The Legend of Safehaven

by R. A. Comunale

  As the children unfastened their seatbelts, Nancy took charge.

  “Now listen carefully, kids. You stay here with us. Don’t go running off to play yet, understand?”

  All three nodded.

  Nancy knew the boys wanted to race around like the wind, but until everyone got their bearings on this mountain, she didn’t want to take any chances. Sure enough, Tonio and Freddie quickly disappeared. She looked around nervously, until she saw Freddie tagging along with Edison and Tonio heading after Galen.

  Well, as long as the men don’t get lost, the boys won’t, either.

  Galen walked slowly down the logging path. He wanted to visit the spring once more. He heard footsteps running up behind him and turned to see Tonio. Though he had relished the thought of being alone for a while, he realized it would be good to share this with the boy. So he put on a smile.

  “Come, Tonio, let’s go to a very special place, a place where the animals come to drink. You and I will be the first to see it, okay? Then we can bring your brother and sister with Tia Nancy and Tio Edison.”

  He walked even more slowly now that Tonio was with him. Yes, it was better to have company, to share observations, to give of one’s self by teaching another.

  “Look, Tonio, see that? It’s a pileated woodpecker. And over there, Trifolium plants.”

  Each new site brought forth burbles of delight from the boy.

  As they neared the spring, Galen gestured to Tonio to keep very, very quiet. They moved as silently as a young boy and an old man could. Luck was with them. They saw two raccoons drinking from the pool that the dam of glacial rock had formed below the spring. Tonio tugged on his coonskin hat, as he watched the animals wash their faces in the clear-flowing water.

  Suddenly Galen heard Edison shouting.

  “Freddie, Freddie! Where are you? Come on now, get back here!”

  Galen motioned for Tonio to follow, and they headed as fast as they could up the mountainside. They found Edison, Nancy, and Carmelita in a panic.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. Freddie and I were walking over that crest. I sat down to tie my shoelaces, and when I stood up he was gone! Nancy and Carmelita didn’t see him, either.”

  Galen’s mind raced. Little boys do foolish things. He spoke quietly to conceal his own nervousness.

  “First, everybody should stay together. We’ll all go back to the place where Freddie disappeared. Then we’ll plan our search.”

  The five moved slowly toward the crest, turning their heads left and right, trying to catch a glimpse of the missing boy. As they mounted the hillside, Nancy spotted something.

  “Look, his cap! He must have come this way!”

  They moved toward the fur hat caught on one of the ever-present, wild-raspberry canes.

  “Slow down.” Galen spoke quietly. “And pipe down. Watch the ground for any sign of his tracks, and listen for him.”

  As they proceeded, Nancy noticed a depression in the moss and forest-plant ground cover. Then they all saw it: a hole, who knows how deep, but just wide enough to swallow a young and maybe overly curious boy. Was it an animal burrow or a surface communication to the vast, underlying limestone honeycombs in the mountain? The three adults silently prayed for the shallow-burrow alternative.

  They moved ahead slowly and carefully, not wanting to disturb any dirt by their vibrations. Edison gently squatted down next to the hole and tried to peer inside, but the cover was too dense to reveal anything.

  “Freddie, Freddie,” he called. “It’s Tio Eddie. Can you hear me?”

  All five strained their ears and waited.

  He tried again. “Freddie, it’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong. We just want to help you.”

  Then they all heard the soft whimpering. From the sound of it, Freddie hadn’t dropped in very far. Nancy spread apart the cover and stuck her face in the opening.

  “It’s okay, Freddie, we’re all here—me, Carmie, Tonio, your tios. We want to get you out. Queremos ayudarle . Tio Eddie will get some rope and a flashlight from the car.”

  At that, Edison took off through the forest.

  “Escuche cuidadosamente . Listen carefully, Freddie. We know you’re a big boy. When Tio Eddie returns, he’s going to lower the flashlight with the rope. When you get it, I want you to shine the light to where you hear us and tug on the rope. Okay? ¿Usted entiende?”

  She heard him snuffle then say “yes.”

