Ozette's Heartstone

by Judy Pierce

  Ozette shivered. The snow had quit falling, and she was cold, probably from shock as much as the chilly temperature. Mateo and Barnaby added more wood to the blaze, while Ariel, Sydney and Annika were busily roasting seedlettos over the fire and feeding them to the geese.

  Beemer and Harley were strutting through the crowd waving their paws as they talked about their adventure, no doubt embellishing the tale. Suzuki clung to Ozette, and Gizmo kept patting the white squirrel and telling her how proud he was of her. Meanwhile, Baby Fiona tried to recruit someone to sled with her, but there were no takers.

  Ozette warmed her paws over a cup of hot chocolate. She licked the white foam from the top and felt the warmth seep through her. This had been quite the adventure, and she was glad they had survived. Ozette heard laughter, looked up and saw the beavers who had hit them, running to the bonfire, pulling their sled.

  “Wow!” said the biggest beaver walking up to Ozette and smacking his flat tail on the snow. “You’re some sledder. Sorry we hit you, but that looked like such fun. Maybe we could all take turns going off Endless Cliff, and the geese could pluck us from midair too and...” He stopped mid-sentence seeing the look Ozette gave him.

  “Hmmm. Maybe not,” said the smallest of the beavers.

  Ozette stood and stretched. The sun would be setting soon, and Ozette was anxious to return to the nest. She spotted Cassady catching marshmallows that were being tossed to her by a groundhog, the sled sitting by her side. Ozette called her little friends and waved good-bye to Oliver who ran over to her.

  “I hope you’re not mad at me for talking you into coming,” he said, his eyes wide with concern.

  “Uncle Oliver. We had so much fun!” Gizmo said, plopping himself onto the sled.

  “We want to do it again. And again. And again!” shouted Beemer.

  “Maybe if I wore my parachute on the sled when I went over the cliff...” piped in Baby Fiona.

  Ozette rolled her eyes. “Well, it definitely had its ups and downs,” Ozette said tactfully, as she patted Oliver’s hand affectionately.

  Sydney, Ariel and Annika joined Oliver to bid Ozette good-bye.

  Ozette graciously thanked her friends for all their hard work, as she gestured to their hats, scarves and the sled.

  “You’re just the bravest, Ozette,” Annika said. “We made a wonderful choice when we asked you to be our queen.”

  Ozette smiled. “The pleasure is all mine,” she said.

  The sun was close to setting in the darkening winter sky as Cassady pulled the sled through untrodden snow to Ozette’s nest. The “shushhhhh shushhhhh” of the runners made Ozette sleepy. She could already hear soft snores from the chipmunks and Baby Fiona. Gizmo’s head was tucked under her right foot. She pulled his little cap over his little ears and found herself thinking about Boardmore and the upcoming threat to Farlandia. She tried to plot and plan, but her eyes grew heavy. As she drifted into sleep, a gentle wind blew over the sled, swirling and dipping. It seemed to say, “Have faith, Ozette. Have faith. All will be well.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Chipmunks’ Tale

  Ozette decided to give up sledding in favor of less arduous activities like leaping through the trees, sipping tea with friends and making snow squirrels with Gizmo. Gizmo loved rolling the snow into balls, always taking time to lob a few at Ozette. The snow squirrel’s tail was a little tricky, but they always ended up with a good likeness of Ozette.

  Ozette didn’t always wear her tiara, but she was searching the nest in vain one day for her treasured trinket, when she happened to peer out of her nest. There it sat, rakishly over one ear of the snow squirrel that Gizmo, the chipmunks and Baby Fiona were just completing.

  She started down her tree to chastise Gizmo for taking her tiara without asking, but the scamps looked up at her with such pride that she simply sighed and made a fuss over their beautiful creation.

  “Come in and warm up. I’m ready for a steaming cup of hot spiced apple cider,” she said, scooting the squirrels and chipmunks up the tree.

  A warm wind blew that night, and by lunch the next day, the snow was almost melted.

  “My Ozette! It’s almost gone,” Gizmo said sadly, surveying the melting snow squirrel.

  “Why don’t you bring my tiara up here, Gizmo, so I can dry it and put it away,” Ozette suggested, gently.

