Josh whistled in amazement.
“I can’t believe it,” he muttered.
Just then, a shrill, high call pierced the air from above the nest. Kaya removed the covering over the skylight, poked her head through the opening and called into the rain.
“It’s alright. Josh is in here with me. Yes, I’ll make sure he gets warm.” She closed the cover and sat down once more. Tike returned to her lap.
“Was that the eagle?” Josh asked in a hushed voice.
“Who else would it be?” grumbled Tike. “Kaya, when is he going to leave?”
Kaya laughed.
“Let me introduce Tike,” she said to Josh. “He’s not sure about you, about whether you’re safe. You see, Grandmother warned me that if people ever found out I lived here, all on my own, with just animals for company, they would come and take me away.”
Josh sat up. “Tell him that I promise I’ll keep your secret. I’d never give you away. Never. Only - can I come and visit sometimes? I wish I could live here, too. It’s so much better than…”
Josh paused, then shrugged his shoulders.
“Do you live in Campbell Harbour?” asked Kaya.
“I do now. My Dad and I just moved there.” Josh looked across at Kaya, as if uncertain whether to continue. But suddenly the words came tumbling out. “I hate it. The kids at school are all mean. There’s nothing to do except row around in the boat. We’ve got to stay here two whole years while my dad writes his book. He’s always writing. He never has any time for anything.”
“And your mother?”
“She’s…she died. She got sick… Cancer.”
They sat silently for a moment. The rain had stopped pelting down upon the roof of the nest. Thin slivers of wet sunlight began to penetrate the walls. Outside, they heard the soft drip, drip of water seeping from nearby branches.
“Well,” said Kaya brightly, after a pause. “You can come exploring with me. I know all sorts of secret places we can get to by boat. I have an extra paddle for my canoe. It would go faster with two people.”
Josh looked at her with shining eyes. “Sweet!” he said. “Thanks!”
A quarter of an hour later it was as if the storm had never happened. Kaya opened the skylight and the sun shone in warmly, sending down thick shafts of gold, which made the mossy floor of the nest glow. Kaya and Josh scrambled out the door, and down the maple trunk.
“Come on, I’ll show you around Tangle Island before you go back,” said Kaya.
She was proud of her home. Tangle was small enough to be empty of summer cabins and boat docks, but large enough for exploring. Kaya showed Josh the marsh jungle, a large swampy patch of bulrushes, which dried up in the summer and became perfect for games of hide and seek.
“Tike loves to play,” Kaya said, laughing. “But he always gets mad in the end. You see, I’m so much taller, I get a better view when I’m searching.”
She showed him the place she called “the Window.” It was a rounded rocky bluff overlooking the sea. When you stood on the edge of the bluff, beneath the twisting red-gold trunks of the few arbutus trees which grew there, and looked down at the water, you felt as if you were standing on your own small round world.
Kaya called it her dreaming place. It was here that she sometimes came with Grandmother, to hear the old stories, and to learn about the special powers of each plant and animal. At the high point of the bluff, where the earth sloped away on all sides down towards the sea, a great, smooth stone emerged from the grass. Kaya liked to sit on the stone while the eagle perched on a low arbutus branch nearby. Somehow, Grandmother’s deep, windy voice was more resonant here than anywhere, as if the window itself spoke the ancient lore through her.
Josh leapt excitedly up onto the stone.
“You can see for miles from up here,” he said, beaming. “I should bring my binoculars next time!”
“Your what?” asked Kaya.
While Josh explained the powers of binoculars, Kaya led him down from the Window, to another of her favorite places, the hidden cave by the spring. Tangle was one of the few smaller islands that had fresh water. In the very center of the island was a steep hill, almost a cliff, and at its base a freshwater spring filled a small pool. It was dark and mysterious here, and Josh looked about him nervously as he followed Kaya into shadowy trees at the base of the cliff. The pool was rimmed with deep green moss. Kaya bent to scoop water into her hands and drink.
“Go on,” she said to Josh. “It’s clean.”
Josh stooped and tasted the water. “It’s good!” he said. “It almost tastes sweet.”