  Soon Edison charged back carrying a coil of heavy tacking rope, flashlight, car shovel, and a bag of chocolate candies—as usual, he traveled prepared. He lay flat on the ground next to the hole, while Galen tied one end of the rope around a nearby tree. Edison tied a smaller string to the rope, attached the flashlight to it, and then spoke as calmly as he could.

  “Freddie. I’m going to lower the flashlight to you. It will be on, so you should see the light. When you get it, hold onto it very tightly. Shine the light back up, so we can see where you are.”

  Nancy piped in.

  “¿Todo a la derecha? All right? ¿Usted entendía? Do you understand?”

  She had made it a habit to mix English and Spanish when speaking to the children.

  “Yes,” was the sheepish reply.

  Edison lowered the rope slowly. About six feet played out before he felt a tug on it.

  Good! He’s not too deep.

  He stuck his head as far in as he could and saw the light beam.

  “Good boy, Freddie!” Edison said. “Now turn the flashlight around toward you so I can see where you are.”

  “Brille la linterna en se,” Nancy added.

  The light moved and Freddie’s face appeared. Edison saw the frightened boy sitting in a small, natural, cave-like formation with his knees drawn up to his chin.

  “Freddie, remember when you and Tonio and I played cowboys, and I made a lasso out of the big electrical cable, and we practiced making loops with it?”

  He didn’t wait for a reply.

  “Make the same loop with the rope then put the lasso under your arms.”

  “¿Usted entendía?” Nancy asked again.

  Edison called down, “Did you do that, Freddie?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shine the light on yourself again, so I can see what a good job you’ve done.”

  The light moved erratically then outlined the boy. He had done it right, just like when they were playing.

  “Freddie, I want you to raise your arms up high and grab the rope. It’s going to feel very tight across your chest. Tio Galen and I will pull you up, so hang on.”

  He felt the rope moving. Galen stood behind him, wrapping the cord around his powerful forearm for traction.

  “Edison, keep lying there to help guide the rope, while Nancy and I do the pulling. Keep your flashlight trained on it to make sure nothing sharp is in the way.”

  Edison nodded. Galen and Nancy began a slow, steady, backward motion. They felt the weight increase, as they pulled the boy toward the opening.

  Edison held the light in his teeth, while he used both hands to prevent the rope from rubbing the sidewall of the tunnel. The other two children stood wide-eyed, watching the determination of the three adults to save their brother.

  Little hands clutching the rope appeared first, and then Freddie’s head, torso, rump, and legs slid through the opening.

  Galen experienced a strange thought: Good Lord! The forest just gave birth to Edison’s new son!

  Nancy removed the “umbilical cord” from Freddie, who was blinking at the sudden burst of leaf-dappled sunlight hitting his dark-acclimated eyes.

  Carmelita and Tonio moved toward him with the bag of candy, and Tonio put the coonskin cap back on his brother’s head. He examined Freddie, dirt-streaked all over, and made the remark that broke the tension-filled moment.

  “Freddie, you smell like dog poo!”

  Galen’s face creased in a rare smile.

  “Congratulations, Edison, you have a bouncing n
ew son!”

  Nancy cleaned up Freddie as best she could and wrapped him in one of the car blankets. Edison carried him at the head of a triumphant procession back to the vehicle. By the time they reached it, Freddie had scarfed down most of the candy and was falling asleep in Edison’s arms.

  “It must have been a fox den at one time,” Nancy guessed.

  “Most likely, since Freddie got covered in their refuse,” Galen replied.

  “I think we need to get him washed up at a gas station,” Edison chimed in. “Otherwise this car will be uninhabitable.”

  Galen couldn’t resist. “Better learn how to change diapers, little brother.”

  As they headed back down the mountain, they once again passed the wildlife-service signs, and then and there Galen decided his mountain refuge would forever remain a safe haven for its animal inhabitants. He would donate the land to the Commonwealth of Virginia, and it would become part of the preserve.

  Cathy would like that, he mused, and the wind blowing through the open car window seemed to whisper, “Yes, Tony.”

