Country Wishes

by RaeAnne Hadley

  Hannah gazed at the moon. The legend said if you made a wish at night during the December full moon, then your true path would be revealed to you. She had made many wishes as a child and teenager, some actually coming true.

  “Hold me, Daddy, I can’t see in,” Mindy said.

  Bill handed her a coin and picked her up. A heavy metal grate covered the well to prevent accidental falls. Bill brushed away a few leaves and paper the wind had blown onto the grate. “Here you go, Sweetie. Make your wish.”

  Mindy held her coin over the well and closed her eyes. After a minute, she released the coin. It clinked as it bounced against the side of the well then splashed into the water. Mindy opened her eyes and peered into the well. “It’s so dark I can’t see anything,” she said.

  “That’s what makes it so mysterious,” Hannah said as she stepped forward and dropped in her own coin, silently wishing the same thing she did every year, that she would find her father.

  Holding her arms up to her Dad, Cindy said, “My turn.” While still in her father’s arms, she reached up and brushed snow off the small roof of the well. Hannah did the other side. Heavy flakes floated through the night sky made silver by the moon’s light. They made snow trails all the way home.

  Chapter Three

  Getting the twins to settle back into bed proved challenging. Hannah finally fell asleep. She woke abruptly when she rolled onto the floor. Again. “Rats!”

  Hannah grabbed her cell phone when it signaled a text. It was Jake! He had just landed in Denver from Boston. He couldn’t wait to see her. He wasn’t sure how much the snow would slow him down, but he was on his way to her.

  Hannah finished her shower before anyone woke up. She descended the stairs to her storage locker in the basement. Hannah dug all her Christmas decorations out. Time to decorate for Christmas, for her, for her family and for Jake.

  Her storage locker had been very organized at one point. Not anymore. She did have one good habit – she always used a permanent marker to label every box. She pulled Christmas boxes out of the locker and stacked them. The rest of the boxes were easy to reorganize and leave room for when she brought the decorations back. She always kept her camping gear closest to the door so she could search for her father as soon the snow melted.

  She put the box labeled Father on top. Dad had disappeared on Hunter Mountain. He went gold panning almost every weekend with mild success. He had been right to assume a mountain full of gold mines would mean the streams were loaded, too. The box contained her mementoes about him from the time she was little, things they had discovered on their camping trips. Her first diary of those happy times was packed inside.

  Hannah’s current diary lay upstairs in her nightstand. It contained all her efforts to search for her dad after the police had stopped. As soon as the snow melted she would search Hunter Mountain for him again even though she knew if she found him it would probably be his body she found. The thought gave her a sick stomach. She clung to the knowledge he would never have left her and Bill willingly. She loaded all the Christmas boxes unto the apartment’s dolly and rode the elevator to her apartment.

  Hannah wheeled the boxes in and found the family seated around the kitchen table eating cereal. “Good morning. Look what I’ve got. Christmas decorations.” She unloaded them and opened each box.

  “Yay!” The girls pulled out satiny balls and icicles.

  “Now we need a tree to put them on.” Hannah planted her hands on her hips.

  “Sarah and I were just discussing going out and cutting down a fresh one,” said Bill. “We can’t do anything about rebuilding our lives until we hear from the insurance adjuster. They told us to expect the wait to be several days. Getting out of town, doing something special, seems like the best thing for all of us right now.”

  “We want to go, too.” The girls jumped up and down.

  Sarah headed for the kitchen. “I’ll make some hot chocolate to take with us while you girls find your snowsuits and boots.”

  Jake pulled up as they loaded everyone into Bill’s car. Hanna’s heart beat so fast she was sure he could feel it when he hugged her. “We’re on our way to cut down our Christmas tree, you want to come?” Hannah hoped he wasn’t too tired from the flight and long drive to Hopeful. He looked wonderful to her. His dark hair a little messy from driving his pickup with the window down. To her, his blue eyes glowed when he looked at her.

  “You bet. But I need to stop for a permit so I can get my own tree.”

