Mabel opened her eyes and attempted, with some confusion, to focus on the white fabric deflating in front of her face.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAirbags?\u201d Van choked out. \u201cWhoever heard of airbags in an airplane?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOh…yeah…\u201d replied Mabel, dazedly, as the purpose of the fabric dawned on her. \u201cMy mother insisted…on really big ones.\u201d In front of Van and Ivy, two more large white bubbles sagged into empty sacks.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAre we there?\u201d asked Ivy, stirring on the seat beside Mabel.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI think so,\u201d answered Mabel. \u201cMr. Halfslip, are you okay?\u201d She took a quick look at Sig who, though slightly shaken, was wagging his tail and placed him on the floor with Sparkle. Then she released her seat belt and peeked around into the cockpit.<\/p>\n
\n\tNorton was critically examining his eyeglasses, half of which he held in each hand. In front of him the entire instrument panel was draped in deflated airbag.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMaybe we can fix them,\u201d said Mabel. \u201cLet\u2019s get the hatch open.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cExcuse me, Mabel,\u201d piped up the ever-chipper voice of Bailey. \u201cWhile all the instrument systems seem to be intact, I would advise a thorough examination of the exterior of the aircraft before our next flight. I perceived the landing to be more turbulent than usual.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah…\u201d said Mabel. \u201cYes, it was. Thanks Bailey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI shall shut down until further notice,\u201d said the computer, and its hard drive whirred to a stop.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWait a minute, Mabel,\u201d said Van. He sounded oddly nervous. \u201cI don\u2019t think Arbogast held on so tight…\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhat…\u201d began Mabel, looking over her seat back. Arbogast, slumped awkwardly against the wall of the airplane, appeared to have been thrown from the life-vest stack into the opposite wall. A rivulet of blood ran from his brow, down the side of his face.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHey,\u201d called Mabel, \u201cMr. Arbogast…\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tThere was no response.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cVan…is he dead? Maybe we need to do something…\u201d said Mabel. She wondered fleetingly why she should feel remotely responsible for him, but you couldn\u2019t just leave a guy if he needed help.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHmmm,\u201d came a humming sort of voice from behind Mabel and Van. They turned to see Norton pushing himself with painstaking slowness around the bank of seats they were leaning over. Norton nodded and lowered himself into a hunched crouch at the side of Arbogast. He squinted at the wound under Arbogast\u2019s hairline, then gently put two fingers to Arbogast\u2019s wrist to find a pulse. Satisfied, he looked up at Mabel, Van, and Ivy who had joined them, and gave a smile and a nod.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIs he okay?\u201d asked Van.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMmm,\u201d replied Norton, with another nod. It was the most noise Mabel had ever heard him make.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOkay,\u201d said Mabel, \u201clet\u2019s leave him here to wake up. I want to go see where we are.\u201d She picked up Sparkle, who grasped Sig by the scruff, then climbed through the cockpit and released the hatch. Mabel gave Ivy a hand over the side onto the wing, and Van came behind assisting Norton. <\/p>\n
\n\tA clutter of branches which the Star had accumulated in its descent lay scattered about on the wings and tail. Otherwise everything looked normal, except for one of the tail fins which appeared to be bent at a strange angle. And the entire plane was leaning rather heavily to the left, though Mabel couldn\u2019t see why. The Star appeared to have run smack into a group of trees which were standing, most unusually, all in a row like kids holding hands in a line, in a game of Red Rover. She slid off the wing onto the ground, then reached to help Ivy down. <\/p>\n
\n\tIvy seemed barely awake. When Norton slid down, with an assist from Van, he crouched and patted the forest floor. It was soft. Mabel could feel its springiness through the soles of her shoes. Norton sat against a tree and indicated that Ivy should be next to him. She willingly slipped into place, her shoulders under his arm, and head against his shoulder.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThey\u2019re going to wait,\u201d said Mabel. <\/p>\n
\n\tSparkle retrieved Sig, who was determinedly tugging at Van\u2019s shoelaces, and nestled on the other side of Norton. <\/p>\n
\n\tVan nodded. \u201cWhere to?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel scanned the woods around them. For a site in the middle of the Willibunk forest the trees were surprisingly non-random. Two rows of them led away from Van and Mabel, forming a sort of overgrown curving corridor. Mabel supposed they were now somewhere in the swirl she had seen from the air. \u201cThe path,\u201d she said, \u201cunless you have a better idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNope,\u201d he replied. <\/p>\n
