The Foster Children of Time

Chapter Fourteen: At Anders Pond

Chapter Fourteen

            The following morning brought no new word from Vanaya and Garsen.  After breakfast, Kinnemort announced that he was going to follow after them.  Caroline could sense some apprehension in his expression, though he tried to disguise it.  He left, admonishing Tegwyn to keep Caroline in sight at all times. 

            Caroline found that most of her strength had returned.  Left to her own devices, she explored the interior of Vanaya’s house.  There was a mahogany bookcase in the main room with many dog-eared instructional books, catalogs and almanacs, dating from the late 19th and early 20th century, and printed in England or the United States.  As she leafed through them, she noticed that several had pages torn out; others had parts marked out crudely with dark ink.  One of the manuals, dealing with woodwork, had “Alabard” hand written on the inner cover in a delicate cursive script.

            “Do you feel up for a stroll?” asked Tegwyn, distracting her from the books.  “I can show you around the village.”

            “Sure.  That would be nice.”

            “I hope you have enjoyed your time with us.  I’ll be sad to see you go.”

            “Oh, that’s so sweet.  I feel the same…”

            “What is it, dear?  The strangest expression just came over your face.”

            “I don’t know.  Nothing.  I just suddenly got the sense that this house is very familiar somehow.” 

            “Just déjà vu, I suppose,” said Tegwyn.  “The Good Mother taught us about that.”

***

            Tegwyn led Caroline outside.  A frame terrace criss-crossed with vines extended several feet out from the front door.  There was a hexagonally shaped rock garden planted with aster and butterfly weed just outside.  Bearberry grew all along the fence surrounding the village.

The folk of Calendenny were out and about already, lugging pails of water, tending goats and pigs, or working in gardens and shops.  One woman drove a horse-drawn wagon loaded with an assortment of vegetables.  A group of men labored at fixing a jagged hole in the peat-covered roof of a nearby building.

            “Terrible storm we had just last week,” explained Tegwyn. 

She led Caroline to a grassy commons in the center of the village.  They sat cross-legged under a shady oak and watched the activity around them. 

            Caroline was suddenly struck by a thought.

            “Tegwyn, are there other children here?”

            “Children?  No.  I am the youngest in Calendenny.  Why?”

            “No children?  It’s just that…you know…don’t you Elves, ummm…?”

            “Don’t we what?”

            “Don’t your people fall in love and get married?”

            “Oh yes, of course we do.  Vanaya and Garsen are bonded, as are many of the men and women of Calendenny.  I believe that the Good Mother wedded Vanaya and Garsen herself.  Now Vanaya blesses the bride and groom as Younger Mother of Calendenny.”

            “But there are no children?”

            “No.  Why?  The Good Mother will bring more Elves into this world if she sees fit.  And then one day she will return and take us all to the Other World.  That is what Vanaya has taught us.”