  Gizmo clamored down the tree and slapped the tiara on his head. It slipped over his neck, making it hard for him to climb back up the tree.

  Ozette just shook her head as he handed her the tiara and tucked it under a carpet of moss at the back of her nest.

  “You know, Gizmo, that tiara is very special to me. Next time, how about asking me before you borrow it?”

  Gizmo bit his lip. “The Divine Miss Piddlewinks told me sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness rather than for permission, and I thought...” he started.

  Ozette just smiled, shook her head and ruffled the squirrel’s fuzzy head.

  Along with Baby Fiona, the chipmunks continued to be frequent visitors to Ozette and Gizmo’s nest. Ozette was getting used to the boys’ often-rowdy behavior, although today had been particularly trying. Suzuki was a great help with both the boys and Gizmo. She seemed so eager to please, and Ozette often caught Suzuki looking thoughtfully at her.

  One day while Gizmo and Suzuki’s brothers were playing tag in the bushes outside the nest, Suzuki scurried up to Ozette and touched her ankle with her paw. Ozette looked down at the little chipmunk.

  “Ozette, remember when I told you that our lives had not been easy?” she asked, speaking softly.

  Ozette nodded and sat on some moss under a hickory tree, wondering if the little chipmunk was ready to share her story.

  Ozette patted her lap, and Suzuki climbed onto Ozette’s chest.

  “Well, before we came to Farlandia, we lived in Earth World. It was beautiful there. When we were born, we had a large burrow and had lots of aunties and uncles and brothers and sisters, lots to eat and life was so good,” she said, wistfully.

  Ozette nodded, remembering her early happy childhood in Earth World. It had ended far too quickly.

  Some humans arrived and started cutting all of the trees above our burrow, so there was nothing to hold the soil in place. We had a lot of rain, and one stormy day, the land above our burrow gave way, and a huge mountain of mud washed down the mountain. My brothers and I had gone outside to play and were just outside its reach, but our entire family...” As she continued her story, fat tears rolled down Suzuki’s chubby cheeks.

  “Gone. All gone. Our burrow was crushed. We escaped and wandered around in a daze for weeks. We found this beautiful, huge lake-like… thing. You couldn’t see land anywhere except where we stood. We found some coconuts and ate those, and that’s when Harley got his big idea.”

  Ozette nodded, imagining what Harley’s big idea might be.

  “He decided that he’d make us a little boat from a coconut shell, and since we had no one to care for us, we would become pillaging and plundering pirates. Except we never met anyone out there to pillage or plunder.”

  Suzuki stopped for a breath, and Ozette patted her soft head. Her heart went out to these little chipmunks. No wonder the boys tried to act so tough.

  “One day, we were bouncing along the water when we came to this dense fog. We couldn’t see in front of us. We couldn’t steer. I was terrified and so were my brothers, although they’d never admit it. Then it was like we hit some sort of thick something–sort of firm but sort of gooey at the same time. Just then, and I’m not making this up, a voice said, ‘Follow the heart.’” Suzuki paused and looked at Ozette, wondering if the squirrel thought she was crazy. Ozette nodded encouragingly. Had her grandmother been responsible for sending the chipmunks to Farlandia?

  Suzuki gulped. “Then we were through the gooey foggy stuff, and then comes the strange part, Ozette.”

  Ozette smiled at Suzuki, remembering her own trip through the veil from Earth World
to Farlandia.

  “It was like this great sleepiness came over us, and we fell asleep in the little coconut shell, and when we awoke we were on the creek, and then you found us,” she finished in a rush of words, hoping against hope that the white squirrel would believe her. She gazed at Ozette, her little chin quivering.

  “Suzuki, I too have journeyed through the veil from Earth World to here. I’m just glad we found one another,” Ozette said, hugging the chipmunk to her chest and vowing to be a better friend to the chipmunks.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A Time Remembered

  Ozette was up long before dawn had streaked the sky with shades of orange sherbet and soft pumpkin. Feeling restless, she slipped out from the moss and leaf blanket that covered them and stuck her head outside her nesting hole, breathing in the pre-dawn chill.

