Chapter 8

"Sean, dear! Dinner is ready! Come on, get yourself downstairs."

I heard the tapping on my bedroom door and Mom's voice and realised that I had returned to the Midwest. My first concern was Brenda's brooch and my hand dropped to my pocket. The brooch was there and I marvelled once again at the detail I had somehow achieved in fashioning it.

There was no doubt that my girl would love this as a present and for now I stashed it away, in amongst my socks and underwear.

I'd felt something else in my pocket and I pulled it out now to find that it was the stone I'd found beside the gold. I hadn't really examined it before, simply slipped it into my pocket. Now I took some time to look at more closely.

It was smooth to the touch and shiny, like black marble. The stone was about the size of a golf ball and, as I looked at it now, I realised I had seen it before.

Many of my dreams when I had been younger had featured this very stone. I had always been holding or touching the stone before I had taken to the air to fly. That suggested the stone was significant in some way. Why it hadn't featured in my recent dreams before now I didn't know, but it was here now.

When I held it up closer to my face I could see some faint markings on the stone. There was also a sense of power throbbing at the heart of the stone. This wasn't the same as the power of the Road. I tried to identify what felt different about it but it was hard to put into words. The power seemed more personal somehow. There was a link between the stone and me that wasn't like the link I had with the Road. This was more ... I don't know, intimate maybe.

Closer study of the markings allowed me to identify them as a small scene - almost like a nativity. It was definitely a baby lying in a crib of some description but I couldn't make out any more than that.

I returned the stone to my pocket for now and got up to head downstairs before Mom shouted for me again.

The last few days before Christmas passed quickly. I shared all of the details of my second trip to Gael with Brenda. She, of course, interrogated me once again to find out all of the important things that I'd forgotten to mention. The story of how I had healed Big-Black brought tears to her eyes, but I kept the gold and the brooch a secret, for now.

I did share the stone with her. Brenda studied the stone too and she asked me what significance I thought it had. I still hadn't been able to figure that out. There was just the sense of power coming from it, and the feeling that it was personal to me ... but other than that, nothing.

"I've got a really good magnifying glass at home. Let me take it away to have a look at it?" Brenda asked.

I shrugged to let her know I was okay with her request and she slipped the shiny black stone into her pocket to examine later.

There was the usual carol singing and turning on the town's Christmas lights. St Ann's also had a Christmas formal, and Brenda had begged me to accompany her.

Women conspire sometimes to make men feel completely inadequate! My Mom and Brenda were doing exactly that, as they made plans together for the dance. Mom splashed out on a new suit for me to wear and even ordered me to get a haircut. St Ann's was a prep school, after all.

It was as if I hadn't managed to get through nearly eighteen years of my life being able to think for myself. Have you taken a shower? Did you remember the corsage? Straighten your tie. Go polish your shoes again! Don't be late picking her up. Don't be late taking her home.

Mom even insisted on trying to teach me how to dance properly. Well, that was one idea that cost her dearly! After I had trodden all over her toes she gave me up as a hopeless case, and offered Brenda her sympathy.

I already thought my girl was the cutest thing in town, but when I picked her up to take her to the dance my heart almost burst from my chest. She was wearing the simplest of black dresses that somehow enhanced her beauty more than I thought was possible. It was elegantly cut around the neck and shoulders - leaving just the right amount of décolletage to make it interesting!

The black complimented her pale skin and the brown of her hair and eyes. Even her freckles seemed to have been made to contrast with the dress. There was only one thing I could think of that would make the whole picture look better and I dashed out of the Thomas' house and raced back to my own to get it.

"I'll only be a few minutes. Don't worry!" I called over my shoulder.

Brenda and her folks were a little surprised that I had run off and they were just beginning to think I had got cold feet about the dance when I returned. Walking up to my girl I pinned the stallion brooch just above her left breast and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"I was going to save this for Christmas day, but it was made to go with that dress. I hope you like it," I whispered to her.

Brenda looked down at the brooch and squealed excitedly.

"It's Mordew, isn't it?"

I didn't try to correct her pronunciation of the stallion's name - it was close enough. Instead I simply nodded to let her know she had guessed correctly.

"But how did you manage to find..." she started to ask, then realised that talking about Gael in front of her folks was definitely not a good idea.

"Oh, Sean! It's beautiful - he's beautiful!" she said instead.

Mrs Thomas came over to investigate and soon she too was oohing and ahhing over the brooch.

"The detail is incredible, Sean. And the gold is such a lovely colour. You're a very lucky girl, daughter mine," she said.

I looked at my girl and for the first time noticed that there were tiny flecks of gold in her brown eyes. The brooch was a mini work of art, there was no doubt about that, but its beauty paled into insignificance when compared to the girl wearing it.

As soon as we were out of her house and in my Mom's car, Brenda wanted to know how I'd managed to find the brooch. I told her the story of finding the gold and of how the power had taken over to fashion the gold.

She shook her head in amazement and I could see a little tear of happiness gathering at the corner of one eye. Like a typical boy I tried to lighten the mood.

"Come on, let's get to St Ann's. It's time I trampled all over your feet for making me wear this stupid suit!"

Brenda's reply was to punch me on the arm.

