4- The Mountain Game

As soon as Luke was able to walk, he learned to run. His determination to keep up with his older brother propelled his development forward. As music played energetic music through the television speakers, Matthew and Luke chased each other around the coffee table, then the island in the kitchen. The nonstop giggling slowly grew in volume as their little legs moved faster.

Mommy opened the back door to let Butch out and both Matthew and Luke bolted toward the opening to the outside when they were stopped by Mommy. “No, we can’t go outside right now. It’s just starting to rain.” Sure enough a sudden downpour from a darkened sky threw water down onto the lawn and onto Butch who darted back to the safety of the covered patio to shake out the water from his fur. He turned and looked miserably out at the sodden yard. Luke attempted to crawl under Mommy’s legs, but she picked him up easily and guided Matthew away from the door so Butch could run back in to safety. Thunder rumbled in the sky as she closed the door and put Luke down.

Matthew and Luke pressed their hands and faces against the cold glass of the back door and watched in disappointment as their hope for going outside faded. All their previous energy fell away.

Mommy looked at them sympathetically and grabbed the remote. “Do you want to have a dance party?”

Luke shook his head back and forth, “Nooo.”

Matthew pouted. “I don’t want a dance party. I want to watch a show.”

Mommy put her hands on her hips and looked down at him. “You just had a bunch of energy, Matthew. I don’t think you should be sitting on the couch doing nothing. Go play with brother. Go do something. You could play in the big box your grandparents brought you. You haven’t played with it since the first day they brought it.”

Disappointed that he wouldn’t be watching TV, Matthew walked to his room. The big box his Mommy had mentioned sat in the corner. It was large and made from cardboard. He had decorated the inside with stickers and Mommy had added lights to the top. The lights were off at the moment and the lid flap had fallen from its prop and hung flimsily down over the opening. He didn’t want to play in the box, he wanted to play outside. The darkness from within seemed to beckon to the dark mood that had so quickly replaced his joy. Maybe he would sit in the box and sulk.

Matthew crawled under the flap and heard Luke come in the room with a giggle. His dark mood slowly began to be replaced with curiosity as he continued past the pillows and blankets, trying to find the back. As he crawled further in, the lights on the top began to light up, guiding his way through. Excitement began to build as the possibility to play outside became more and more of a reality. He crawled along faster, hearing the echo behind him as Luke followed. An adventure was before them and he could not wait to see what would happen next. The colorful lights faded away as natural light showed the end of the tunnel. Matthew blinked to let his eyes adjust to the light. Once he could finally see, he looked around in awe. He had emerged from the side of a grassy hill. Looking to either side of him he saw a dirt trail that kept straight to his right and then turned to disappear in some tall brown grass. Trees lined both sides and some long logs circled around an abandoned firepit. Looking to the left, the path turned, following a line of more tall brown grass and going up a hill. He couldn’t see anything beyond that and was curious to see where the path led. Luke emerged behind him, sniffing around with a shiny black nose. He had once again transformed into a brown-haired puppy with his big green eyes. It was incredible! If Matthew had known the box would have brought him here, he would have come sooner! Without a second thought, Matthew charged up the hill to see what was on the other side. Luke barked and scampered to run after him. After months of running around on two legs, it was strange for Luke to be running on all fours again.

What lay beyond that hill was a large open space. A chain fence ran along the opposite edge and sectioned off some flat land from a field beyond. On the flat land were three large hills. As Luke rolled down to join Matthew, they heard laughing and realized they were not alone.

A girl came running down from a hill with two skinny trees and skidded to a halt before Matthew. She wore a big smile and had blue eyes. “Welcome to The Mountains of the Three Sisters! I’m Meggie! I’m the Chief, I’m the eldest, and I’m head of exploration!”

“Wow, that’s a lot,” said Matthew.

“Well there’s a lot to do here!” Meggie responded proudly.

