Otherworld

The Calm Before the Storm

Dawn neared the horizon, and we still had found neither hide nor hair of my friends. We searched the shoreline first but found nothing. Then, Croix suggested heading back to the camp to look for anything that could help.

Arriving back, we found that the camp looked like it had been untouched. The mess that was there before was gone, and everything seemed just as it was before. I unzipped Melody’s tent and saw her sleeping there. That couldn’t be right… I flashed my confusion at Croix, who similarly gazed at Shawn’s form.

He shook his head. “This is wrong, Gwen. They don’t feel human.” Croix met my eyes in all seriousness before he broke away, thinking out loud. “It could be… No. Those shouldn’t be able to come here… I have not seen them in decades .”

“What are you going on about?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer. I wrang my hands out nervously.

Croix sat back on his heels and sighed. “Changelings. Which would mean they’re in my realm. The Otherworld.” He rubbed his face with his palm.

“Like the things that steal babies in Irish folktales?” I asked in disbelief. I’d read about them in one of the many lore books in my fairytale collection. It was a favorite of mine, but how far fetched could we get? “There is no way someone nearly fully grown can be replaced.” Not according to that book.

“You’ve seen a lot of strange things already, and THIS is what you are choosing not to believe? Come on, Gwen. Yes. Changelings. We didn’t have them this side of the world as you said, but as with human migration, it would make sense for other beings to do the same. I cannot think of another explanation. At least it buys us some time. The changelings will mimic everyday life. Nobody but us will know they are missing. As horrible as this sounds, we must keep it this way. The plan is pretty straightforward. We are going to pretend we know nothing for as long as it takes to find Melody and Shawn.”

Croix insisted it should only take a few days tops. It also gave me a little bit of time with my family before I went. Anything could happen while I was gone. According to those books, I could come back with years having passed, and my family long gone. Or even more likely, I would fail and perish. I could not leave like that.

                                                                                      *

My mother stood out in the back yard, hanging fresh linen on the clothesline to dry to sunkissed perfection. I was busy putting the camping gear away as my father collected whatever was ripe in the garden. Derrik helped him by plucking all of the tomato worms he could find out of the vegetables and tossing them into a bucket. My father could use them for fishing later. He claimed pike would eat anything though I never saw him catch any off a tomato worm before.

“Gwendolyn, come help me over here when you finish. I need to go pick up your grandmother and take her into town today.” By town, mom meant Badaxe, though Harbor Beach was closer. “She has an appointment, so I expect you to make dinner tonight. Don’t make a mess of the kitchen. Derrik, you can help her. No excuses and no Gameboy until after dinner. You hear me?”

“Yes, Mom.” We both said in unison. It’s not like my dad was going to be gone. But he had a bit of work out in the barn still. His favorite tractor, a small John Deer, was on the fritz again. He delighted in fixing it himself.

I took over for her soon enough. It was not near noon yet, but the day was oddly windless and the sun beamed down unforgivingly. Without humidity, it was unbearably hot. When everything was up on the lines, I headed back inside and opened the windows in hopes of coxing the air move about the rooms and cool them, pulling it in with fans. Mom would kill me if I turned on the AC. Not when we could save money.

With the chores of the day done and still a few hours before dinner, I called my brother from the kitchen window. “Hey Derrik, wanna go get ice cream? My treat.” I had been saving up, and I could spare a few bucks for a sweet treat. Who knew when I would be able to again. I wanted to make my brother smile at least once before Croix, and I left.

“Really? Want me to ask dad if we can go?”

“Yeah. Ask him if he wants anything too. Like pop or something.” I leaned over the sink as I waited for Derrik to run to the barn and back. A smirk crawled across my lips as I watched him trip up the path. “Careful.”

Derrik returned after a few minutes, huffing heavily. “He said we could as long as we make sure we do what mom said. And he said he wants a Moon Mist.”

“Alright. Wash up first and get some shoes.” I told him. He was filthy from being in the garden. Plus, I suspected he had been playing down in one of the drainage ditches cutting along the edge of our yard and one of the cornfields. He wasn’t bringing all of that dirt in my precious truck.

We headed into Harbor Beach, hunting down the best place to get a few scoops. We settled for the Anchorage. They always piled on the ice cream like they didn’t care how much you got. Derrik got superman, and I just had to get my favorite flavor: Bear claw. It was dark chocolate with chocolate-covered cashews and caramel mixed in. From what I knew, Michigan was the only state you could find it in since it was created to promote the Sleeping Bear Dunes near Travers City.

From there, I took my brother down Trescott so we could look out over the calm waters as we finished up our snack. “Isn’t that your boyfriend?” Derrik pointed past the flagpole in the park’s center. I blinked. Croix was heading back in from the end of the pier.

“He’s just a friend,” I replied, blushing faintly. Where did he even get that idea from?

Derrik, being the embarrassing little weirdo he was, hung out of the window on his side of the truck. “Hey, Croix.” He called. “Wanna come eat with us?” He flailed his arms around like he was a fly trying to escape a hot car.

“Derrikkkkkk…” I protested, and he flashed me a knowing grin. I sank down in my seat and attempted to fade away.

Croix came up to the truck and leaned on Derrik’s side. “Sure. What are we having?” He asked, scrubbing a hand over Derrik’s fluffy hair.

“Mom said Gwenny has to cook, so it’s not gonna be anything special.”

I elbowed him for that one. “Well, I was thinking about making hamburgers and fries. My parents won’t mind if you want to stay for a bit.” I said. I couldn’t say no, thanks to Mr. Lets-stick-our-nose-where-it-don’t- belong. Did Croix actually eat?

