The Gargoyle in My Yard

by Philippa Dowding

  One night, after hearing yet another tale about a religious battle in England, Katherine finally had to blurt out, “Honestly, Gargoth, weren’t there ever any good times? Didn’t anyone ever have a good day, where they could just hang out and relax?”

  He stopped and blinked at her, surprised. It took him a moment to accept the change in the course of their conversation, but when he understood what she was asking, he slowly smiled. “Of course, Katherine. There were many good things about living a long time ago.” He paused, thinking for a moment.

  “The air smelled better, for one thing.” Here Katherine sighed, ready for another lecture. Gargoth had complained almost daily about the poor quality of the Toronto air, ever since he had arrived in their backyard. Katherine was so used to his complaining, she tuned him out and was no longer surprised if, right in the middle of a conversation, he stopped, wrinkled up his nose and started coughing. He hated the air and wondered often what it was doing to “one so young”, meaning her.

  He went on. “Food tasted better, too. These so-called apples barely have any flavour compared to the English apples of my early life. They were strong and tart, yet somehow sweet at the same time. There were lovely, clear blue skies and beautiful smells of hay and sweet clover in the summer.” He closed his eyes, and Katherine could almost hear him sniffing the wind, remembering a time long ago and far away when the world did not smell like car exhaust and diesel fumes.

  After a long pause, he finally added, “And the world was much, much quieter then, Katherine.” As if to confirm the point, a car alarm suddenly started blaring on the street in front of the house. He flinched, hunching his shoulders a little, drawing his wings in tightly around himself. He glared toward the front of the house and wouldn’t continue until the offending alarm stopped.

  “I could stand on the church parapet on a deep summer night and hear nothing but crickets, the wind in the long grass, and the trickle of the churchyard stream. Nothing but blissful silence, right until the first rooster crowed at sun-up.”

  Katherine wondered about that; she thought a serene and quiet world where the air smelled sweet and food tasted better sounded pretty good. But then there was all the bad stuff about religious persecution and starvation, no doctors, short life spans and constant illness, which she thought might make living in the past not so much fun, really.

  One mid-December night, Katherine made up her mind. She would help Gargoth find the store he’d lost. She would help him, but they would have to be very careful. She didn’t want her parents to find out. Or anyone else, for that matter.

  After dinner that night, she went to visit him, which wasn’t unusual, since either she or her mother or even her dad would once in a while, take an after-dinner snack out to him and say goodnight. It was becoming part of the family routine, deciding which one would check on him before bed.

  He had taken a liking to hot chocolate, and this night Katherine was having some for herself, so she made him an extra mug. She told her parents she was going to say goodnight to Gargoth and stepped outside. The cold took her breath away and made the hot cup of chocolate suddenly look warm and inviting as steam furled up into the dark.

  “Gargoth,” she called quietly. “Gargoth?” There was a silence, then the bushes parted and out he stepped, regal as a small, fierce prince. Despite telling them he didn’t feel the cold, Katherine noticed that he had taken to sleeping at night in the warmth of the bushes, especially when it was snowing.

  She walked over to him and handed him the warm mug. He accepted it eagerly and took an enormous swig. He wiped his mouth then turned and grinned at her.

  “Well, Katherine, I’m glad that you have made cocoa again. Thank you.” They sat together beside the tree. Her parents had placed a small wooden bench near his pedestal so anyone could curl up and chat with him in comfort. Since her “A” in history, she and Gargoth had spent more and more time together.

  “Gargoth, I’ve decided I will help you,” she began. “I will help you find the store you are looking for.”

  There was a silence. Gargoth hid his face away from her for a moment, then turned to her with great, hot gargoyle tears coursing down his fat, leathery cheeks. Quietly he buried his little face in her coat. She could feel his hot tears hissing against the cool skin at her neck. It hurt. She gently pried him off her, concerned.

  “Are you okay, Gargoth?” she asked, gazing intently into his face.

