Fallam's Secret

by Denise Giardina

  “Oh, God, Noah,” he said.

  He bowed his head a moment to think and pray. Then he stood and said, “Come on, Bounder.”

  OUTSIDE, he blinked in the bright sunlight, the dog beside him with a length of twine tied around her neck in a makeshift collar and leash. The blasted stump of Fallam Mountain stretched behind them, hideous as ever. But when they walked toward what had been Montefalco, Uncle John saw that once more the valley fill had shrunk. He had twice breached the barrier with the living dog from the past, and the foundation of Carlo Falcone’s house was uncovered once again, looking little different than it had a few days after the fire.

  “So,” Uncle John said to Bounder, “Lydde is lost in the vast sea of history like the other children. But we’ll find her, won’t we, girl?”

  He led the dog down the mountain to Roundbottom Farm, the tin roof gleaming in the sunshine. On the front porch he paused out of habit to wipe his boots. Then he opened the old screen door with a creak.

  “Lavinia!” he called. “I’m home!”