  She thought of the chipmunks and their journey to Farlandia. She shivered, remembering her own frantic journey through the veil. It was dusk when her grandmother had led her through the forest to a deserted glen, land not yet invaded by man. Ozette was clutching the golden acorn in her shaking paw as she prepared to leave the only home she had known.

  “Take heart, Ozette. Follow the golden acorn to your destiny,” her grandmother had said, hugging Ozette to her. Tears stained Ozette’s fur and fear clutched her heart. Her grandmother held her granddaughter away from her and looked into Ozette’s eyes, saying once again, “Follow the golden acorn, Ozette.”

  Ozette continued to ponder that fateful evening; her grandmother faced west, made circular motions with her paws, then raised them as if to slash the evening sky while she murmured to the night wind. The air shimmered, then glowed with a bright, dense light. Her grandmother motioned for her to come forward. Ozette moved hesitantly toward a glistening gel-like substance. The Divine Miss Piddlewinks touched her granddaughter’s shoulder one last time and made one last circling motion with her paws. Ozette felt like she was being sucked into some sort of vortex or whirlpool. She blanked out for what seemed like only seconds, then blinked and heard birds singing under an azure sky. The golden acorn was vibrating wildly, beckoning her west, to Farlandia.

  Ozette was startled from her musings by the rustle of small feet in the bushes below her nest. She heard a lone owl calling, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?” A slice of moon pierced the dark sky, and Ozette counted stars until she was sleepy enough to tuck herself back into her soft bed. She put a paw around Gizmo, taking comfort from his warm presence and fell asleep.

  Now that winter had settled into Farlandia, not a day had passed that Ozette didn’t wonder if this would be the day that Boardmore and Smiley would sneak into Farlandia with saws and axes in hand to despoil the land Ozette so loved.

  On this chilly morning, Ozette was yawning and grooming her tail when she heard a commotion outside of her nest. She peered out trying not to awaken Gizmo. Oliver, Mateo, Barnaby, Annika, Ariel and Sydney were buzzing around her nesting hole, excitedly trying to get her attention.

  Ozette scrambled onto her limb, putting a paw to her lips so Gizmo could sleep a little longer. The elves and fairies motioned for her to come to the base of her tree. Ozette scooted to the ground to find her friends pacing and whispering to one another.

  “Ozette. We need to start getting ready. Milligan Mouse and his extended family have been living in Boardmore and Smiley’s barn, talking to the horses, so they could alert us as to when those villains are going to start clearing Farlandia. Word has it that they are gathering supplies and stacking them in the barn. They could be on the move soon. It’s best to cut timber three days before a new moon,” Ariel said, biting her lip. “So that would be seven sunrises from now.”

  “The word is spreading rapidly throughout Farland and Farlandia, Ozette,” Sydney said. “The birds took to the air when they got word, and mice and other fast-moving ground creatures are alerting everyone. The badgers have devised a grid so that everyone will hear the news. I even saw Harley, Beemer and Suzuki covering their section.”

  Ozette’s stomach clenched, and it wasn’t from hunger. Gizmo stuck his head out of the nesting hole, his fur sticking up like that of a porcupine. Upon seeing the gathering on the ground, he trundled down the tree to join them. They heard a noise in the bushes, and Ozette thought her heart would fly out of her body. But it was only Princess Abrianna with Cassady tagging behind, a worried look on her doggy face.

  “I see you’ve heard the news. I just returned from the castle, and the queen is ready for action.” As the elves, fairies and squirrels listened intently, the princess outlined the plan once again. As worried as she was, Ozette couldn’t suppress a grin as the princess recounted what was in store for the brothers.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A New Name for Ozette

  The next several days were difficult for Ozette. She felt so responsible for Farlandia and its inhabitants. Her insecurities threatened to overwhelm her with their “what ifs.” She found her paw straying to the Heartstone for comfort often during the day and when she couldn’t sleep at night. Her dreams were tangled and disjointed with the Divine Miss Piddlewinks often appearing in them as a vague form telling her to be brave and follow her heart.

  Gizmo would cuddle up to Ozette when she was restless, and she took solace from the warmth of the baby squirrel’s body. She would often send up a word of thanks to her beloved grandmother for sending the adorable baby to her.

