The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1)

by D. S. Elstad

  All righty then, I thought, how weird is this to be sitting here between two strangers having an argument. I had no idea what to expect next when Mom’s words echoed in my head, “Enjoy yourself; make the most of this trip, Willow, you’re going to meet some amazing people.” I felt pretty comfortable with these two and decided to take Mom’s advice and let myself relax.

  “How long will you be staying Willow?” asked Kelleigh her eyes still on her brother.

  “Just a few days; we leave soon after the funeral.”

  “Ah yes, the funeral. Must be a bit strange to go to a funeral for someone you didn’t know, yes? Grandfather Eagan explained to us that you never met your grandparents,” Kelleigh commented sympathetically.

  “Very. I thought my mom should be here, but my parents wanted me to come. They said this was a chance to meet other relatives and see where my dad came from,” I replied, looking back and forth between brother and sister.

  “Why didn’t your mum come as well?” Quinn asked as he leaned forward grabbing a candy from a tulip-shaped crystal dish.

  “She’s an artist and has a gallery opening this weekend. She needed to be there to show her work.”

  “Very cool. What kind of art?” Quinn asked, offering me a candy.

  I shook my head no. “She paints, uses oils, watercolors. She does portraits of Native American people, animals and landscapes, that kind of thing.”

  “And what’s your opinion of Ireland, Willow?” asked Kelleigh while she leaned over me, hitting Quinn and motioning for him to go to the door. Quinn looked at her with a puzzled expression, but she just hit him again and pointed. He then nodded knowingly and crept to the closed door.

  “Don’t worry, Willow,” whispered Kelleigh, “just a precaution.” She watched Quinn as he put his ear to the door, listening–for what? I had no idea. He turned to Kelleigh and nodded, then came back to us on the sofa.

  “Willow, I know this must all seem very peculiar,” whispered Kelleigh, “but some people around here have big ears. What do you know about your grandmother Shannah?”

  “Nothing, my Dad refuses to speak of his parents. Up until a few days ago I didn’t even know her name.” I felt myself tighten with the change of tone in the room.

  “I thought as much,” Kelleigh said with a hushed voice. “Ever since Grandfather Eagan heard of you coming he’s been acting very suspicious, whispering to our parents and everyone else for that matter. At one time I heard him say straight out to my father, ‘Make sure you stay mum on this situation when Jack’s girl gets her.’”

  “Jack’s girl, meaning me?” I asked looking back and forth between the two.

  “Of course…his daughter…you!” Kelleigh’s eyes were darting all over my face, studying me. I felt as though I was under some kind of microscope.

  “But…but why?” She was sitting so close now I could practically count the number of freckles on her face; suddenly I felt awkward and uncomfortable.

  “Why exactly!” she mumbled and moved in even closer. “I’ve been trying to catch some of their conversations. The only thing I’ve been able to make out is that some people are of the belief that your grandmother, Shannah, may have died under suspicious circumstances.”

  Quinn edged in at this point and hushed Kelleigh. “I thought you were going to keep that quiet until we had a chance to find out more. Don’t freak out Willow unnecessarily!”

  And freaked out I was. Here I sat between two complete strangers, listening to them speak about my grandmother, another complete stranger – and what was even worse, they were insinuating that my grandmother “may have died under suspicious circumstances.” It felt like some sort of bad practical joke and at any moment these two strangers would start laughing and say they pranked me. Only judging by their expressions, that wasn’t going to happen. They both looked dead serious.

  Kelleigh touched my arm, “Sorry, Willow, I guess I’m being a bit too abrupt about this, but I was so hoping you would have some knowledge as to what may be going on here.”

  “Did you hear someone say those exact words, that ‘she died under suspicious circumstances’?” I worried; the questions were now swirling around in my head.

  “Yes, Grandfather Eagan’s housekeeper, Meriel. Sometimes she would go over and help out your grandparents. She was at their house days before your grandma died and came back here very upset; remember, Quinn?” she asked without loosening her stare or grip on my forearm.

