A Little Adventure

I sent them outside. She protested at first.

“Don’t I need to start my homework?”

“Nope.” was my response and she scurried off to dress for the cold.

I sent her outside because for the last two weeks her sister and herself had been stuck in the classroom. The adults decided it had been too cold for outside recess. Most would agree, especially on the days where, in the morning, it had been -10, -20, -25. You see, every day has been the same. Every day they come home and while I cook dinner I say the same things, “Take care of your bag.”, Get out your homework.”, “Take care of your laundry.”, “Pick up your room.” but today I wondered – where is the magic of childhood?

In November we moved. We didn't move far. We moved from a small town to the country. There was a little creek outback. If you sat on the steps you could watch the stream glisten, while it trickled and murmured. It was appropriately named crystal creek and that name reflected the way the water sparkled and gleamed in any light. We were so excited by the magic of the spot. I thought of how the children would walk along its edge and play games of explorers. I found that had not been the case. Life is too fast. There is too much work. Too much homework. Too many things that we must do every day and so the creek that spoke life into anyone who walked next to its edges were left alone without my children finding and learning its mysteries.

“We’re ready!” Vanessa said. She was 5 and was thrilled at the idea of playing outside after school with her sister who was often too busy being responsible for such activities. Tasha came into the kitchen just after and you could see that new life had found its way into her eyes at the prospect of abandoning her homework and chores.

“Mom, how far can we go down the stream.” Natasha was being responsible, as usual, in regards to where she explored and I was feeling pretty lenient. I reflected on my unsupervised excursions in the woods as a child and in doing so I simply said,

“Just stay near the water so you can follow it back home. Be back before dark. ”They left the house and as I watch through the window I watched them running through the nearly waist-deep snow.

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I was surprised that mom allowed me the freedom that she had. It was unbelievable. Most days are so dull, especially in the winter. Most days I just sit inside and do homework. I do so much math and it’s so boring. Ness and I were just passed the fence, which was normally as far as we would go without mom. I felt odd walking down to the bank by myself. I felt big too, for right now I was the leader of not just myself but also my little sister. Most importantly Mom had trusted me to lead Vanessa and myself around in the woods and back home. The snow was shallower under the canopy of the trees and walking was much easier now than on the lawn where everything was exposed.

“Let's just walk awhile and see what we can find.” I was big on practicality and covering a lot of ground was my objective at the moment. I wanted to see if there was anything significant and I didn't want to be too distracted by the pretend play that my little sister was so interested in. Vanessa agreed, mostly to appease me, and we trudged on through the woods near the water carefully stepping over branches and crawling under fallen trees. Finally, we came to something interesting. After walking for what seemed like an hour (though it was closer to 20 minutes) we came to an especially eerie spot. A tree had fallen over the path and just beyond that, there was a very steep embankment that looked rather hazardous to navigate. We took our time crawling under the tree and lowered ourselves slowly down the rocks. We entered an area that was very different from the later part of the stream. The trees groaned and swayed. The light that had seemed bright and cold before now filtered through the cedars. It was yellow and flecks of snow glittered in it as it lightly cascaded down to the ground. Despite the freezing temperatures, there was an uncanny amount of exposed moss and this particular area was so very dense with trees that the canopy blocked out almost all of the snow and sun for that matter. There was a very large opening and what was strangest of all was that this opening seemed somewhat habitable.

“I want to go back.” Whispered Vanessa. “The trees are watching me.” What an utterly ridiculous thing to suggest. Yes, there was a little strange feeling, being there, but trees do not watch.

“No, they are not. That’s just your imagination.” I wanted to press on. The daylight was starting to fade and I knew we needed to turn back soon.

“Something is watching us. Maybe not the trees. Maybe a wolf.”

“Maybe a rabbit” I retorted. Just then I noticed a very large very ominous creature perched atop a half-rotten stump just a hundred yards ahead of us. I grabbed Vanessa’s arm. My heart beat so hard in my chest I could hear it in my ears. I opened my mouth to whisper to Vanessa when it turned to look at us. With its back facing us he turned his eyes all the way around and stared.

“What is that!?” Vanessa, unable to control herself started yelling and went running. She pulled on me so hard that I fell and she tripped over my arm.

“WHO!” The barn owl screamed and he flapped his wings once and landed in front of us. We panted, completely out of breath, convinced we would die.

I looked him over as he stood in front of us. He was much larger than an owl should be but I was sure he was a barn owl. He stood six or seven feet tall. His face was stern and serious and as white as the snow that surrounded us.

“I said WHO are you and why are you trespassing in my home?” I was so startled at a talking man-sized owl no words would even come out.

“I’m Vanessa and this is Natasha,” said Vanessa. “We were just exploring the woods behind our house.” He tilted his head, much like you’d expect an owl to do, and he seemed satisfied to an extent.

“I’m Isiah and I will be your guide.” We were both rather confused by that statement.

“Guide?”

“Yes,” he replied. He went on to explain, “Once you pass under the mossy oak you can not walk back. The old oak you crawled under is the beginning of the living forest. This is where the trees and the animals come to be real. The stream that you followed here is full of magic. It gives us great power and to protect ourselves from man. We created an entry and exit that is difficult for the normal man.” Vanessa and I looked at each other in great distress.

“Can we get home?”

“Sure sure.” The great barn owl said. “I can simply fly you.” He lowered himself down and stretched out his wing and we climbed onto his back. I felt nervous but what else were we to do? He took off and we began flying just above the treetops. I strained my eyes to see the house but I couldn’t see any.

“Where are all the houses?”

“When you passed under the log you passed through hundreds of miles. No worries though. I’ll have you close to home in a jiffy.” We rode for a while. It was so incredibly cold my toes and fingers were numb. Just as I thought I could handle it not more I saw our home. He landed quietly next to the creek just behind the fence. “Maybe I will see you again,” he said and took off before we could say thank you. I looked at Vanessa. Her cheeks were rosy red.

“Should we tell mom?”

“Tell her what?” said Vanessa. “That we met a talking barn owl?”

“Yeah. Maybe not.” We walked inside. So cold and hungry and tired.

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The girls finally came inside just as I was ready to serve dinner. They had that look in their eyes. A look that only a real adventure can spark.

“Did you have fun?” I asked

“Oh yes. We walked a ways and then came home.” They looked at each other and giggled like a secret was growing between them.

“Is that all?”

“Yes Mom.” they agreed and they ran into their room to take their snow clothes off whispering all the while.

I suspect, if I recall being in the woods correctly, that the mystery and magic of the trees and the babbling of the water brought about a reality that you can only fathom if you are little and lost in fantasy.