His mind now raced to Fort Wilderness. It’s in the wrong place, his head claimed. Out of everything here, it alone was in the wrong location. It should be on this side of the caves, not on the other side, closer to the raft landing. What had the soldier told him? “Where else should it be? It’s protecting the island, dummy.” He then pictured the interior of the Fort. Why is it so familiar? Because you have lived there for over a year. No, it was familiar before that.
The familiar sound of a steam whistle came to his ears and interrupted the mental sparring he was going through. As he watched the Mark Twain move slowly downstream, he noted there were no passengers on this trip. Crates and barrels were stacked haphazardly over the white deck. The pilot saw Wals and gave a friendly tilt of his black hat from the wheelhouse four decks above the water level. There should be passengers—no, guests—onboard, he thought. Where are the guests? He watched a long time before the ship made a slow, sweeping turn to the right and headed toward what was left of Rainbow Ridge. It will take hours for the ship to make the run. No, that’s not right. It should only take...it should only take 12 minutes…. A canoe followed in the choppy wake of the ship, slowly paddled by some members of the village and friends of Mato. They raised a hand in greeting to Wals as they went by and angled over toward the direction of their village way downstream.
Wals sat heavily on the ground, his mind reeling. The nametag was still clutched in his fist, his engraved name now leaving grooves in his palm. He opened his hand and stared at the white piece of plastic. Is this place what I think it is? It all looks so familiar, but it just isn’t right. This isn’t a place to play; these people are really living and working here. What happened to me?
Rose came out of the cabin and sat down next to Wals. “Well, Wolf fell asleep. I think his leg will be all right if it doesn’t fester….” She broke off, noticing the confused look on Wals’ face. When he didn’t answer her, she became concerned. “Wals, are you all right?”
He just stared at her as if he had never seen her before.
Rose was alarmed now. “Wals? What’s wrong?”
He reached out a tentative hand and ran it slowly over her sculpted cheek. Surprised and yet pleased by his touch, Rose remained silent, hoping he would explain himself and ease her anxiety. “You shouldn’t be here,” he managed to whisper after confirming to himself that she actually was a real, living, breathing person.
When his hand dropped back to his side, Rose let out an exasperated sigh and looked down at her worn slippers. “You, too, Wals?” She was deflated. Out of all the people she had met here, she had thought Wals would be different, that he would understand her strength and ability to cope by herself. “Everybody tells me that. I think I’ve proven I can live by myself pretty well.”
Wals rubbed the spot between his eyes that was starting to throb. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean?” Eyes narrowed, she tried to fight down the irritation his remark had caused.
He looked down at the nametag again before speaking. After staring at it for a full minute, he finally held it out for her to see. “Does this mean anything to you?”
She took the oval badge from him and gazed at it for a long time. She ran her fingertips lightly over the imprinted letters. “That’s your name,” she said with a smile, looking up at him. “It’s beautiful! That castle….” She stopped talking as a frown crossed her beautiful face. “I remember that castle…but I’m not sure where…or why….” She stopped talking, her mind now whirling. Why would a castle look familiar to me?There’s no castle around here. I can’t remember my husband’s face or our wedding or anything about our life together, but I can remember a castle? There were blue and gold banners flying in the breeze over the drawbridge.…
Wals interrupted her thoughts. “How long have you been here?” he quietly asked, hoping she could shed some light on this dilemma, that, by the look on her face, she was feeling as well.
Rose handed him back the badge. “Oh, gosh.” She looked up at the darkening sky for answers. “I…I don’t know. Seems like forever.”
That’s exactly how he felt. “Before you came here, where did you live?”
“Back east,” Rose replied automatically. She stopped again and thought back. She spoke slowly as if trying out the words, “That’s what I’ve always said when anyone asked me. Back east. But, I’m not sure where exactly.” She was getting confused again.
