The Adventure of the Willamax

by Gregory Hankins

Erin, Bryn, and Sean

  And

  The Adventure of the Willamax

  By Gregory Hankins

  Published By Gregory Hankins

  Copyright © 2010 Gregory C. Hankins

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN 978-0-9868511-1-7

  gregorychankins@gmail.com

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, incidents and places are used fictitiously. Any resemblance, either in whole or in part, to any person, living or dead, or any actual events that may have occurred, is purely coincidental.

  ~~~~

  To Susan for Patience and Encouragement

  ~~~~

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to express my gratitude to several people who have helped me in the editing and reviewing of this book. Mostly, I would like to thank Susan Hankins for the time and energy she put into proof reading The Adventure of the Willamax and for putting up with my very bad spelling. I would also like to thank Andrea Lake for taking the time out of her busy life to go through the book painstakingly, finding not only infinite little errors, but providing suggestions that helped immensely in the flow of the story. Also, I would like to thank Hallie Romero, who also reviewed the book in great detail and provided helpful suggestions and feedback. Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the people whom I coerced into reading the rough draft. Such encouraging friends. How lucky I am.

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  Table of Contents

  Amah Sampan

  The Forever Road

  Gladen’s Magnificent Horse

  Troublesome Dublr’s

  The Willamax

  The Journey Home

  About the Author

  ~~~~

  Amah Sampan

  All the birds were chirping much too loudly. Something was amiss!

  Erin, Bryn, and Sean were playing outside on a nice Pender Island day. They were having so much fun that they hardly noticed that all the birds were singing and chirping like they had never sung and chirped before. Robins and sparrows were singing for all they were worth, eagles and ravens cried and squawked like someone was pulling their tail feathers, and deep in the woods owls, ever silent and patient owls, hooted as loud as they could.

  Bryn suddenly looked up from what he was doing and said, “Aren’t the birds kind of loud?”

  The other two lifted up their heads and listened.

  “Ya,” said Sean. “Kinda weird, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, well,” said Erin. “What do you guys want to do this morning? I want to go to the beach…”

  But just as Erin was speaking, a small finch landed on her shoulder. They all looked at it with surprise, but were even more surprised when it started to talk.

  “Have you heard!? Have you heard!?” said the little bird.

  The three young people looked at each other then back at the bird, their mouths wide open.

  “H-heard?” asked Erin whose nose was only an inch away from the bird’s beak. “Heard what?”

  “The Willamax! The Willamax!” said the little bird. “He’s stolen the Friender’s Lamp! The Friender’s Lamp!”

  “What’s the Friender’s Lamp?” asked Bryn. The three of them looked at each other in disbelief. They were, after all, talking to a bird.

  “Without it, without it, everything will go dark,” squeaked the tiny red bird.

  “Looks pretty bright to me,” said Sean, looking up at the beautiful, clear blue sky. “Besides, what do you want us to do about it? We’ve never even hear of this Willamax guy before.”

  “But you have to do something. You have to do something!”

  “Sorry little bird,” said Erin. “We’re busy. It’s the nicest day of our holiday, and we’re going to the beach. You’ll just have to find this Willamax guy yourself and ask him to give back the Finder’s Lamp, or whatever it’s called.”

  The little bird suddenly looked startled. “Oh, no. We couldn’t do that. The Willamax eats little birds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” The finch tilted its head and opened its eyes as big as it could, looking very sad. “But you could. It wouldn’t take you very long.” It tried to look even sadder and said in a pathetic little voice, “Please.”

  “Maybe we should, Erin,” said Bryn. “We can go to the beach after we get the lamp thingy.”

  “It did say ‘Please,’” Sean added.

  Erin made a big sigh and rolled her eyes. “Oh, okay. But this better not take long! And which way do we go?”

  “How should I know?” said the little bird. “None of us know where the Willamax lives.”

  “Oh, great!” said Erin. “I think we should just forget the whole thing and go to the…”

