Run To the Sea
Chapter 14|
Sue Glasgow
Catherine sat alone in Vincent's chamber waiting for him to return. He had brought her here from Father's study to wait for him while he finished his arrangements.
The room felt empty and quiet, as if it had already been vacated. She had brought her book bag with her when Father had sent for her, and now she put the pack on Vincent's bed and sat in silence. She found it impossible to believe he was leaving. Even in the times when she had not seen him for days at a time, there had been comfort and security in knowing he was never far away and that his empathetic contact with her was a constant connection between them. Now they were to be separated by both distance and the suppression of their bond. For the first time since he had given her his copy of "Great Expectations" she felt truly alone.
Father's arguments came flooding into her thoughts, and she pushed them away. She could not deal with them right now.
Her eyes wandered over the signs of Vincent's packing. A large leather bag lay on a chair, and supplies, gloves, and articles of clothing were assembled on a second chair. Ropes, a lantern, and a container of fuel oil were on the table, along with his current journal, a canteen, and several cooking utensils. He had told her he was borrowing a second shoulder pack from Winslow, and she could expect someone to deliver it while she was here.
Slowly she crawled off the bed and put her small pack on the table. Remembering one more item she wanted to send with him, she returned to the book shelf over his bed seeking her copy of "300 Days". It was there, just as she had known it would be, and somehow she also knew he had never read it. She took it to the table and unsnapped her pack to slip the book in beside her copy of "The Fable of the Owl Woman". Thoughtfully, she pulled out the fable and carried it back to Vincent's bed. Sliding against his pillows, she opened the book on her lap.
She was sitting there fingering the book when Kipper and Brian arrived with Winslow's empty pack. For a second the boys hesitated at the threshold as Catherine smiled at them. "Hello, boys. Come in."
"Where's Vincent?" Brian seemed reluctant to enter.
"He will be back in a little while. He told me you were coming."
"Winslow said to give him this." Kipper brought the bag and put it on the floor near the table. He turned to Catherine. "Is Vincent really going away?"
Catherine nodded, fighting back the mist which came to her eyes.
"When?"
"Just as soon as he comes back and finishes packing."
Kipper frowned. "It'll feel weird around here without him."
Catherine nodded again, and realized her whole life was beginning to feel "weird". She took a deep breath. Sitting here looking at these children she became even more aware of the impact Vincent had upon all the people who loved him. She felt a pang of guilt. She had been so preoccupied with her own loss she had not thought of the effect his absence would have upon the children and all the Tunnel people. She straightened. "Would you boys like to wait for him and tell him goodbye?"
"Do you think it would be okay?" Brian asked.
"I am sure it would. Vincent will miss you very much while he is gone."
The two boys came to stand near the table, and an uncomfortable silence filled the chamber. Catherine smiled at them again and hunted for something else to say. She saw Brian looking at the book in her lap. The colorful cover had obviously caught his eye. She held the book up. "It's a fable, Brian. Would you like to see it?"
The boy shook his head. "No, that's okay."
"It's a book that Vincent gave me," she explained.
"Why would he give you a kid's book?" asked Kipper.
"Well, it is a children's book, but it has some very grown up ideas in it. And the pictures are lovely. Come look."
Brian was not convinced. "Naw, it looks like a girls' book."
"No...in fact it has two boys in it, just about your age." Catherine smiled at them. "I tell you what. Since we all three are waiting for Vincent, and we have nothing else to do, why don't you come over here and sit with me. I will read it to you."
Brian seemed about to run, but Kipper shrugged at him and moved to the bed. Brian frowned. "Kipper."
Kipper scrambled up beside Catherine. "Come on, Brian. She said it was Vincent's book." The other boy made a face, but in a moment he was at Catherine's side.
Nestled between the two children, Catherine opened the book and turned to the first page. "Have you boys ever seen an owl?"
"Father has a big picture of one in his bird book," Kipper volunteered.
