by Teresa Grabs
“We’re pretty close to home.” Toby looked at her and took her hand. “Trust me, you’ll love it.”
I already do. Echo smiled and let him lead her.
“See,” Mason said at the top of a hill.
Echo’s mouth dropped as Mirror Lake came into view. Bordering the lake on one side was a large mountain and on the other a city. All the houses looked like they sprouted from the ground itself and grew there.
“It’s not much,” Mason said.
“It’s not as fancy as others,” London added.
“But it’s home,” Jack finished as they started jogging for home, leaving Toby and Echo alone at the top of the hill.
Toby looked at Echo’s expression and smiled. “Shall we?”
She took a deep breath and nodded. Together, they started down the hill. Along the way, he pointed out landmarks and explained that everything they used came from the woods around Mirror Lake. They traded with other cities for things they couldn’t produce, and that whenever they cut down a tree, they planted two in its place. He didn’t know why it was just the way they did things. The closer they were to the city, the more people they met. Had it not been for Toby’s hand Echo would have run away. She felt like she was facing a pack of anghenbeasts again, but this time they all looked like her.
“Welcome,” some people said as they walked past, smiling.
“Good morning,” others would say with a wave.
Everyone was so nice and friendly, Echo didn’t know what to do. People shuffled in and out of wood cabins and wood buildings with signs announcing the newspaper office, post office, and even a barber. Every turn of the corner filled her mind with more questions as to who they were, where they came from, what a post office was, and why everyone dressed differently from each other. Her questions must have shown on her face because Toby could not keep a straight face.
“We’re almost to the Mayor, but what’s one thing that you are dying to know?”
Echo looked at him in his loose white shirt, tan pants, and brown shoes. “Why is everyone out of uniform?”
“Um…”
He looked so confused that Echo couldn’t resist a giggle. “Your clothes. Everyone is dressed differently. Why?”
“Oh!” Toby chuckled. “Never thought about that one. Um, we don’t have to dress alike. I think I’d look pretty silly in a dress, don’t you?”
Echo stepped back, looked him up and down, and grinned. “Yeah, guess you would.”
They laughed.
She had never thought about it before. Men and women did have different approved styles to pick from, but there were no real differences between the two. Bakerton made decisions for its citizens from the time they were born. Everything was a lie created to look like people had choices even though they really didn’t. Seeing everyone in different, clean clothes made her self-conscious. She tried wiping the dirt off her clothes, but they were too stained.
“Don’t worry,” Toby whispered in her ear. “You look great, and we’ll get you more clothes than you could ever wear.”
Echo blushed and took his hand again.
“We’re here,” Toby said, pointing to a two-story log cabin.
“Here?”
“Mr. Hampton’s place. Well, Mayor Hampton to be nice. He’s in charge of Mirror Lake. Come on. He’s a really nice guy, and I know he’ll love meeting you.”
Me? Hardly! Echo gulped but followed Toby up the walk and watched as he knocked on the door.
“Come in,” a man said from inside.
Toby opened the door. “Mayor Hampton, um, I wanted to introduce to Echo. We met her coming back from Eagle’s Point.”
Mayor Hampton’s eyes widened as he smiled and looked up from his desk. Toby grabbed Echo’s hand and dragged her inside since her legs had forgotten how to work. Mayor Hampton chuckled.
“Met her where Tobias?”
Tobias? His name is Tobias? “I was staying in the house in the woods, and it caught fire. If it hadn’t of been for Toby and the others, I would have probably died.”
Toby blushed.
“Please come in and sit down,” he said. He nicely shoved Toby out the door.
The Mayor turned around and watched as Echo sat down and looked around the room. “I am very pleased to see you survived, Miss. Last time I saw you, you were arguing with a young man outside the gate.”
Echo gasped. “What? You saw me?” She looked at the Mayor. “How –”
Mayor Hampton raised his hand and smiled. “Would you like something to drink?”
Echo nodded. “Who are you?” she asked as he poured her a glass of water from a pitcher sitting on a small wooden stand in the corner of the room.
“I’m Mayor Hampton.” He laughed as he handed her the glass. “That doesn’t answer your question though does it.”
“Thank you, and no, it doesn’t.” She smiled.
“Well, how about we start with me saying I was born in Bakerton and left when I was eighteen, nearly thirty years ago and move on to your story, that way I might be able to fill in some blanks we both have about each other?”
“You were born in Bakerton?”
“Yes.” He frowned as he poured himself a glass of water and sat down. “Yes, I was. Now, what did you do to get exiled?”
Echo told him the complete story from failing the Citizen Fitness Examination, to finding Matthew’s body and Michael’s cave, and even of the berries that almost killed her. Hours passed, and it seemed like the story that never wanted to be told now found its intended audience. She told him of Charlie and how he died, the books in the library, and Premier Steiner’s videos. Moonlight reflecting off the lake filled the office and set the mood for the rest of the story. She continued with finding the cabin, Premier Steiner’s proposals, finding Henry and Mary’s house, and all the way up to Premier Steiner’s death and being found by Toby and his friends. By the time morning came, she was both exhausted and exhilarated. Someone that knew of Bakerton finally heard her story.
“Well,” Mayor Hampton said, “that’s quite a story Echo. I am shocked and amazed at your survival skills.”
