Aesop's Secret

by Claudia White

  Felix swung back around to face her. “Are you a mythology fan too?”

  Harmony smiled for the first time, making her chiseled features appear less harsh. “I suppose you could say that, but I’m really more interested in truth. My uncle was an archeologist and taught me a lot about the history of civilizations along the same line as what your mother does.”

  “My mother’s not an archeologist, she’s a writer.”

  “What my uncle did with a hammer and chisel, your mother does with a pen.” She looked at the confusion on Felix’s face. “They both focused on uncovering historical truths. Your mother’s work has the potential to open people’s eyes and minds about unusual real-life facts previously considered only fairytales.”

  Felix was beginning to feel nervous and wished they could talk about something else. “I’m more interested in science.”

  “Science plays a role in almost everything we do, including understanding history. Professor Stumpworthy understands that very well,” she said with an almost disapproving grin. “In fact he and my uncle studied at university together: my uncle studied archeology and Professor Stumpworthy science. They became friends because of their mutual interest in uncovering secrets from the past. After they finished their schooling they worked on a few archeological projects together, my uncle using the tools of his trade and the professor, the tools of his. Many of their discoveries were published by the professor after my uncle’s death.” Again Felix thought that he detected a disapproving tone. “The professor was with him when he died. My uncle’s name was Joe Whiltshire.” She paused as if expecting Felix to recognize the name. “Ah, I can see that you haven’t heard about him. I’m not surprised, although they were friends and Professor Stumpworthy made a fortune by―” She broke off and shook her head. “You might ask him about their work together. I’m sure he will have a lot to tell you,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

  The fire bathed the library in a golden glow as the first rays of moonlight shone in through the tall windows, giving the room a radiant quality. Felix had completed his homework earlier, and having just located the book about spore fungus that his botany teacher had recommended, he flopped on the sofa across from where Professor Mulligan seemed to have melted into the overstuffed chair.

  It was very quiet, with the crackling and popping from the fire the only disturbances, along with the occasional wheezes and grunts from the professor. It was as a library should be but Felix was finding it difficult to concentrate. Maybe it’s too quiet, he thought. Back home he had learnt to concentrate with Melinda’s incessant chatter never that far away.

  Felix looked over at the professor, who was casually flipping through the evening’s paper. “Professor,” he asked quietly, “did you know Joe Whiltshire?”

  James Mulligan peered at Felix over the top of his newspaper. “I didn’t know him, but he and Horace were very good friends. What brings his name to mind?”

  Felix shrugged. “I was talking to Dr. Melpot about him.”

  Mulligan collapsed his paper into his lap. “Ah yes― Harmony. She and her uncle were very close. In fact I don’t think she has ever really gotten over his death.” He looked thoughtful for a minute. “What exactly had she been telling you?”

  “She said that his work was similar to my mum’s.”

  Mulligan seemed to ponder this for a minute, then nodded. “I suppose it was. Whiltshire worked to dispel old myths about history and your mother tries to explore where mythology and reality are actually connected. Yes, I suppose you could say that it’s similar work.”

  Felix leaned his head against the back of the sofa. “She suggested that I talk with Professor Stumpworthy about the work they did together.”

  Mulligan squinted, then answered tentatively, “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Joe Whiltshire has been dead for more than six years, but I don’t think that either Harmony or Horace have ever recovered from the shock. I always feel there’s a bit of tension between them.”

  “She told me that the professor was with him when he died.”

  Mulligan nodded. “I think that Horace still feels a sense of guilt about the accident, and I’m afraid that Harmony has a lot of resentment towards him.”

  “I don’t understand,” Felix said, nervously adjusting his glasses.

  “Putting it simply, I think that Harmony may blame Horace for her uncle’s death. You see, Joe fell into a very deep crevice while they were working in the mountains in Turkey. The terrain was very rugged, and after a five-day search, the rescue crew gave up, but Horace stayed for another two weeks trying to find him. Unfortunately they never found Joe’s body. Horace, poor man, has had to live with that sense of guilt and grief ever since.”

  Felix’s mouth hung open. “But why would Dr. Melpot resent him for that? He did all that he could.”

  Mulligan nodded. “Of course he did, but Harmony loved her uncle very much. I don’t think that she has come to terms with the fact that it was simply a horrible accident. My personal belief is that her thinking is clouded with bitterness because it was her uncle and not Horace who fell that day.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Melinda, I can’t believe you missed break,” Millicent Burbank said, shaking Melinda’s shoulder.

  Melinda rubbed her eyes and stared into Millicent’s chocolate-brown face. Her normally large brown eyes looked exceptionally big. “I did?” she yawned, wondering why Millicent looked bewildered; she had only missed one break, it wasn’t the end of the world.

  “Melinda, I suggest you try to get more sleep at home, and then you won’t feel the need to do so at school,” said their teacher Mrs. White, her voice quivering slightly. “And Melinda,” she continued, “as you know, costumes and face paint are not allowed during class time. I would like you to go down to the girl’s washroom, take off that mask and wash the make-up off your face, then return quickly so that we may get on with our work.”