“It comes from inside the hill. And look. Up there. Can you see it? There’s a dark patch - that’s a hidden cave. I’ll show you.”
They scrambled through the underbrush and up the rocky slope a short way until they came to an opening in the hill. It was a wide crack in the rock, just big enough for children their age to squeeze through. Kaya went first, gesturing for Josh to follow her. At first it seemed as if the crack would come to a dead end, but after a minute or two of panting and pushing, the children found themselves in a wider cave, which was lit by a fissure in the rock above.
Josh whistled to himself. “Imagine, he breathed. “What a great hiding place this would be. If any one was ever chasing you, you could hole up in here and they’d never find you.”
“Yeah,” said Kaya, nodding proudly. “You could even camp here, because this half of the cave is dry. The rain would only come in on that side.”
There were a few more places to show Josh. Kaya took him to the meadow where she gathered stinging nettle and dock leaves and oregon grape berries to make tonics, and another one where she picked wild mint and rose hips and blackberry leaves to steep for tea. She took him to her driftwood beach house, with its covered stack of dry wood for burning at the back, and its small fire pit out front. Large strands of a seaweed called kelp had been spread out to dry on the roof of the little house. Once it was dried, Kaya explained, she would grind the kelp to a powder and use it for salting her food.
Kaya showed Josh the “balancing log,” a thirty-foot-long tree trunk that had fallen one year and wedged itself among some rocks high over the shore. She liked to perform tricks on the log, like hopping across on one foot.
Lastly, she had him try out her rope swing. The swing was a thick, knotted rope that Kelpie had salvaged, and which Kaya had suspended from a high arbutus branch. The rope could swing across the pebbly beach and right out over the sea. In the summer, explained Kaya, you could let go and somersault into the water.
Josh was entranced with everything he saw. At last, however, he glanced down at his watch.
“I gotta go!” he said anxiously. “Dad’ll be worried about me. He didn’t even know I went out in the boat. But can I come back tomorrow after school?”
“Sure,” grinned Kaya. “But don’t drop your oar this time. I can’t come and save you every day, you know!”
Josh smiled sheepishly. “I’ll try not to.”
With a wave, he set off in his rowboat. The sea was calm, and he made quick progress toward Campbell Harbour. Kaya watched him until he was a small dot on the grey surface of the water. The she turned back up the beach, calling out to Tike to come and help her build a fire for supper.
Chapter 2: The Duchess
The days passed. Spring brightened into early summer. Wisps of bright gold broom burst into bloom on the edges of Tangle Island. The giant maple unfurled large, luxurious leaves, which dappled the light entering the nest through the skylight.
Kaya and Josh met often to go exploring. She showed him all her favorite haunts on the smaller, unpopulated islets nearby. Sometimes Josh rowed to Moon Cove in his rowboat, other times Kaya would paddle over in the canoe and pick him up after school at the dock in town. The dock was located right next to J & B’s General Store, where she traded fish.
“Grandmother,” Kaya called out one afternoon, “I think I’ll go to town today.”
The
eagle was resting high on her perch, a bare cedar bough next to the nest in the maple tree. With a slow, graceful movement, she lifted into the air and circled slowly down to the beach where Kaya was loading the canoe.
“Have you got the two fish I caught this morning?” asked Grandmother.
“They’re right here. Jim at the store is going to be amazed. They‘re such big ones!” Kaya hesitated a moment, then added, “Jim said he was going to lend me some books. He said I could come and pick them up any time.”
Josh had been showing Kaya how to read. Ever since her first trip to town two years earlier, when she first saw the newspapers and magazines stacked in Jim’s store, she had been curious to know what all those lines and squiggles stood for. Josh had been amazed when she’d asked him to help her learn.
“What d’you want to know how to read for? I hate reading! They make us read so much boring stuff for school. It’s much more fun having adventures.”
But Kaya persisted. After awhile Josh started to enjoy his role as teacher. Kaya seemed to know so much more than him about everything, and was so brave and capable, that it felt good to be able to explain something to her for a change.