"This is the story of how the owl came to be." She began quietly, "Once in a magic place far, far away there was a time when fairies danced in the darkest woods, and animals talked, and there was no such bird as the owl."
The second page was a picture of an enchanted forest. "In this wondrous place and time a fairy forest grew near a village where all the people were happy and good. The people gathered food in the woods and enjoyed its cool shade, but the fairies gave them one warning. On the night of the full moon the forest was forbidden to all human folk, for that was the night when the fairies danced.
"A magician named Owl Woman lived in a tiny hut at the edge of the forest. In this hut she wove marvelous spells and told the children of the village wonderful stories. She was very, very wise, and she knew the answers to all the most serious questions of life and love and why the world is like it is. Everyone knew she was a thousand years old and that the fairies shared their most enchanted secrets with her." Catherine turned the page and smiled again at the expression on Brian's face as he looked at the picture of the Owl Woman.
"She doesn't look like she is a thousand years old," he stated.
"Well, you must remember she is magic."
Kipper frowned. "Keep reading."
Catherine's voice resumed as she read through the pages, "Now in thisvillage were two young brothers who loved to ask the Owl Woman questionsabout the world and to listen to her stories about the far away places.But, more than the stories, they yearned to learn the secrets of thefairy music. And as time went by, the two curious boys could no longer resist the lure of the forbidden night in the forest."
Outside in the Tunnel a large cloaked figure approached the chamber. Hehalted and stood silently listening as Catherine told the story of the two boys who were caught spying upon the fairy dance and were then cursed to roam in the woods separated forever from their home by a ring of total darkness.
Catherine's voice continued, "Now the Owl Woman loved the children, so she begged the fairies for permission to save the lives of the boys. The fairy queen consented, on the condition that the Owl Woman would not lead the children from their wooded prison. So the Owl Woman ordered the squirrel to give the children nuts and seeds to eat. And when they were thirsty, an otter took them to clear cool water. When they were tired the Owl Woman commanded a friendly fox to share his den with them. So the boys lived in safety and comfort. But they were very lonely, and their parents mourned. So it was that the Owl Woman took pity upon the boys and decided to bend the law of the fairies. She would not lead the children home, but she would give them the magic gift of light. She extended one of her hands to each of the boys, and with her touch they suddenly could see even the darkest part of the forest, revealed by a mysterious light which lasted as long as her fingers touched them. Without her touch, the darkness returned, so they held eagerly to her hands. Seeing with her eyes, the boys led the Owl Woman out of the forest and to their home, where their parents rejoiced, and the whole village celebrated. But in the midst of the celebration, the people did not notice the Owl Woman was gone. For you see, the fairies were very angry when they found what the Owl Woman had done, and they demanded she present herself to them. In the fairy court it was decided the magician must be punished. Suddenly the Owl Woman felt her arms turn to wings, and her hair turned to feathers, and her feet left the ground. She became a great bird condemned to live in the darkness. But because the fairies still loved her, she was allowed to keep the gifts of wisdom and miraculous sight.
"Fearing the brothers might return to watch the dance again, the fairies left the woods, leaving the owl to fly through the forest alone until they should return. And to this very day you will find the owl in the deepest woods, waiting for the spell to be broken, calling in the darkness and searching with her wonderful eyes for the fairies."
Catherine turned the last page in the book and closed it.
"That was lovely, Catherine."
She looked up to see Vincent standing in the doorway.
"Vincent!" Brian jumped from the bed and ran to his massive friend. "We brought you Winslow's pack."
"Thank you." Vincent went down on one knee to be on eye level with the boy.
Kipper joined them. "Catherine said you really are going."
"Yes," Vincent affirmed.
Brian frowned. "I wish we could go with you."
"I will tell you all about it when I get back."
"How long will that be?" Kipper asked.
"If you study hard and help Mary and Father it will not seem long."
Brian pulled a well-worn candy bar from his pocket. "Here, I was saving this...but you can have it. Father says you have to take all your food with you."
