Miles

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  We continued searching and talking, and I continued sneezing.

  When it was time to leave I bundled up again, to brave the outdoors.

  “I keep thinking we’ll find something else in the attic, since we found the guns and the note there.”

  “Me too,” said Miles. “Searching with you is fun though, even when we don’t find anything.”

  “I agree. I look forward to it every day. Well, other than weekends, when you boycott me,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  Miles found my annoyance amusing, but didn’t comment.

  We said goodbye, and I called Chip and headed for home.

  I hate being sick.

  I bundled my coat tighter around me and pulled my cap down over my ears. My scarf protected my face, lungs and throat from the freezing air, to some extent. It was better than nothing, anyway.

  I stomped my boots as free of snow as possible outside the door of the castle, then Chip and I went inside.

  I basked in the warm air, and Chip loped over to see Trixie, who lay on the floor chewing… something. I hoped whatever she had wasn’t important. I just didn’t feel like wrestling her for it to find out.

  “Hi,” I said to Miles, as I unbundled.

  “Hi back,” he said, then looked at me with concern. “Are you okay?”

  “Just a cold… hey, we just discovered a new superpower you have. I can’t make you sick.”

  “Maybe not, but you can make yourself a whole lot worse, by walking all the way here in the freezing cold. What did you do, sneak out before your Mom saw you?”

  “You know me so well,” I said. I was impressed.

  “I also know you ought to be home in bed.”

  “Yeah, maybe, but I’d like to see you try and take a sick day with a very energetic three-year-old brother in the house. Somehow the parents have instilled in him that he’s not to disturb Doreen, but I think he takes all her share of his crazy boy energy, and heaps it on me. I doubt I’d get any rest.”

  Miles still looked concerned. “Well, you don’t need to be searching through any rooms, anyway. Take it easy here, if you can’t at home.”

  “Okay,” I said. I really wasn’t feeling very well. “I want to search more in the attic, though.”

  “We’ll do it later. I’ll search when you’re not here, if it makes you feel better. Come on, follow me.”

  Miles led me to a room that was much more up to date than the rest of the house. What I’d seen so far, anyway. It had fat sofas and recliners, and a very large TV.

  I dropped onto the couch and Miles used his superpowers to pass me a throw to wrap up in, then brought me a Sprite. Good thing I stocked the fridge in the cellar for the yard men Polly was so concerned about. My good deed was coming back to bless me, now.

  “Want to watch a movie?” Miles asked.

  “Sure,” I said.

  “What would you like to see?” he asked. “We can get almost anything using the Roku.”

  “Nothing I have to concentrate very hard on,” I said. “How about Tangled?”

  “Okay,” Miles smiled.

  It probably wasn’t his kind of movie, being neither a kid nor a girl, but I appreciated him humoring me.

  Miles started the movie and we watched it together. We laughed in the same places, and at the end when Flynn Rider sacrificed himself for Rapunzel, I’m pretty sure he was as choked up as I was. It never fails, no matter how many times I see it, it gets to me.

  I watched Miles as the credits passed by and realized I was going to have to make a huge sacrifice. When we found the evidence we were looking for, I’d need to give up our friendship, and let him go. That was going to be an almost unbearable loss. Just how much I’d be losing when he was gone, hit me hard in a way it hadn’t before. Being the one left behind… now I knew on a whole different level what Rapunzel felt like. But she was a Disney Princess, she got Flynn back in the end.

  Lucky her.

  “Good movie,” Miles said.

  “You choose the next one,” I replied, glad that my cold was a good cover for the sudden case of watery eyes I suffered from.

  “Okay, let me think…” he thought. “Have you seen the Mummy movies?”

  “The really ancient movie with a mummy in it, or the new ones with Brendan Fraser?”

  “The new ones. The first is my favorite,” Miles said.

  “Let’s watch it, then.”

  “Okay, I’ll find it… how are you feeling, by the way? Can I get you anything?” Miles asked.