Wals’ fingers ran around and around the nametag. It seemed to be his touchstone right now. He somehow knew that if he let go of it everything would vanish from his mind again. “But you don’t remember exactly, do you?” At the slow, negative shake of her head, he asked, “What’s your earliest memory?”
Rose watched his fingers move systematically around the white oval. “Of here or before?” At his shrug, she continued. “Well, I remember swimming,” she stated with a fond smile. “I loved the water when I was little.” She looked out over the River, and her face clouded over and the smile faded. “It wasn’t like this huge River, though. It was smaller. That’s probably why I used to go to Cascade Peak. I could go behind the waterfalls of Cascade Peak when I knew the mine trains weren’t coming and swim or bathe there. Then, after the waterfalls dried up, I had to go to the beaver dam.”
Wals heart started pounding again. “What did you say happened to the waterfalls at Cascade Peak?” His mouth had just gone dry.
She slowly shook her head as she thought back. “I’ve never seen the like before.” Rose’s voice was a mere whisper. It had scared her at the time. It had scared everyone. “They just dried up one night. The River dried up too, just about the same time. Had all of us worried sick. I mean, what were we going to do? The River is our life force. Thankfully, the rains in the mountains must have come again because the River suddenly started running again. But, for some reason, those waterfalls at the Peak never flowed again. Then the Peak itself just started eroding over time. It’s a pity, too. It was such a beautiful waterfall. It’s mostly gone now. That was probably about the same time business at Rainbow Ridge started to decline.”
Heart still pounding, Wals thought back. “You ever hear of Catfish Cove?”
“Oh, yes! It was way on the other side of the Island, though. I heard it was the best fishing spot on the Island.”
“What happened to it?”
Rose shrugged. “I don’t know. Guess the bears from the wilderness—you know where I mean? Bear Country? They must have cleaned it out before they were all chased away. We used to have more elk around here too. Now, just a few moose and deer are left. And the beavers, of course. I hope the hunters don’t get them as well.” She broke off, her eyes distracted and sad. “I suppose you were here when the earthquake hit, or at least heard about it?”
“Which earthquake? There’s always earthquakes in…in…,” he stopped. Was California even settled yet? Of course it…. He looked back at the nametag in his palm, the images in his head swirling around and threatening to vanish again. “Tell me about the earthquake,” he rasped out.
Playing with the hem of her white apron as she thought back, a frown created a line in her forehead. “Well,” she finally started, “at least I think it was an earthquake. What else could have caused that much destruction?”
“Destruction of what?”
“Why, the whole Painted Desert! Now, I was never able to go there personally and see it, of course, but I heard plenty of talk about it at the Fort. It was too far away for me to visit and I couldn’t afford the stagecoach fare before that stopped coming, too. I suppose I could have paid to go with the burro supply train once, but I never did.”
He stared at her with an open mouth. “Old Unfaithful Geyser and the bubbling pots of mud? Rainbow Caverns?” He could barely say the words. How did she know about them?
The blond head nodded as she silently wondered about the expression of astonishment on his face. Everyone knew about the Painted Desert. It was…it was just there. And then it
wasn’t. “So, you did hear about it.”
His head moved up and down and then side to side. “Tell me what you heard.”
“They said it was like the ground opened up and just swallowed the whole area! Nothing was left but a couple of the taller arches. You’d think something that tall would have gone first in an earthquake, but, no, they somehow survived. It was everything else that was just gone. It had to have been an earthquake, wouldn’t it?” She was hoping Wals could shed some light on the then-terrifying occurrence.
“The Mine Train.” Wals thought he had whispered to himself.
“You probably saw the wrecked engine across the River on the other side of the Island.” Rose nodded as she let out a sad sigh, drawing her knees up to hug them with her arms. “So much has changed over the years. I thought this little Island was so far from civilization that it would never change! I was kinda hoping to see Mr. Crockett again some time. He seemed awfully nice.”
“You saw Davy Crockett? Where? In the Fort? When was that?”