\n\tMabel glanced around again. Except for the curving path ahead, there was no direction one could pick to set off in that looked different from any other. The trees seemed to go on forever in moist green darkness. Mabel felt grateful for the sky poking through the treetops above. It was the only thing keeping her from feeling panicked by the absence of distinctive landmarks.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhat was that?\u201d asked Van, doing a quick spin.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel followed his gaze. \u201cVan, there\u2019s nothing there. It\u2019s trees.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cSomething moved,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re in the forest,\u201d Mabel replied. \u201cStuff lives here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah,\u201d said Van in a not-reassured voice. \u201cSometimes stuff has teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe path curved to the right, and was reasonably passable as long as they stepped carefully over the vines which crept thickly from one wall of trees to the other. Occasionally they had to stop and detach briars from their jeans, but after ten minutes of steady trudging they were in a place which looked…remarkably the same as where they\u2019d started. Except for the fern. There around the next bend, which was the same as every other bend, was the largest fern Mabel had ever laid eyes on. She was quite certain it was taller than her father, maybe even taller than Mr. Peale, and its feathering fronds spread broadly in every direction. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a jerfinia,\u201d she exclaimed, running her fingers along the black-dot sori on the underside of a frond.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell,\u201d replied Van, \u201cit\u2019s some kind of fern, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNo,\u201d Mabel insisted, \u201cI know it\u2019s a jerfinia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOkay, whatever,\u201d said Van, hitting the path again, \u201cbut why don\u2019t Norton\u2019s jerfinias grow that big?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel walked on thoughtfully for a few minutes, then said, \u201cThere\u2019s something here that makes them healthier. It makes everything healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAnd there they are,\u201d said Van, waving toward the path ahead, \u201csome more healthy specimens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHe needn\u2019t have told her. Mabel already knew. She could smell them. She briefly closed her eyes and felt she was in the Halfslips\u2019 greenhouse, helping Norton repot baby ferns. But here the sensory experience was even stronger. It was earthy, heady…welcoming. Breathing the air here was like breathing life. There were more ferns, growing in clusters. Some were small, and some even larger than the first one they\u2019d passed. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cVan,\u201d said Mabel, \u201cwhat\u2019s that called when you feel like you\u2019ve been somewhere before, even if you haven\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cD\u00e9j\u00e0 vu?\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYes,\u201d Mabel replied, \u201cand I\u2019m d\u00e9j\u00e0 vuing like crazy here. It\u2019s like when I walk into Eurus Press and I\u2019m happy \u2018cause I\u2019m home? That\u2019s what it feels like here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOh, that\u2019s very nice for you,\u201d said Van,\u201d stomping grumpily between two thickets of ferns. \u201cI\u2019m glad getting lost in the woods is such a homey experience for…\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tVan stopped, body and expression frozen in place.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel stopped two steps behind him. \u201cWhat?\u201d she said. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHe turned his head slightly. \u201cWater. I hear running water.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel listened too, and her mouth slowly lit into an grin. \u201cIt\u2019s the spring,\u201d she said. She felt enormously delighted. Suddenly she knew, with utmost certainty, where they were and why they had come. \u201cIt is the spring. It\u2019s Cochiti\u2019s sister!\u201d Mabel broke into a run. \u201cCome on!\u201d she yelled.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWho\u2019s Cochiti?\u201d said Van, to no-one. Then he followed.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe last twenty yards of path were barely passable, being all but overgrown with jerfinias, but Mabel was undeterrable as she stormed through one last thick curtain of ferns, and found herself looking at…a garden.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt was a square, and very neatly tended, garden plot, roughly the size of a small living room. Carefully tied string beans grew in a row, followed by several lines of squash, tomatoes, and tall tasseled corn stalks. Looking beyond the first plot, Mabel saw several others, one of which she could identify as potatoes, one as some kind of grain, and another low and green one which she recognized as herbs. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cApples,\u201d said Van, snatching something off a tree as he joined Mabel at the edge of the clearing. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhere?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe pointed up.<\/p>\n