  “Aye, she was upset. Grandpa hurried us out of the room and we listened at the door. Meriel was breathing heavy and crying. She told Grandpa that something was going on over there and that Shannah was getting worse and that the doctor couldn’t find an explanation for her illness,” Quinn added, lowering his voice to a whisper.

  “So what do they say she died from?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t even asked that question of Dad before now.

  “Well, in the paper it said she died after a lengthy illness, which is completely false. We know that for a fact. We were with Grandfather Eagan just last month when he went over there to drop off some jam that Meriel had made. Shannah was there and served us cookies and tea. She was fine, sweet and friendly as always. If she was sick then, she hid it well.” Kelleigh suddenly looked to the door as though she heard something. “Never mind, we’re ok.”

  She continued talking in an almost frenetic pace, whispering then raising her voice at times. It was hard following all that she was saying; something about Shannah’s past catching up with her and then something about Grandfather Conor and Dad’s argument from long ago. She jumped from scenario to scenario trying to piece together what little information she had into a possible conclusion.

  Just when she was about ready to explode with what she had decided was the most logical explanation, she again looked to the door and said “Shush.” We could hear footsteps in the distance closing in on us. Jumping up, Kelleigh grabbed her brother and sat back at the piano and softly tickled the keys. The two jumped right into a song as though the whole scene of the last few moments had never even happened.

  The door opened part way and we could hear whispering for a few seconds before Dad, followed by Uncle Eagan, entered the room.

  “Just listen to these voices, will ya, Jack, have you ever heard anything quite so…ah, what’s the word, pitiful?” laughed Uncle Eagan as he joined the two at the piano. “Move over, let me show you how it’s done.”

  Dad made his way to me on the couch and took my hand in his. He had a soft smile and winked. I was happy to see him. The last few minutes had been so surreal and looking into his eyes brought me back to reality. I wasn’t sure what to make of my time with Quinn and Kelleigh, but I knew they had me more than a little worried and very, very curious.

  Uncle Eagan began playing the piano, a song I’d never heard before, and singing in a language I’d never heard before either, soon to be joined by Kelleigh and Quinn. The song was lovely; it almost sounded spiritual, like a hymn from church. The three of them harmonized and performed as though they were on stage. What a sharp contrast to the craziness of my conversation with these newly acquainted relatives. If it weren’t for the fact that I’d just learned that my grandmother may have died under some dark cloud of suspicion, this would have been one of those special moments you never forget. But between the lyrics of this lovely hymn I couldn’t help but hear a frightening voice in my head asking, how did my grandmother die?

  Chapter Four

  The sunset was spectacular that evening in Killarney. The sky cleared up after an entire day of rain to finish off with gorgeous shades of red, lavender, and pink. Looking out from our hotel window I was amazed at the variations in the sky’s palette.

  Outside, near the walkway heading up to the lobby, I noticed movement in a large group of rhododendrons. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see what had caused the bushes in that area to sway, but didn’t see anything, only the last few branches returning to their former place. It was strange because I couldn’t make out a speci
fic form – only a sense of movement, like when the wind rustles the leaves. Must have been an animal, I thought.

  As I kept staring, a definite shift happened in the area. I blinked my eyes in an effort to focus on what could only be described as a kind of glitch in the atmosphere around the plants. Something was there, something I was unable to focus on; then it shot off leaving only the movement of the bushes along with what seemed to be dust floating in the air. It felt as though whatever had been out there was watching me. A chill ran over my body, so intense it caused the hairs on my arms to stand up. I grabbed my jacket to try and warm up. Reaching my hands into the pockets I found a folded slip of paper. I opened it and was surprised to read, Willow, give us a call tonight at 0712449087 we’d like to pop over for a visit. Kelleigh.

  “Ready to get a bite to eat, Wils?” Dad’s voice echoed from inside the bathroom.

  “Yeah, ok,” I kept my eyes focused outside trying to see if I might catch a glimpse of whatever had been there just a few seconds earlier, then looked back down to the note in my hand. I wanted a chance to talk to Kelleigh and Quinn again; I just hoped Dad would be up for visitors.

  After a filling dinner we walked around the grounds of the hotel. I was surprised at all the beautiful flowers still blooming that time of year. The air was cool but comfortable. It felt like a good time to ask Dad about Kelleigh and Quinn.

