Moonflower - Chapter 3

It started like it always did - another carefree sunny day. We were having so much fun sailing the high seas to exotic faraway places.
Mommy said that long, long ago, giant wooden ships with billowing white sails would stop at our island to trade, but no one had seen one in many, many lifetimes. She even showed me a book about them, tucked away in a corner of the community library. I would much rather play sailing than read about it, though.
"Land Ho!"
"Trim the Mains'l, Matey!" Zephyr yelled back.

Suddenly the scene changed, and I was racing through the darkness. Heavy rain whipped across my face, almost blinding me. Thunder crashed, and lightning spiked across the sky. Something was chasing me; I could hear heavy footsteps splashing in the muddy path behind me. My heart was pounding almost out of my chest. Panicked, I tried to cry for help, but no sound came out.

Closer and closer the footsteps came. My breath was ragged now; I knew I couldn't keep up my pace much longer. I glanced behind me, just in time to see Lupa reach out her wicked claws....

Stifling a scream, I sat bolt upright in bed, desperately clutching the edge of the sheets. It was the dream again, the same one I'd had way to often over the past decade. I slid quietly out from under the covers, still shaking from the dream, sweat pouring down my face. I hoped my midnight ordeal wouldn't waken Oakheart.

But no sooner had I reached the window, when he was beside me. For several minutes, we just stood there, staring out at the pouring rain together. Gradually my heart began to settle, and I shivered involuntarily in the cool damp air. Oakheart put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close.

"Bad dream again?" He murmured quietly. 

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

"Sometimes it helps to talk about it.."

I nodded silently again. I had never talked about the dream, or about that terrible night, not even to Zephyr. Maybe Oakheart was right. Maybe it was time to tell someone.

"The dream.. I.. I think it's about the night the island was destroyed.." I began hesitantly, my voice barely above a whisper.
"I was maybe eight. It was the worst storm I had even seen. I remember running through the storm, trying to find my mom. It was so dark, and I was lost. I know it sounds silly, getting lost on such a small island, but back then, it seemed so much bigger. Anyway, I ran and ran until I was out of breath. The last thing I remember is falling face down in the mud. The next thing I knew, I was safe on top of the hill with Zephyr, and Summerwind, and Marten and Wren.
We waited there, shivering in the rain, all night long; and in the morning, everything was gone. The water had washed away everything but the shells of the buildings. And worst of all, our parents, and all the other adults - all gone."
"I"m so sorry, love. Such a burden to bear - you've been alone here since you were eight?" Oakheart pulled me close. I nodded, and began to shiver violently in the chill air.

He gently helped me back into bed, rubbing his hands on my arms to warm me.

"You're very brave, you know that?" He smiled and squeezed my hand. 

I didn't feel brave, and told him so. I told him about the dream, and he wondered why I dreamed of Lupa, when I didn't remember her being there that night.

"She must have had something to do with the disaster, that's all I can think of. She must have done something bad that I can't remember." 

"Maybe, but there could be another explanation. Have you ever asked her?"

"What? No!"

"Maybe you should."

I didn't answer, and eventually his arms around me comforted me enough to fall asleep, just before dawn.

The next morning he was back from his garden bright and early, just as I finished my morning spells.
"Wait outside, I want to show you something," he crowed excitedly.
He disappeared into the small storage room under the stairs for a few minutes. I could hear chopping sounds and excited laughter as I waited with great anticipation.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.
"It's a garden salad! I learned the recipe from my mom. The lettuce and tomato plants in the garden are finally producing! Well? Do you like it?"
I hesitantly took a small bite.
"Oh my! This is delicious! We have to tell everyone!"

I spread the word, and soon everyone met at the little garden plot, to witness the first harvest.

