Inside the Hollow Tree

by Laurel Veil

  Ty looked at me with concern. I knew what he was thinking. That he wished he’d made me stay home. I tried my best to give him a reassuring smile, but I think my fear came through.

  Just then, a crooked shack of a house that stood on extremely long legs, appeared from within a thick, heavy fog.

  “Swamp Woman!” my dad’s voice echoed up toward the little house whose windows glowed with light from within.

  The only movement from the house was the stream of smoke that swirled from its chimney.

  No sooner had Maggie whispered, “I don’t think anyone lives there,” the door slowly creaked open and a bony hand held out a lantern.

  “Who are you? And what are you doing in my swamp?”

  My dad quickly identified himself. “We do not mean to trespass. We wanted to ask your permission to search your swamp for my son-in-law’s missing mother and brother.

  The door opened wide and an elderly hunchbacked woman with wild hair stepped onto the porch.

  “I was wondering when someone might come to claim them.”

  “So, they are here?” said Ty. I could see the anticipation in his eyes when he glanced back at me.

  “Would you be so kind, as to tell us where?” said Morris.

  She pointed down at the murky water. And, the joy that had been radiating from Ty’s face left. “What—what do you mean?” His voice was soft, as if he didn’t want her to hear him. I knew it was because he was afraid of her answer.

  “Just around the bend, you’ll be facing the Kandor Mountains. Stop when you come to the large Cypress tree. Just below it, hidden among its roots is the entrance to a secret cave.”

  Ty thanked the woman and then we went in search of the Cypress tree. I was wondering how we would know that we had the right tree, until I saw it. It was mammoth—at least double the height and twice the diameter of the other trees it dwarfed.

  “Please be careful, Ty,” I said just before he and Morris submerged themselves under the water.

  It seemed like they were gone too long. I imagined them tangled in the roots. “I think someone should go check on them. I’m willing to go.” I started to dismount despite my dad’s objections when Morris and Ty suddenly broke through the surface of the water, gasping for air. Ty was holding his mother and Morris, his brother.

  Ty looked at me in horror. That’s when I first realized that his mom's and brother’s body were limp. We quickly worked to get them to dry ground.

  “I can’t believe it,” whispered Ty as he hovered on his knees over their lifeless bodies. “There were times I thought I might not ever see them again. And now, here they are and they’re—” his voice caught.

  I knelt next to him and put my arms around him. “I’m so sorry, Ty.”

  “They’re not dead.” We looked up, surprised to see the old woman standing there. “Not yet. Get them to my house. Quickly.”

  We gathered in a circle on the lower deck of the swamp woman’s house and watched in silence as she made herself busy in the center of the circle mixing this with a pinch of that from small containers she’d retrieved from her house. Ty’s mom and brother laid motionless on the deck, their heads resting in Ty’s lap. He stroked their hair and faces as pain creased his forehead. I would’ve given my life for theirs if I could have. Ty was in agony. It was hard to even look at him. Knowing there was nothing I could say to comfort him, I sat next to him and wept.

  Finally, the old woman said, “Tilt her head.” Ty gingerly lifted his mother’s head and the swamp woman poured a bluish liquid into her mouth. She then did the same to his brother.

  I held my breath as I waited for them to stir. I could see the anticipation in Ty’s eyes quickly turn to doubt. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Why isn’t anything happening?”

  The swamp woman bowed her head in defeat. “I am sorry.”

  “No,” whispered Ty as he hunched over and held onto his mom and brother.

  Brit stepped forward and knelt next to Ty. She pulled something from a small pouch that was tethered to her side. She sprinkled a light dusting of shimmering lime green powder up and down their bodies. Silvery fragments sparkled from the powder.

  “What are you doing?” asked Ty.

  “I don’t know if this will work. But, I can’t just stand here and do nothing. I had to try some—”

  Just then, his brother’s arm flinched. “Did you see that?” Ty asked me.

  “Yes!” I gasped.