  “But you could ask Amah Sampan,” the little bird said quickly before Erin could finish. “She knows everything.”

  “Who’s Amy Sanpan? And where does she live?” asked Sean.

  “Amah Sampan,” repeated the bird impatiently. “And she lives in the forest just where the Forever Road starts.” The bird suddenly flew up in the air and hovered. “But you better get a move on. It’s already growing dark.”

  “No, it’s not!” said Bryn looking up at the sky that was just as bright and blue as before.

  The little finch began to fly away. “Hey, wait!” yelled Erin. “Where’s the Forever Road?”

  “Ask the flag pole. It always points in the right direction!” chirped the bird as it flew away.

  “Right,” said Sean, sarcastically. “This is getting ridiculous. Now we’re supposed to ask a flag pole where we should go.”

  Bryn looked up at the flag pole attached to the porch, its heron flag sweeping lazily back and forth in the summer breeze. “Why not?” he said. “It can’t be much weirder than having a conversation with a bird!”

  “Alright,” said Erin, clearly thinking that this whole thing was just crazy, and wanting instead to go to the beach. “Flag pole,” she asked, without any enthusiasm, “where do we find Amah Sampan and the Forever Road?”

  As the three children looked on with increasing amazement, the end of the flag pole changed from a round ball into a small hand with a pointing finger. Then, as if it were made of rubber, it bent to point down the driveway, just to the left of the old pump house.

  “Holy…” Erin started to say.

  “Don’t swear, Erin,” said Bryn, quickly.

  “I didn’t swear!”

  “You were going to!”

  “No I wasn’t. I just said, “Holy”!”

  “Yes, you were…”

  “Hey,” said Sean, already part way down the driveway, “never mind that. Come on!”

  Erin and Bryn ran to catch up with Sean. They stopped at the little pump house near the end of the driveway. Directly across from the small building, was an old abandoned road.

  “That can’t be the Forever Road,” said Sean. “It only goes in a little way.”

  “Maybe Amah Sampan lives in the pump house,” said Bryn.

  The three of them turned to look at the little, windowless building.

  “I don’t think so,” said Erin. “It’s probably full of spiders.”

  The three of them shuddered at the thought of the huge spiders that must be in the tiny building. They then turned back to look down the little road again. Their eyes suddenly widened with surprise. Just inside the roadway and to the right, a roughly made lean-to had appeared as if by magic. Steam was rising up from a kettle that sat on a small camp stove. Behind the stove, and somewhat sheltered by the lean-to, sat an old lady wearing a big-brimmed Chinese hat. She hummed as she sorted leaves to put in the pot.

  “Where did she come from?” asked Sean.

  Bryn and Erin just shrugged
in amazement, then the three of them walked slowly over to the old woman. They stood right in front of her, but still she just busied herself with making tea. The lean-to was made of old tree branches, but looked surprisingly strong. And, it also looked like it had been there a very long time. Bryn peeked inside the lean-to. It looked very comfy, with brightly coloured blankets on the floor and cushions tossed here and there. Suddenly, Bryn felt tired and thought it would be nice to crawl in and have a nap.

  “You keep out of my house little boy!” said a sharp voice.

  Bryn looked at the old lady. Her face was stern, and she was staring back at him.

  “Geez, I was only thinking it,” said Bryn with a pout.

  “Thinking what?” said Erin, impatiently.

  “Nothing,” said Bryn, a bit embarrassed.

  Erin ignored her brother and asked, “Who are you? And what are you doing on my Uncle Greg’s property?”

  “I don’t know no Uncle Greg. And you’re on my property,” said the old woman, returning to her tea.

  "But this is Uncle Greg and Aunty Susan's property!" insisted Bryn.

  "Ach…" said the old woman, waving them away with her hand.

  "Let's go," said Erin, impatiently. "We need to find this Amah Sampan before it gets too late to go to the beach."

  The old lady suddenly looked up at the three of them. She narrowed her eyes and stared suspiciously. "Why do you want to find Amah Sampan? Who told you where I live?"

  The three young people looked at each other, then at the old woman.

  "You're Amah Sampan?" said Sean, not doing a very good job of hiding his disbelief.

  "Well, I ain’t Santa Clause, kid," replied Amah Sampan, sarcastically. "Anyway, who told you where I live?"

  "Some bird told us," said Bryn. "It said you could help us."

