Inherit the Past (The Bavarian Woods Book 1)

by Susan Finlay

  “Yeah, it feels good out here. And it’s absolutely beautiful here,” he said. “The forest scenery reminds me of some fairy tale.” In his mind he envisioned Goldilocks romping through the woods and stumbling upon some house. Right now, he wished they could find an empty house, one with comfy beds and bowls of warm porridge left behind. He shook his head at the silly image he had conjured. Just then his stomach growled, making him chuckle at himself.

  Sofie said, “Yes. In settings such as this I can see how these stories might have originated. There is something magical here, is there not?”

  “Oh yeah, definitely. I hope the big bad wolf or demons don’t come slinking out after dark,” Max said and shuddered in mock fear.

  Sofie laughed, and Tobias, who was riding with her, said “Do you think there really could be goblins or trolls? Since time travel is real, then maybe some of those stories are true.”

  “I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Sofie said. She smiled and winked at Max.

  The road soon narrowed to little more than dirt tracks made by wagons and other carriages that had passed before them over the years. It wound through the tall pine trees, and in some spots the brush was thick enough that they almost couldn’t get past. Max sniffed the air again, breathing in deeply the mixture of pine and flower scents and he felt relaxed. They arrived at a particularly scenic spot, where a break in the forest yielded to a wildflower strewn meadow. Max decided to stop and let everyone get down to stretch their legs. Birgitta stopped her carriage right behind him. Max jumped down, then helped Tobias and Sofie down.

  They were all a bit wobbly for a few moments from hours of riding, but it felt amazing to walk around in the fresh air without worrying about stepping into horse manure or getting run over by some reckless rider. They walked around, gazing at the beauty of the area, and Max felt a peace he hadn’t felt since they’d begun the trip. All around the meadow were trees, not only pine, but oaks, beeches, and firs, and tall grasses, with moss covered boulders jutting out here and there. The sound of rushing water is what immediately caught Max’s attention. He grinned, took hold of Sofie’s hand, and they walked toward the sound.

  They soon arrived at the other side of the meadow to find themselves at the edge of a cliff. About thirty feet below where they stood, a narrow fast-flowing river coursed through a canyon, racing through several rapids. In one spot the canyon walls even pressed the river into a small waterfall.

  The two walked along the cliff edge for a while, which soon turned and carried them back into the woods. Max felt sprinkles of mist cool his face. At first he thought it must be from the small river falls behind them, but as he looked across the narrow divide, he spotted a spectacular waterfall slivering through the trees ahead, splitting into two separate falls as it cascaded around a massive rock and careened down the rocky hillside, mist rising from the canyon edge and irrigating a plethora of lush vegetation. As they neared the base of the falls, the moss-covered limestone at the edges became slippery, and they stopped to enjoy the moment. The air around the falls was cool and felt delightfully refreshing.

  “Oh, this is spectacular,” Max said. “I had no idea Germany had this kind of scenery. I’ve read about the lush forests and the Alps but this is magnificent.”

  Sofie stood beside him. He gazed down at her. She was smiling, her face rosy and wet from the mist. Sofie was so lovely at that moment, Max pulled her to him, preparing to kiss her sweet lips . . . .

  “Are we going down into the canyon?” Tobias asked, startling them both and causing them to quickly pull back to a less compromising locale.

  Recovering herself quickly, Sofie said, “Perhaps, though it’s hard to say. The trail might take us in a different direction. I sure wish we had a better map. In our time, there are roads going in many directions from this area. Also, there are bridges, hiking trails, campgrounds and picnic areas, but this looks almost untouched.”

  “So you’ve been here before?” Max asked.

  “Well, maybe not this exact spot, but in the general area. I didn’t realize where we were until now.”

  “I can feel splashes from the waterfall,” Tobias said, holding his hands out and laughing.

  “It feels great, doesn’t it?” Max asked. “I wish we could get closer, but we should go.”

  “It’s like feathery sprinkles,” Tobias said. He tilted his head upward and opened his mouth, trying to soak up the fresh water.

  Max suddenly realized how thirsty he was and he was tempted to follow Tobias’s actions, but they needed to get back to the carriage.