“Sounds great to me. I have to talk to you anyway, Gwen. Move over a bit, squirt.” He told Derrik and opened the door.

“Ohhh. Gwen, can I ride in the back? Please?” My brother turned to me and laced his fingers together.

“You know we live on a dirt road, don’t you?”

“Uh-hu. I don’t care.”

“Fine. But you have to have your back against the cab the whole time and sit. On your butt. If I see you standing up or anything, I will stop this truck, and you will be in so much trouble that you’ll wish Mom was punishing you. Got it?”

“I promise.” He said, giving me the “scouts honor” fingers.

While Derrik climbed into the truck bed, Croix hopped in and buckled up.

After stopping to grab Dad’s drink, we headed back towards the farm, taking all of the backroads to prolong the drive. I thought Derrik would enjoy the fact that I took Shock road, which I was sure was one of the only hilly roads on this side of the county. A grin spread over my face as I heard him cry “Weeeee,” down each rollercoaster-like hill.

“We should go speak to the Lake Mother. I think she will be able to help us.” Croix said, rubbing his chin. “It’s best that we leave when we aren’t missed. Just in case. So, the middle of the night.”

“You’re probably right. How long are we going to pretend everything is fine? I mean, how are you so sure nothing’s happened to Melody and Shawn yet?” I chewed my lip. I still didn’t understand much of Croix’s world.

“I think the Dark ones know you are going to come after them. Why would they get rid of the only bargaining chips they have?” He had a point. I wasn’t so sure, though.

Even with the detour, I managed to get us back far before dad wanted us home. I figured it was a good time for them to meet. Croix met my mother just before the camping trip, but my dad hadn’t gotten home yet at that time. So together, we walked out to where my father was working on his tractor. He was actually laying on an old cardboard box underneath it, covered in grease, checking its tires for any issues.

“Dad, I brought ya someone I want you to met. And your Moon Mist.”

My father pushed himself out from underneath the tractor and sat up. “Open that for me, please, Gwen. My hands are slick.”

I popped the cap and handed the drink down to him as he eyed Croix. “Ah. You’re the one Bethany was talking about. She was right. No wonder Gwen likes you so much,” He held out his greasy hand. “Erving Massinger.” I cringed.

Croix took it without hesitation and shook the hand firmly, not afraid of a little oil. That seemed to impress my dad to some degree. “Croix Dubois.” He replied, using the alias he went by in school.

“Would it be okay for Croix to stay for dinner tonight?” I asked, hoping my father would not go into any more detail on my feelings. I could not tell if it was just dad’s hunch or if Derrik had gotten into my diary and flapped their gums.

My father chuckled. “I suppose so. I’m not gonna turn away someone already at my door. If your mother asks, you went to get him after you asked me.” He winked.

I rolled my eyes and nodded. I knew he was gently scolding me, but I appreciated how my father was much less abrasive than my mother. She would have tossed a royal fit. “Thanks, daddy. I will ask first next time. It was kinda a spur of the moment thing.”

“Derrik was the one who invited me.” Croix shrugged, eyeing me from the corner of his own. “I wonder why.” I was sure he knew already. He was just being nice for my sake. I cleared my throat.

Because it was so beautiful out, my father let me grill the burgers up after he got the charcoal started. I forwent making fries. Instead, I settled on roasting some early corn and bell peppers from the garden. The corn was sort of small but would eat none the less. Derrik could have let them grow a bit more for sure. No point in letting them go to waste.

I busied myself with pattying up the beef, using a recipe my grandmother taught me for a flavorful burger. Honestly, I wasn’t actually that bad of a cook. I helped mom out quite a bit, and I must have at least picked up a few tricks in that time.

When the grill was going, I watched Croix with my brother. He seemed to be pretty good at being “human.” Croix was telling Derrik a local ghost story about a girl that drowned herself near Forester. I was too far away to catch all of it. Something about a sailor and the girl’s desire to be with him though she was just a child. Croix was so animated in his epic retelling that I nearly forgot I was supposed to be watching the food.

Before anyone ate, I made a plate for Mom and stashed it in the microwave since we had no idea when she was going to be getting back. She had to take my grandmother back home. She lived closer to Ubly, the halfway point between Harbor Beach and Badaxe, than where we were.

We ate on the porch with paper plates and plastic utensils. The warm evening brought in a few clouds along with the gentle breeze I missed earlier. It was altogether a pleasant evening. After all of the cleanup, Croix and I decided to sit out in the yard after dragging out a pair of lawn chairs from the garage.

                                                                        *

“We should leave tonight,” Croix informed me, sipping on a pop. “I saw “Melody” today. It wasn’t pretty. That changling is making a mess of her life.  And today, the lakes were too calm. I would have told you in the truck, but I didn’t want to scare you while you were driving.”

I frowned and looked down into my cup. “I thought you might say that. Won’t I be missed?” I had to know how badly this could affect my family.

“Time in the Otherworld passes differently. It’s hard to say. As long as you don’t allow the world to take you, days can be mere minutes here. But as soon as you lose yourself, time will allow years to slip by uncounted. I think you can do it, though.”

“So the myths are true? Those stories where humans returning from the fairy realm come back hundreds of years after their loved ones passed out of memory? That’s such a scary thought. Croix, you would never allow that to happen to me, right? You are going with me, yeah?”

“You gonna find the place by yourself? Of course, I am. Somebody has to make sure you come back in one piece.”