We managed to enjoy the dance, and despite my Mom's worries I didn't destroy Brenda's feet. I even managed to get her home on time. Lots of Brenda's friends admired her brooch, and she showed it off proudly. The prep school crowd was a bit stuffy for my liking, but we got along all right, with Brenda acting as a bridge.

I managed to meet up with my girl on Christmas Day, and Brenda handed me a neatly gift-wrapped present. I ripped open the paper (and yes, she did give me a dirty look for not appreciating the effort she had put into wrapping it!) and found two hardback books. One was on herbal and homeopathic remedies, and the other was the National Geographic book on everything you need to know about plants. The books were both beautifully illustrated and I knew I would get hours of enjoyment looking through them.

Christmas dinner was just for Mom and me, but she still went all-out and made a fancy meal with all the trimmings. We had roast rib of beef, roast potatoes and three different vegetables. Dessert was a fresh-cream gateau.

Mom did one of those annoying adult things by telling me we couldn't exchange presents until after I'd helped her clean up after dinner. For once I wasn't too annoyed, as she had worked really hard preparing the meal.

Once the dishes had been rinsed and stacked in the dishwasher, we made hot chocolate and sat in the family room next to the Christmas tree. Mom went first and she handed me a bulky package covered in shiny red paper.

I showed the same lack of appreciation for Mom's neat wrapping and shredded the paper to find out what was inside. Brenda and Mom had obviously been talking to each other, as Mom had got me a fancy kit for making medicines out of plants and roots. There was a mortar and pestle, a pill-maker and a range of glass tubes and jars. There were also a number of agents to help breakdown ingredients to make solutions.

"Mom, it's fantastic! Thanks."

I leant over and wrapped her in a hug then passed her one of the presents that I had bought for her. The lumpy, messy, wrapping would have given anybody a clue that this present had been wrapped by a male of the species.

Mom tried to impart another lesson by unpicking the sticky tape along the seams/joins in the wrapping paper and then carefully folding the paper. I knew she wasn't going to re-use the paper in the future, but she could have, given how careful and deliberate she had been.

The present was a soft leather briefcase that she would find useful for her work. It was black and the saleswoman in the shop had assured me it was feminine looking so should be appropriate. Mom liked it and told me so.

"Oh! It's lovely, Sean. Mmmmm, I do love the smell of new leather," she said, and held the briefcase up to her nose for a deep sniff.

The second present from Mom was certainly a surprise - it was a professional kit for painting in watercolours. It was not something I would ever have thought to ask for. As far as I could remember I had never thought of taking up painting, much less said anything of the sort to Mom. This appeared to be wholly Mom's idea for me.

"It looks pretty neat, Mom. What made you think of it?" I asked.

"You have a natural affinity with nature, Sean. You have green fingers and can make a landscape out of a garden by the way you get things to grow. I just wondered if that skill might extend into being able to recreate the beauty of nature through painting. I've paid for some lessons for you, too, just to get you started."

That was the end of the surprises as we exchanged other small gifts. I gave Mom a book and a CD she had been hinting at and she reverted to being the sensible parent by buying me a thick pair of new gloves and some practical things for my business, like new pruning shears.

Brenda phoned before I went to bed. She described how the day had gone for her and her family. Her parents had spoiled her rotten as usual, and she took ages to tell me about all of the presents she'd received. Grandam Barnes in particular had outdone herself this year, it seemed. She had given Brenda a four-wheeler of all things. My girl raved about this mechanical marvel for quite a while before she wound down.

"The best present is the brooch, though, Sean. Mordew looks beautiful, I wish I could see him for real. I can't believe you made this all on your own."

From the way she said it I knew she must have the brooch in her hand while she was talking to me on the phone. There was another little sigh of appreciation at the other end of the phone and I smiled. It had taken me a while to come up with the present, but in the end I think I'd done a good job!

I'd zoned out a little and I came back to reality when I heard Brenda was talking once more.

"I looked at your stone with my magnifying glass. You were right; it is a nativity scene that's carved on it. There's something else though - another little carving. It's much fainter than the first one but I think it shows a boy flying and he's surrounded by birds of some kind."

I was beginning to suspect that the baby in the crib and the boy flying might in fact be me, but I didn't share that with Brenda just yet.

Eventually I heard Brenda's Mom shouting to tell her she'd been on the phone long enough. We wound up our talk and I promised I'd see her in the morning.

Mom had already taken herself to bed. I walked round making sure all of the windows and doors were secured and that the lights had been properly switched off. Once I was satisfied, I trudged upstairs, brushed my teeth (I'll talk about that more, a little later in this story!) and got ready for bed.

I had already decided earlier in the day that I had to visit Charles and Grandma again, since it was Christmas Day. I had decided to try something on this trip, too. I had prepared things in advance.

There was a small backpack sitting on the end of my bed. I wasn't intending to take much - for one thing I was unsure whether it would affect my ability to fly. Inside the backpack was half a dozen apples (for Big-Black of course), some assorted seeds (I'd noticed the Gaels were limited in what they grew) and a small flashlight.

I pulled the backpack on and then lay down on my side. I closed my eyes and sought my link to the Road. I found that this was becoming easier and within moments I was flying above the shimmering ribbon. I glanced over my shoulder and smiled to see the backpack was there.

Okay, that worked. But that was just the trial for what I was about to try next. Before I could put my plan into action, the eagles appeared, and took up station on either side of me. They squawked their welcome, and I greeted them in return.