  “We have to get ours, too,” said Sarah. “We heard on the radio they have plenty available this year. That’s what gave us the idea.”

  After obtaining their permits and snack items, Hannah rode with Jake in his pickup. The others followed in Bill’s car. “I haven’t been to this part of Hunter Mountain in a long time.” Hannah, held up the map they were given with the permit. “Bet that means lot more choices.”

  “I heard the snow is pretty deep at the top,” Jake said. “The map is taking us around to the other side of Hunter.” Jake reached over and took her hand. “What have you been up to while I was gone?”

  Hannah felt her heart hammer in her chest. She made herself relax against him and it all came spilling out. “I told you about the fire. I was babysitting the twins so Bill and Sarah could celebrate their anniversary when their apartment building caught on fire. We barely got out in time.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay. Do they know what caused the fire?”

  Hannah told him about June not answering her door when she went to visit her. “I thought Jeremy was still in prison. She said she was afraid of him and please come over.”

  “Who is Jeremy?”

  “Jeremy and June are twins like me and Bill and that gave Jeremy the idea.” She went on to tell Jake everything Jeremy wanted and the stories her dad told them about him. “He kicked Jeremy out and told him there would never be a future between us and him.”

  “Sounds like he’s become even more dangerous if he’s been to prison. I’m glad your brother is living with you right now,” Jake said

  “Then the fire department said they found her body in her apartment. “I feel so guilty. I thought she went somewhere. I didn’t know she was still inside.”

  “There’s no way you could have known that. It’s not your fault.”

  “Thank you for that.” She leaned her head over on his shoulder.

  Jake reached around and hugged her head to him.

  “This is the turn,” Hannah pointed to the aged sign ahead that said “Wishful Mine, 1844-1907 Five miles ahead. Stay Out!”

  They drove for another two miles. The road had been plowed then snowed on another six inches. “This looks like the place,” said Jake as he pulled into a cleared area for parking. He parked between two cars. One family finished tying a tree to the top of their sedan.

  “Good morning,” Hannah called to the woman opening the door for her small daughter. “How was it? Were there lots of trees to choose from?”

  “I’ll say. We couldn’t make up our minds.”

  “Yeah, but we didn’t pick the one I wanted,” grumbled an older boy, leaning sullenly against the car.

  “Maybe next time, Hon,” said the mother. Car doors closed and they drove off.

  Bill and Sarah pulled in and parked in her place. “Yay, we’re here!” sang the girls as they climbed out with their parents.

  “Which way should we go?” asked Sarah.

  “Let’s not follow anyone’s footprints,” Bill said. “Those trees are probably picked over,”

  “My thought exactly,” Jake said. “How about that direction?” He pointed up the mountain to where the snow had not been touched.

  “Let’s go,” Cindy said.

  “Yeah,” Mindy said.

  Bill and Jake hefted saws and axes. Sarah loaded the picnic basket onto the sled.

  Ninety minutes later two spruce Christmas trees had been selected and cut down. Hannah had wanted a pinyon pine because of its strong scent,
but none grew in the area. Breathing hard from their exertion at the high elevation, the adults rested on a log and enjoyed hot chocolate. The twins, with hot chocolate mustaches, sat on the sled back-to-back with a blanket wrapped around them. Their heads laid back on each other’s shoulders while they slept. Bill and Sarah kept the sled between them with the back propped against the log in case the girls slumped down in their sleep.

  When the sled began to move, Sarah said, “You girls waking up so soon?”

  The sled slid away from them a few feet. All four adults jumped up and ran for the sled. Bill reached it first and snatched up the girls in their blanket bundle. Jake grabbed the sled and brought it back.

  Jerked awake, Cindy and Mindy began to cry. “You’re all right,” Bill said. “I’ve got you.”

  The ground trembled and grumbled beneath their feet. “Oh, no! An avalanche?” Sarah cried.