\n\tThey were standing under a heavily laden apple tree, which was part of a line of many fruit trees ringing the entire garden area. Mabel reached up and plucked a ripe apple, striped red and yellow, and put it in her jacket pocket. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe should bring some for Norton and Ivy, too,\u201d she said, noticing that the supply seemed limitless.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMabel Crockett,\u201d said a woman\u2019s voice, and Mabel\u2019s attention quickly shifted from the apples to the garden.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s the teacher lady,\u201d whispered Van in an awed tone.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel looked at the tall, willowy woman, now waiting for them by the corn plants. \u201cMiss Wickers,\u201d she said with certainty. There were the same strong cheekbones, the same eyes, the same kinky hair, they\u2019d seen in the yearbook photo. But old. Astonishingly, beautifully old. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHow can she look that good?\u201d whispered Van. \u201cShe must know Arbogast\u2019s girlfriend, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNo Van,\u201d Mabel whispered back. \u201cShe\u2019s not like Arbogast. She looks old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHi,\u201d said Mabel to Miss Wickers, before glancing, with slight embarrassment, at the second apple she had been planning to pocket.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d said Miss Wickers, approaching. \u201cyou\u2019re welcome to anything we have here. And I\u2019m used to being called Colleen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tColleen was dressed in a flax-colored, loosely woven jumper, over a shirt of a similar material, dyed yellow. Mabel had never seen anyone who, though so obviously aged, looked so flexible, bright and healthy. Her white hair was full and long, and tied at the back with a strip of the same yellow material her shirt was made of.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDo you know me?\u201d asked Mabel.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou seem to know me,\u201d replied Colleen, smiling.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a picture of you,\u201d said Mabel. \u201cIn a yearbook.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI unfortunately have never seen a picture of you,\u201d responded Colleen, \u201cbut it makes no difference. You look so much like Jonah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cJonah,\u201d said Mabel, \u201cis he here? Are…they here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tColleen laughed. \u201cOf course,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been expecting you.\u201d Then she looked inquiringly at Van.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMiss, um, Colleen,\u201d said Mabel. \u201cThis is my friend Van Peale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m delighted to meet you Van,\u201d responded Colleen, taking his hand.<\/p>\n
\n\tVan turned slightly pink. Almost, Mabel thought, the way he acted around Patience.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI just happened to be working with the potatoes,\u201d said Colleen, indicating her soiled knees, \u201cand I heard you come in. Jonah and Laura are this way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tShe led them past the vegetables, between the flax and potatoes, and around the herbs, then through a break in the fruit orchard ring between two pear trees. Water rippled more audibly here. They were near the spring, Mabel was certain.<\/p>\n
\n\tTo their right, on stilts which held them several feet above the ground, stood two small huts, on either side of a larger one. The three buildings were expertly and sturdily crafted of wood, each with a fireplace of stacked river stones, and three steps leading up to a broad front porch.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThat one\u2019s mine,\u201d said Colleen, indicating the nearest hut. \u201cThat one is Laura and Jonah\u2019s, and the one in the middle is where we do most of our work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe front door of the center building opened, and a second woman came onto the porch, carrying two buckets. She was a good bit shorter than Colleen, with a softer, rounder build. Her silvery hair was pulled loosely into a braid, and she wore an outfit much like Colleen\u2019s, but with a blue blouse.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s your Mom,\u201d said Van quietly.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel looked at Van, then back at the woman on the porch. Perhaps she should have been taken aback by the idea, but somehow she felt interested and curious rather than surprised.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWow,\u201d said Laura, smiling and shaking her head. \u201cYou did it.\u201d She set down her buckets and almost bounced down the steps, and over to Mabel, Van and Colleen. \u201cWow,\u201d she repeated taking Mabel and Van by their hands. Laura\u2019s hand surrounded Mabel\u2019s with a confident grip. The bones were broad, and the fingers long. Mabel felt oddly as if she were holding hands with herself. Again she was struck by how radiant and lovely a person of such obviously advanced years could be.