Two other girls came running up and Meggie introduced them. The tall girl with the glasses and curly hair was Rachel and the one with the dark brown hair and dark brown eyes was Ruthie. They each smiled as they were introduced.

“And who are you?” Ruthie asked.

“I’m Matthew and this is my brother, Luke.”

Ruthie looked at Matthew and then the little brown-haired dog and shrugged. “Okay.” She picked up Luke in her arms and giggled. "He's so cute!"

“Come on, we’ll give you a tour,” Meggie said, waving them to follow. She took them to the hill with the two trees, which also happened to be the smallest. “This is called the Tree Mountain. It’s my house! The living area is up here,” she took them to the top of the hill and showed a patch of grass under one of the trees. “And this used to be my room but now it’s a trampoline!” They moved back down toward the middle of the hill where a large square of plywood lay across a bowl-shaped section in the ground. “Look!” Meggie stepped out on the wood and began jumping up and down.

Matthew laughed and joined her. He didn’t jump very high but it was pretty fun. They all took turns jumping on the wood for a little while. Then Matthew asked, “Where next?”

Rachel took the lead and led them over to the widest hill. It was covered in cattails and dead grass where a dirt path ran along the top from one end to the other. “This is my house. I call it Dirt Mountain. It’s really fun to run up the side and down the other! It’s even more fun on a bike but we didn’t bring any today.”

Laughing, they all ran up Dirt Mountain and a unanimous “weeeeee” sounded from them as they let their legs carry them over the hill. It reminded Matthew of a slide and was nearly as fun.

By the time they had reached the bottom, Matthew’s cheeks were flushed from the exertion and excitement. He couldn’t imagine what kind of fun the third sister held with her mountain. He looked at the massive rock pile before them. It was by far the tallest of the hills. “This must be your mountain, Ruthie,” Matthew exclaimed.

Ruthie’s excitement slowly disappeared from her face. “Yep, that’s mine. It’s called Rock Mountain.”

Matthew ran up to the top, looking around to see what fun was waiting for him. Ruthie followed with Meggie and Rachel waiting at the bottom. She set Luke down at the top. “Wow, this is amazing!” said Matthew.

“Well this is where I have tea parties with my bear. I just sit up here when it’s time for bed. It’s not very fun.” Ruthie sat on the rocks, grabbing Luke back up and cradling him in her arms.

Matthew hardly heard her. He was amazed at the view the Rock Mountain gave. Rocks were everywhere! The way they ran from one end of his vision to the other made him think of a wide river but he did not see any water. On the opposite side was a steep grassy bank lined with tall trees. Part of him yearned to follow the rocks from one end to the other. He would have set off right then but was already having fun with the sisters and the mountains. He turned to look each direction. He could see how small the Tree Mountain and Dirt Mountain looked from his position. He felt like he was on top of the world.

Ruthie smiled at the look of wonder on his face. “Yeah I guess it isn’t so bad.”

Matthew looked down at her suddenly. “How can I get a mountain?”

“Follow me, little sir,” called up Meggie, motioning them to follow.

Matthew, Ruthie and Luke scrambled down the rocky hill and followed Meggie and Rachel across the large area to an opening in the chain link fence. Matthew gasped as he saw a treehouse almost hidden from view in a massive tree. Meggie approached it but they didn’t climb up. “This is the Town Hall. We have our meetings here but there are spiders and the wood is broken in a lot of places so we never have meetings. Right this way.” She continued past the tree to a spot along the path where a few broken cement slabs had been abandoned. “This is the bank.”

Rachel sat down at one giving the impression of a desk. She drew out a feather and paper and gestured for Matthew to sit across from her. He sat nervously as she wrote in silence. The feather scratched with each mark she made. Finally she turned the paper toward him. “You have been given the rights to find and purchase property on our land. Sign here if you accept.” She pointed at the bottom of the page and Matthew made a mark with the feather. Rachel smiled and rolled the paper up and stowed it under the cement. “When you have found your property, you will return here with payment and it will be yours.”