  All of them whirled around, trying to maintain their balance while the ground shook on and on. A dense forest of trees filled the uphill slope. “I can’t see it. Can you?” shouted Jake. “There’s nowhere to run.”

  They huddled together and waited. The ground stilled. Except for the girls weeping, all was silent on the mountain. Their parents held them close and assured them everything was okay.

  “I don’t think it was an avalanche or an earthquake,” said Hannah. “Do you think an old gold mine just collapsed? The sound and rumbling reminds me of when that mine collapsed not far from our campsite.”

  “You might be right,” said Bill. “That one left huge holes in the ground.”

  “Dad said underground water can wash away soil,” said Hannah.

  “It might be a mine collapse, but I’m no mine expert. Be cautious where you walk but let’s get off this mountain,” said Bill.

  Bill and Jake took the lead and dragged the Christmas trees through the snow ahead of Hannah and Sarah. They all walked single file. The men poked the ground with sticks testing the ground as they went.

  Sarah and Hannah took turns pulling the sled. Cindy and Mindy sat facing forward and wrapped in the blanket. It had begun to snow and the twins stuck out their tongues to catch the flakes. The adults searched the ground and listened intently for more signs of danger. Lord, please get us off this mountain safely.

  They reached their vehicles and decided both trees could ride in the back of Jake’s pickup rather than tie one on the top of Bill’s sedan. Hannah and Sarah buckled the girls into their car seats.

  The ground trembled again. All turned toward the slope they’d descended. Before their unbelieving eyes the slope caved into itself. Snow, trees, rocks – they simply sank to create a crater a few feet deep.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Jake shouted. He grabbed Hannah’s hand, and they dashed to the truck.

  Bill and Sarah backed out, skidding to a stop. Bill gunned the engine. The sedan fishtailed in the snow and he slowed to gain control again. Bill had his phone to his ear.

  Jake called the authorities, too. He reported where the sunken ground had suddenly appeared. By the time they reached the turn off to the highway, two park ranger vehicles passed them on their way up the mountain.

  As Jake drove, Hannah studied him. Her heart was still racing after all that happened. Yet when he reached for her hand it settled her. She admired how he stayed calm and acted decisively. They only had two dates before he went to Boston for a month to help move his mother into a nursing home. Yet she was surprised by how quickly she felt a sense of attachment with him. She had always felt connected with Bill. He was her twin and they were supposed to feel that way. When Bill met Sarah, Hannah knew they were perfect for each other, and Hannah had never felt threatened by that. But she had never felt an attachment with any other human being except their father. Their mother died giving birth to them so Hannah had never known her.

  They arrived at Hannah’s apartment and Bill leveled the tree trunk with his saw so it stood straight. Hannah brought down the tree stand. Bill and Jake carried the Christmas tree up one flight of stairs to Hannah’s apartment. The twins excitedly gave them instructions at each turn.

  Chapter Four

  Bill opened a red and green storage box and pulled out a handful of ornaments. “Lights, Daddy. The lights go on first and then we can decorate.” The girls, revived from their nap on the way home from the mountain, skipped around the tree. Strong spruce filled the air.

  Sarah set paper plates on the coffee table with a peanut butter sandwich on each. “Girl’s you haven’t had your lunch. Let’s eat while Dad and Jake put the lights on. Then we’ll be ready to decorate.” She poured milk in paper cups.

  The girls ate their sandwiches, watching every move the men made around the Christmas tree. Mindy took large bites of her sandwich and gulped her milk. Cindy removed the crust first, then took small bites, sipping her milk between each bite. Hannah marveled at how the girls could look so much alike yet behave so differently.

  As Hannah and Sarah finished their sandwiches, Sarah made sandwiches for the guys. Hannah opened Pandora and streamed traditional Christmas songs, the ones she loved from childhood.

  “Do you have an angel to put on the top?” Jake looked around at the decorations that were scattered across the living room.

  “I have a star.” Hannah pulled it from its special box. “See, that’s where I bit it when I was eight.” She pointed to teeth marks on one point of the colored foil star.