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis is my friend Van,\u201d said Mabel, not really knowing what else to say to this small woman whose hand felt strangely familiar in her own.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAnd I\u2019m Laura,\u201d said Laura. Her hazel eyes soaked Mabel in. She looked profoundly satisfied. \u201cWow,\u201d she repeated. \u201cWelcome. Well… let me take you to Jonah. Then we can talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tLaura led Van and Mabel through a small grove of dogwoods and mountain laurel opposite the buildings. Large gray rocks, smooth and flat, formed a loose wall before them, enclosing, in a semicircle, a pool of lively water. Opposite the semicircular rocks, embedded in an uphill grade, a pair of boulders sat, one on top of the other. Where they met, the spring, spilling from the earth behind them, had worn away at the rock, forming a natural spout from which water tumbled into the pool.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s like Cochiti,\u201d said Mabel to the two women with her. \u201cWhat do you call the spring?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe call it Owissa,\u201d said a man\u2019s voice. \u201cBut the spring was named long before we got here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel looked again at the pool. This time she noticed the man seated with his back against the rock wall, in the chest-high bubbles of the pool. He looked directly at her and she couldn\u2019t keep herself from smiling. She knew Jonah. She\u2019d seen him in the yearbook picture with Arbogast, and in the same way that she knew Laura\u2019s hands, she knew Jonah\u2019s eyes and face. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019ll be getting out,\u201d said Jonah. \u201cMaybe we can all sit on the porch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe porch,<\/em> thought Mabel, like at the Halfslips…<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe have to go get Norton and Ivy!\u201d she exclaimed, feeling slightly appalled that she\u2019d nearly forgotten about them. \u201cThey\u2019re back at the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLaura and Colleen looked at each other. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNorton came?\u201d asked Laura. She grinned at Jonah. \u201cNorton Halfslip?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYes,\u201d said Van. \u201cBut he doesn\u2019t get around very well.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd Ivy\u2019s really sick,\u201d added Mabel. \u201cIt will be a long walk.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s not as far as you think,\u201d said Colleen, leading the children back toward the houses. \u201cWhere are they?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe landed in…one of the outer rings of trees,\u201d said Mabel, wishing she could provide a more specific location.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYes,\u201d said Colleen, \u201cright down that path.\u201d She motioned to her left. <\/p>\n \n\tMabel looked. Then she squinted and looked again. A straight, passable path, lined thickly by trees, led directly through the woods to where the sun glinted off metal.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOkay…\u201d said Van, raising an eyebrow. \u201cI think…that looks like the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cShow me,\u201d said Laura, taking off down the path. Van, Mabel, and Colleen followed.<\/p>\n \n\tWithin five minutes the entire group had returned to the spring settlement, Norton using Laura as a crutch, and Ivy riding on Colleen\u2019s back. Sparkle trotted along with Sig struggling as usual to keep up with her.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re heading back that way Jo,\u201d said Colleen to Jonah, who was approaching them from the direction of the spring, dressed in baggy pants of the same fabric as the women\u2019s jumpers. \u201cThis baby needs a dip.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIn fact,\u201d added Laura, \u201call of you will feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBut first go change,\u201d said Colleen, pointing toward her cottage. \u201cYou\u2019ll find some wash and wearable clothes in there.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhen they emerged from the cottage, Van and Norton had found flaxen pants like Jonah\u2019s, and the girls were wearing similar lightweight jumpers.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI hope the water\u2019s warm,\u201d said Van as they entered the spring\u2019s mountain laurel clearing.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf it\u2019s anything like Cochiti,\u201d replied Mabel, \u201cyou won\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tVan shrugged, and tentatively stuck his toe through the pool\u2019s bubbling surface. Then he gave an affirmative grunt, and climbed all the way in. Mabel followed, taking Norton\u2019s hand to help him to a seat in the pool, and Colleen gently guided Ivy into the water. Colleen, Laura, and Jonah sat on the edge of the pool and dangled their feet in the ripples. Sparkle took a drink, then bathed Sig with her wet tongue.