“Grandmother,” Kaya said reassuringly, “I won’t be long, OK?”
The eagle studied Kaya intently for a long moment, her white head cocked to one side. Her small, black eyes were keen and bright.
“How is your learning coming, child?” she asked finally.
“Fast!” said Kaya. “I can already read a whole bunch of words. I can’t wait until I can read a real book. Jim says there are all kinds of wonderful stories in books, and each one is like a whole new world to explore.”
Grandmother nodded her head slowly. “I am glad the boy can show you how.” Her voice was very quiet, almost sad. “One day, Kaya Stormchild, you may wish to take your place among your own kind. You will need to know the stories of your people.”
Kaya started at these words. She shook her head vigorously, then said, frowning, “You’re my people, Grandmother - you and Kelpie and Tike and all the others. I’ll never leave you, even if I can read! I don‘t want to live anywhere else than Tangle Island. Ever!”
The old eagle smiled. She bent to pluck with her beak a stray lock of Kaya’s hair and tuck it behind the girl’s shoulder.
“Go ahead, then. Go get your books. It is a fine, cloudless day. Take Tike with you. You haven’t offered to take him to town since the storm, and I know he’s eager to see the place for himself.”
Kaya put her fingers to her lips and whistled. A moment later, the little otter came scurrying along the rocks towards her. He had a partially eaten crab, still in the shell, dangling from his mouth.
“Hop in!” said Kaya. “We’re going to town.“
Tike gulped down the rest of his meal. Then he wiped his whiskers quickly with his paws and scampered up and over the side of the canoe.
“Whoopee!” he squealed. “We’re finally going! I want to see the town. I want to see all the people, and those car things, and - and - everything!“
The otter chirped and whistled excitedly to himself as Kaya carefully wrapped two large salmon in seaweed and placed them in a cedar basket in the bottom of the boat. Kaya launched the canoe, and with a wave to Grandmother, who had flown to her perch, they were off.
The sea was glassy smooth, and they covered the distance in three-quarters of an hour. Kaya tied the canoe to the side of the Campbell Harbour Public Dock. Then she and Tike climbed the wooden stairs that led up from the dock to the street above. Two men who were working on a boat engine glanced curiously at them as they passed, and a young couple who were leaning over the railing at the top of the stairs pointed and whispered. The sight of a girl and otter arriving by canoe was evidently not one they saw every day. Tike held his head high and sauntered along as if he were used to such attention.
J & B’s General Store was the first building on the street. Long ago, it had been a barn belonging to one of the old Campbell Harbour homesteads, but Jim and his wife Beth had installed large windows and skylights and painted the walls green with gold trim. Barrels full of bright red geraniums sat on either side of the main door. Jim was inside, behind the counter, sticking price labels on cans. Kaya placed the cedar basket on the counter.
“Well, Kaya! Back so soon?” He looked up, smiling. Then he caught sight of the salmon.
“Wow! What beauties! Whenever I go fishing I’m lucky if I snag a dogfish and here you are bringing these big salmon in every week!”
Jim shook his head, chuckling. He was a big, burly man, with a grey ponytail and a kind, creased face that looked as if he laughed often.
“And who have you brought with you? Is that a dog?” Jim took off his reading glasses and leaned over the counter to peer at the otter.
Tike snorted indignantly. “Dog, indeed! What do you take me for? I am an otter, sir. And my name is Tike. I am of the Sandy Reach family of otters and -”
“Tike!” interrupted Kaya in a whisper, as she bent down close to him, pretending to scratch his ear. “He doesn’t understand anything you say, remember? It just sounds like you are growling at him.”
The otter stopped, coughed awkwardly, looked at his paws, then turned and strolled off down a nearby aisle, as if to peruse the selection of canned beans.
Jim’s eyes were wide. “Well, I’ll be! That’s got to be an otter, now I get a better look at him. Does he belong to you, Kaya?”
“Kind of,” shrugged Kaya. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t make a mess, don’t worry!”
Jim got down the books he had put aside for her and put them in a paper bag. With a wink at Kaya, he tucked one of Beth’s freshly baked lemon loaves into the bag as well.