She slowly nodded, thinking back. “Yes, I guess it must have been a short time before you came. I’m not sure. He and Mr. Russel were usually seen deep in discussion with the Major General in his office. But, they left one day and never came back. It was too bad, too. Mr. Crockett was the nicest man. So kind to me.” She smiled warmly at the memory. “I guess their assignment took them elsewhere across the River.”
Wals didn’t mention he had seen her that same day when the two scouts escorted her safely out of the Fort. He didn’t want to detract from his line of thought. “What else has changed? Anything?”
“I don’t know if you heard, but that nasty Private Crain tried to waylay me again yesterday. I swear I don’t know why he hates me so.” She tried not to start shivering as she remembered her experience. “But I ducked into the caves. I know my way around them pretty well. But, something was wrong. I came to a dead-end where there was supposed to be a short-cut to the other side of the Island. It was all filled in. Wolf had taken me through those caves many times. Actually, now that I think about it, he was teaching me how to get through them without getting lost in the maze. So I know that part of the cave should have been open. Luckily I knew another route. Private Crain didn’t,” she added with a smug smile. “I don’t know what happened to him. I hope he fell down the Bottomless Pit.”
Wals sat real still. So that was what Daniel was grousing about. It was Rose he had gone after! I’m going to kill him! “Don’t worry overmuch about him. He hates everyone. Are you the one that hit him in the forehead?” He hoped his voice didn’t betray the anger he was feeling.
Rose gave a nervous laugh. He could tell she was still upset. “No, but I wish I had. He probably hadn’t been in the caves before and didn’t know about that low rock right in the entrance.”
The caves that were built with shorter children in mind, Wals reminded himself. “What else is different?”
“You came. That was nice,” she added shyly, looking out across the River and not meeting his eyes. On a huge flat rock, Mato sat watching on his pinto again. He raised an arm in greeting to them. “I do miss seeing your Keel Boats. They were such funny shaped little boats. What happened to them?”
“One of them actually keeled over and dumped the guests…I mean, passengers,” he hastily corrected, “into the water. Somebody got hurt. The…the owners sold one of the boats.”
“That’s too bad,” Rose sighed. “I heard the other one was being lived in, like a house, if you can believe it! The soldiers said it was pretty beat up and looked like it was slowly sinking.”
“Yeah, I heard that, too,” Wals answered, drifting off. This was too much for him. He needed to think it out alone. He had to ask her one more time, “So, you really can’t remember where you lived before you came here?”
She thought back again and started to look perplexed. “No, I really can’t. Isn’t that odd? All I can remember is a lovely pool of water and a beautiful castle like the one on your brooch.”
“My what?” He had no idea what she meant.
Rose pointed at his hand. “Your white and blue brooch. Well, that is what I call it. What do you call it?”
“My nametag.” I wear it when I work the canoes at Disneyland so guests will know my first name. I pin it to this mustard-yellow fringed shirt. There’s even a reinforced patch of fabric in the exact spot where it goes. He was starting hyperventilate so he abruptly stood before Rose could see how bewildered he was. Concerned for him, Rose started to rise, but Wals told her to just stay outside and enjoy the lovely evening. He said he needed to check on the wolf to see how he was doing.
Wals entered the darkened cabin and went to where Rose kept her small stock of candles. Lighting one of the soft yellow beeswax candles in the ever-present burning fire, he took the wavering flame over to where the wolf was stretched out on the floor.
Squatting down, Wals held out the light to shine over the sleeping animal. His attention was focused on that odd white patch of fur on the wolf’s broad black chest. The wolf’s blue eyes suddenly opened. Unable to get into a sitting position, Wolf fell back in pain. Panting slightly, he stared back at Wals.
