I have had a lot of surprises this fall and this week proved to be no different. Some of them were small. I found a beautiful feather one evening when I was out walking with Flame near the forest, and then the next evening we saw the owl who had left it behind. She soundlessly swooped over our heads to land in a nearby tree, and we watched her as she watched us, face pale as the moon with eyes as black as night. Goodness, little moments like that stay with you a long time. But then there are the big moments which surprise you, not because of what happens, but because of how they change things, and this week I think they changed things a little for the better.
Mr. Leland and I had agreed to go see Dorothy and Tibbs again yesterday, but I was a bit puzzled when he said he would meet me there. I though perhaps it was because he might be late, but after making my way to the little clearing, goodness, I saw he was already there, and he was working splitting logs. He was dressed very differently, in practical clothes, like Davy or the other men I see in the the village. I was very surprised and when he noticed me he waved before continuing on with his work. I went inside and asked Dorothy what was going on; she cheerily told me that he had wanted to pay her back for healing his leg, so she’d put him to work, cutting up the trees which had died and fallen over. She would need the fuel for the winter. Well, dear reader, I was rather impressed. Somehow I had thought that he, being a gentleman of high society, might think himself above such tasks… I was glad to find he was not.
When Mr. Leland came inside, we asked the old witch if she knew anything about the wisps we had seen. She rubbed Tibbs behind his ears. Oh yes, she knew about the little blue flames. Dorothy had heard stories of them when she was growing up, and back then they’d been called Willie Wisps. “They are the ones that lead me to this stone house” she explained, “after I left my village”. She said they were like the little fall guides of the forest. It made sense then that they had shown Elise to her scarf. But why were there stories of them leading people astray, and what were they trying to lead us to? She said it wasn’t necessarily something that was lost; they tried to lead folks to what they needed.
When we were saying goodbye to Dorothy and Tibbs, and as she lit a lantern, what should jump from the wick but another dancing blue flame. “Well Miss Sonya”, Mr. Leland said to me, “Shall we see what it is that we need?” So with a little laugh we followed the wisp into the trees.
As the two of us walked Mr. Leland thanked me again for having brought Dorothy to heal his leg. When I replied “You are most welcome, Mr. Leland” he noted that I did not call Elise or Davy “Mister” or “Missus”. So I said that I usually only saved that for my older friends, like Mrs. Hume, but even then there were exceptions like Mary Colson and Dorothy. It seemed as though he might say more, but just then we saw where the wisp had led us: to the stone giant.
The river was almost dried up after the summer heat and the ball of light came to rest at the base of the statue. We moved closer and the wisp actually went into the stone, vanishing. Goodness, the rock glowed for a moment and sort of melted away leaving behind a small hollow, like a shelf, and inside was an object tied in a cloth pouch. Mr. Leland carefully lifted and unwrapped it. There was a key, the length of my hand, with the image of a figure surrounded by vines on one side. On the other, the vines formed a delicate design that looked most familiar. It took me a moment, and then I recognized it. The same pattern had been carved into the giant; the same was on the magic mirror.
Mr. Leland was very excited with our discovery, though neither of us knew what the key might be for. He kept asking questions, about the giant, about the key, about the people who might have made them… but, well, I was distracted with my own question: should I tell him about my mirror? I had only told Auntie Ember and Lettie, and the magic mirror has become such an important part of my life… something personal. I decide that if we were going to explore the forest together we had to be honest with one another, and he had already proven himself to be trustworthy. More than that! Mr. Leland had shown kindness to Alexander, he had kept Dorothy’s secret, and he had been humble enough to help her with her chores when most men of his standing would have laughed at the thought. So I showed him the mirror.
He listened carefully as I told him the story of how I had found it and of all it could do. He seemed to understand how important it was to me because when I offered it to him for further study he declined, saying “I appreciate your trust, but I will leave the mysteries of the mirror for you to discover”.
Before he returned to the manor house for the evening, he said I could call him Lorenz if I liked, as he was not an old man and he hoped that, after everything we had seen together that evening, I might consider him a friend. He considered me one. Oh goodness, that made me smile and I told him that certainly I would use his name.
Dear reader, Mr. Leland… I mean Lorenz has kept the key for now. He said he would like to study the designs and see if they might hold any special meaning. I hope he is able to find something, and as for myself, well goodness, it was exciting to follow the wisps. Not only did we find a mysterious key, but I think we have found a new friendship in each other.