"What are those?" I questioned as Oak moved on to some flowering plants in another section of the garden. "They don't look like food."
He laughed delightedly. "You're right, they're not. I think you'll like them, though."
He pointed. "Wolfsbane, Mandrake, Red Valarian. I saw recipes in your books for potions made with these. Maybe you could try making some."
"Wolfsbane? Did you say wolfsbane? What does that do? It sounds like it keeps wolves away."
Oak just smiled and shrugged.
"I'm sorry, I don't know. I've never used them."
I sighed. Sometimes I wondered about him. He didn't seem to have any fear of the wolves, and only kept away from all the abandoned community buildings because of his deal with Lupa.

Speaking of Lupa, just as the group was breaking up, there she was, just standing there at the edge of the garden, watching, waiting...

She seemed inordinately please about something. Oak thought it was because the harvest was starting to come in, but I just knew she was up to something..

I begged Oak to plant some of that wolfsbane around the doorways of our little cottage. I was so excited to see them flowering. I hoped they would keep the wolves away.
"I'm not sure about that, love," Oakheart cautioned. "I think maybe you should check your books again."
I nodded absently, but books are really not my forte. I'd much rather just figure things out on my own.

I did find a recipe using the wolfsbane, though. It was hard for me to tell from the description exactly what the potion did, but I could figure that out later.

A little of this, a little of that, and a lot of wolfsbane. This potion just had to keep wolves away. Why else call it wolfsbane?

Success! Now to wait for an opportunity to try it out.

I didn't have long to wait. The very next evening Lupa showed up at our doorstep. She seemed even more disagreeable that usual, if that was possible. I also noticed she was gaining weight, and not just a little, either. I guess all that food Oak's been giving her has been going all to her waist.
"I'm here for my food, witch."
I kept glancing back and forth from her to the wolfsbane plants and back again. Oak was right. They didn't seem to be having any effect at all.

In that case, it was time to test out my new potion. Hmm.. let's see.. there was no way I was going to talk her into drinking it. Without thinking, I grabbed it and tossed it at her feet.
"What are you doing, witch? I swear you'll suffer if you..."

"...Oh.. how nice. I feel so... wide awake.. and.. full of energy... I'll just pick up my food and be out of your way."
Oh dear. The potion appeared to have the opposite effect than I had intended.

She even had a smile of sorts for me as she snatched Oak's tomatoes and faded off into the trees.

In the following days, the garden continued to grow, and mushrooms began to sprout in the shade under the maturing fruit trees.

...and almost every day, Oak would bring home some new and interesting ingredient that he had found for my potions. I was really starting to enjoy all the mixing and distilling, and took a new interest in reading my books, searching for new recipes.

When Oak wasn't in his garden, I could always find him at the edge of the sea, line in the water. One day he came home with a luminous salamander! He thought I might need it for something. I couldn't think what, but I kept it just in case.

When I wasn't working on my potions, I wandered around the island, picking wildflowers and visiting my friends.
As I held the pretty pink blossom, I thought of how our lives had taken such an amazing turn since Oakheart had arrived. For the first time since the great storm, we had more food than we could eat. We had an uneasy but workable truce with the wolves. And I had time and energy to enjoy little things - like wildflowers!

And then one day, when I stopped in to say hello to Wren, I had the biggest surprise of them all. Wren was holding a tiny little.. baby boy!
"What... how... is he..?"
Wren's grin grew big enough to split her face.
"Yes, he's ours.. mine and Marten's. This is Eagle. Eagle, meet Moonflower. Look how big and strong he is! It's all that wonderful food from your Oakheart's garden. Isn't it, Eagle."
She nuzzled her baby boy, and Eagle face lit up in a wiggly baby smile. And here I thought that all that food was just making her fat, like Lupa.

That night, as Oak and I settled in for some serious pre-sleep fun, it suddenly came to me. What if Lupa wasn't getting fat? What if she was breeding more wolves? What was I going to do about that? As if on cue, I glanced up and noticed Lupa on our balcony, creepily staring in the window at us. Oak got up and gave her a watermelon to make her go away, but by that time the mood was ruined.

I didn't sleep much that night, worrying about packs of baby wolves roaming the world. Or perhaps I was coming down with something. Whatever the reason, I spent the better part of the night holding my poor stomach and moaning. By morning I was sure I was dying....