  During one chilly night, Ozette awakened with the sense that something was wrong. She felt around for Gizmo, but the squirrel wasn’t curled up in his usual spot next to her. She searched the nest to no avail then climbed out of her nest onto her tree and looked around. There, on a branch toward the top of the tree, she spied a shadow. She scurried up the tree whispering Gizmo’s name, so she wouldn’t startle him. When she reached the limb, she asked, “May I join you, or would you like to be alone?”

  Gizmo patted the branch next to him, and Ozette sat close to the baby squirrel. He seemed to be studying the millions of stars blanketing the night sky.

  “Is it true that stars are baby squirrels waiting to be born?” he asked in a strained voice.

  “That’s what my grandmother told me, Gizmo. And you know that the Divine Miss Piddlewinks is the wisest of all squirrels.”

  Gizmo was silent for a few moments, as if pondering what she had said.

  “I just hope that they all have wonderful mothers and fathers who take care of them for their entire lives,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

  Ozette was taken back. “Gizmo, are you okay? Aren’t you happy here with me?” she asked, fearing to hear the answer.

  Gizmo moved closer to Ozette. “I love it here, and I’m happy with you, but...don’t you ever miss Earth World and your family there?” he asked, glad of the darkness so Ozette couldn’t see the tears pooling in his dark eyes.

  Ozette squeezed his paw. “Sometimes I do, Gizmo. But my journey led me here just as yours did. We’ve forged a good life for ourselves in Farlandia. We have dear friends in this beautiful place. I guess I’m just grateful for what I’ve found, not what I’ve lost.”

  Gizmo nodded and then was silent for several minutes. “I’ve been thinking, Ozette. Even though you didn’t give birth to me, you’re a lot like my mother. I mean, you take care of me, and I think you kinda like me,” he said, looking away, suddenly shy.

  “Goodness, Gizmo. I adore you! It’s hard to imagine my life without you,” she said, hugging him to her and feeling his stiff little body start to relax. “You’re the best thing that ever set a claw on a tree. You are my...son,” she said.

  Gizmo was silent for a moment, and then he spoke. “Another thing I thought about, Ozette. Maybe I could have a special name for you. I wouldn’t use it all the time–just sometimes if it’s okay.” He looked up at Ozette, and she hugged him closer.

  “I...I was thinking I’d like to call you Mozette.”

  “That’s a lovely name, Gizmo. I would love that,” she said. “How did
you come up with Mozette?”

  “Well, ‘m’ and ‘o’ are the first letters of ‘mom’ and also the last letters of my name. So it sort of means Gizmo’s mom.”

  Ozette felt the squirrel tense up again awaiting her reaction. Tears were streaming down her furry face, and she could barely speak. She cleared her throat, hugged the squirrel to her and said shakily, “I would be honored to be called Mozette, Gizmo–my son.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The Ram’s Horn Blows, the Flags Unfurl

  Slashes of blood red and deep orange split the morning sky as the seventh sunrise dawned in Farlandia. Although a bright sun soon illuminated the landscape, the air was cold. Word spread that Boardmore and Smiley were loading their supplies onto their horses.

  Ozette and Gizmo dug out their pouches of fairy dust and quickly reviewed their uses. They carefully sprinkled the various dusts on rocks, soil, bushes and trees. Because all of Farlandia had a stake in what happened, it was important that the elves, fairies, animals, each blade of grass and each stone–all the elements that made up the realm of Farlandia–were alert and in tune with one another.

  Ozette watched proudly as Gizmo sprinkled sand-colored fairy dust on a small bush before he reached into his pouch to pull out a chunk of rose quartz. He slowly moved it in a clockwise direction over the bush to enhance its energy. Farlandia seemed to radiate with a glittering light when they were finished.

  Ozette put her paw to her head in thought. There was something they’d forgotten, but she couldn’t remember what it was. Ozette heard a ram’s horn blow, chasing the thought from her head. She looked skyward, her eyes wide. She clutched Gizmo’s paw tightly and looked east. Queen Beatrix sat upon a white, winged unicorn. Her long, red hair blowing in the breeze, she held Duchess Zorina in front of her. DZ held a white flag emblazoned with a red heart with a green evergreen tree in its center. Across the bottom in black letters was the word Farland.