, grinning a particularly evil grin. “Well, I’ll just hang around and see.”
“Fine, come along if you have to, but just don’t interfere,” said Maggie. Then she took a deep breath and approached Manny’s door. There was a sign hanging on the doorknob. It read, "Don’t Knock. Just come in." So they did.
The room had once been an attached greenhouse. But, now, it was being used as a bedroom. The bed, nightstand, and dresser looked as if they were planted in the middle of a garden. In a sense they were. But the best thing about this room was that, as a former greenhouse, the ceiling was open to the stars. And tonight, you could clearly see the constellations Hercules and Pegasus smiling down upon the world.
Manny sat on a chair positioned between a flourish of plum tomato and basil plants. Growing alongside them was garlic to keep bugs away. It’s a tomato sauce waiting to happen, thought Maggie.
Maggie, Molly, and Tim stood wide-eyed with mouths open, looked left, right, up, and down the room. It was nothing like they had ever seen. There was something special and magical about this place and this fascinating old man, who sat watching them with a satisfied smile.
Horris, in Horris fashion, looked bored. At one point he raised a hand to his face, and from a distance he might have looked like someone pondering a complex question. In fact, he was just picking at a scab on his chin.
“Sit, sit,” said Manny, as he gestured towards a bench directly across from him. The bench was situated in front of a trellis that supported a carefully guided weave of string bean vines.
Maggie, Molly, and Tim sat as close as they could, side-by-side, with shoulders touching, to help comfort each other. Horris stood by the cans of pest spray. Then for some reason he started to feel uncomfortable, so he moved next to the bags of manure. He was now in his element.
“You all heard it too? It was not just a foolish old man hearing things?” asked Manny. Everyone nodded they had.
“I know this place that the Hawk spoke of. It is in the hills about an hour from here. There is a foot bridge over a mountain stream, and beside the stream a misty waterfall. The mist causes a moonbow, which is a rainbow that appears at night. Very beautiful. But how did the bird know that I knew of it?
And also, she knew my name. How? Why? This is all very peculiar, is it not?”
Three heads nodded and six arms fidgeted. Peculiar? Peculiar? Of course it was peculiar. What an understatement! But no one said that.
“We must go and talk to the bird. We must help her if we can and find out what this is all about. There must be more to it than just going to the bridge. How could that help her?”
Suddenly, Manny reached for his walking stick, stood, and said with authority, “We should go now. We will need to move quietly.” Then he cast a warning look at Horris. “Mind yourself,” he said.
*****
The late night rescue team made their way silently out the door and over to the tool shed. The Hawk was lying as she had been left. She appeared very small and fragile.
“Manny, you return,” panted the Hawk. “You remain true to your reputation as friend of the wild.”
“Why do you call me this?” questioned Manny. “What does it mean? How do you know me? Who or what are you?”
“Yes, yes. I know this must all be confusing. I will answer your questions.
“I have lived in this forest for many years, and I have watched you for many years, when you came to sit by the waterfall. You were always kind to the creatures of the forest. Helping a turtle find its way back to water. Sharing your food with the squirrels and rabbits. I saw. Watching from high above, I saw. So that is how I know you.” The Hawk paused to catch her breath.
“Now, Manny,” continued the Hawk, “What I am about to say next may sound like foolishness or madness. But, I assure you, it is not.
“Everyone has heard the story of a pot of gold waiting to be found at the end of the rainbow. As it is with many myths, this one does contain an element of truth. However, it is a moonbow, not a rainbow, that leads to the gold.
“So, you might ask, why does it lead to gold? It is because gold is the fuel that powers the most incredible machine ever created… the If Bridge.
“This device was created by a great sorceress-scientist, a very long time ago. It was developed based upon a discovery she’d made that there are places in the world where time, space and thought convene. Within these places the physical world can be manipulated by wishes. Events can be undone. Her creation harnessed that power.
“The implications were huge. Injuries could be undone. All manner of unfortunate events could be cancelled out. So, word of these places, as you might guess, spread like wildfire. And soon the great sorceress-scientist became a living legend and was known to all as the Mistress of Infinite Possibilities. So dedicated was she, that at the moment of her death, she joined her spirit to the Bridge.
“People came from far and wide with offerings of gold, which were cast into the hallowed waters to fuel the Bridge. As time passed, the flowing waters glittered as if it, itself, were gold.
“This wonder had to be carefully guarded, and seven of us volunteered. At that point, we were human, but the Mistress changed our forms to those of animals, to best blend into the forest.
“Those who still stand with the Mistress are the Bear, the Deer and I. Those who have betrayed their oaths, the enemies, are the Snake, the Wolf, and the Vulture. You see, the gold was too much a lure and their greed too strong a need for them to ignore it. If they destroy the Bridge, they will immediately take human form again, and thus be able to steal the gold.
“Ah, but that was long, long ago. This modern world has left all that behind. Today precious few have heard of this, and even fewer believe. And over the years the gold treasure beneath the Bridge has been concealed by mud and silt.
“The seventh guardian vanished, his whereabouts unknown. But it did not matter, for we were matched against the enemies, three to three. But now, I fear what might happen should I die.”
“As fantastic a tale as this is,” said Manny, “I feel I must believe you. When I was a boy I was drawn to the magic of the Bridge and moonbow. To their peaceful power. And this Bridge, it can heal you?” he asked.
“It can, but only if it is done before the dawn. For then, its power to alter my fate will evaporate as the morning mist in the warmth of a rising sun.”
