Moonflower - Chapter 2

"What do you mean you're not an ancient powerful witch? It's right here in my spell book!"

I waved my hand in the general direction of my book piles. This couldn't be happening. Had I just summoned some kid who would only be an extra mouth to feed?

"Um,... well.. sorry to disappoint.. mmm.. could I see the spell?"

"I suppose," I replied, defeated. "If you're not a witch you won't be able to read it though. Only witches can read it.

"See, right here. This is the page. You can't read it, can you?" I turned to the place in the book.
Oakheart ran his finger along the page.
"Actually, yes. I can. My dad forced me to learn this. Never thought I'd need it. Hmmm..mmm..yes.. interesting."
"Well? I demanded. " If you're so smart, what does it say? 'An ancient powerful witch'. See, right there."
"Well, sort of. But see here? This word - sometimes it means 'powerful', but in this context, it seems to mean 'powered by' or 'imbued with power'. So a more correct reading is '...will summon the bearer of a charm that was imbued with power by an ancient witch.' It's talking about who made the charm, not the person being summoned."

"Oh."
That's the only word I could manage for a few long minutes. It was true,  had I struggled with that phrase. The ancient words were so hard to figure out. If only my parents had been able to teach me... but no. I wasn't going to think about that. Finally I spoke again, trying to hold back my tears.
"But.. even so.. the spell said it would summon someone who could help me. Can.. can you help me, or did I read that part wrong too?"
"I hope I can help. I want to help. Tell me what I need to do." He gave me an encouraging smile.
I didn't mean to dump all my troubles on him at once, but he was so sympathetic and easy to talk to, I found myself telling him about how few of us there were left, and how hungry everyone was, and the trying to keep back the ocean... all of it, even the problems with the wolves. When I was finished, he smiled again.
"Let's go outside. I have something to show you."

I watched as he reached under his shirt and pulled out a little packet he had stored away in some kind of hidden pocket. It was clear like glass, but flexible. I had never seen such a thing in my life. "What kind of magic is that? Glass that bends?" I asked in awe.
"Oh, it's not glass, it's a zip-lock bag," he answered nonchalantly, like he saw such things every day. "What's important is what's inside. See?" He opened the bag, and I hesitantly peered inside.
My face fell. "It's just seeds. We can't eat seeds."
He just smiled at me again. "These are special seeds. My family has been perfecting them for ten generations. We aren't going to eat them, we're going to plant them. We just need a good place. This sand won't do at all."

I tried to tell him that the middle of the island was wolf territory, but he wouldn't hear of it. He said he had to find just the right place for his garden, wolves or not. So I reluctantly followed him as he skirted the edge of the woods, looking for his perfect spot. Finally he stopped in a small fenced-in area that was choked with weeds and brush. He closed his eyes briefly, then smiled that mesmerizing smile of his.
"Here. This is the spot. I can feel it. There was once a beautiful garden right here. If we work at it, someday we can make it happen again."

We worked all day, clearing out the underbrush. I was exhausted by the time we were finished, but Oakheart wanted to get his first seeds into the ground. I watched in fascination as he loosened the rich, dark soil and carefully placed his seeds in little mounds. As he worked he lovingly talked about his seeds.
"See? Potatoes, grapes, lettuce. And Tomatoes and peppers, over there. And a banana tree right here."
A banana tree? My mind drifted back to my early childhood. I remember eating bananas! I had forgotten all about it. I wondered if my parents had a - banana tree. Or maybe they were just way better at conjuring food than I was.

That evening I watched in puzzlement as Oakheart gathered an armful of dry sticks and piled them up outside the bungalow. What a strange man. First the garden, and now this.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to make a fire. I'm not sure it will work; I found the spell in your book upstairs. Let's just see here...  Yes! I did it!"
I laughed in delight and clapped my hands.
"I thought you said you weren't a witch. I've tried and tried that spell, and I can't do it."
He just smiled that smile of his and gave his shoulders a little shrug.

We roasted some of my apples for dinner. Somehow, they tasted much better then usual.
"So, tell me more about this Viewing River place you come from."
He had told me a little, but I wanted to hear more. I listened, fascinated, as he described things he called cars, and TV's and stereos. The more he talked, the more I came to the conclusion that he was wrong about not being a powerful witch. 'Cars' moving by themselves? Picture frames where the pictures moved? Boxes that conjured music out of thin air? Anyone who could make such things happen had to be a powerful witch.

That night he slept on the floor, rolled up in my extra blankets, and I settled down to sleep, dreaming of moving pictures, and other magical things.

The next morning I showed him how to cast the spell that kept back the waves. He caught on quickly, and with our combined efforts we finished it easily and with energy left over. 

"What are you going to do today? Work in your garden again?"

"Not today. Today I'm going to go fishing. We need fertilizer for the garden."

"I don't think there's any fish out there. I haven't seen any since I was a child. And how do you catch them, even if you do find them?" 