  The water-hose-improvised shower at the gas station sufficiently deodorized Freddie to allow the rest of the passengers to breathe through their noses again.

  As they drove away, Galen noticed that Edison was exhibiting signs of post-traumatic anxiety letdown, which he had seen so often in new parents.

  Nancy also seemed a little disconcerted, sitting in the back with the three kids, who by now were sufficiently sugar-loaded that they bounced between buzz and somnolence.

  “Why don’t we salvage the day, Edison,” Galen said softly. “I know a campground and portage site along the river not too far from here. We brought the kids’ swimsuits, and you and Nancy could do a bit of canoeing—just like in the old days, eh?”

  He nudged his friend gently, and Edison laughed.

  “What about you? You can’t just sit in the car and pretend you’re Buddha.”

  “No problem,” Galen replied. “There’s a bunch of trails along the Shenandoah. I’ll commune with nature while the rest of you get wet.”

  Twenty minutes later they pulled into the campground.

  “Bob, why don’t you and Galen go rent the canoe?” Nancy said, as she guided Carmelita, Freddie, and Tonio toward the bathhouse.

  The two men headed to the rental desk, and Edison picked out what he called a “nice shell.” When Galen paid for the rental, Edison seemed surprised by the gesture.

  “Hey, this was my idea,” Galen quipped.

  They turned back toward the bathhouse and saw Nancy emerging with only two of the children in swimsuits. Tonio stood apart, still in his day clothes, looking pouty.

  “He doesn’t want to go in the canoe,” Nancy said in exasperation.

  Galen walked over to the boy.

  “What’s wrong, Tonio?”

  He lowered his eyes then looked up at Galen.

  “No tengo gusto del agua .”

  Galen’s Spanish was minimal, but he understood.

  Strange, he understands and speaks English fluently now but reverts to his early childhood tongue when upset.

  “That’s okay, Tonio. You can walk with me through the woods instead.”

  He turned to Edison, who had been watching the exchange.

  “Why don’t you and Nancy show the kids some of your old-style canoeing? I’ll rent a second shell. Nancy and Carmelita can go in one, and you and Freddie can take the other. You could make it a race between the guys and the gals.”

  Edison opened his mouth, but before he could speak Galen had taken out his wallet and turned toward the desk, where he rented another canoe. When he rejoined his friend, he said with a feinted grumble: “This better not lead to any canoodling later on, you old goat!”

  Edison grinned and winked.

  Galen turned to Nancy and the children.

  “Tonio and I will follow the trail along the river up to the bend that looks over the abandoned Civil War railroad crossing. We’ll act as judges to see which team gets there first. Okay?”

  The quartet nodded.

  Galen and Tonio headed for the trail, while Nancy and Edison slid the canoes to the edge of the river. They made sure Carmelita and Freddie’s life jackets were secured, helped the children into their respective shells, and then carefully climbed aboard.

  “Nancy, let’s use that large Jackson Oak tree on the bank as the starting point. Freddie, I want you to watch how I hold the paddle and how I bring it down into the water to get the most force behind it. Carmelita, watch how your tia does the paddling. After a while, we’ll let you join in.”

  Whatever trepidation the children might have felt about being on the water quickly dissipated. This was a calm, shallow stream, not a vast, raging ocean, and the pleasantness of the day captivated them all.

  Memory inevitably slipped Edison and Nancy back to the first day they met—only now they sat in separate canoes. Under their controlled paddling, they moved the boats to the middle of the river and held their position.

  “We’ll start on the count of three,” Nancy said.

  The children shouted, in unison, “ONE, TWO, THREE!” and Nancy and Edison began energetically stroking, as the canoes shot forward, one and all laughing loudly.

  “Tio Galen, are you angry that I didn’t want to go in the water?”

  “No, Tonio. I know you must have a very good reason. Do you want to talk about it?”

  Tonio meekly shook his head, so Galen continued walking but moving slowly enough for him to keep up.

  Then Tonio stopped, and Galen stopped as well, turning to him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Tio, do you love me as much as you love Freddie and Carm?”