Wals reached out a hand and touched the wolf’s outstretched front paw. The claws bent back at his touch and relaxed again. Wals shook his head as if he didn’t believe what he was about to do. “Well, Rose talks to you all the time. I guess you’re a good listener, huh, Wolf?” He gave a nervous laugh. “They say everyone has a twin. If a twin can be another species, I think I know your twin.” He broke off when he thought he heard the wolf groan in disgust. “You hurting, boy? I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything that’ll help. I thought Mato might come back to check on you.” Again the wolf seemed irritated. “I’m totally confused, Wolf. I don’t know how to explain it except that, somehow, I seem to be in the wrong place, or the wrong time, or both.” Wals got up from in front of the wolf and paced back and forth in the tiny room. “I am in the right place, sort of, but none of this should be real.” He swung his arms around to indicate everything around him. “The only things that are wrong, that shouldn’t be here, are you and Rose and me. Everything else belongs on the Island, but not as living….breathing….people!” Exasperated, he dropped into Rose’s rocker and stared into the fire. “And I’m talking to a wolf!”
Rose came back in and heard Wals’ last statement. “Oh, I do that all the time! Wolf is a great listener.” First giving a quick glance at Wolf to make sure he seemed all right, she then went over to the rocker. “Are you all right, Wals? You seemed so…so…I don’t know…confused?” She put a worried hand lightly on his arm.
His hand covered hers. He could feel the warmth of her skin. He could smell the soft scent of lilacs coming from her clothes. Looking into her clear blue eyes, he gave a small tug on her hand and brought her around to sit in his lap. Her breathing became shallow as his mouth neared hers. His cool lips closed over her warm mouth. She was real. She was just as real as he was. He could feel her heart that was now pounding against his chest. It was she who broke the contact with his pleasant lips and snuggled her head against his shoulder. His arms came protectively around her in a hug as they sat quietly in the firelight.
“Oh, Wals, you seem so lost,” she sighed and then added in a whisper, “Just like I am.”
As good as it felt to relax with a beautiful woman in his arms, Wals couldn’t stop his mind from spinning around and around his situation. He stroked her back while he stared into the flickering flames. In the safety of his arms, with the warmth of the fire and his comforting hands on her back, Rose fell into a peaceful sleep—the first she had had in many a night.
Listening to her steady breathing, Wals rested his chin on the top of her head while he mentally tried to work it all out. Every change she had mentioned, every instance, he knew had happened to his Island in his…his time? Was that it? Frowning, he looked away from the fire into the darkness of the room. Was he out of step with time? How could that have ha
ppened? Was it even possible? And, if it was possible, when did it happen to him?
He tried thinking back, but the memories were confused. The reality of his former life was too entwined with this current life. They were so similar that they were difficult to separate. Was it the same for Rose? How could she not have any memory before coming to this Island? He, at least, knew there were two islands. Or was it the same island at a different time? He thought he knew everything about this Island. He knew when it was built and opened in May of 1956. But he was now living way before 1956. If he knew his history, Davy Crockett lived around the time of early 1800-and-something. Wasn’t he involved in the War of 1812? That was about the time period in which Fort Wilderness had been set. He knew all the changes that had been made to the Island and the surrounding Frontierland area over the years.
And each and every change had been mentioned by Rose. She had either seen them or heard about them at the Fort.
Is that the conundrum? That there is an alternate reality for the Island? That everything that happened in Rose’s time ended up happening to the Island he knew? Like history repeating itself?
Wals had another disturbing thought and gave a startled gasp. Rose’s descriptions were of things that had happened in recent history, not decades ago. So, if that was accurate, to make it even worse, what if the converse was true? What if everything that happened to Tom Sawyer’s Island in his time affected this Island and its inhabitants in this time period? Perhaps it wasn’t that everything in the present affects the future. Perhaps it was that everything that happens in the present affects the past!
If that is true, what is going to happen next in this reality? What will be the next big change to the Island that was all the latest talk at the Park? How could it affect the people living here on this Island?
Wolf! The Legend of Tom Sawyer's Island Page 20