  He took a deep breath and wiped his tears. “Okay? Okay, Katherine? Okay indeed! You have made me feel there is a...future. A way in the future for me...” He buried his face in her coat again for a moment, then turned away. He was making hiccoughing noises, too overcome to speak. Then he got up on his pedestal and danced an ancient jig, hooking his little claws under his wings and clicking his heels beneath his knees. Katherine giggled.

  Once he had finished, he sat down again and caught his breath, saying, “You are very kind to me, Katherine. I know it has not been easy. I know that you had no choice but to accept me, and I regret...” he trailed off, suddenly sad. Her eyes followed his gaze to the flower patch, now empty and hoed to bare earth. Her parents had rid the yard of any remembrance of asters. He then let his eyes pass over the mended dwarf whose nose he had broken, so long ago it seemed now.

  “I promise I will be good. I won’t cause any problems for you, no matter what happens.” And with that he extended his claw to Katherine. She carefully took it in her mittened hand, and they shook.

  “Okay, Gargoth. We’ll start looking for the store the first Wednesday after New Year’s. I have piano lessons on Wednesdays, and I have to take the subway and the bus to my teacher’s house, so I can put you in my bag after school and take you with me. We will have time to look at one store each week. It could take a long time. There are lots of stores in this city that might have gargoyles in them. Tell me everything you can remember about the one you are looking for.”

  So, as they sipped hot chocolate and sat in the cold night, she listened as the little gargoyle told her everything he could remember about the lost store.

  When he was finished, she had a good idea where to start their search.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Christmas Day Statues

  In no time, it seemed to Katherine, the first term of school was ended and it was time for Christmas holidays.

  Christmas was always a fairly laid-back time for the Newberrys, pleasant and unhurried, with lots of friends to visit. They usually had one, large, exciting party for all their friends. Katherine was allowed to invite two friends, and they were always Sarah and Rubie.

  This year was going to be a little different. Instead of the huge party they always had, Katherine’s parents had decided they would tell everyone they couldn’t have it this year because they were planning a long-awaited ski trip to Quebec. Katherine loved skiing, and although she would really miss the great party her parents always threw, she was really excited about the ski trip.

  They were leaving on Boxing Day and had everything all ready and packed to go several days before, so they could laze around and enjoy Christmas day itself. They also wanted to say goodbye to Gargoth.

  Christmas morning was clear and cold. Just as though the snow gods were listening to every child’s prayer on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning dawned with a fresh blanket of snow.

  Katherine woke, sprang out of bed and looked out the window. It was her custom now to check on Gargoth from her bedroom window first thing each morning. Somehow he always knew when she was awake, and was waiting, smiling up at her when she peeked out. Christmas morning was no different. He was awake, gazing up at her window, waiting for her.

  She waved excitedly at him, and he waved back.

  But then she gasped and clapped her hands together in delight! Gargoth had been busy all night, making the most beautiful sculptures with the new snow!

  As she looked over the backyard, she counted seventeen snow statues, each one a perfect gargoyle. Each was unique in its way, som
e were clearly female gargoyles, some were younger, older, grumpy or happy as Gargoth had made them.

  One gargoyle was balanced perfectly on one toe, caught in a pirouette, just as Gargoth himself had been that terrible night when he’d stolen Katherine’s shoes.

  Another held a bouquet of what looked like asters.

  Still another had her wings spread and was flying above a block of snow, suspended on a column of nearly invisible ice.

  Each one was a beautiful work of art.

  Katherine opened her window and called down to Gargoth, who was sitting perched on his pedestal, smoking his pipe. “Gargoth, they’re beautiful!” She smiled at him.

  He grinned back. “Good morning, Katherine! Merry Christmas!” he called.

  “Merry Christmas, Gargoth!” she called and quickly shut the window. It really was a cold morning.

  She ran down the hall to her parents’ room and burst through the door, breathless. Both her parents, sleepy but happy, smiled up at her as she entered. Milly was curled up between them, asleep. They had already been up and made coffee and hot chocolate. Her mug was steaming on their bedside table. She jumped between them and said, “Merry Christmas, Mom! Merry Christmas, Dad!”