<\/p>\n \n\tMabel closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Just as the water of Cochiti had done, Owissa completely leveled her out. All the knots and tensions and worries seemed to smooth to nothingness, and she felt absolutely wonderful. One glance at Van revealed that he, too, was feeling good.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSo how are the woods treating you geezers?\u201d asked a raspy voice. It was almost, but not quite, Parker Halfslip\u2019s voice, and it took Mabel a few seconds to realize Norton had spoken.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPop pop,\u201d said Ivy, now with her normal blunt enthusiasm, \u201cI knew you could still talk.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJust haven\u2019t had much to say,\u201d replied Norton.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd how are you feeling Ivy?\u201d asked Colleen.<\/p>\n \n\tIvy seemed to be stopping to think, but to Mabel she looked colorful, fresh, and no longer wilted.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m feeling really good,\u201d said Ivy.<\/p>\n \n\tLaura handed everyone a woven flax towel, and they patted themselves dry before following Jonah to the front porch of the center hut.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWait right here a minute,\u201d said Jonah. He and Laura disappeared into the cottage. A few minutes later they emerged carrying trays of food which smelled almost as delicious as a meal from Mona Lisa\u2019s.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEveryone dig in,\u201d invited Laura, and they sat on the steps and dug in. There were loaves of aromatic crunchy grain bread, a corn and squash casserole, apples and pears to dip in an unusual assortment of nut butters, and a noodley fish soup.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThat smells really good,\u201d said Ivy, passing on the soup, \u201cbut I don\u2019t eat meat.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOh,\u201d said Colleen, looking at her thoughtfully, \u201cthat\u2019s alright, you just be sure to get plenty of everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf I may steer this conversation back to Norton\u2019s question,\u201d said Jonah, helping himself to a large slab of bread, \u201cthe woods have been real hospitable to us geezers.\u201d Mabel couldn\u2019t help but notice a slight tremor in Jonah\u2019s hand, but he seemed untroubled by it as he ate. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt took a little while to get used to the neighbors,\u201d said Laura, with a laugh, \u201cbut now we\u2019re very fond of them.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe dryads?\u201d asked Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\tJonah nodded. \u201cThey drive you a little nuts with all the appearing and disappearing, but it seems normal after a few decades.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFor a few minutes they busied themselves with eating. The dogs had a plateful of noodles and fish which they were noisily polishing off. Colleen began to gather dishes and pots, then she turned and looked at Mabel. \u201cYou have questions,\u201d she stated. \u201cYou should ask them.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMabel looked at Laura and Jonah. How could two people, so unknown to her, seem so familiar?<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAren\u2019t you guys…\u201d she began, unsure of how to phrase her question.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhat she wants to know,\u201d said Van, \u201cis, aren\u2019t you two too old to have a thirteen year old daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tJonah grinned. \u201cWe sure are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThen you\u2019re not…?\u201d began Mabel. It startled her to feel disappointed.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe sure are,\u201d laughed Laura. \u201cYou are our daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cExplain.\u201d said Ivy.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to explain for years,\u201d said Norton, leaning forward on the step, but I couldn\u2019t get the words out.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNow you can,\u201d said Ivy. She squeezed his hand.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cGo get me a jerfinia frond,\u201d instructed Norton. Mabel hopped off the porch and pulled a large one from a nearby plant.<\/p>\n \n\tNorton took the frond as Mabel extended it. He turned it over. \u201cWhat do you know about these?\u201d he asked, running a finger along the black dots on the frond\u2019s underside.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThey\u2019re called sori,\u201d answered Mabel. \u201cThey hold the spores, which are like seeds.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLike any old seed?\u201d prompted Norton.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNo,\u201d replied Mabel. \u201cThey can last longer. They can just sit around for a long, long time…years I guess, until they find the right place to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJerfinias are special,\u201d explained Norton. \u201cThe outer shell of the spore is a little more forgiving than most.\u201d He rubbed several of the spores off the frond and rolled them around in his palm. \u201cWith a tiny, almost microscopic hypodermic needle, I can suck the fern\u2019s genetic material right out of its casing.