  “Dad, Kelleigh left a note in my pocket today.”

  “Oh?” he responded.

  “Yeah, she wants to come over to our room for a visit tonight; would that be ok?”

  Dad stopped in his tracks, stared straight ahead then turned to me, “Why?”

  “Why? Just to be friendly, we got along well at Uncle Eagan’s. I like spending time with her and Quinn. Remember, Mom said this would be a perfect time to meet some family here.” My pace quickened as I walked in front of him. I felt angry.

  “Slow down, Willow, of course they can come visit. I just meant did they have a special reason or something. Let’s get back and you give them a call, ok?” Dad remarked as he caught up to me.

  “Ok, thanks,” I mumbled, embarrassed for clearly overreacting.

  Back in our hotel room, Dad made himself scarce so he could talk to Mom privately. While waiting for Kelleigh and Quinn, I switched on the TV. It was interesting to see how different TV was in Ireland compared to home. It seemed calmer, relaxing even. Just as I was getting into a program about a vampire and his girlfriend, a knock came at the door. I jumped up, looked out the peephole, and saw Kelleigh mussing Quinn’s hair with him twisting her arm behind her back. Is that what’s it like to have a brother? I wondered.

  “Hi there,” I opened the door just as Quinn came crashing in.

  “Oops,” he laughed, almost totally losing it and face-planting on the floor.

  “Quinn, you really are quite an embarrassment,” Kelleigh sneered as she grabbed him by the arm, leading him into our room.

  “Where’s your pop, Willow?” Quinn asked, scoping out the room.

  I tilted my head towards the bathroom.

  “Ah, ok,” they both said in unison.

  “Willow, do you think your Dad would let you go out with us to meet some of our friends? They live just across the way,” said Kelleigh as she plopped on the bed.

  I wasn’t sure how he would feel about me going out – wasn’t even sure how I felt about me going out – but I tapped on the bathroom door. Dad opened it a crack, exposing one side of his face and the phone. “What is it, Wils?”

  “Dad, I’m going out with Kelleigh and Quinn to meet some of their friends, they live close, ok?” I asked, pressing my eye to the crack at the door.

  “They’re the O’Keefe clan, Jack, over on Popper Road, just a stone’s throw from here,” Kelleigh shouted from the bedroom.

  I could see Dad was not happy about this; the visible side of his face broke into a frown and he glared at me with one squinty eye. He was always the over-protective one, never comfortable with me “venturing off.” Most times it took Mom to reassure him that I wasn’t going to disappear or anything. He definitely didn’t like being the one to say o.k. I looked at him pleadingly, hoping Kelleigh and Quinn wouldn’t pick up on our wordless conversation. Then Dad spoke softly into the phone filling Mom in on my request. After a few grunts and nods, he finally said yes.

  “Not too long, eh, Kelleigh; so you’re driving now?” He opened the door further and looked toward the bedroom, waiting for an answer.

  “Been driving for a year, best driver in Killarney.” Kelleigh sprang up and stood behind me facing Dad.

  In the bedroom we heard a sarcastic snicker from Quinn, “Righto.”

  “No more than two hours. Willow, take your phone so I can be in touch if need be, and no funny business, you three.”

  “Of course not, Jack! We sing in the Sunday choir, don’t ya know,” Kelleigh added holding her hands together in a prayer pose.

  Dad opened the door fully, “No funny business. No kidding,” he said, glaring at Kelleigh.

  Kelleigh quickly stiffened and nodded. “Sorry, Jack. We’ll be careful, I promise.”

  I smiled at Dad and reached in through the door, touching his hand. His face softened and he winked. “Have fun, sweetheart.”

  “Thanks Dad.”

  Quinn shot out the door and down the corridor doing handstands. Kelleigh took my arm in hers and pulled me close. “Your dad is a worrier, isn’t he?”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I didn’t.

  As I walked with Kelleigh I started feeling a little uncomfortable. After all, I was in another country and what did I know about these two other than that we were second cousins? Plus the conversation at Uncle Eagan’s had taken such a bizarre turn. I hadn’t even had any time to absorb their theory about my grandmother dying under suspicious circumstances. I decided to take advantage of my time with these two and try and get some questions answered.