  “I’m okay. It feels good just to lie here, and not have a three-year-old try and crush me. Or get me to read. Or play.”

  “If you do need anything, let me know and I’ll get it for you,” said Miles.

  If only it was so easy.

  Miles’ movie was really good. I enjoyed it. I couldn’t help wishing I could find a Book of the Dead for Miles.

  “Think what you’re saying, though,” he said. “I wouldn’t want someone to die so I could be solid again, and I find the thought of living in someone else’s body extremely disturbing.”

  I said that out loud? I must be feverish. I need to stop thinking, who knows what random and private thought I might make public next.

  We watched movies all day. Night at the Museum, Journey to the Center of the Earth… the new one. We started out watching the old one, but had enough when they started to sing. Who thought that would be a good idea!

  It was the best day I’d had in a long time, in spite of how sick I was. I enjoyed the movies, but it was Miles’ company that made the day for me. It’s amazingly fun to be able to just joke around with someone who understands my sense of humor and can hold his own.

  The day came to an end, and Miles convinced me to call Mom for a ride home.

  It was Friday, so when we reached the cabin I crawled in bed, and that’s where I spent the rest of the weekend.

  Chapter 14

  After finding Sarah’s paper doll letter and Miles’ and Delevan’s guns, I felt sure the attic would hold more clues. So far though, we’d found all sorts of fascinating things, and I’d learned a lot about history, but no evidence from the crimes that were committed. We’d been searching the attic for over a month, it was unbelievable how much was packed in there.

  As I prepared to walk out the cabin door into the cold January day, Mom stopped me.

  “Wait, before you go... you’ve been gone so much, we haven’t had a chance to really chat lately,” she said.

  Uh-oh. Didn’t I have this talk with Mom and Dad just a few weeks ago?

  “What’s going on, Mom?” I tried to sound casual.

  Mom’s forehead puckered.

  “I know you’re taking your job very seriously, and believe me, your Dad and I are so proud of your work ethic and the job you’re doing. Dad was so impressed when you took him for a tour, and he saw what you’ve been up to.”

  So where’s the great big BUT fit in?

  “But… you have been gone so much lately. I’m still concerned that you aren’t taking time to hang out with people your own age, at least part of the time. You’ve been invited to go out every weekend, but you rarely take advantage of those opportunities. You’re either at work, or here at the cabin. This isn’t like you at all. You’ve given up so much, having to move here, and I—we—want to make sure you’re okay. You went to the castle on Friday, in spite of being so sick you needed me to pick you up later. I’m just concerned about you,” she finished. Mom looked so worried, I felt bad for her.

  “I’m fine, Mom. Really. And I’m saving for college, that’s important to me.”

  “That all sounds wonderful, but it’s not good to spend all your time alone, there are opportunities to make friends here if you’ll take them,” she said.

  Poor Mom, I wish she wasn’t worried about me. I didn’t need that, and she didn’t need that, but I didn’t know what to say.

  “Well, I’m kind of friends with that red-haired girl, what’s-her-name… Susan’s daughter, s
he’s really nice…” well that didn’t help my case any.

  I gave Mom a bear hug, told her I was great and not to worry so much, I still had friends I talked to on the phone (I did talk to Sheila once) and how did she know I didn’t spend all my time at the castle talking to them? Okay, I didn’t, but how did she know I didn’t?

  Mom hugged me back and smiled, although not a hundred watt.

  “Okay,” she said. “Just… remember, Anika, you need more than a dog for companionship. Make sure you invest in more than that.”

  “Okay, Mom,” I said, as I went out the back door to join Chip, who wondered what was taking me so long.

  As we trudged through the snow to the castle, I thought about what Mom said. She had no idea I spent all day talking to Miles. He was so easy to be around. It was a lot easier hanging out with him than spending time trying to make friends with other people who might or might not be friendship material, anyway.