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhy would you do that?\u201d asked Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSo he can replace it,\u201d answered Laura.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWith what?\u201d asked Mabel, taking a sorus from Norton\u2019s hand and examining it as closely as she could.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSomething tiny and precious that needs to be kept safe for a long time,\u201d replied Laura. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t know how long it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe conversation she\u2019d had with her parents on the flight from Cochiti Spring came flooding into Mabel\u2019s memory. Tiny babies…small cluster of cells…transplanted to a different mother…, and she began to realize, unbelievably, what Norton had been trying to show her for years. \u201cYou\u2019re saying…are you saying…,\u201d Mabel took a deep breath. \u201cCould you be saying that I lived in a jerfinia spore?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFor sixty-one years,\u201d said Jonah, smiling at Mabel. \u201cYou were barely more than a tiny ball of cells.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBut why did you do that?\u201d asked Mabel. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you just have me, all those years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe weren\u2019t going to have children,\u201d said Laura quietly. \u201cWe didn\u2019t feel right about making a child live here with us, away from other people. But I got pregnant. Colleen realized it right away.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd the dryads called Norton,\u201d Colleen continued.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAll those woods critters like me,\u201d said Norton.<\/p>\n \n\tColleen nodded. \u201cAnd Norton thought of a way to keep this infinitesimal bud of a baby safe until we found a cure for Jonah, and could leave the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBut there was no cure,\u201d said Van, \u201cwas there?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNo,\u201d replied Jonah. \u201cThere is still no cure for ALS. My symptoms would worsen whenever I was away from the spring, so I don\u2019t go far. I bathe every day.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFinally,\u201d continued Laura, \u201cwe entrusted you to Norton. We knew he\u2019d find the right parents for our baby.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe did,\u201d said Mabel. \u201cHe really did.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThen Norton never came back,\u201d said Jonah, looking at Norton. \u201cIt was a long time before we knew that you\u2019d been born.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPop pop had a stroke, after Granny died,\u201d said Ivy.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDidn\u2019t know I could fly, until today,\u201d acknowledged Norton.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere\u2019s something I\u2019d like to know,\u201d said Ivy. \u201cIt would help me with the history essay I\u2019m writing for school. Why did you all leave Logjam the night of the fire, and why did the logs really turn to sticks?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPart one,\u201d responded Colleen, \u201cis that there were many people who really thought I did it. Mob mentality can get pretty ugly, and there were death threats. Someone did set that fire, and we luckily got out. I knew of this place, and I knew it would help Jonah.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSo you didn\u2019t do it,\u201d said Van, \u201cI mean the log and stick thing?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tColleen, Laura and Jonah all began to giggle as if this subject had always amused them.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNo,\u201d Colleen replied. \u201cI\u2019ve got some skills, but I\u2019m not magic. We don\u2019t know who did it, but we suppose it was someone from the river.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWho lives in the river?\u201d asked Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere are several river spirits,\u201d answered Colleen. \u201cIt could have been Talu, Gennawoc, Wendeera…we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMabel looked at Van and Ivy, who returned her skeptical gaze. But not for long. Seconds later, all were staring at the tree canopy where the branches were whipping about frantically. The chop-chop-chop<\/em> of helicopter blades quickly became deafening, and the adults held onto the children for support against the violence of the air being thrown about, as a fire-engine red flying machine began to descend into the clearing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mabel opened her eyes and attempted, with some confusion, to focus on the white fabric deflating in front of her face. \u201cAirbags?\u201d Van choked out. \u201cWhoever heard of airbags in an airplane?\u201d \u201cOh…yeah…\u201d replied Mabel, dazedly, as the purpose of the fabric dawned on her. \u201cMy mother insisted…on really big ones.\u201d In front of Van […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":297,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions\/297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}