  “Did you see the statues?” she asked, after sipping her delicious cocoa.

  Her mother was smiling. For the first time in a long while, she looked really happy.

  “Yes, they’re really beautiful. I think we should take pictures of them so we can keep them around forever,” she said.

  Soon it was time for presents. After each Newberry family member had opened his or her gift, and after a huge breakfast of Froot Loops (forbidden the rest of the year), pancakes and maple syrup, the Newberrys put their warmest coats and boots on over their pajamas, and carried out their presents for Gargoth.

  Gargoth was sitting beneath the sculpture of the beautiful flying gargoyle, smoking his pipe. He looked calm and peaceful, almost happy.

  “Hello, Newberrys. I hope you enjoy the snow sculptures I have made for you.”

  “Oh, they’re beautiful, Gargoth. Thank you!” said Katherine and her mother, almost together. Katherine’s father simply said “The statues are beautiful, Gargoth.” He still hadn’t been able to understand when Gargoth spoke, although sometimes he thought he caught a word here and there.

  Gargoth stood up and came over to the family. He waved his arms over the seventeen beautiful statues, and said, “I have created a world of friends I will never have.” He pointed at a squat, very sturdy and youthful-looking sculpture with fat cheeks. “A young friend perhaps. I will name him Andrathene.”

  “And that one I will name Magra.” This time he waved toward an older-looking gargoyle with a grandmotherly face.

  He turned and gazed up at the flying gargoyle. Up close, Katherine could see that she was sweet looking, her face wasn’t wrinkled and crumpled like the others. She had a small pouch at her side, just like Gargoth’s.

  “Who is that one?” asked Katherine, pointing at the flying gargoyle.

  Gargoth looked at her steadily. He sighed. “Her name is Ambergine. But she is no one.”

  Katherine and Gargoth looked at each other for a moment, and she knew he was lying. This was a sculpture of the gargoyle he was hoping to find, the only real gargoyle in the entire group of imaginary friends. She was the gargoyle that they would soon be searching for in every candle and comic book store in Toronto.

  She tactfully changed the subject. “Um, Mom! What do you have for Gargoth?”

  “Oh! Right!” her mother said. “Look Gargoth, these are Cellini apples shipped from a hillside in southern Italy—they are an ancient variety once cultivated by the Greeks and Romans. They are difficult to grow, but they are exquisite. I had to sample one for myself! I hope you like them!” She placed a huge basket overflowing with the most beautiful, glowing apples Katherine had ever seen.

  They smelled like heaven. Gargoth picked one up gently in his claw and took a long sniff of its rich, sweet scent. “Oh, they will be delicious. Thank you, Mother Newberry.”

  It was Katherine’s turn. She brought her gift out from behind her back and held out a new, oversized cocoa cup for Gargoth. “This is so we can enjoy long chats over hot chocolate together, and you don’t run out first!” she said. Gargoth seemed really touched and turned the cocoa cup around in his hands, holding it up close to his face. It had a checkered pattern and wavy lines on it, which seemed to intrigue him. He looked at it for a long time, finally thanking Katherine in a hushed voice.

  Then Katherine’s father stepped forward, not understanding a word, but seeing it was his turn. He dropped a large pouch into Gargoth’s claw. On opening it, Gargoth made a strange noise, which sounded like a gargoyle being taken by surprise (an odd sound to be sure, but not an unpleasant one).

  “Ah, Father Newberry, you honour me with fine English tobacco, my favourite,” he said, clearly touched once again.

  Gargoth surprised Katherine’s father with a genuine smile and a handshake. (Shaking Gargoth’s claw was actually a little dangerous, it was sharp!)

  The Newberrys were very happy. If anyone were looking into their little backyard, they would have seen a very loving family gathered around a gargoyle, who looked just like he loved them back.