  Suddenly I got what Mom was trying to say. And she had no idea how right she was, either. I was working hard to free Miles. In essence, I was working hard to get him out of my life, and when he was gone… I’d be alone with my dog.

  “No offense,” I said to Chip. He wagged his tail at me.

  I suddenly felt depressed. I had to move past it though and keep going, no matter how bad I felt just thinking of not being able to hang out with Miles anymore. He shouldn’t be stuck here alone. I couldn’t stay with him, forever… it wasn’t my house, for one thing!

  The right thing to do was to keep searching for proof. That was the only way to keep him from being alone with his dog again in the future. He already spent over a hundred and forty years that way.

  I stepped out of the woods and into the garden, and waved at the fellow making repairs to the roof of the guest house. Chip bounded over and rolled on his back next to another workman, and got a belly rub from him. I laughed inside, wondering what Polly would think about that. Chip was really keeping them in line.

  I ran up the steps of the castle and through the door.

  “Hi,” I said.

  “Hi back,” said Miles. “Any news on Polly’s grandson?”

  “Nope, nothing new. There’s been no change in Second-Miles’ condition.”

  “Second-Miles?” he looked puzzled.

  “I have to keep you two apart in my head, so you’re Miles, and he’s Second-Miles.”

  “Got it. If I ever hear you burst through the door and yell ‘Second-Miles!’ I’ll know not to answer.”

  I tried to hit him with my purse.

  “I’d be black and blue hanging around you, if I didn’t have my superpowers,” he smiled.

  I rolled my eyes dramatically.

  “Have you remembered anything that would explain what Sarah was trying to say?” I asked.

  “I do remember playing in the woods when Delevan and I were really young,” Miles said. “I don’t think Cynthia knew about that… but there was a cave on the property. Even before I became semi-transparent guy, I hadn’t been there in years. It’s the only place I can think of, though.”

  “Well, she does say through the hole, maybe she means a cave entrance,” I mused, as I looked at the letter again. “Do you remember where this cave is?”

  “Maybe. We can look and see,” he said.

  “Let me grab a flashlight, and we’ll be on our way.”

  The dogs followed us as we walked through the garden and found the path Miles thought was the right one. It led uphill at first, then dropped sharply. We looked down and saw a narrow rock ledge surrounded by frost covered ferns.

  “There,” Miles said, pointing to the snow and fern covered ledge. The dogs were rooting around, tracking something on the ground, so we left them to play and turned back to the path.

  We, or more like I, scrambled down to the small ledge in front of the cave opening.

  “I’ll go first,” said Miles.

  “After you, little rabbit,” I said under my breath, as I pulled out my flashlight and stooped to crawl in behind him.

  Stepping into the cave was like entering a whole different world. The sound of dripping water echoed, and pools of water lay at intervals on the cave floor. It smelled… like a cave, and the air was cool and moist.

  “We used to keep candles here, and matches,” Miles said, as he pointed just inside the mouth of the cave.

  “Looks like something ate your candles,” I pointed out.

  I used the flashlight to explore our immediate surroundings.

  “See those?” Miles pointed. “They’re called soda straws.”

  “That’s a good name for them, very descriptive,” I said, looking at the formation that indeed looked like a bunch of soda straws stuck to the roof of the cave.

  “And there are some fried eggs,” he pointed out.

  “Oh, how strange! That’s exactly what they look like.”

  “There are some pretty delicate formations in here, so be very careful and don’t touch anything if you can help it. It takes a long time for these to form, and we don’t want to damage them.”

  He was so smart. I don’t think I’d be able to learn all the things he knows, even if I had three-hundred years to do nothing but study.

  “So what’s the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite?” I asked.

  “Think of it this way,” Miles replied. “A stalactite holds tight to the roof of the cave. A stalagmite rises up, mightily.”

  “Cool, I just may be able to remember that then,” I said. “What makes caves smell like this?”

  “Do you really want to know? Because once I tell you, there’s no taking it back,” he said.

  He seemed amused by something. He had me really wondering what on earth he was talking about.

