A Truly Soggy Day

 

 
            Midspring in the Great Forest can be a misty watery time that stretches out for what seems like weeks. The clouds come down among the tops of the firs and hang around there, dripping or just pouring the water that runs downhill into the rivers. All the forest and lowlands depend on this water, but it can seem pretty grey after a while.
            Forest People are pretty weather proof, it’s true. But even they start looking to the sky after a while wondering when the light will come back.
            Ramona threw a few more sticks on her almost eternal fire, stood and wiped the smokey rain out of her eyes. Even that soul of patience, herself, sighed. Cherry sat near the fire. Next to her feet, Blue slept with her white fur full of raindrops which gathered and ran to the ground. Steamy smoke rose up through the dropping rain, creating a ragged column in the air. The light was low and diffuse.
            Even Ralph seemed a little quiet. Coming into the Home Clearing from the direction of the Silver River, he carried a gunny sack half full of gullible trout. Water ran down his coat from the top of  his head clear down his beard, off his belly, and down to his feet.
            “Mona,” he said, “There isn’t a whole lot of difference between being in the river and being outside of the river.”
            He gave her the bag of fish, and she dumped them, wriggling, into her five gallon bucket half full of river water to keep them alive for a while.
            “I’m thinking of that little stove Ooog, and you put into the Alder Tree House, Baby. I wonder about cooking inside on a stove sometimes,” said Ramona.
            Ralph wiped his eyes and shook water off of his head, and grinned. Water flew off all directions.
            “Oh, you do, do you?” he said. “Would you like a garden and a skirt too?”
            “We’ve been through both of those ideas already,” she said, “haven’t we?” The memories made her smile a little.
            Into this bucolic but soggy scene, a familiar voice called out from high overhead. Maeve drifted down out of the mist silently on wide black wings. She looked kind of like a harbinger of doom, but she wasn’t. She just really liked to make a dramatic entrance.
            She landed right beside Cherry and wrapped the child in one of her long black wings.
            “Is it spring yet?” said Maeve.
            “Yes,” said Cherry, “because the days are getting longer.”
            Even Maeve sat dripping. The rain ran off of her shiny black feathers and dropped around her on the log.
            “Let’s all just go inside and be dry for a while,” said Ramona. “Maybe the storm will blow over if we’re not keeping an eye on it. You know how the wind is about things.”
            “I do know,” said Maeve, with a sharp look in her black eyes.
            “I know too,” said Ralph.
            So, everybody went inside the clever green door. Ramona lit a candle, courtesy of Thaga, and everybody found a seat.
            One of the three singing stones was still in the cave where Ralph had put it. It was usually quiet, but today it was murmuring a little.
            “Maybe I should go get the other two?” said Ralph.
            “Alright, if you think so,” said Ramona.
            “Evermore,” said Maeve from the headboard of the bed, because she just couldn’t help  herself.
            “I wonder what will  happen,” said Cherry with wide eyes, looking at her father.
            So, Ralph went out into the rain storm again and fetched the other two singing stones. They were already ringing when he came back through the door. He set them down on the floor.
Ramona, Cherry, Maeve, and Blue watched as he put the first one with the other two. He arranged them into a nice triangle, but not very far apart.
            Once more the stones sang, but not so fiercely as before.
            “The song is about the sun,” said Cherry. “I can hear it! It says that the sun is shining!”
            “How can that be?” said Ramona.
            “Maybe we should just go look,” suggested Maeve.
            “I hear the wind!” said Ralph.
            Blue could hear it too, but didn’t say anything.
            Ralph went out first, followed by his Ramona. Then Cherry and Blue. Maeve hopped out last of all.
            Outside the wind was sweeping away the last tags and ends of cloud. The sky was at least half blue, a blue that looked like it was as deep as Heaven. The sun was up there burning away for all to see. It almost hurt to look around; the light was so bright!
            Water dripped off of every branch. But there was steam too, rising up from the ground. It rose and drifted away to windward as if in apology for making a fuss.
            Birds called, as they do after a storm.
            Berry and Bob came back from romping in the meadow near the Alder Tree House. They were soaking wet, but there small white petals on them too. They had been too busy playing to get any hunting done. So they had only their secret grins and themselves to show for their morning.
            “Where have you been?” Ramona said to Berry.
            “Oh, running about! Talking to bees! The bees have come out of their little Twigg House!” said Berry. “They are looking for flowers!”
            “Beulah told us a secret,” said Bob.
            “Who is Beulah?” said Ramona. “Is it a secret to tell or to not tell?”
            “A bee! One of those B’s. She’s too young to remember Twigg, but she’s heard the story and Bernadette, the Mother Queen of B’s told her!” giggled Berry.
            “Every B in the Twigg House knows!” said Bob.
            “And so do I,” said Ramona. But she was smiling at the bros and the sun shone down on it all!

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