by Jesse Reiss
Epilogue
Angelina and Neil, hand in hand, climbed the familiar trail up to the tree. The sun was bright and the breeze was cool on their faces. The acrid smell of smoke still lingered over the blackened remains of the chaparral and bushes that littered the mountainside, like corpses on a battlefield.
The park’s south face that had burned had been reopened for a week now and they were among the few to reenter and witness the damage that had been done. Angelina told Neil how she thought she’d seen the drunken teens later arrested for starting the fire. The news story circulating was they had reportedly tried to use a kerosene can to cook hotdogs and accidentally started the fire.
The bird sanctuary had experienced a few days of loud picketing organized by various animal rights groups when it was reported that the owl had been euthanized as planned. Officials filed lengthy and confusing paperwork when asked to provide evidence and wouldn’t be interviewed by reporters.
Tyra and lawyers for the Currys had intervened on Angelina’s behalf, arranging a deal with Dr. Zinnovy that resulted in compensation for his injuries and for the operation he never delivered in exchange for no charges being filed against Angelina.
The airwaves were abuzz for days about the kidnapping, rescue and sighting of Sam Curry. Conspiracy theories popped up overnight when no evidence of an arrest was made public and no charges were filed. Did the Currys plan the entire event as a publicity stunt? Was it not the real Sam Curry? Did Sam ever really exist? Were the girl and boy seen on TV only paid actors? Was the real kidnapper still on the loose? Why weren’t the Currys demanding the culprit be found and arrested? No city authorities or anyone in the Curry’s camp were talking. Angelina was still a mystery and unavailable for any statement or interviews. The conspiracy machine was guaranteed to brew for a long time and keep the Currys permanently in the limelight, which didn’t seem to concern them in the slightest.
They reached the oak tree’s remains and walked around it. Angelina was saddened at the sight. Where before it had provided shelter and protection from the elements, it looked bare and emaciated. Everything was black, all the way to what was left of the topmost branches.
“So this was your tree?” Neil said gently.
“Yes, this is it. This is where my parents proposed, where my father’s ashes were scattered and if I pick up my mother’s hints correctly, where I was conceived.”
Neil raised his eyebrows and smiled at this revelation. “And where you found one of the smartest owls that ever lived,” he added.
“Right. It has been full of surprises. And might have one more left in it.”
Neil’s face went serious. This girl had taken him to the edge several times in a few days of knowing her, but since the fire she had been otherwise normal and had even returned to school, where she was treated like a minor celebrity. He had enjoyed the visits they had made to the Currys’ mansion and playing with Sam. The Stanleys had even received an invitation to join them with the Russells at their winter retreat in Denver for Thanksgiving. He didn’t know if he could take any more surprises. “What do you mean by that?” he asked seriously.
“You’ll see,” she said with a mischievous smile.
She climbed onto the lowest bough and began to climb the blackened tree. In seconds her hands, arms and knees were covered with charcoal, but this didn’t seem to bother her. Neil followed up after her, taking a longer time due to his unfamiliarity with the tree’s structure.
Angelina reached the bough that had previously sent her into another world and stepped onto it. As she suspected, nothing happened. This was okay with her. It confirmed for her that the tree and its occupants had moved on. She felt some relief knowing this and nodded to herself silently.
Hardly stopping, she climbed on higher, pulling herself up from bough to bough, testing the smaller ones to be sure they could take her weight. Neil followed behind her, wondering where this girl was taking him now. As they got higher he got butterflies in his stomach when he looked down, but didn’t want to say anything so as not to look weak to Angelina, who didn’t seem bothered by the height.
She arrived at the hole that used to be the owl’s den and peered inside. It was a hole large enough for a bird of Virginia’s size to easily climb in and out and appeared to have nothing in it. She reached in and felt down. She pulled out charred sticks and ash that had once been the owl’s nest and threw these to the ground. Neil reached her by this time and nervously looked inside the hole. “What exactly are we doing?” he asked.
“You’ll see,” she said with a big smile that made his heart melt. He shook his head. She had a hold on him and he knew there was nothing he could do about it.
She reached in again and pulled out more vegetation and bits of what was once tree bark. After several more times reaching in and tossing out bits of decayed this and that, she got her hands on something and began tugging. It was heavy and coarse and she couldn’t get it to come out. “Give me a hand,” she said, indicating to Neil to get his strong arm in the hole as well.
Neil reached his right arm in next to hers and got his hand on whatever it was. It felt cold, heavy, rough and lumpy. He maneuvered his fingers for a good grip and they tugged. It gave way, coming up and out of the hole. It was very heavy, requiring both with their free hands to hold it up. Neither could recognize it at first. It was black and had been eaten away at and corroded by years of moisture, insects and bird droppings. “Yuck!” Neil said, scrunching up his nose and pulling his head back.
Angelina balanced herself against the tree trunk to free her other hand and attempted to pull it apart. Neil began to see it was an old satchel that had somehow congealed into a heavy glob. As Angelina pulled at the sides, its seams gave way like the pages of a soggy newspaper and it fell apart in their hands.
Hundreds of gold coins and nuggets fell through their fingers and rained down through the tree, the sound like chimes being played in an orchestra. They seemed to fall forever, bouncing off boughs and branches and landing on the blackened earth, like glittering stars from the sky.
They stared down at the ground, sprinkled in gold. Neil looked up at her in stunned silence. She shrugged and smiled.
“Sam was right,” he said. “You are an angel.”
###