Matthew frowned at the mention of payment but was too excited to let it ruin his chance to find his own mountain. He looked back beyond the fence and counted, his smile fading more. One, two, three mountains. No more, no less. Each one already had an owner. “How am I going to find my own mountain?”

Meggie made a show of switching hats. “We’re going on an adventure! Let’s go hunt for some property!”

Matthew’s happiness returned and he jumped up to follow.

“This fence divides the area to keep work away from play. As the head of all things legal, the bank is where Rachel works.” Meggie looked around. “Yep, that’s about it on this side.” She pointed at the grassy field. “You can walk through the field but it’s kinda boring out there so we keep to the other side of the fence.” They returned to the play area. “The only way to get here is from the path you took to get here. There are a couple mountain options over there if you’re interested. We also have a number of smaller mountains behind mine.” She led the way to Tree Mountain and Matthew was surprised to see the number of hills that were spread out beyond. They were far smaller than the hills the girl’s had. “These are where the town folk live.”

Matthew looked at each of the empty, grassy hills and nodded, pretending to understand.

“If you are interested in any of these, we can work that through the bank.”

Matthew shook his head and even Luke made a noise that sounded like “nooo”. “Do you have any other options?” asked Matthew.

Maggie smiled. “I do! However the only one I have left was one I discovered upon conducting an expedition to scout out the surrounding land. To get to this final mountain we must first travel through the forest.” She pointed across the way from Tree Mountain toward a dense clump of trees.

A slow smile spread on Matthew’s face. “Cool!”

Meggie led the way over to the forest and pointed out a narrow path. It wound through the tall trees and shaded them from the sun. The temperature had even dropped slightly. “If you follow that path, there’s a small area that is hidden by bushes for privacy. It’s a cool place to play!”

They picked their way through until finally they emerged into a large clearing. The grass was soft and green and ran right up to another stone pile, bigger if possible, than Ruthie’s. Matthew immediately had the impression of a great stone castle. A nice green moss covered the majority of the stones. Matthew and Luke bounded to the top, being careful not to slip. A dirt mound dropped next to the rocks had melded together over time and the grass that covered the dirt was ideal to be his home. Luke rolled around in delight. He could be the king of his own castle. “We’ll take it!” They slipped back down the mountain.

Meggie smiled in excitement. “Excellent! Let’s get back to the bank so Rachel can complete your paperwork!” Meggie bounded off ahead of them as Matthew paused at the edge of the clearing. He looked back at the mountain he wanted to have as his own. The green grass and shadows from the trees were such a contrast from the dry dirt under the sun where the sister’s mountains were. It was like an oasis in a desert. Yet if he could not make a payment, he hoped he would be okay to let it go. Perhaps then he could settle on one of the dry grassy hills that were behind Tree Mountain.

Rachel was waiting for them at her cement desk. She had drawn up another paper and was tapping her feather as she waited for him to return to the spot opposite her. She stared through her glasses at him expectantly. “Well, Matthew, have you found property?”

“I have,” Matthew swallowed, “But I have no way to pay.”

Rachel smiled. “You are at the bank! You can make payments each month with added interest but that would mean we would have to complete a comparative market analysis and do a survey of the land or…” she paused to pick something up from the ground, “you can just pay the bank these rocks.”

Matthew looked at the handful of gray rocks in disbelief. “I’ll go with the rock thing.”

Rachel set the rocks on the desk with a nod. “Good choice. Now I’ve just about finished your paperwork. I just need your signature at the bottom and a name for your mountain home.”

Matthew thought about his mountain, contemplating different choices but unsure which to choose. The obvious choice was Moss Mountain. It had a nice ring to it. But it was also hidden and was uniquely shaded by the shadows from the trees. Secret Mountain? Or Shadow Mountain? He looked down at Luke and then it came to him. “Brother Mountain!”