  When they returned to where the others were waiting, Karl, who watched in silence, finally said, “I think we should go on now. Maybe we will have some difficult road ahead. The trail may go down the hill, and we must travel it before dark.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right,” Max said. With a last look around the beautiful area, he helped Sofie and Tobias back onto their horse.

  As they traveled onward with Karl now taking the reins of the carriage from Birgitta, Max casually gazed into the sky, feeling at peace, and watched a few puffy gray clouds glide by. As he’d done when he was a little boy, he found himself imagining shapes in the clouds. Before long, though, the clouds had dissipated, and he was gazing at a clear sky. But somehow, over the course of that few minutes, something had changed. Instead of feeling peaceful as he had earlier, the stillness was now imparting an eerie feeling. He wondered what had made him feel that way, then suddenly realized his thoughts had somehow drifted to the days immediately following nine-eleven, when all air traffic was halted in the U.S., leaving the sky void of planes and the familiar white contrails they left behind. That was a dark time and somehow the clear sky had brought forth the unwanted memory.

  The sounds of horses protesting and the carriage lurching loudly to a stop behind him brought Max out of his thoughts. He stopped his mount and rubbed his eyes to clear away dust, wondering why they’d stopped. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the carriage was ensconced in a tight web of tree branches. It seemed as if the trees had arms wrapped around their carriage, holding it and passengers prisoner.

  Good God! Max turned his horse around and galloped over to Karl. “Are you stuck?”

  “Ja. I thought we could make it through but is much narrower than I knew.”

  “We can cut back some of the branches,” Sofie said from her horse. “That should give us enough space to get through.”

  “Good idea,” Max said.

  “I get the knives and daggers out from under the seat,” Karl said. He reached under the seat and pulled them out as the riders reached down from their horses to take their weapons. Karl handed one to Max and one to Sofie, keeping one for himself. Karl cut some of the closest branches from his position in the front of the vehicle, while Sofie and Max proceeded to cut away the lower branches obstructing both sides of the carriage.

  When they finished, Max said. “Looks like you’re free now. Why don’t you give it a try?”

  Karl nodded and nudged the vehicle forward. “Ja. We go now. I hope this is the worst of it.”

  Max and Sofie handed their weapons back to Karl, and stayed where they were until Karl got the carriage moving. Karl drove about fifty yards, then stopped and grumbled something. They trotted over to see what was bothering him. It didn’t take long to see what had distressed Karl. The trail was headed down a steep incline.

  “We get out of carriage and walk,” Karl said. “We must lead the horses carefully. Prevent horses getting spooked.” He jumped down, and grimaced as his feet hit the ground.

  “Are you okay, Gramps?”

  “Ja, Ich brauche das nicht!”

  “Yeah, I agree, none of us need it!” Max said. “This is not good.”

  Karl turned on Max, shaking his fist. “You did this. You made us go this way.”

  He said something else under his breath, in German, and Max didn’t understand this time, but figured he was swearing. He winced and bit his tongue to keep silent.
Max helped Birgitta, Lotte, and Anneliese down from the carriage. A few minutes later, they began a long walk down the hillside, carefully guiding the horses and carriage as they proceeded.

  “Tobias, stay with us,” Sofie yelled down the hill. Tobias had run ahead and they could barely see him because the trees were dense, making the area dark and spooky.

  Tobias suddenly froze.

  When they caught up to him, Tobias looked at them, wide-eyed and trembling.

  “What’s wrong?” Max asked.

  The boy pointed to a clump of bushes a few feet ahead and to his right. “I saw something, over there in the bushes. I think it was a troll.”

  Smirking, Ryan said, “Trolls aren’t real. They’re myths. Stories made up to scare little kids.”

  “But, Ryan, other people have seen them, too, right here in this area. I’ve heard the stories.”

  “Come on,” Ryan said. “They’re fairy tales. You know that, don’t you?”

  Setting his jaw, Tobias replied, “People think time travel is make-believe, too, but we know it’s real.”

  Ryan twisted his mouth, but didn’t say anything.

  Sofie, who was standing nearby and listening to the whole exchange, glared daggers at Max. He looked down at his feet. Oh great! Me and my overactive imagination and big mouth.