  "Some bird!" squawked Amah Sampan. "Never trust a bird, I say. They sing you any song they want."

  "But can you help us?" asked Erin.

  "How do I know if I can help you, kid, if I don't know what you want? Do I look like I read minds?"

  "We're trying to find some guy named Willamax. Have you heard of him?" asked Sean.

  Amah Sampan suddenly dropped some of her tea leaves in the fire of the camp stove, and wisps of sweet-smelling smoke rose up in front of her. She cursed in a language that none of the three young people knew and waved the smoke away. "What do you want to find the Willamax for? No one wants to find him!"

  "Because," Erin said, sounding about ready to give up again, "the bird told us that this Willamax guy stole something called the Friender's Lamp, and that it was up to us to get it back."

  Amah Sampan suddenly sat up straight and her eyes opened very wide. "The Willamax has the Friender's Lamp?" she asked, looking very troubled.

  "It's supposed to be growing dark out," said Bryn, "but it doesn’t look any darker to me."

  "But it is… it is!" repeated Amah Sampan, furrowing her brow and deep in thought for a moment. "Yes, yes. Oh no!" she said, talking to herself. Then she shook her head and bowed it down so all that could be seen was the wide brim of her Chinese hat. Then, suddenly, she tilted her head back up and looked at Erin, Bryn, and Sean as if seeing them for the first time. She looked at each one of them, squinting as if she could see something about them that no one else could see.

  "Come," she said, finally, motioning with her hand. "You sit here and we make a plan."

  To everyone's surprise, three comfy cushions were suddenly sitting in front of the cook stove, with three empty cups and saucers sitting on tiny tables beside each cushion. As each one took their seat, Amah Sampan motioned for them to pass their cups. She filled each one and passed them back without saying a word.

  Erin looked at the rusty orange liquid in her tea cup and asked, "What is this?"

  "It's special tea to give you strength," said Amah Sampan. Her voice sounded softer now, as soothing as the aroma coming from the tea cups.

  Erin took a sip. It tasted wonderful, full of cinnamon and spices, just like pumpkin pie, only better. "Hey, it tastes like pumpkin pie," she said.

  "No, it doesn't," said Bryn. "It tastes like chocolate and caramel."

  "No, you're both wrong," added Sean. "It tastes like mango ice cream."

  Amah Sampan smiled at them as curls of steam rose from her cup. "It tastes like something that makes you happy. But it's always good for you," she said.

  "Now," she continued, looking very serious, "there's some things we need to talk about before you start your journey…"

  "Journey!" said Erin, cutting her off. "The bird said that this wouldn't take long at all. A ‘journey’ sounds like something that takes a long time."

  Sean and Bryn both nodded and muttered in agreement with Erin.

  Amah Sampan looked at Erin with one raised eyebrow. "What did I say about never trusting a bird?"

  "Ya, they'll ‘sing you any song,’ you said. But we don't have time. We want to go to the beach this morning."

  Amah Sampan shook her head. "Oh, that's too bad. And here I thought I could see IT in you. I thought you had IT. We’ll have to struggle on without you, I guess."

  Erin rolled her eyes and sighed.

  "What's IT?" asked Bryn, ignoring his sister.

  "IT is what you need to get the Friender's Lamp from the Willamax," said Amah Sampan, looking into Bryn's eyes.

  "Well, maybe Erin can go," added Sean, "and Bryn and I could continue."

  "No, no," said Amah Sampan. "Only all three of you together have IT."

  "But you still haven't told us what IT is," said Erin, sounding very impatient.

  "IT," Amah Sampan said, slowly looking at each one of them with her dark eyes, "is like magic." She paused and everything around them seemed to grow very quiet. Then she said, "But better!" so suddenly that all three young people jumped.

  "Wow," said Sean, looking at his companions. "This is way cooler than the beach, you guys"

  "Ya," said Bryn as if in a trance.

  "Oh, alright!" said Erin, almost shouting. "We'll do it!"

  They looked at Amah Sampan who was smiling as she drank her tea. She looked as if she knew they would do it all along.

  Finally, after a moment or two of silence, while they sipped their tea and listened to the sound of a gentle breeze blowing through the trees, Amah Sampan spoke. "You will need three things to help you on your journey." As she spoke, she reached for a large gray bag that sat beside her. Bryn could have sworn that the bag wasn't there before, but he said nothing.

