The Tree of Mindala (Wunderwood Book 1)

Chapter 1 - At the Cabin

Present Day: Wednesday, October 26th...

"You know, it wasn't my idea to come to the cabin," Miranda said.

Marcus flopped down on the bed, sending a cloud of dust into the air. "Yeah, but if you hadn't gotten suspended, Dad would never have gotten the idea to take me out of school so we could all spend some time here." He spat out the last word as if it tasted bad. "I can't believe we have to spend Halloween weekend in this place! And I'm going to miss Will Myer's big party! I've only been looking forward to it FOREVER! I was lucky to be invited at all. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the laughing stock of the fifth grade, thanks to all your crazy storytelling."

"Well, if you weren't such an... over-achiever  with all of your homework done weeks in advance, the thought of coming here would never have crossed Dad's mind," Miranda pointed out. "Besides, you used to love coming here."

"That was when Grandma and Grandpa were still around." Marcus paused, then added quietly. "It's just not the same without them."

Miranda couldn't argue with him there. But she still liked coming here. It was the place where she felt closest to their grandparents, even though they'd been gone now for almost five years. She began unpacking her things into the bottom two drawers of the only dresser in the small, cozy room. Its mint-green paint was chipping badly, and one of the handles was missing from each of the drawers. Miranda had to shimmy them out inch by crooked inch to load them, and then repeat the process in reverse to close them. They made a sound, like a little grumble, with every tug.

"I don't know why Dad hasn't fixed that thing yet," Marcus complained, cringing at the noise.

"He says it has 'character.' " Miranda pulled the drawer open and shut a couple more times for good measure. "And I agree."

"Ugh!!" Marcus clapped his hands over his ears.

Mr. Moon, their father, restored antique furniture by trade. Somehow he was always able to see what he called the "true personality" of a piece, though all someone else might see is a rickety old piece of kindling. It was his gift, and it seemed Miranda had inherited her own knack for always finding the bright side of things from him.

Unlike Marcus, Miranda was looking forward to spending the rest of the week here at the cabin. That meant they would spend not only Halloween here but also her birthday, which fell two days earlier. Though the cabin was really old and could use a fresh coat of paint both inside and out, Miranda always felt at home as soon as she set foot in it. Their grandmother had passed away when Miranda was only seven, and their grandfather had died only months later. At least that's what the police report said. Grandpa had gone out on the lake in his boat one day, despite the warnings of a storm headed that way. They found his boat drifting upside down with no trace of him anywhere.

Miranda didn't like to think about it, but sometimes the memory of that time barged in on her thoughts out of nowhere. When it did, she couldn't help wondering if Grandpa had missed Grandma so much that he'd known exactly what he was doing when he'd set sail that day. She usually tried to banish that unpleasant thought from her mind with fond memories of the times they'd all spent together at the cabin.

In the bottom dresser drawer was a little wooden box with a design of intertwining tree branches etched on all sides. Miranda had discovered it the summer after her grandparents passed away, and she'd always wondered what might be inside. But it was locked. She'd looked everywhere she could think of for the key, but she never found it. As she admired the box now, she decided the bottom of a drawer was no place for something so pretty. She put it on display next to the picture of her grandparents that still resided on the dresser.

She picked up the picture in its ornate frame, and wiped the dust away from the glass. She'd always loved this picture of Grandma Sunny and Grandpa Truman. Their hands were entwined, and their eyes held so much warmth as they smiled.

"I think it'll be fun to be here for a little while," Miranda told Marcus, gently placing the picture back on the dresser. She paused for a moment, switching to an eerie voice. "There are no neighbors around for miles, we're surrounded by a forest inhabited by who knows what?" Then, tiptoeing closer to Marcus for effect, she whispered, "And I think I just saw a BAT fly past the window!" Just at that moment, the wind shook the shutters outside the window, to Miranda's glee.

Marcus jumped about a foot off the bed, then launched a pillow at Miranda. For someone who so often acted older than his years, he was frightened pretty easily. But Miranda, only a little more than a year older than him, loved a good scare. In fact, Halloween happened to be her favorite holiday. "Who needs Will Myer's boring old party?" she said. "I can't think of a more perfect place for a Halloween adventure!"