There was a child in the forest. Small, asleep, and dressed all in red, the boy was curled into a mossy nook between the roots of a great redwood. His cheeks were rosy and his face was peaceful. He couldn’t have been more than two years old. Morning sunlight illuminated his soft blond curls into [...]
Ally could hear the Christmas carols even from the cellar. She snickered to herself as she pulled her desired jar of pears down from the shelf, Madge’s enthusiastic voice carrying from the top of the lighthouse, about holly and snow and angels. Ally joined in as she made her way up the stairs, where she [...]
Ally could find the house easily enough. Like the rest of the village, it had changed little. The shutters were replaced, and now painted gray, instead of white, but nothing else was altered. It stood, pale green, against the bright red and gold of the leaves. Worn, but the same. Her heart twinged but in [...]
The leaf fairies danced and whirled, first in tight spirals, then growing wider and wider in their circling before zipping away on another twist of wind, off to circle some other tree. “We must be nearly there.” Ally said softly. Her heart felt like singing. Warm and content. It felt like coming home. “Really?” Madge [...]
By the morning, Ally could bare to walk on her ankle once more. It still ached badly, but it was on the mend. Madge still insisted on packing up their camp herself. “I’m happy to help!” She said, brushing Ally’s protests aside. “Really!” She raised her eyebrows, amusement tickling her expression. “No work can compare [...]