The Finding Tree

Chapter 9 - The Dawn

The pearl grey fog rolled in just as the light was beginning to touch the water. The rain had stopped and the forest was rippling and squelching with moisture. The leaves were popping and bouncing under the heavy drops that would fall from above, and with soft heavy splats they dissipated into the porous ground.

Janey shivered under her purple blanket, but it was mostly because of the unknowable future that awaited her with the coming morning. She rubbed her eyes and sat up behind the shield of leaves and twigs that protected her all night during the storm.

The dampness had seeped into her joints and she grunted in discomfort, but stretched and shivered again, loosening up the tight muscles.

Diving into her backpack she pulled out the squashed peanut butter sandwich and ate it with large smacking bites, sticky fingers and the comforting smell of normalcy. After chasing it down with water from her thermos, she sat for a few minutes just staring through the leaves, at the lake in hazy twilight of dawn.

Turning back toward the tree with a suddenness that startled even her, she planted her face on the trunk and wrapped her arms around it, plaintively speaking her heart.

"Thank you for finding me last night, tree. You saved me from the storm, and I'm sorry you broke your arm protecting me. Can you fix it back?"

Pulling away, she dug around in her pack jostling the contents into emitting chords of plastic wind chime notes.

Finally pulling out what she wanted, she held it up to her chest and looked up to the leaves above. "Daddy and I bought this at the rock and gem show in town last week. I loved the color, and daddy said that amethyst have the qualities of trust and peace. I trust you, and you have always given me peace. So I hope you'll accept this gift from me."

Looking down, she raised her arm, leaving the cluster of purple crystals in her flattened palm.

Feeling cool leaves brush her hand and the crystals' weight dissipate, she wiggled her fingers, brought her arm down, and patted the tree. Smiling at the dirt below her, she whispered, "Thank you for trusting me back."

Another hour passed and the morning sun melted the fog from the water, leaving it so sparkling that the light hurt to look at it for long.

Janey hooked her arms around her knees and rested her chin there. An occasional tear would leak out, but mostly everything was quiet. She remembered that mama told her to wait.

Something caught her attention from the periphery, and Janey glanced to the right. Squealing in delight, she leapt from the bench and pushed her way through the fallen branches stopping short at one just at eye level.

A blue silk ribbon was hanging from a twig. Tied to it, was a three inch heavy brass bell that occasionally sounded as the breeze blew the leaves.

"Oh, oh tree. Is this for me?" She held her hand out, just as the twig snapped and the bell dropped in her waiting fingers. The blue ribbon was satin and heavy, and the bell looked like it had been hanging attached to it for a while, the creases were worn in.

Janey held the ribbon and shook it a bit to hear the clear peal from the bell. She smiled and clutched it to her chest, turning to go back to the bench.

"I'll never forget you tree, I know you'll hear me when I ring this bell, and I hope you never forget me either. Thank you for my gift, I really love it!

"Janey..." Marcie's voice was faint but clear in the mid-morning stillness.

"Janey... honey... come on back now"

She grabbed her things, and packed up the backpack, stuffing the dirty blanket in on top of the other items.

Marcie stepped into the clearing, just as Janey stood up. Marcie gasped at the sight of the broken limb and debris around the tree.

"Janey are you alright?" Marcie ran her hands over her daughter's form, checking for bumps and cuts. She eyed the fallen piece with concern. "Did that happen last night?"

"Yeah, mama. The tree protected me from the storm."

"Yeah, sure..." Marcie chuffed. "I'm not positive about that. Looks like it might have wanted to kill you as well."

Janey gasped, "No, I promise..."

"Well, let's go... we have lots to talk about, and we're going back home tomorrow, so I need you to finish packing."

Janey stilled. "What about dad?"

"Tom's already gone, Janey. He left last night. I gave him the option of me calling the sheriff, and him being hauled to jail, or him leaving on his own. Of course he chose to leave on his own rather than face jail." Marcie rolled her eyes.

She looked down at Janey, the hardness in her features hadn't left. Janey knew her mom wasn't really in there anymore, maybe she never really had been. Maybe the act of "mom" was just something she put on like a sweater at times, when she wanted something warm and cozy.

"Janey, things are going to be different now. Your father isn't going to be living with us, and I want you to focus on your education a bit more. We'll discuss what that means when we get home, but you know Tom wasn't ever going to change... I'm doing the best for both of us right now."

Numbly, Janey nodded. The shock was just settling in, and a thick protective shell of emotional insulation shrouded Janey's broken heart.

"Will I ever get to see him again? I didn't get to say..."

Marcie took Janey's backpack, and grasped her elbow. Steering her to the path back to the lake house, she muttered, "we'll see what the judge has to say about that."

Clutching her bell in one fist, Janey heard it chime, once, twice and again, with the steps she took toward the path away from her tree.