by Mark Goodwin
I wasn’t sure which direction was east and even if I did head off in the right direction, the cloudy skies would not help me if I had strayed. Pip said they would guide me to the road but then I was to go alone the rest of the way. The elves were somewhat shy but were friendly and wanted to help me.
Along the way, I told them that some of us humans believed in them but not most. I admitted that I was in the majority. Pip said he understood and that he would prefer that it remain that way as they had little desire to interact with us. He didn’t elaborate. I didn’t think I needed to ask.
Once we arrived at the road, Pip and the other two elves removed their caps, bowed to me and wished me a safe journey. I thanked them and waved good-bye.
Forty minutes later, I saw the cliff and all its puffins. I returned to my van without further mishap. It was now four o’clock in the afternoon. I was sore. I was tired. I put my gear in the van and headed back to Sherbrooke. No more fishing for me. I was anxious to return home and start my research on the life of Moses Jenkins.
Chapter 6 -On My Way Home
I found a place to stay for the night and was able to change my flight back to Boston for the next day, three days earlier than I had planned.
Back in Boston, I began my research where I did manage to get some leads on Moses Jenkins. There was a Moses Jenkins who had enlisted in the Union Army in 1863. I also made several trips to Portland and did confirm there was a seaman by that name who sailed on a vessel owned by Nash and Sons.
I carefully restored the diary but showed it to nobody, not even Laura. It was my secret project. I did tell her that I had acquired an interest in Civil War heroes and that I wanted to do some research on them. This would account for my trips to Portland. Laura was never one to question things I did. She never even asked why I cut my fishing trip short. I had told her the weather was lousy and that had been good enough for her.
Never did I mention to anyone the elves. Who would believe me? That’s why I never showed the diary to anyone. It had to be my secret, my secret alone. Besides, I knew I had an obligation to Pip. Without him, I might still be in the woods back in Canada.
Chapter 7 -The Coming of the Dreams
Everything was going fine. Each week I obtained more and more information on the life of Moses Jenkins. Then the dreams came. Ugly dreams. I dreamt that Pip and his two friends were trapped in a cave when its roof collapsed.
I shrugged the dreams off as nonsense. But they were unrelenting. They started off a day or two at a time but after month, I was having them every night.
I knew the elves were in trouble. I figured they must be still alive or the dreams would have stopped. I thought that the cave was probably their home, and inside they probably had lots of food and water. Their main concern would be air and with any luck, there would be small gaps in the fallen rocks to give them enough.
It was with these fears on my mind that I went back to Canada to find and rescue my friends. I told Laura that I was going to try my fishing trip one more time. She accepted that.
Arriving back in Nova Scotia, I again picked up a van at the airport and headed down to Sonora. I stopped in Sherbroke and bought some supplies that I would need in order to save the elves. I drove immediately to the cliff and parked the van. What I would do next I had no idea, but I thought that somebody would guide me to them. Since I knew elves really existed, I figured perhaps it was a Guardian Angel who was using me as a means to help them.
I spent seven days searching the woods. This time I had a compass with me and never got lost. I returned to the van every night before dark and resumed my search at sunrise. I never did find the cave. On the eighth day, I returned to Boston with a heavy heart.
Chapter 8 -Back in Boston
The guilt I was carrying for failing to find and rescue the elves became too much for me to bare. I had to tell someone and that someone was, of course, Laura. She listened but I knew she didn’t believe a thing I was saying. I could keep the diary a secret no longer. I showed it to her. She then understood my fascination with Union soldiers but she dismissed the elves as the hallucinations of a dying man. I was alone for the first time in my life.
The dreams came back but they were different this time. Pip was sad and kept asking me why I didn’t come to save them. My health started to suffer because I was unable to get the sleep I needed. I began to cry for what seemed like no accountable reason. I found myself seeking a mental health professional. She assured me that in time I would overcome these dreams and she would be there to help me.
Things are getting better. I began to notice an improvement about two weeks ago. The dreams are subsiding in intensity and are becoming less frequent.
Last night, I got the first decent sleep in months. I slept without interruption for six hours. During that time, I had a dream that my friends, the elves, had managed to dig a tunnel through the side of their cave and were no longer trapped.
Needless to say when I woke up, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to tell Laura when I saw her.
She smiled at me when I told her the good news. I said I wanted to go back and see them. She said something to me but I had trouble hearing her. The noise in the next room was getting worse every day. I could hear Mike next door hollering at his dead cat again and Lenny was bouncing off the padded walls as usual as he sang “I’m a Flying Yogi”.
“I wish the two of them would be quiet and that this damn jacket I’m wearing wasn’t so tightly strapped.”
The End