  “You bit the star?” Jake tried not to look incredulous.

  “Yep.” Bill grinned. “It was my turn to place the star on the tree. But she didn’t like that her turn had been an entire year before. So we tussled over it until Dad stepped in and insisted that I get my turn.”

  “So I bit it before I gave it up.” Hannah shrugged her shoulders.

  “Okay, then.” Jake grinned as he headed for the tree. He stopped and whirled around. He held out the star. “So whose turn is it this year?”

  The girls giggled while Hannah told him it was his turn this year. “Aunt Hannah knows how to share,” Mindy said.

  Cindy smiled at Hannah, “she growed up.” Hannah went down on her knees and gave both girls a huge hug.

  Hannah searched through the tissue in a box marked, “special ornaments.” She unwrapped two balls covered in red and green glitter. She held them out to the twins. “Your dad and I made these when we were your age. They always went on our tree first because we made them magic with glitter.”

  They carefully lifted the glittering balls from Hannah’s hands and stood on tip toe to place them on branches as high as they could reach. Bill handed Sarah a shiny ornament. “I forgot all about those. How long have you had them?”

  “Dad gave them to me a couple of years ago. I’d dropped by to see how he was doing. Remember, it was so cold that year? Anyway, he was sitting at the kitchen table wrapping these ornaments in tissue paper. He’d just rescued them from a flood in the basement—a leaking water heater or something. He said he wanted me to take them home for my tree. I tried to refuse them, but you know how Dad can be.”

  “I remember that flood. I helped him clean the basement after it dried out. He gave me the nativity set we painted when we were twelve.” Bill sat back on his heels, remembering. Then sadness spread over his face. “Guess we’ll have to paint a new one.”

  Sarah wrapped her arms around his waist. “Next year we’ll have Family Christmas at our new place with new everything.” She spoke quietly so the girls didn’t hear.

  “Jingle Bells” began to play, and everyone joined in as they placed decorations all over the fragrant tree. Whenever Jake moved close to Hannah, he entwined his fingers in hers and squeezed, winked, and then picked up another ornament to place on the tree. Hannah quivered, happiness rushing through her each time.

  Once all of the ornaments crowded every branch, Jake stepped back. “I’ve never seen so many decorations on a tree in my life. Is it deliberate?”

  Bill and Hannah locked eyes. “It sure is,” they said in
unison.

  “We started twenty-five days of decorating every December first.” Hannah glowed with the memories. “Mom started the tradition when they were first married. She loved Christmas.” “She was born on Christmas morning, so the day was special to her.”

  Bill joined in. “The folks were married for ten years before we were born, so there were tons of decorations. And just as many memories. Dad poured all his memories of her into us, so we would feel like we knew her, too.”

  Jake slowly turned to face them, the question lingering on his face. He looked down at the twins, who were hunting for empty branches for the ornaments in their hands. He moved away from them to Hannah and Bill. He didn’t speak but waited for them to answer his question.

  Bill whispered. “Mom died when we were born.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Jake spoke softly.

  Hannah added, “She was born on Christmas and she died on Christmas.”

  Jake held Hannah’s gaze. She wanted to step into his arms and let him comfort her, all these years later. “Your birthday is on Christmas?” he said.

  “Yes!” the girls squealed. “Daddy says we have double holidays for double people.”

  Jake threw his head back and laughed, “You sure do.”

  Mindy and Cindy searched through the boxes for more decorations, but all of them were on the tree except for the cardboard pictures Hannah put on her living room walls.

  “Time to clean up all the tissue paper and put it back in the boxes,” Sarah said.

  The twins groaned, but Bill made a game of who could pick up the most red-and-green tissues first. In no time the living room was free of glittery debris. “We won, Daddy. You were too slow,” they giggled at him.

  “Way too slow,” he laughed.

  Jake helped Hannah put up the Santa and reindeer pictures on her walls using straight pins. Next to the window, it would look like Santa was guiding his reindeer out through the window.