  “That doesn’t mean that all myths and legends are real,” Ryan said, finally.

  “You know,” Max said, looking back up, “you used to believe in fairy tales and myths, too.”

  Ryan just glared at him.

  Tobias wasn’t convinced. He turned his attention back to the bushes, then whispered, “There it is again. Did you see it?” He quietly edged over to the bushes and stooped down, with one hand on his knee to get a closer look.

  Tobias sounded sure. Max was becoming curious but expected it was probably only a rabbit or squirrel. He knew he was tired enough to imagine things, and decided Tobias probably saw something, but would be even more prone to his imagination running wild.

  A rustling in the bushes and a low growl brought Max suddenly to attention, fearing Tobias might be in some danger. He approached, reached out and pulled Tobias back several feet, out of harm’s way, in case some dangerous animal jumped out. Max had been bitten by a dog once when his kids were younger. He really didn’t want Tobias to go through something like that.

  “Let me check it out, okay, champ?”

  “It might be a troll . . . or a wood-nymph . . . or a will-o’-the wisp,” Tobias whispered.

  Max smiled. “Well, those don’t sound too dangerous.”

  “An angry troll can be very dangerous,” Tobias said, eyes wide. “A will-o’-the wisp can be, too.”

  “I’ll be careful,” Max said. He gave a backwards glance to Sofie. She was smiling and shaking her head. “I just need to sneak up on it.”

  He tiptoed right up to the bushes, his leg almost touching the leaves. He squatted down on his haunches to peek in, and a moment later he let out an involuntary squeal and nearly fell backwards.

  Tobias lurched and whispered, “What was it? Did you see something? Did it bite you?”

  Max steadied himself and saw a pair of shiny kryptonite green eyes glowing in the darkness, staring out at him. Max’s heart raced and he was half-tempted to get up and run, but he held fast and waited.

  “What is it?” Tobias touched Max’s leg.

  Max jumped and almost knocked Tobias over. The boy had moved and was standing right behind him. “Oh, Tobias, you scared me half to death. You should never sneak up on somebody. It’s especially not a good idea to touch them and whisper in their ear when they’re not sure what’s hiding in the bushes.

  “Sorry. Is it a troll?”

  “I don’t know what it is but it’s probably gone now.”

  They both looked back into the thick bushes. Max was surprised. The green eyes were still there, staring out at them. He steeled himself and slowly eased his hand forward, earning him another low growl.

  “We won’t hurt you,” Max said in a calming voice, pulling his hand back, slowly, so as not to agitate the animal further.

  Tobias said, “Come on out. We want to be your friends.”

  The eyes moved, and along with them, the branches of the juniper bush fanned slightly. Out stepped a large furry cat.

  Max slipped back onto his rear in the grass and chuckled. “Well, there’s your troll, Tobias. It’s a hairy one with claws, but it’s not half as ugly as I expected a troll to be.”

  “Oh, it’s really cute,” Tobias said. He glanced at his mother and said, “It looks like a Norwegian Forest Cat, right?”

  Sofie and the others laughed and walked over to the small group. “I think you’re right,” Sofie said. “What a beautiful animal.”

  Tobias and Max were petting the cat, Tobias smiling with delight.

  “I’ve never heard of that breed,” Max said.

  “Tobias’s describing it as a troll was almost right. They are cats with quite a history of their own,” Sofie said. “They’re sometimes referred to as “trolldom” or “witchcraft” and in folklore they’re called “Troll cats”. Legend also has it that Vikings took them on their ships to keep mice infestation to a minimum.”

  Max raised his eyebrows. “Do they still exist in the twenty-first century?”

  Sofie and Tobias both nodded.

  “Can we keep her, Mom?” Tobias asked. “Please!”

  “She may already have a home,” Sofie said.

  “No, she doesn’t,” Tobias said. “Look at her. She’s big, but not as big as a typical Wegie. She looks hungry and lost.”

  Sofie looked at Max and asked, “What do you think? It could have rabies or some other disease?”

  “I don’t know. We barely have enough food to feed the eight of us. Don’t think we’ll be much help to her.”

  “Aw, come on, please. She’s lost. Would you want to be out here all alone?”