  And a very smart cat watching everything from the warmth of indoors.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Promise

  Katherine enjoyed the family ski trip more than she had imagined she would. They stayed in a ski chalet, right on the mountain, and kept their skis outside the front door in a snow bank. When they wanted to ski, they just walked outside and stepped into them.

  There were pine trees growing right outside her bedroom window, and they smelled so heavenly that every evening she opened her window so she could enjoy them all night long.

  Her room had its own fireplace and a huge window looking out onto the forest. Her parents’ room was even bigger than hers and had a jacuzzi big enough for a football team.

  It was very luxurious. It was perfect, in fact. Only once did Katherine think of Gargoth. On their last day, she was skiing into the main chalet, when she happened to look up. There on top of the old building was a gargoyle. She was so surprised, she almost fell face first into the snow. When she righted herself, she stood and watched the gargoyle for a few moments. But she quickly realized it was simply a stone gargoyle, just a statue on the roof, not a real living creature like Gargoth.

  She felt a pang and suddenly realized how much she had come to consider him part of the family. Just then her mother skied up. They looked at the gargoyle together for a while.

  “I wonder what Gargoth would look like on skis?” her mother said.

  The image was so hysterical that Katherine laughed herself into a fit of hiccoughing. Once she caught her breath, she challenged her mother to a race down the big hill.

  The next day the family returned home. Gargoth seemed genuinely pleased to see them. It had been warmer in Toronto than on the ski slopes, and many of the statues Gargoth had created on Christmas Eve were starting to melt. They looked ghoulish and spooky, melting slowly away, with sadly drooping wings and drooling fangs. Gargoth didn’t seem to notice.

  School started the next day, and this was the first week of Katherine’s piano lessons for the second term. If she had forgotten their agreement, Gargoth hadn’t. At the first opportunity, he reminded her of her promise from a few weeks before. After dinner on Sunday night, Katherine took out a mug of hot chocolate in the new huge, checkered mug she had given him for Christmas.

  “We will start looking for her this week, then?” he reminded her, as soon as they were alone in the backyard.

  “Yes, Gargoth,” she said. “I promised. But I have to say I’m not really happy about it. It’s a lot of sneaking around, and I don’t like to do that behind my parents’ backs. I really feel like I should tell them.” She sat in the bench beside his pedestal and brushed some snow off the back of the unicorn’s mane.
/>   “No, Katherine. Please, I promise all will be well.”

  He was so earnest that she sighed and said, “Fine. But if there are any problems, if I’m late for piano even once, we’ll have to tell them and find another way.”

  “Don’t worry, Katherine. It will be fine.” Gargoth delicately tipped up his mug to get his final sip of hot chocolate (despite what you might think, gargoyles are actually very tidy eaters) and grinned at her.

  She went inside a few moments later, still not feeling great about the adventure she was about to undertake, traipsing through Toronto’s subway with a supposed-to-be-inanimate creature talking to her from her backpack. But she felt she might just be able to help him find the gargoyle he was searching for, and if he did find her, Katherine felt certain he would be able to leave her family, leave her backyard, and carry on with his own life.

  And that’s what they all wanted, wasn’t it, Katherine thought? For him to get unstuck from their lives, and get on with his own? She also knew her parents had grown fond of him, but she knew they were saddened by the changes in their lives. No parties. No friends to visit. No beautiful flowers. She missed having her own friends over for sleepovers. And it was getting harder and harder to come up with reasons not to invite people over.

  No matter how she looked at it, Katherine had to admit it was difficult having a gargoyle living in her backyard.

  Monday morning dawned. The family quickly returned to their pre-Christmas routines. It always surprised Katherine how fast the events of the holidays became a dream-like memory.

  She was happy to see her friends at school again. They all talked about what they had been doing over the holidays. She had a lot of fun telling everyone what the ski trip had been like.

  All too soon, Wednesday morning arrived, and with a faint sense of dread, Katherine realized that today was the day. Her mother waved out the back door to Gargoth, then she and Katherine got into the car, and off they drove to school.