  Kelleigh was right; her friend’s house was very close. We pulled into the driveway just as three people came charging out of the house. “It’s about time, you!” yelled a tall girl with pink streaks in her blonde hair.

  Following close behind her was another girl with short red hair and a boy who was easily over six feet tall. They ran to the car and opened the doors. Kelleigh laughed and hugged the girls and then the boy. “Missed me that much, have you? Time for some introductions; Willow these are my BFF’s Melissa and Sinead, and the giant over there is Bram.”

  The blonde girl came over and put her hands on my shoulders, “Hello, Willow, so nice to meet you, I’m Melissa and this is Sinead,” she said, reaching back to the red haired girl, “and I’m sure you can figure out who Bram is.” The tall boy just smiled and did a kind of salute.

  “Nice to meet you all,” I said with a soft voice. I felt a little intimidated, but Kelleigh’s friends were so welcoming that those feelings quickly wore off.

  Kelleigh whispered in my ear, “Bram is deaf, Willow. He does a good job at communicating with us and we’re all learning sign language. He talks and sometimes he can figure out what we’re saying just by watching us.”

  “Oh,” I remarked as I looked over at Bram. Obviously aware of what Kelleigh had just told me he smiled and waved again and signed a few words. I had to remind myself to stop staring…not because I’d just found out that he was deaf, but because he was so good looking. And it wasn’t even just good looking; something more…something almost familiar about him.

  “He says, ‘Nice to meet you,’” Kelleigh interpreted.

  I smiled and waved and bowed my head. Why? I had no idea. Like bowing my head meant something. I felt a warm rush come over my face and watched Bram smirk and shrug.

  “Let’s go out back,” said Melissa as she grabbed Kelleigh and led us around the house to a covered patio area. We went inside where it was warm. A small fire was burning in a chimera and pillows were lying all over on the floor. A couch and table sat on the opposite side of the room. This seemed t
o be their hang-out. They each grabbed a seat either on the floor or couch and stretched out, making themselves comfortable.

  “Come sit,” motioned Kelleigh patting the pillow on the floor next to her. I sat down, unsure of what to expect next. These kids were at least one or two years older than me, except for Quinn, who told me himself he had just turned fifteen.

  “Kelleigh tells us you’re from the US, Willow,” spoke Sinead in a soft melodic voice.

  “Yeah, I’m from New Mexico,” I stuttered, suddenly feeling like I was in the spotlight. While we spoke I became aware of Quinn using sign language with Bram. Bram’s eyes focused on Quinn; then he glanced my way and signed something to Quinn.

  “New Mexico, eh? Is that near Mexico, the country?” Quinn asked, obviously interpreting for Bram.

  “Yes, we’re on the border of Mexico.” I found myself speaking louder, like Bram would somehow be able to hear me. Duh.

  “Interesting,” Bram said, “we studied a bit about Mexico and the war between Mexico and the US.” His voice was warm and strong and gave no indication of a person who was deaf. I couldn’t think of anything to say so I just nodded my head and smiled. Kelleigh signed something to Bram, who in turn laughed. Great, I thought, now he’s laughing at me.

  “Bram lost his hearing when he was eleven after having meningitis. He’s actually lucky to be alive. He was very ill,” Kelleigh added, watching Quinn interpret for her. “And this one,” Kelleigh smacked her brother with a pillow, “he picked up sign language faster than he learned to talk and he still hasn’t quite mastered that – learning to talk, that is.” The whole group broke out laughing with Quinn doing a mock laugh in Kelleigh’s face.

  Seeing Bram sitting there with Quinn laughing and talking, I had a hard time imagining him being sick. He seemed now to be the picture of health. He was tall and slender with broad shoulders. He wore a pair of sunglasses on the back of his head and kept running his fingers through his brown hair, mussing it up more each time. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He had these intense brown eyes that narrowed while he was reading Quinn but would then grow wide with delight once Quinn finished signing his half of the conversation. He caught my gaze one time and smiled. I immediately turned away feeling like I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t have. Lord, Willow, you really need to relax.