“So, we must not delay,” said Manny. Then he sighed and looked from the Hawk to Maggie, Molly and Tim. “The climb up the mountain would be too much for an old man like me. But the children here will help, I am sure.”
“Yes, we will,” said the kids, each in turn.
“Quickly, I will draw you a map,” said Manny.
No one noticed that Horris had quietly slipped away.
Chapter Eight
Molly looked stricken. “But I can’t make the long climb up that mountain with this cast on my foot,” she moaned. “You’ll have to go without me. This is so unfair!” Molly was now working herself into a real tizzy (which means a nervous agitated state).
“Does your foot still h-h-hurt?” asked Tim.
“Wow, that’s a stupid question, Tim,” snorted Molly. Then she paused for a moment and said, “Well, actually it really doesn’t hurt. The doctor had said it would heal in 6 to 8 weeks… and this is week six.”
“But we can’t just take your cast off,” said Maggie. “We would have to cut it off, and your Mom would go nuts when she found out. But hey, maybe you could fit into one of your Dad’s walking shoes… cast and all?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” said an excited Molly. “It could work! I knew I kept you around for something.”
“But how can we get them? Aren’t all the clothes in the house?” asked Tim.
“Not all. My Dad keeps a pair of shoes in the back of the van for when he drives to the park to do a little walking.”
“He does what to do what?” chuckled Maggie.
“Never mind. Greater minds than ours have tried to figure that one out.”
*****
The mini-van doors were locked. Tim kicked the tires, which left a mark. Horrified, he tried unsuccessfully to wipe away the smudge.
“Oh, forget about the tires,” snapped Molly.
“What do we do now?” asked Maggie.
“The keys are on the k-k-kitchen counter. I saw your Dad put them there last night,” said Tim.
“So that means you have to go get them.”
“Why me?”
“Because you kicked my Dad’s tires and I can match up the mark to your sneaker to prove it.” Watching those Cop shows was paying off!
*****
The house was dark and Tim’s flashlight cut bright stripes across the floor and walls. He walked slowly, careful not to bump into something and make a noise. He’d just made it to the kitchen when…
…Tim quickly snapped off his light. He could not believe his eyes. There, no more than 12 feet in front of him, with his head buried in the refrigerator, was Mr. Morgan. Well, at least his, ah, southern most region. Thank goodness, the hum of the freezer’s motor had drowned out Tim’s footsteps. The seeker of snacks had not heard Tim enter.
And there they were, the keys, right where he thought they’d be. No time to think, thought Tim… Just do! So he held his breath, and quickly and quietly walked over to the keys, picked them up with both hands, to stop any jingling, and backed out the kitchen door. And as he was easing away he heard a happy, “Oooooh, pizza.”
Tim didn’t take a breath until he was safely outside.
*****
The walking shoes were in the back of the van, and still in their original box. In fact, the price tag was still attached. Walking shoes indeed! thought Molly. But, then she worried, if she wore a new shoe, it would get a little scuffed up and eventually someone would find out. Well, it couldn’t be helped. Then again, who knew when these shoes would actually be worn. The box might stay closed until Molly graduated from college… or the van was sold… (Free walking shoes included with the purchase of this fine vehicle. If these wheels fail you, simply jog on down to the nearest service station.)
The shoe fit, not like a glove, but like a shoe. Easily and snugly containing the cast. Molly
stomped around to get the feel of it, then said, “I’m ready, let’s do some climbing.”
While Tim was in the house searching for the van keys, Maggie had been looking for something they could use to carry the Hawk in. She found an old Easter basket, still containing its wads of fake green grass. Since it had a handle, it would be easy to manage during the climb. She gently moved the bird from her box bed to the basket. The faux grass provided excellent cushioning.
Maggie also found another flashlight and an old kerosene lantern filled with lamp oil. Now each of them would have their own light.
She would lead the way and take charge of carrying the Hawk, a responsibility she didn’t take lightly.
Next would follow Molly. The middle of the line seemed the safest place for her to be. Maggie would be able to call out oncoming obstacles, and Tim would be able to keep an eye on Molly from behind.
Tim got to hold the lantern. And, as he held it, it’s hard to say which shone brighter — the lantern or Tim’s face.
“Is everyone ready?” Maggie asked, as she attached Manny’s map to the basket’s handle. “It’s almost midnight. We really must leave.”
Molly and Tim nodded.
Then the Hawk spoke, her voice very low and weak. “No matter what happens, I want to thank all of you.”
Maggie opened her mouth as if to say something, but there came no sound. Molly and Tim stared at each other. This was all too real and all too serious. It was all too scary.
From the greenhouse, Manny watched grimly, crossing his fingers for good luck.
Chapter Nine
The winding dirt road up the mountain was littered with branches, pine needles, and rocks, but as this part of their trip followed a fairly popular hiking trail, it really wasn’t too bad… as long as you watched where you were going. The last thing needed was to have someone twist an ankle. Thankfully the moon was nearly full and the sky was a blanket of stars. The universe was cooperating nicely and supplying them with much needed light.
The group had started off slowly and carefully, but after walking for a few minutes had begun to gain confidence, and they quickened their pace. Soon they were marching in line, left-right-left-right-left-right-left-right, like a tiny platoon of soldiers. Molly was keeping up, but no one could see the pained look on her face. Her foot had started hurting bad and her leg felt weak. I’m so sorry I came, she thought. I’m gonna ruin everything.