  He saw that the boy was serious.

  “Of course, Tonio! Why do you ask?”

  “Would you have saved me like Tio Eddie saved Freddie today?”

  Galen squatted down to look him in the eye.

  “Yes, Tonio. Tio Eddie, Tia Nancy, and I would have worked just as hard, maybe even harder, to save you if you had been in trouble.”

  Then he reached over, swept the boy up on his shoulders, and resumed the tour of the trail. In minutes he was pointing out and naming the birds, small animals, and plants they encountered, and Tonio grew giddy at the new experiences.

  Galen’s eyes misted, as he realized how much the boy’s moods were like his own, and he wondered if having a son would have been like this.

  The two canoes swept forward, bows neck and neck, as they rounded one river bend then another. The water grew a little darker now, almost channel depth. Soon the old railroad crossing trestle appeared in the distance, as well as something else among the glacier-strewn boulders.

  Just then Freddie yelled, “What’s that?”

  Nancy and Edison saw the problem immediately: An overturned canoe abutted one of the large stones, a young girl clinging to the side.

  Both adults paddled toward the trouble spot, with Edison’s canoe getting there first. He caught water to bring the boat to a stop, reached over carefully to avoid tipping, and with Freddie’s help lifted the girl aboard.

  “Nancy, I’m going to take this child to the rendezvous point with Galen. She doesn’t appear hurt, just in shock. Will you show Carmelita how to salvage an overturned canoe and follow us to the bridge crossing?”

  “Sure,” she replied. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  The girl was conscious but moaning softly.

  “My sister, where is she?”

  Edison bent toward her.

  “Was someone else in the canoe with you?”

  She started to cry.

  “We got into an argument, and somehow the boat tipped over.”

  “There she is!” Freddie yelled and pointed toward a second rock farther on.

  Edison paddled hard toward the other girl, who appeared unconscious. Suddenly Freddie leaped out of the boat. Before Edison could stop him, he swam toward her. He reached her quickly and instinctively threw his arm
s around her to raise her up. Edison arrived a few moments later, positioned the canoe, and slowly lifted the child into it.

  Then Freddie spotted his brother and Galen, but before he could call out, Edison had reached over and wrenched him into the canoe by his shorts.

  “Freddie, I could…” He paused as he thought better of his words then quickly paddled to the river bank, where Galen and Tonio were standing. Nancy and Carmelita were not far behind, with the girls’ canoe in tow. All the boats ran up the sloping bank together.

  Galen reached out and pulled both canoes farther onto the sandy soil then scanned the two new occupants of Edison’s canoe. The older girl, about twelve, was still crying. The younger one was breathing but not moving. He gently picked her up, placed her on the riverbank, and examined her for injuries.

  “Tio Galen, will she live?” Freddie whispered.

  “Oh yes,” Galen said, smiling, as the girl opened her eyes and saw the wet boy standing next to the big man.

  At nine years old going on sixteen, Freddie couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her hazel eyes seemed to penetrate his water-soaked skin. Wet, blonde hair closely framed her baby-round face.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  The older sister answered first.

  “We were visiting Grandpa Alex and Grandma Debbie here in Front Royal. Our daddy is with the Air Force—Colonel Luke Daumier. He’s being transferred to a post in Pennsylvania next week, so we thought we’d do one last canoe trip. But then she started to act like a brat, and the canoe overturned.”

  Freddie moved closer to the younger girl. He had never seen anyone so pretty.

  She looked up at him.

  “Did you save me?”

  Freddie didn’t know what to say, so Edison said it for him.

  “Yes, my dear, he did.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Freddie Hidalgo,” he stammered. “Wha … what’s yours?”

  “Lilly Daumier.”

  Before he could jump back, she sprang from the ground and threw her arms around him.

  “Okay, let’s get the girls back to their folks and the boats back to rental,” Nancy said. She and Carmelita helped the two girls along the path, accompanied by Freddie, who wanted “to keep them safe.” Galen and Tonio brought up the rear, while Edison alone powered the armada of rope-linked canoes back up the river.