Chapter 4

Bed time that night was a time of cuddling and comfort ending with a mutually enjoyable ending for both, and they slipped into a peaceful slumber.

Sometime during the very early morning, Dyl'fair slipped from the bed and returned a few hours later, well before sunrise, slipping back into bed with Mike, and going back to sleep.

Sometime later Mike woke with Dyl'fair wrapped in his arms, and kissed her awake. When she was awake, Mike asked, "Where did you go earlier this morning, to see the Satyr?

Dyl'fair was surprised that Mike had known she was absent and asked, "How did you know I was gone?"

Mike laughed and answered, "I awoke and you were absent, your spot was cold, and I couldn't find you anywhere in the house. Ergo, Ipso Facto, you had gone somewhere, and the only possible contact that had been discussed was the Satyr.

"Ergo, Ipso Facto, hmm ... sounds like Latin but I never had need to learn Latin because I happen to live in an area that used it only peripherally, so what does it mean?" Dyl'fair asked.

"Ergo, means 'therefore' and Ipso Facto, means 'by the fact itself.' Now, the only questions remaining are, did you find him, and if so, what did he have to say?" Mike asked.

"Humph," Dyl'fair grumped but continued with a smile, "you're scary smart did you know that?"

Mike just laughed and imitating Sherlock Holms said, "Elementary my dear Dyl'fair."

Dyl'fair just looked at him with a questioning look on her face until Mike explained literature, and the stories of Sherlock Holmes. When he had finished the tale, the look on her face wasn't a whole lot different, and she said, "I'll take your word for it."

Only much later did Mike realize that she hadn't answered his question?

Mike and Helen ate breakfast while Dyl'fair drank a glass of Orange juice with an essence chaser, and they discussed what Barbera might find when they explored the ownership of the land encompassing the Sacred Grove.

Helen said, "I hope they can find a solution to the problem, it is almost unconscionable that someone would even think about cutting down the trees in the Grove, not to mention the possibility of destroying the Nymphs."

"Nymphs, Satyrs, Fairies, Fauns, and the rest of the Fay Folk would disappear as well, since they also depend on the Grove for their lives," Dyl'fair added.

Shortly before bedtime, Harold called to tell them the good news. The Sacred Grove proper appeared to be outside of local space-time, and therefore untouchable by greedy men. In fact they hopped that it would be possible to purchase the surrounding land for a park. The plan was to use the proceeds from a lawn care business if Roy, Mike, and the other Nymph families (and Nymphs) were agreeable, which they were.

Over the next few days, the plan was enthusiastically accepted by all concerned, and before the end of summer, the park was a reality.

The story of the Satyrs is another tale for another time.