  "First of all," Amah Sampan said, "you will need a scentless ball." She passed Bryn a small green ball with oriental designs on it. It jingled as she passed it to him. "Use it sparingly! Only so many times you can shake it."

  Bryn took the ball carefully then shook it to hear the jingling sound again, but Amah Sampan quickly put her small but strong hand on his to stop him.

  "What’d I say! Use it sparingly!" She looked at him sternly, then said, "put it in your pocket, boy. It's not a toy."

  "So what is a… er… senseless ball, anyway?" Bryn asked, but Amah Sampan was already taking something else out of the bag and didn't seem to hear his question.

  The second item she drew from the gray bag was a small brass bell that she shook to make it ring. But no sound came out. She handed it to Erin. "This bell will call Gladen, the spirit woman of the forest. She watches over children, and guides them when they need help. But the bell will not ring if the children are safe." She looked at Erin with sharp eyes and added, "Do not ask too much of Gladen. You will anger her, and you will be lost in the forest forever."

  Erin took the bell carefully and nodded in agreement. She too put the trinket into her pocket.

  Lastly, Amah Sampan pulled out a small mirror. She handed it to Sean, who took it very carefully as if it were the most fragile thing he had ever seen.

  "Look inside the mirror," said Amah Sampan, "and see the scariest thing in the world."

  Sean did as she said, squinting at the
thought of the monster he was about to see, while everyone else held their breath. But all he saw, staring back at him, was himself.

  Amah Sampan burst out laughing. "Pretty scary, eh kid?" She rocked back and forth with laughter. "I get ‘em every time with that one!"

  "Very funny," said Sean, slipping the mirror into his pocket. "Now, what's it really for?"

  Amah Sampan chuckled some more, then sniffled and wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. "Okay, okay." She said. "You guys have no sense of humor. I'll tell you what it's for. The Willamax is a no-good-for-nothing lout, but he does have some magical powers. When he steals something, he’s always afraid someone’s going to steal it back, so he puts an invisibility spell on everything important. He's for sure going to put a spell on the Friender's Lamp, and this magic mirror will let you see it even when it’s invisible. You get it?"

  "Ya, I get it," said Sean. “Sounds easy enough.”

  "Huh! Not so easy, kid. His house is full of junk that he thinks is real treasure. Lots of stuff to trip over. You'll need the mirror just to stop from falling on your face!"

  "Okay," said Erin. "Let's get on with it. What else can you tell us about this Willamax, and where does he live?"

  "I can only tell you this: he's a mean, ugly brute and he has mean, ugly friends. Watch out, especially, for the Vinchers. They’re real bad birds!" Amah Sampan seemed to shudder at the thought of the Vinchers. "As for where he lives, that's easy. He lives just past the clearing at the end of the Forever Road."

  "Where's the Forever Road?" asked Bryn.

  Amah Sampan pointed down the little old road that they were sitting beside. "That's the Forever Road," she said.

  "That's easy," said Erin, "We know that little road like the back of our hands. We go down it all the time. But why do you call it the Forever Road?"

  Amah Sampan just looked at all three of them, and a little smile crept onto her lips. "You'll see," is all she said.

  Erin stood up, and the two boys followed her. "Thanks for the tea, Amah Sampan, but we better be going. What should we do with the Friender's Lamp when we get it?"

  “Bring it back to me,” said Amah Sampan as she too stood up, “and I will make sure it gets back to where it belongs.” She was very short, much shorter than any of the three young people. She bent down and picked up three small gray bags, just like the bag she had drawn the three trinkets from. "This is just in case you get hungry."

  "No thanks," said Bryn. "Mom just made us pancakes."

  "Don't be rude, Bryn," said Erin to her brother. "Just take it."

  "But we just have to walk over there!" argued Bryn.

  But Erin gave him the evil eye, and he took the small bag. "Thank you Amah Sampan," he said, looking at Erin.

  "Bye!" said all three as they set out.

  "Good luck," said Amah Sampan. Then, to herself she added: "You're gonna need it…"

  ~~~~

  The Forever Road