  Max gave Sofie a sideways glance. The boy had made a compelling argument, he had to give him that. “No, I wouldn’t like that. How about this? We leave it up to the cat. Set it down. If it follows us, we keep it.”

  Tobias looked a little worried but then shook it off. “Can we do that, Mom?”

  She turned to Karl and Birgitta, and said something in German.

  Karl nodded and started to walk again. Tobias set the cat on the ground and started walking. The cat hesitated for a moment, then walked alongside him, clearly intending to go with them for now. The others followed.

  Max thought that with a good combing the cat would be beautiful indeed. She was multicolored, tawny and a dark-chocolaty brown with some black hairs mixed in, and white on her neck and chest. Her face was adorable, a masquerade mask with white around her eyes and on the bridge of her nose, and black and chocolate around her mouth and chin. Her tufted ears reminded Max of a lynx. Her face, once he’d realized she was only a cat and not some ferocious animal or mythical beast, seemed especially sweet.

  When they reached the bottom of the hill, Ryan approached Tobias. They talked for several minutes. Max wondered what that was about. He didn’t have to wonder for long. The two boys approached Sofie and Max. Ryan said, “Can Tobias, Anneliese, and I ride together in the carriage for a while?”

  “Why?”

  Ryan said, “We can all give the cat attention.”

  “Can we, Mom?”

  “You wouldn’t be giving the cat a choice.”

  “She wants to go with us. Didn’t you see her walking with us all the way down the hill?”

  “Well, I suppose. But, Ryan, you have to watch out for Tobias. Promise me that.”

  “I will.”

  Max and Sofie followed the boys to the carriage and watched as Ryan picked up the cat and handed her to Tobias, then helped Anneliese in. The girl stroked the cat and cooed something to it.

  Tobias smiled. “Welcome to our carriage, Valkyrie.”

  “I ride horse now,” Karl said as he walked pass them toward one of
the horses.

  The two older women trudged over to the vehicle.

  Ryan ignored them, climbed inside the carriage, closed the door, and cozied up to Anneliese.

  Max clenched his teeth, then helped Birgitta and Lotte up onto the bench seat. After they were secure, he started walking toward his horse, shaking his head and wondering where his son’s manners had gone. Max turned around at the sound of running footsteps behind him. Tobias was heading toward him. The boy caught up to him and hugged him. “I wish you were my father,” he said.

  Max patted his head. “Can I let you in on a little secret?” he said.

  Tobias looked up at his face and nodded.

  “Me too. I’m in love with your mother. I might ask her to marry me. But don’t say anything, okay?”

  “I won’t. I promise.” He smiled, turned, and ran back to the carriage. Ryan pulled him up and slammed the door.

  SEVERAL HOURS HAD passed and the sun was setting. A few feet ahead, Max noticed, Karl’s body had slowly tilted further and further to the left. Max held his breath, hoping the elder man wouldn’t fall off his mount. Karl abruptly jerked straight, then turned his head to the right, then left, and straight ahead as if getting his bearings. Had Karl drifted off to sleep momentarily and then caught himself before he fell off? Max remembered that earlier in the day Karl had dozed in the carriage for a while. From the looks of it, he wasn’t going to manage riding much longer.

  Pulling up alongside Karl, Max opened his mouth to suggest they find a place to camp, but Karl spoke first.

  “I think we may be near a village. If so, we find a Gasthof for tonight, ja?”

  “But, Gramps, we don’t have much money. You’ve been trying to conserve the cash you brought with you.”

  “Ja, for time like this. I pay,” Karl said. “We all stay in one room, though. Better than sleeping outside, ja?”

  “That it is,” Max said. “And you’re right. I see buildings in the distance. Fantastic.”

  A short time later Karl pulled up to a tall, steep-roofed house on a street corner. The long side of the house had beautiful frescoes painted on the outside and many windows, but no door. They rode around to the narrow side, facing another street, finding the entrance. Above the door, the name Gasthof Birkenshire was painted in large letters on the white wall. Max saw two windows high up above the name—obviously on the second floor—and a single window above those, presumably from the third floor or attic. Karl and Max entered the gasthof and inquired about a room while telling the others to wait outside, their horses swishing their tails and scratching the road with their front feet and making soft snorting sounds.