"Thank you, Brian." Vincent took the gift and walked to the bag on the chair.
"Can we help you pack?" Brian followed him and peered into the bag.
Vincent put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I can handle things here. What I really need is for you both to take Winslow's pack to William in the cooking chamber. He has assembled all the food I will need, and he said he would pack it for me. Would you help him, please?"
Kipper nodded. "Okay. Will we see you before you go?"
"Father wants you in the study. I will stop by there before I leave."
"Okay." Kipper snatched up the pack, and the two boys were gone.
Vincent put the candy in his other pack and turned to the woman who sat on his bed. Attempting a brave smile, she slid from her perch, bringing her fable with her. She slipped the book into her book bag beside "300 Days" and pulled out the dried fruit and nut mix she had bought at the camping store. "I think Brian and I must think alike."
Vincent fingered the transparent sack. "That looks...interesting. Something from the Owl Woman's squirrel perhaps?" His eyes smiled.
She shrugged. "I had to give you something."
He took the sack from her and put it back in her bag beside the two O'Donnell books. Then he saw the snapshot of her at the bottom among some other packages. Removing it, he looked at it closely. "The fountain at your summer house."
"Yes. How did you know?" she asked in surprise.
"It has rainbows."
She looked at the picture and was amazed she had never noticed them before. "I wanted you to have it...so you would remember me."
He said gently, "Catherine, I could never forget you."
Her bottom lip trembled, and she bit it firmly. Vincent returned the photograph to the book bag and closed the snaps, then he put the bag into his larger pack on the chair. He began packing his other supplies. Catherine watched in silence until he was finished. At last he closed the flap on the pack and tied it shut.
Turning to her, he cocked his head and sighed. "It is time, Catherine."
"So soon?" Her eyes misted.
He nodded. "Father will be waiting for us in his study."
"With all those people." A quiet resentment flared within her. These were the people who stood between her and this being she cared for so deeply.
"Those people want to be your friends."
She shook her head. "No...they are Father's friends, and yours. No matter what we decide...even if Father does not stand in our way...I won't be welcome here. I don't belong."
He put his hands upon her shoulders. "Kipper and Brian might disagree with you. I saw their faces as you read to them just now. You are winning the children's affection. Father won't be able to resist forever."
She tried to believe him. "I hope you're right." She hesitated. "But Father's arguments were good ones." With a catch in her voice she whispered, "Father would have made a very good lawyer. What if he is right?" She looked up into Vincent's face. "If I ever thought that our bond..." Her voice broke, "I couldn't bear it if our bond ever hurt you again."
Vincent held her tightly in silence.
She asked, "We made a promise to him. Can we be certain what our decision will be?"
He pulled her away from him and looked into her eyes. "I can be certain of only one thing, Catherine. There is a tie between us which cannot be broken. Our lives are bound together in a way we do not understand. And within that bond there is a truth Father cannot comprehend. If you and I can ever discover why this bond exists, and recognize that truth...then we will have Father's answer." He touched her face tenderly. "I want you to carry that thought with you while I am gone...while I loosen the tie between us."
She whispered fearfully, "Is it still there? Do you still feel the bond right now?"
As his eyes darkened with a quiet sadness, he stroked her cheek. "Catherine, remember...you are always in my heart."
She felt the warmth of his hands, but suddenly there was a difference. She had never been aware of her half of the bond except in her dreams and for a few moments in Vincent's misery, but now an incomplete hollowness echoed somewhere deep within her. The warm place which had housed their bond was empty. She whispered, "Vincent, hold me. I can't feel you."
He pulled her head against his chest. In his concern for Catherine, he had not imagined what the suppression of the bond would do to his own heart. Holding her as she trembled quietly against him, he found the loss was almost more than he could bear. The warm security of the thread between them had become the core of his life, and for a moment he almost lost his resolve to seek his answers alone.
Catherine finally caught her breath, and she whispered, "Will you come back to me?"
He took her hands and answered her as he had the night before. "I will come back."