I hated to be a spoil sport, but I just didn't see how he was going to catch any fish.

He shot me a happy grin.

"I found these fishing poles hidden in the bushes, leaning up against one of the abandoned houses. Somebody that used to live here liked to fish. Now hand me one of your apples, and we'll see what we can catch."

I handed him an apple, not sure what he was up to. He broke off a bit, and attached it to the end of his pole.

"And now, we wait."

I was still dubious, but it didn't look that hard, not like the gardening. 

"Can I try?"

"Sure. Shall I bait it for you, or you want to do it yourself?"

I was determined to learn this new thing, so I tried it myself. It was not nearly as easy as he made it look, but I finally got the apple to stick on the hook, and awkwardly tossed it into the water.

It wasn't long before Oakheart pulled a tiny fish out of the water. He wasn't too happy about the size, but I was thrilled. 

"Just wait, Moon. Wait till the garden is mature. We'll be able to catch much bigger fish with better bait."

He must have seen my embarrassment at producing such terrible apples for bait, because he immediately added, "Aww.. Moon. I'm sorry. I know you're doing the best you can. And if we didn't have your apples, we wouldn't be able to catch any fish at all."

We stood there fishing all morning. Every time I looked over at him, he was looking at me with this funny little grin on his face. I just smiled back, and went back to watching my lure. I didn't know quite what was happening to me. I'd never felt this way before. Every time I caught his eye, my insides just kind of turned to mush.

Suddenly I was brought back to reality, when I felt a tug on my line. 

"Good job! You got one. Now reel it in slowly, you don't want to lose it," Oak encouraged me.

I did it! My very first fish!

Oak spent the afternoon at his garden, fertilizing all his plants, and that night we had fish for dinner. It was the first time I'd eaten anything besides apples since.. well.. since that awful night. But I was too happy right now; I wasn't going to think about it.

It didn't take long before everyone knew of my powerful new friend, and his promise of more food than we could eat, someday, when the garden had grown. The garden became a gathering spot, as we  all were anxiously watching the slow progress of the little plants and trees. Oakheart never tired of explaining how it all worked, and I never tired of listening. 

Zephyr especially was fascinated by the whole process. He often brought one of his pet birds along to visit, and I brought some of our fish to share. It was so nice not to have to rely entirely on my conjured apples any more. I always kept my eyes peeled for the wolves, though.

And then one day,when I was least expecting it, there she was. Oak had gone ahead that morning and as I arrived, I saw her. I didn't know what she was up to, but I was definitely going to find out.

I approached her to give her a piece of my mind, but she beat me to it.
"You're trespassing in our area, witch. I've been watching. Go back to your beaches."
"Or what? We need this place. We aren't going to leave." I replied with what I hoped was a menacing frown.

When I saw Lupa ball up her fist, I motioned to Zephyr to get help. It was a long shot, but maybe all of us together could fend her off. Then I put on my brave face, as Zephyr raced off down the path.
"Leave wolf, or I'll curse you."
I reached in my pocket to pull out my wand. Hopefully I could make her believe one more time. This time she only laughed.
"Do your worst, witch. I don't think you have the power."

Suddenly Oakheart appeared at my side. I held my breath as he and Lupa sized each other up.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds, reaching way down inside myself, gathering my energy to at least try a spell to scare her off. So I missed it when he reached out to shake her hand.
"Hello, I'm Oakheart, and you must be Lupa?"
My eyes flew open. I didn't believe the words he was saying. I had warned him over and over the wolves were not to be trusted.
"How about this?" he continued to my great consternation. "If you let us have this small piece of land, I will let you have some of the produce later on. Deal?"
"Deal." Lupa growled, and loped off into the trees.
I looked at Oakheart with a combination of dismay and respect. I had never even considered cutting any kind of a bargain with the wolves - mainly because I had nothing to bargain with but moldy apples. I wasn't sure she would keep her end of the bargain, but at least it might keep her at bay for a while.

That evening after we finished our meal of tiny fish, we sat silently for a while. As I watched him poke at the fire, I suddenly realized how much I cared for this strange mossy haired man with the gorgeous green eyes and such an amazing smile. Sure, I loved the way he could make plants grow like magic, and pull fish out of what I thought was empty water, and even stand up to Lupa, but it was much more than that.

"Come watch the stars with me for a while," I whispered with a small shy smile.
"I'm really glad you're here," I whispered again. My hand touched his, and tingles ran up and down my spine.

"I'm really glad I'm here, too," he whispered back.
I was suddenly unsure of myself.
"You are, really? You don't miss the magic cars, and the talking pictures, and everything?"
"Nope. Don't miss any of that stuff. I miss my parents and my little sister sometimes, but I'd rather be here with you. I really like you, Moon."
"I really like you too, Oak."

I'm not quite sure who made the first move; I think it was both of us together. We pulled each other to our feet, and my heart was about bursting as we kissed for the first time, under the stars.