Raven's Mountain
Page 11
The biggest rock of all settles firmly in my stomach. ‘Don’t be silly,’ Scott’s supposed to say, just like Lily had two days ago, but nicer. ‘Of course it’s not your fault!’
‘He said that wasn’t what mattered. It was an accident and it’s what you did next that mattered.’
I remember the voice in my head saying, If you did that, you can do anything!
‘Scott and I started talking about the worst things we’ve ever done. Mine was telling you our real dad left because of you.’
I can’t breathe. It’s not fair to talk about that today.
‘It’s a lie: he left because of me; because I wouldn’t stop crying. You know what gets me? The one single thing I can remember about our father is him shouting at me to stop crying, and how afraid I was when he shoved me into my room and slammed the door.’
The garbage of guilt tumbles away . . . until I look at Lily and start to feel sad and angry and wise all at once. Even though I’ve always believed it was my fault our dad had left, just because I was born, I know for absolutely sure that it couldn’t be a three-year-old’s fault.
‘You think a little kid could make a grown-up do something he didn’t want to? You can’t get Mum to do what you want now!’
Lily gives a funny sort of laugh, and we sit a while longer, shoulders rubbing, looking down at the mountain we’ve climbed. Far below us, we can hear the rescue helicopter on its way back to take us to Mum and Scott.
Then Lily starts braiding my hair again, dancing the strands from side to middle to the other side, each one taking turns, but with the raven’s feather always firm and unmoving at the centre.
24
LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON
Flying down the mountain with my sister, the peak still looks fierce and bare; the chain of mountains around it are still endless and empty. I’ve got the binoculars from Scott’s pack, so I can see it all now too.
We hover over the raggedy tree line, the berry field and the secret cave waterfall; I show Lily the little waterfalls cascading to the Niagara, pretty and sparkling in the sun as if they’d never tried to drown me. Off to the right we can see the creek that I followed to the marsh, and the gentler hills of Greg’s ranch.
I don’t exactly know what I feel about the mountain, except that I want Lily not to hate it.
‘Look at that!’ the pilot says through the headsets as we hover above the riverbank. ‘I’ve never seen a white bear out here before!’
Mama Bear stands guard to watch the helicopter go by. The pilot doesn’t see the cubs, nestled together in the long grass, and I keep their secret. They’re wild and free, and safe.
Lily smiles, and squeezes my hand.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy Orr was born in Edmonton, Canada, and spent her childhood in various places across Canada, France, and the USA, but wherever she lived, there were lots of stories, adventures and animals. Wendy fell in love with the mountains when was eight and went to summer camp in the Rockies. When she was twelve, she climbed Pike’s Peak in Colorado with her father and sister, and will never forget the thrill of reaching the top!
Raven’s Mountain is set in the high mountain country of British Columbia in Canada. This area is the home of many wild animals, including grizzlies and black bears. And very occasionally, a rare white Spirit Bear from the central coast of British Columbia has also been spotted further inland . . .
Wendy is the author of several award-winning books, including Nim’s Island, Nim at Sea, Spook’s Shack, Mokie and Bik, and for teenagers, Peeling the Onion.
A few years after Wendy wrote Nim’s Island, a film producer in Hollywood took the book out of the library to read to her son, and the next day emailed Wendy to ask if she could make it into a movie. Wendy said yes! They became good friends and Wendy had the fun of helping work on the screenplay, and learning that making a movie was even more complicated than writing a book.
Wendy Orr lives on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula with her dog and other family.
NIM’S ISLAND
Nim lives on an island in the middle of the wide blue sea
with her father Jack, a marine iguana called Fred, a sea lion
called Selkie, a turtle called Chica and a satellite dish
for her email. No one else in the world lives quite like Nim,
and she wouldn’t swap places with anyone.
But when Jack disappears in his sailing boat, and disaster
threatens her home, Nim must be braver than she’s ever been
before. And she needs help from her friends, old and new.
Nim’s Island is also a movie, starring Abigail Breslin,
Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler.
NIM AT SEA
Nim lives on an island in the middle of the wide blue sea
with her father Jack, a marine iguana called Fred, a sea lion
called Selkie, and their new friend Alex Rover. Nim is as free
as a bird, and she wouldn’t swap places with anyone.
But when Alex flies away in the seaplane, without saying
goodbye, and Selkie is captured by villains from a cruise ship,
Nim must risk everything to bring them back. Her dangerous
rescue mission takes her far across the ocean, to New York
City. It’s a good thing she has Fred and two new friends
by her side.