Dear Reader, since our last time in the forest, Lorenz and I have tried our best to think through our search for the second stone giant. Alexander pulled as many books with maps as he could find from within the Baron’s Library, in the hope that one might hold some clue for us on how to interpret the scribblings left by the little men this last winter. We looked at a big map of Olkaria that shows the whole of the forest of Greenwood, though it calls it the Aumbra forest, and we even began making our own map in the little notebook Lorenz keeps. We marked out where we had been already, alongside important features of the forest such as the ruins of Dorothy’s cottage and the grove of glowing mushrooms.
It was only when we returned to the first stone giant in the river that we… well, dear reader, I think we may have finally figured it out! But oh goodness, we won’t know until the next time we meet and I can hardly wait! Anyway, we had gone to the river and Lorenz had waded into the water to examine the stone work, trying to see if there was something we had missed. I was sitting on the bank with my feet dangling in. It was most refreshing since we had already been walking for a long time that day. There were little fish swimming about the waving reeds, and they made me think of the fish in the faery tale that had helped the tiny maid. In the story, they had pulled her up the river on a lily pad. I imagined what it might be like to travel the curving line of the river in a pretty leaf boat, like a water carriage with a whole team of minnows at the front… but oh goodness, that was it! …or at least I thought so; I had to be sure before mentioning the thought to Lorenz, so I waded over to where he stood and asked if I could see the original drawing from the little men and the map he was making in his notebook. He passed them to me, and I traced the lines with my finger.
He watched as I did so with a curious grin and asked me what I was thinking. I showed him the two images side by side and gestured down at the water running over our bare feet. Could the line at the bottom of the page be the river itself? Could the river be the path? He thought for a moment, turning his head up stream. Then he smiled widely. “That might be it…” he said. “Yes! That could certainly be it!” Oh, he looked so happy, and hurried back to the bank to pull on his boots. He wanted to the follow the river right that moment, and I giggled at his renewed energy, but sadly the day was almost done. Lorenz made me promise we would try again next week on his free day. “Bright and early” I agreed, and he said he would hold me to my word.
Before he returned to the manor house, I asked him to follow me back to the cottage and gave him the little bottle of Hope I had tailored especially for him. His cheeks flushed and he said he had only been teasing me the other day. I placed it in his hands. Joke or not, I had wanted to make it for him. But perhaps he wouldn’t need it much now, especially if we are correct about the river. He smirked and nodded in agreement.
Dear reader, I do hope we are right! While I have been patient during our searches thus far, now a week seems such a long time to wait. I wonder how Lorenz will enjoy his Remedy; I had a rather fun time mixing it up with what I thought would work best for him. I included Impressions like those of tiny seeds, and new buds, and fresh leaves on the trees. To me they seem filled with promises for the future. Now we shall see if our new idea blooms as well.