“Something to munch on while you’re reading. Share some with your friend there,” said Jim, grinning at Tike, who had returned to Kaya’s side and was now peering up at Jim with an offended expression.
“How’s your grandmother?” asked Jim. “Would she like a little present? Some hand lotion, perhaps?”
“Oh no -- ” Kaya stopped. She cleared her throat and stole a quick glance at Tike. “Actually,” she said brightly, “that would be nice. Grandmother’s hands do get kind of scratchy sometimes.”
At this Tike let out a loud snort, followed by a wheezy fit of otter giggles. Kaya glared at him sternly.
Jim looked alarmed.
“Is he coughing? Something must have got caught in his throat.”
“Oh, don’t mind him,” said Kaya. “He just likes attention.”
Jim placed the pale pink bottle of skin lotion in Kaya’s basket. She knew that Jim pictured her as living with a kindly, if somewhat reclusive, old lady. When Kaya had first visited the store Jim had questioned her about her home in a friendly, conversational way. He was impressed with her fishing and intrigued that she and her grandmother lived on an island out in the Strait, without electricity or telephone.
“Real pioneers!” he had exclaimed.
Kaya had answered all his questions as vaguely as she could without lying outright. One day, she thought, I’d like to tell Jim the truth. But what if he didn’t understand? What if he thought she should go to school, and live in a normal house like other girls? No. No matter how kind Jim was, Kaya couldn’t risk it. Not yet.
“Thanks!” said Kaya, smiling. “And thanks especially for the books. I can’t wait to read them.”
With a wave, she and the otter left the store and strolled up the little street that comprised the “downtown” of Campbell Harbour. It was Saturday, which was always a little busier than weekdays. Many of the houses on Henby were owned by “weekenders” who worked in the big city on the mainland during the week and came to the island for holidays.
Kaya and Tike passed the library and the gas station and the little row of shops. Tike stuck close by the girl’s heels. Twice, the sound of passing cars made him jump. When a chainsaw started up somewhere off in the trees, the otter nearly leaped into Kaya’s arms.
“
Don’t worry Tike, they won’t bite you. I promise. Let’s go and visit the Duchess. She wants to meet you. You’ll like her.”
“What’s a Duchess?” asked Tike peevishly, as if he didn’t like the sound of the word.
“A Duchess is kind of like a Queen, “ said Kaya patiently. “They’re very important over in England. That’s the country my friend came from. But she is not a Duchess really, not any more. She told me she used to be married to a Duke, back when she was young. She didn’t like living with him, though, so she ran away here, to Henby Island. Her real name is Margaret, Margaret Kimpton. But I like to call her the Duchess. It suits her better.”
The Duchess ran the thrift shop at the far end of the street. Kaya had taken to visiting the old woman on her trips to town. The Duchess often gave Kaya clothes, and any dishes or pots the girl needed. But most of all, Kaya liked to sit and chat with her.
The shop was located in the front rooms of a very old house, one that dated from the early days of Campbell Harbour. The sign on the front door said,
Trinkets and Treasures
Open Thursday through Sunday, 10 – 4
They pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside. Immediately, the scent of lavender mixed with the musty smell of old blankets greeted them. Heavy chintz curtains hung on either side of the large front window, and the walls were papered with a faded floral design in pink and lilac hues. Racks of clothes, drawers and shelves filled with china, linen, and board games as well as all sorts of odds and ends crowded the room.
Several cats eyed the newcomers from atop various cupboards and a magnificent green and gold parrot sat chattering on a perch next to the window. At the far end of the room an ancient gramophone played music from the Big Band era. The Duchess sat in a wooden rocking chair next to it, knitting and humming along.
As soon as she caught sight of the two visitors, she put down her knitting and the cat that had been curled up in her lap and hurried to greet them. She moved quickly, despite her advanced years. She was tall and slender, though a little stooped, with white hair swept into an elegant bun and soft blue eyes like cornflowers. She was wearing a faded, lilac-colored dress, which looked as if it had once been costly. A string of pearls draped her throat.
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