“They’re not mine, really. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Charlie, Henry, and Mary.”
This statement piqued mayor Hampton’s interest. “I will tell you that I personally knew Paul Steiner but didn’t know he ever made Premier.”
“Wait, you knew him?”
He leaned back in his chair and nodded grimly. “I did.”
Echo looked back in her memory searching for clues to how. The cabin. There were only three bodies. “You were the fourth person? I only found three skeletons, but he said he reached the cabin with four others.”
“Right you are,” Mayor Hampton said. “The man was insane at eighteen and, it seems, that time has only made things worse.”
Echo yawned. “Why did he do it?”
“Power. That has destroyed many people. After listening to your story,” Mayor Hampton said, “I can tell that you know much more than I do about some things, and I know more about other things than you. I am sure, should you choose to stay here with us, there will be plenty of time to talk and learn from each other, but I am very curious about how you know of Henry and Mary? I only know of them through stories after I came here.”
“I dreamt of them,” Echo said, rubbing her eyes.
“Really?”
Echo nodded. “All my life. I dreamt of the house with the old stone well, Henry and Mary, Tobias and Kyle, them leaving the woods to move to Hope, and of their escape from Hope. I dreamt of Grand Premier Baker attacking Hope, and of Mary returning to Henry’s woods to be with his grave.”
Mayor Hampton was flabbergasted. “One thing you will notice about anyone not born in Mirror Lake is that we dream of Bakerton, but you…you dream of our founders and the City of Hope.”
“What I don’t understand,” Echo said, “is that if there are so many of you out here, then why haven’t you attacked Bakerton. I mean, you know what
they are doing there. How they’re raising people to be obedient, unquestioning servants. Why?”
“I know this will be hard for you to understand, Echo, but…” Mayor Hampton sighed and rubbed his face. “How to put this. If I had come to you when you argued with that young man outside Bakerton and said, ‘come with me and live a free life,’ would you have?”
Echo thought about it for a minute and shook her head.
“If I walked into your classroom and announced that there were thousands of cities across the world where people were free to make their own decisions, would you have believed me?”
“I guess not. But –”
“Things may change now that Premier Steiner is dead, but those changes will take time. I was raised like you were.”
Echo looked shocked, which made him laugh.
“Yes, I was raised the same way you were, but the dreamers who don’t stop dreaming are always looking to be free.” Mayor Hampton leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I think the Monat’s would be proud of you.”
Echo gasped and was confused. “Why would my parents be proud of me?”
“Sorry?”
“You said that the Monat’s would be proud of me.”
“Yes, Henry and Mary Monat. Two of our founding families.” Mayor Hampton was confused now and sat up in his chair. “Why did you think I was speaking of your family?”
“That’s my name. Echo Monat.”
Mayor Hampton and Echo looked at each other for a moment, neither knowing what to say.
He was the first to break the silence. “Henry died, as you know, in the woods. Mary went with Kyle and the others here, then returned to be with Henry. We never learned what happened to Tobias.” He looked at Echo and smiled. “I guess we know now.”
Echo didn’t know what to make of everything, but it felt like all the pieces of the puzzle were now complete and they made a picture of her. She finally knew how she was connected to her dreams and why she couldn’t stop listening to them. They were her family. Hers. Not her mother’s. Then thoughts of Johnny came to her mind. If he dreamed and kept dreaming, maybe, just maybe, he would find his way to Mirror Lake.
Mayor Hampton yawned and stretched. “Echo,” he said, standing up, “I do hope you choose to stay with us.”
Echo already knew that answer. “I would love to stay here if you’ll have me.”
“Then it’s settled,” he said, hugging Echo. “Welcome home.”
Toby’s sleeping body slammed against the floor when Mayor Hampton opened the door. He chuckled and helped Toby sit up.
“Oh,” he said, groggily, wiping his mouth. “Ready to see the grand tour?”
Mayor Hampton and Echo laughed. It felt good to be home.
Epilogue
Eight years had passed since Echo arrived, and life was very different in Mirror Lake than it ever had been in Bakerton. She lived with Mayor Hampton for two years while they shared stories about Bakerton, Henry and Mary, and of their experiences. There was a lot about the world that Echo had to learn, but with Toby by her side, it became an adventure.
She learned the routes to several other cities and visited them often, but only with Toby. Echo preferred to stay in Mirror Lake and help Mrs. Hampton at the ice cream shop. It was one of the many new foods she had discovered. Every time they traveled by Henry’s woods, they would stop and look for his grave, but never found it.
Four years after moving to Mirror Lake, she and Toby married. London moved to Wolf Hollow and started a family. Mason and Jack stayed in Mirror Lake and worked odd jobs. They all spent as much time together as they could.
Every now and then people would wander in from Bakerton. They say that things got worse after Premier Steiner disappeared. Mayor Hampton and Echo never said a word about what they knew. The less they told, the better off people were.
One day Mayor Hampton sent word ahead that he had a surprise for Echo and to meet him at his office. Echo and Toby watched as their son chased after birds while they waited. Echo gasped and cried when she saw Mayor Hampton.
“Mommy, is that him?”
Echo nodded her head.
Her son ran to the young man standing next to Mayor Hampton and jumped up and down. “Uncle Johnny! Uncle Johnny! I’m Johnny too!”