  “Ben,” said Ty as he shook his shoulders gently. “Can you hear me? Are you there?” Ben’s lips parted—he was breathing!

  “Mom!” said Ty when he realized his mom was now breathing too.

  “It may take them a little while to wake up. They’ve been asleep for quite some time it looks like,” said Brit.

  “Thank you,” said Ty. Brit nodded.

  The swamp woman touched Ben’s arm. She then rubbed her thumb and finger together and put them to her nose. “This is Salanthafer?”

  Brit nodded.

  “Salanthafer powder is very rare. I’ve only heard about it. This is the first in all my years that I have every laid eyes on it.” She eyed Brit suspiciously. “Lucky for everyone you just happened to have it with you. I’ve never heard of it being used to wake someone from a sleeping death. Tell me. How did you know to use it? Lucky guess?”

  “Something like that. I just had a feeling, I guess you could say.”

  “A feeling, huh?”

  “Look, I wasn’t the one who did this to them if that’s what you’re implying. This wasn’t my doing.”

  “Let’s just go,” I said. “It looks like they’re going to be OK. That’s all we wanted. I turned to face the old woman. “We’re very grateful. And, we appreciate your help. Thank you for everything.”

  Several soldiers worked hastily to secure Ty’s mom and Ben in a travois behind Ty’s horse. Before we were out of earshot, the swamp woman called out, “Be warned.” She then pointed to Brit. “I could smell her scent in the magic that cursed those two. It’s all over them.”

  “Crazy hag,” said Brit in a low voice. “No good deed…” She spurred her horse and galloped ahead of the procession.

  I raised my brows at Ty. He shrugged and exhaled.

  “For now, I’m just glad to have them back.” He turned and looked down at them. “I hope I have them back.”

  ◆◆◆

  We had to travel slowly to prevent injury to Ty’s mom and Ben, so I was very grateful when we at last reached the castle.

  Ty thanked everyone once more just before they left, and Maggie and I made a promise that we would get together soon.

  Ty and I kept vigil at his mom and Ben’s bedside. “I feel like everything is finally coming together, ya know?” whispered Ty as he held me close to him on the sofa in their room.

  “I know exactly what you mean. I was just thinking the same thing. You found your mom and Ben, and I found my dad. We have a real home and friends.”

  “And we have each other.”

  “I don’t even want to think about where I would be right now if I hadn’t met you,” I said.

  “Are you sad at all about discovering that Sandra isn’t your mom? I mean, I understand things weren’t good between you two. But still—for years you thought she was your mom.”

  “For years I felt like I had a mom who didn’t love me. For years, I thought something was wrong with me. I blamed myself that we didn't get along better. I’m relieved. And, now that I know what she did to my family. I hope I never see her again.”

  Suddenly, Ben tried to sit up. Ty ran to his side. “Ben!” Ty threw his arms around his brother and hugged him tightly.

  “Where am I? What happened?” he asked with a raspy voice.

  “You’re safe,” said Ty.

  “Ty?”

  “Mom!” said Ty.

  25.

  I brushed the tears from my eyes and slipped from the room so that they could have some time alone. I didn’t know where I was going, but th
e next thing I knew, I was standing at the entrance to my mother’s mausoleum.

  I smiled. Of course, I instinctively went to see my mom. That’s what daughters do when something major happens in their life. Hot tears streamed down my face. I wanted so desperately to talk to her. To share things with her. To learn from her. To know her. But I never would do any of that. Sandra had stolen that from me. I never hated someone so much.

  I sighed. Maybe I couldn’t talk to my mom, but at least I could look at her. I stepped quietly through the doors and stopped dead in my tracks. My heart began to race. “Who are you?” I asked the silhouette that was standing near my mom’s glass casket. I was stunned, when Brit turned around.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded. “You have no right to be down here!”

  “Calm down,” she said as if I was overreacting.

  “Don’t you dare tell me that! Who do you think you are? Why are you down here?”