“Excellent!” Rachel made the annotation and handed him the feather to make his mark.

Matthew rose, feeling very much as if he had become a man. He strutted over confidently to Meggie, sticking his thumbs in the belt loops of his pants. “I’m a property owner now. I own Brother Mountain!”

Meggie clapped her hands together. “I love it! And that’s so sweet that you are sharing your mountain with your brother.”

Matthew looked down at Luke. “Ah, he can get his own mountain when he gets older.” Luke yipped in agreement.

“Well if you want a job I think I have the perfect one for you.” Meggie brought a sharpened stick out from behind her back. “You can be the hunter! Living in the trees will give you plenty of hunting options. Plus with your Luke, you both will be a great unit!”

“Okay,” said Matthew, taking the stick and weighing it in his hand. He was liking the idea more and more.

“We can have a party tonight under the stars to celebrate your achievement in joining us! Ruthie is in charge of food and is making us something special tonight!”

Matthew’s stomach rumbled at the thought of food.

Meggie laughed. “I guess you better start hunting!” She turned and made her way back to Tree Mountain.

“Come on Luke!” Matthew turned back to the trees and made his way back to Brother Mountain. It looked even more glorious than before now that it was all his. They made their way to the top and Matthew jammed the stick into the dirt. “What are we going to hunt?” He sat down, watching a squirrel run up a tree. Birds sang in the branches above him and a rabbit made its way across the clearing. “I know! Let’s get some crackers from the kitchen.” Luke followed Matthew back down Brother Mountain and out of the trees. He could see Meggie bouncing away on her wooden trampoline at Tree Mountain. Rachel was counting rocks on the top of Dirt Mountain and Ruthie was sitting at the top of Rock Mountain, stirring some tea. Matthew walked over the little hill that had led him to The Mountains of the Three Sisters and followed the path that led to the opening back to his room. He turned back, considering staying longer, but he thought he could smell bacon through the opening. Luke took off before him, barking wildly and disappearing into the darkness. Matthew quickly followed, excited to get some food and water.

“Looks like you two had a lot of fun!” Mommy glanced up as Luke ran into the kitchen. She frowned as she put them in their seats at the table. “Why are you two so dirty? That can’t have all come from the box.” She shrugged. “I guess you’re getting baths after lunch.”

Matthew gulped down the water she put before him greedily as Luke did the same. It leaked out onto their fronts but they didn’t care. Matthew then looked around for the bacon but found none. Instead Mommy placed before him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They munched away happily as Mommy picked up a slim package from the table.

“Oh, it’s from your aunt!” Opening the box she pulled out three framed pieces of art. “Oh wow! Look, your auntie drew these! This is from when we used to play in the channel.” She turned the three frames to show ink drawings of three hills: one with two trees, one with grass and dirt and the last with rocks. On each of the hills was a girl. “This one was me,” Mommy said, pointing to Tree Mountain. “Here’s Aunt Alyssa,” she pointed at Dirt Mountain, “and your Auntie Amy,” ending at Rock Mountain. She looked at each of the prints with a smile on her face. “Those were the days.” With a sigh she set them on the table. “I’ll put those up later.”

Matthew looked at the prints with wide eyes. “Luke and I have Brother Mountain!” he said proudly.

Mommy looked at him lovingly. “That is so sweet, Matthew!” She glanced at the prints again before getting up. “I so wish I could take you to the channel but it is not what it used to be.” She left to start on the laundry as Matthew finished the sandwich.

He crawled down from his chair and went to find a paper and crayon. Butch was snoring loudly as he went back to the table to draw. His tongue stuck out from the side of his mouth in concentration. Matthew set the finished product down next to the Rock Mountain picture. Then he turned to Luke. “Never forget Brother Mountain.”

Luke giggled, peanut butter and jam spread all over his cheeks. Matthew looked back at his crayon drawing of his mountain surrounded by trees. On the top was the figure of little Matthew and a pup that could only be Luke.