  Melinda smiled as she looked up at her teacher whose short, almost white curly hair seemed to glow under the florescent lighting; her arms were folded across her broad chest and her expression was a mixture of amusement and displeasure. With a sheepish smile Melinda looked around at her classmates, all of whom were staring at her, giggles and gasps erupted around the room as she turned her head. Melinda touched her fur-covered cheeks, then rubbed her twitching nose. She stood up calmly and walked proudly out of the room.

  She trotted down the hallway to the girl’s washroom, ran inside and gasped when she saw her reflection. “Not as good as last time,” she groaned, “but it’s probably just as well that I only look like I’m wearing a rabbit mask.” She closed her eyes and quickly returned to her fully human form, sighing happily at her ability to transform so quickly.

  She rubbed her freckled cheeks, then tried to comb through her curly reddish-brown hair with her fingers. “I must have fallen asleep at my desk and dreamt about being a rabbit,” she giggled. “At least it was better than the dreams I have at night.” Her entire body shivered at the memory.

  Elaine looked up from her computer for the first time that afternoon as Melinda told her all about her day at school. “You fell asleep in school,” she winced.

  “Mrs. White thought that I had a mask and make-up on,” Melinda stated proudly. “You should have seen me transform back,” she giggled, “just like that,” and she snapped her fingers.

  Elaine shook her head. “That’s not the point. You’ve been lucky so far. Humans have assumed that you have been in costume. But there will come a time…” She hesitated, shivering at the thought. “I hate to think about it.”

  Melinda cocked her head and frowned. “You said they’d never believe it if they saw someone transform―they’d assume it was some kind of trick.”

  “I know what I said, but we still have to be careful; there’s no telling what kind of panic we could create.” Elaine sighed, looked back at her computer screen briefly before she looked up again. “Tell me more about these dreams you’
ve been having. I think we need to figure out a way to stop them. You’re not getting enough sleep.”

  Melinda shook her head. “I never remember anything about them, but I’m usually worried about Felix when I wake up.”

  Elaine gave her a motherly smile. “That explains it. It’s quite normal to have bad dreams about someone you love when you’re worried about them. You need to relax. Felix is absolutely fine and having the time of his life.”

  “I suppose so,” Melinda shrugged, rubbing her hand where Elaine noticed she had a sore.

  “What happened to your hand?” she asked casually.

  Melinda shook her head. “I must have startled Aesop, because he bit me. It doesn’t really hurt.”

  Elaine raised an eyebrow. “Better have your father look at that when he gets home from the hospital. What’s gotten into that animal,” she sighed, “first Professor Stumpworthy and now you?”

  Melinda could feel the heat rise to her cheeks; she didn’t want to tell her mother that this wasn’t the first time over the last few months that Aesop had bitten her. “He’s just going though a stage, I guess.”

  Elaine smiled when she noticed that Melinda’s big blue eyes were now very pink. “I’m afraid he’s not the only one. I think we may need to make some changes with your schooling, just until your spontaneous transformations get under control.”

  Felix discarded his toad’s remains into the large plastic bag being passed around the room for that purpose. He gathered his books with blinding speed, then walked briskly towards the door.

  “Mr. Hutton, may I have a word?” Dr. Melpot called before he could step through. He closed his eyes and cringed. He had no desire to have another conversation about her uncle’s relationship with Professor Stumpworthy.

  He turned quickly to face her. “I don’t want to be late for my next class.”

  She smiled and motioned for him to come to her desk as she glanced at the clock. “You have a couple of minutes. I noticed that you hadn’t put your name down to attend the lecture on The Environmental Impact on the Evolution of Species.” Her steely gaze bored into him, giving him the uncomfortable feeling that she could read his thoughts. “You had seemed quite interested in the Spadefoot Toad.” Felix could feel the heat on his cheeks, and droplets of sweat began trickling down the back of his neck as she continued, “I thought that you might be especially interested to learn about how some life-forms metamorphose to survive.”

  “Not really,” Felix lied, glancing at his watch; his next class was due to begin in exactly eight minutes. “I should be going.”

  The softness in Dr. Melpot’s face was replaced by a stony expression. “Very well,” she said, looking down at the papers on her desk.

  He waited for a few seconds but when she didn’t look up or say anything else, he turned to leave.

  “Felix,” she said softly, “you must be careful.”

  He froze in place for only about two seconds before turning to face her. When he did, she was gone; she seemed to have simply disappeared.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Felix’s knees went weak. Not more than two seconds earlier, Dr. Melpot had been seated at her desk in front of him. He sucked in a lungful of air, exhaling slowly as he looked around the classroom. The room was completely empty; every table was absolutely clean, including Dr. Melpot’s desk. Felix began wondering if he had only imagined the scenes of the classroom less than ten minutes ago: students surrounding the lab tables, poking and prodding their toads’ entrails. His knees felt weak; he began to feel sick. Then he noticed a faint line of light slicing through the back wall, just behind Dr. Melpot’s desk.

  He laughed nervously, remembering that all of the science labs had two entrances: one that the students used to enter from the hallway, another at the other end of the room that led to the teacher’s office next door. He looked carefully at the line of light at the back wall and realized that it was indeed a door―a door designed to blend in perfectly with the paneling on the back wall, barely noticeable unless you knew where to look. He shook his head, feeling stupid for never having noticed it before.