  “What on earth are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Part of what makes up the cave smell, is bat guano,” Miles said.

  “And what is that?” I asked, feeling no more enlightened than before.

  “Well, that would be bat droppings,” he enlightened me. I looked disgusted, and he tried unsuccessfully to hold back a grin.

  “So there are bats in here?” I asked, looking overhead a bit nervously.

  “Yes, but they aren’t going to bother you, and let’s don’t bother them, they’re hibernating this time of year. If they’re disturbed too much or too often, they won’t have enough energy to survive until there are insects for them to feed on again. And believe me, the time will come soon, when you’ll be thankful to have the little mosquito catchers out hunting.”

  “Well! You are a walking encyclopedia,” I said.

  Miles just grinned at me again, and we moved on to the point of our spelunking endeavor.

  “Okay, so how does the poem go…

  Down the path and through the hole,

  Does the little rabbit go.

  Count to three, and through again,

  Wonder where the carrots been?

  Find the little pile of stones,

  Lift it out and take it home.”

  Miles looked around and pointed to the third opening from the entrance. We knelt, and crawled down the sloping tunnel. We reached the end, and stepped out into a cavern. I briefly searched the large space with the flashlight. It was a lot bigger than the cavern we were in before. There wasn’t time to explore though, we needed to continue with our riddle note.

  “There,” Miles said.

  I could make out a stone filled crevice in the wall to the left of the tunnel we passed through.

  Moving forward slowly, we looked at each other for a long moment.

  My heart suddenly felt like lead.

  “Well, this is it,” I said, trying to sound upbeat. It didn’t work.

  We stood and stared at the crevice for several minutes, then looked back at each other.

  “If this works, I’m… going to really miss you,” Miles said softly.

  I wiped my eyes with my sleeve.

  “I don’t feel like I’m ready for this, and I’ll
miss you too… but you shouldn’t have to stay here forever. If you do, then someday you’ll be alone again…”

  Miles looked down and nodded, and we began to dig out the rocks in the crevice. Underneath, was a decorated case. It looked extremely old, of course. With another long look at each other, I opened it.

  A heavy bag slipped out and slithered across my knees. I opened the drawstring.

  “There’s a bunch of jewelry in here,” I said, holding the bag out to Miles. “Carrots, as in diamond karats.”

  Miles’ eyebrows knit as he studied the jewels.

  “I recognize some of this. My Mother used to wear these. They were passed down in the family, so Delevan must have given them to Sarah when he proposed.”

  “And she hid them here… to save them from her evil brother Dan? And then sent the coded note in case it was intercepted.”

  A wrinkled paper lay in the case, and I picked it up.

  “It’s the handbill. There’s Dan,” I pointed. “Grrr!”

  “My sympathies exactly…” said Miles.

  We sat a moment looking at the bag of jewelry and the handbill. There was nothing else here. Nothing to indicate what really happened that day.

  “We have the handbill,” I said. “That might shed some doubt, at least…”

  Miles made a face.

  “It would just support a different lie, like the death certificates would. Sarah said she didn’t murder those people, and I believe her.”

  “You have a lot of respect for Sarah,” I said.

  “My brother loved her. And she lied to protect my family from her brother, not to hurt them. Or me.”

  I folded the paper and put it back in the case with the jewels.

  “So you had no idea these were missing?” I asked.

  “No, I didn’t. All of this would have belonged to Delevan’s wife someday, so my Mother’s jewelry wasn’t something I thought anything about when I was alive. It may have been discussed after I died, but by the time I returned, the topic was laid to rest and never mentioned within my hearing. But I guess this is the family treasure mentioned in the story your Uncle told you.”

  “I guess so,” I said. “So what now?”

  “The jewelry belongs to Second-Miles, or will, once he comes into his inheritance,” Miles said. “Let’s bring it back to the house and put it someplace safe, so you can give it to Polly to give to him, whenever they come back home.”