  “I didn’t want to say anything, in case—”

  “In case what?” I snapped.

  Brit growled with frustration. “I came down here without telling you, because I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

  “About what?”

  “I wanted to see if there was a chance I might be able to undo what was done to your mom.”

  “You,” my voice caught, “think you can bring my mom back the way you brought back Ty’s mom and Ben?”

  “Maybe.”

  We looked at one another for a moment. I couldn’t believe the possibility she was presenting me. I wanted to hold on to that feeling for as long as I could. Just the hope of her coming back was infinitely better than knowing she was gone forever.

  Brit motioned with a flick of her head to the coffin. “Help me lift it.”

  I nodded. With trembling hands, I took hold of one end of the lid, and Brit the other.

  “On three,” said Brit.

  We lifted the lid and as carefully as we could, set it on the floor.

  I had to blink several times. I still couldn’t believe that my mom was actually lying in front of me. I could touch her. My hand was shaky as it reached out to her. I only dared to touch her gown at first. What if this was all just a cruel illusion and she was nothing more than a hologram or my imagination. I rubbed the material back and forth between my thumb and finger. It was real! I could feel it! I was finally brave enough to touch her hand. I gasped. I still couldn’t believe I was doing this. That this was real. I reached up, and let my fingers gently stroke her cheek.

  “Are you ready?” asked Brit.

  I was surprised at how softly she spoke. I had forgotten she was even there. I was grateful that she’d given me a moment to be with my mom. I nodded and when I looked up, I was surprised at how glassy her eyes appeared. She quickly looked away and pulled some items from her bag.

  I watched as Brit hastily mixed ingredients and then held my breath when I helped her pour the elixir she’d made into my mom’s mouth.

  We waited much longer than what we had for Ty’s mom and Ben to show signs of life. “What’s taking so long?” Though I’d tried, I wasn’t able to keep my voice steady.

  “Your mom has been like this for a very long time.”

  I knew what she was really saying. She wasn’t going to be able to save her.

  “Mom, can you hear me?” I pleaded.

  “I can hear you just fine.”

  My head jerked up. I was horrified when Sandra stepped out from the shadows. I hadn’t heard from her, much less seen her, since the day she’d ran away without saying a word. I couldn’t take my eyes from her as Brit shuffled passed me.

  Without a doubt, I despised this woman. But even so, I couldn’t help but sometimes wonder if I ever saw her again, would I feel differently. I didn’t. In fact, I think I hated her even more. Knowing what I now know, I could never see her the same way again. Physically, she was the same, but she looked different to me.

  “Let’s get on with this, before there’s any more interruptions,” Sandra barked to Brit.

  Her voice made me snap out of the daze I’d been in. “What are you talking about?” I asked. I looked to Brit for an answer when Sandra didn’t respond. The realization suddenly hit me, Brit wasn’t surprised at all to see Sandra. I attempted to step towards Brit and realized I couldn’t move. I looked down in horror when I saw what looked like finely ground charcoal sprinkled in a circle around my feet.

  I had been so stunned by seeing Sandra, I hadn’t noticed what Brit was doing. I looked at Brit in disbelief. “I thought—I thought we were becoming friends.” For the tiniest moment, I thought I saw remorse in her eyes. And then her lips curled into an evil grimace.

  I whipped my head in Sandra’s direction. “What are you going to do to me?”

  “I haven’t decided just yet. I—we weren’t expecting you.” Then she cut her eyes to my mom. “But, I have big plans for her.”

  My heart was thudding with anger. “What are you going to do?” I demanded.

  “Brit’s going to help me borrow her body. Aren’t you dear?” Brit smiled. “Oh,” Sandra continued, “I just had a delightful idea. Perhaps, Brit can borrow yours. Then we’ll both have the men we want.” She winked at Brit.

  I couldn’t believe what she was saying. This woman was a raving lunatic. I was so close to having my family back together, that she’d ripped apart, and now, I was about to lose it all over again. Only this time was worse, I was going to be losing Ty as well.