  He turned to leave, and would have done just that if he hadn’t heard his name spoken in Dr. Melpot’s office. He wondered if he had been meant to join her. A quick glance at his watch told him that he still had five minutes to get to class. He walked closer to the hidden doorway, leaning in towards the opening. Dr. Melpot was talking softly and rapidly and obviously not to him. He turned again to leave, but could not resist the temptation to hear what exactly she was saying.

  “Felix Hutton seems very close to the professor,” she said, so softly so that Felix couldn’t tell if she was talking to someone else or perhaps simply to herself. “I’ve got to wait until he doesn’t suspect anything.” Felix’s pulse quickened as he waited for another voice to say something, but the next voice was again Dr. Melpot’s. “I’ve got to find a way to gain his trust.” She broke off as a knock sounded at her other door. “Please come in,” she announced pleasantly.

  With only two minutes to get to his next class, Felix darted out of the science lab and jogged down the hallway. His next class was his favorite―Mathematical Functions and Relations―but today algebraic equations were the furthest things from his mind. He raced into his classroom and took his seat, not noticing the tantalizing equation his teacher had written across the board, or that the parabolic structure prominently displayed at the front of the room was the one that he had designed. The only thing on his mind was: what was on Dr. Melpot’s?

  Professor Stumpworthy didn’t look as worried as Felix had expected after hearing about Dr. Melpot. He motioned for Felix to sit down on one of the brown leather chairs that faced his desk. The professor’s office was situated at the back of the school, with tall windows looking out across a park-like setting. The room was richly appointed with oriental rugs on the marble floor; exotic tapestries hung on one wall opposite a built-in bookshelf on another, with more of the professor’s collection of mythological statues displayed amongst the books.

  “You mustn’t be too harsh in your judgment of Harmony,” he smiled. “The last few years have been very difficult for her. You see, her parents died in an accident a few years before her uncle died, leaving her completely alone in the world.”

  Stumpworthy leaned back in his chair and sighed. “When Joe Whiltshire died, we both lost someone very important in our lives.” He stood up, turned and looked out of the window to collect himself. When he turned back, Felix noticed the pain in his eyes. “I hope that Harmony will learn to accept that although we miss him, her uncle died doing what he loved best. That is more than I can say about so many people who have never found their true purpose on this planet. But it is hard, I know―I’ve struggled with his loss as a friend, as well as the loss of someone who could have contributed so much to the world.”

  Felix frowned. “But Professor, she said that she needed to gain my trust. Why me?”

  “Only she knows the answer to that,” the professor said, shaking his head, “but she obviously thinks highly of you or she wouldn’t waste her time. Harmony is a perfectionist and is only interested in things that she considers worthy of her interest. Maybe you should be flattered.”

  Felix’s face began to take on a crimson glow. “But she told me to be careful. Careful of what?”

  Stumpworthy shook his head. “Ever since Joe’s death, Harmony has been a little bit paranoid about all the dangers we face every day: crossing the street, driving in a car or flying in a plane. I think the fact that her uncle, who had climbed mountains before, had fallen to his death in a climbing accident has pointed out how precarious life can be. I’ve suggested she get some help to get though this, but she’s a stubborn woman.” He walked around his desk and rested his hand on Felix’s shoulder. “My guess would be that Harmony sees herself in you: she’s alone and right now you are too. My bet is that she’s feeling a little maternal right now and wants to make sure that you’re safe so that you need never fee
l the terrible loneliness that has been such a big part of her life.”

  He looked up at the grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the room. “It looks like it’s almost time for your next class.” The professor cleared his throat and continued. “I almost forgot to tell you, you’ll be moving into the dormitory in a couple of days. I must admit that the house will seem a bit empty without you, but you’ll probably have a lot more fun with people your own age. And remember, I’m only a phone call away if you need anything.” Felix nodded and began walking towards the door. “Oh, Felix,” the professor continued in almost an apologetic tone, “the teacher in charge of your wing will be Dr. Melpot. I hope that won’t be a problem.”

  Felix cringed as he left Stumpworthy’s office, feeling trapped and alone. He didn’t want to spend any more time with Dr. Harmony Melpot than was absolutely necessary, and now he learned that he would be just about living under the same roof with her!

  He walked angrily down the hallway, rounded the corner, and then stopped abruptly when he heard the raised voices of Dr. Melpot and Professor Mulligan coming from Dr. Melpot’s office. A second later, Professor Mulligan stormed into the hallway, looking unusually agitated. As he waddled past, Felix heard him muttering “Impossible woman” under his breath.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Melinda’s face glistened in the sun; her swollen eyes squinted against the blinding light. Aesop had run out through the back door and into the garden more than six hours ago. He hadn’t come when she called. He hadn’t responded to the fresh carrots she laid along the perimeter of the garden. He had simply vanished. Melinda couldn’t stop crying.

  “He obviously wanted his freedom,” Elaine said, trying to soothe her. “Just think how you would feel, especially now that you know what it’s like to be an animal.”