  “Quick!” said Brit. “Lay down,” she told Sandra as she motioned to the glass lid that had once entombed my mom. Sandra did as she was told.

  I watched in horror, as Brit swirled more liquids in a small cup and gently forced them into my mom’s mouth.

  “Hurry up!” hissed Sandra. “Give it to me now.” Brit handed her the cup. She snatched it with such force, I thought for a hopeful moment that she might spill it. She didn’t though and hastily gulped its contents. She looked at my mom. “I knew it might one day pay to keep your body handy. Prepare to switch places.” She laughed at her cleverness.

  Sandra suddenly stopped laughing just as quickly as she had begun as her body began to stiffen. She looked terrified as she strained to look at Brit. “You little bitch! What did you do?”

  “Your switching places with Queen Mary. Just not how you thought you were.”

  Sandra took one last breath and then her eyes closed. It looked like she was sleeping.

  Brit stepped towards me, and with her shoe, brushed away part of the powder that had encircled me. “It was to protect you, that’s all,” she said. “I didn’t know if she was going to try and do anything to you.”

  I exhaled in relief. “Thank—”

  “What’s happening? Where am I?”

  I couldn’t believe it! My mom was awake! My mom.

  I rushed and knelt at her side. “Mom,” I said gingerly, afraid that I might overwhelm her. “It’s me—”

  Before I could even say my name, her face crinkled, and tears sprung from her eyes. “Falon.” She gasped. “Oh my—Falon, it’s really you!”

  ◆◆◆

  I helped Brit seal her mother in the glass coffin, and she helped me get my mom upstairs.

  When we stepped into the library, we saw my father staring thoughtfully at the fire. He looked up when I called out to him.

  The chalice he’d been holding slipped from his fingers and clanked against the floor. “What—what’s going on? Mary?”

  “Fred,” said my mom as she pulled away from us and staggered into my dad’s arms.

  “I—I can’t believe this,” said my dad as he held on tightly to my mother.

  Brit nudged me towards them and stepped out of the room. My parents pulled me into their embrace and we cried.

  26.

  In the days that followed, my mom and I got to know each other. And, each night I went to bed feeling more and more fulfilled. The rise and fall of Ty’s chest would lull me to sleep while I thought about how I might burst fro
m happiness that we had one another, and our families back.

  Almost every night though, I would dream that I was still living at Ms. Alice’s. It was always the same. Jackson was lost, and I would search Ms. Alice’s house trying to find him and then I would wake terrified when I couldn’t.

  This morning was different. I woke happy, because we’d learned there was a chance that Ty might be able to get his father back. Ty was already awake and even in the dark, I could tell he was smiling. “Today’s the day,” I whispered.

  “I’m trying not to get my hopes up. You know what Brit said.”

  “I know. There’s a chance Sandra wasn’t responsible for what happened to your dad. But, I’m willing to bet money, she was.”

  Ty was so excited he couldn’t wait for the sun to come up, so we dressed and waited for Brit and Morris to join us. As soon as they arrived we headed to the garden and traveled through the tree to my old backyard.

  ◆◆◆

  We stayed at my house until it was dark and then slipped unnoticed into the night. Once we reached the cemetery, Ty led us to his father’s grave. He and Morris began digging with the shovels they’d taken from my old garage.

  “Car!” I yelled.

  They dropped the shovels and fell flat against the ground until it passed. “You, know,” said Morris. “In all my visits to this side, I’ve yet to ride in one of those things.”

  “Now’s not a good time,” whispered Brit.

  “One day,” Ty promised as he stood, and they began digging again.

  They moved dirt for what felt like hours, and eventually Ty’s shovel hit against something. “We did it!” he said.

  They scooped away the rest of the dirt until the top of the coffin was completely revealed. Ty turned away. “I can’t look. I let myself get too hopeful. I don’t know what I’ll do if there’s nothing but a skeleton in there.”