if it were possible.
“Ethel, I am sorry as well for subjecting Kristoffer to that awful display.”
Doris nodded in agreement.
“What I am holding is a note that was attached to Kristoffer’s basket on the day Ethel found it. She shared it with me, and we agreed to keep it secret in the hope we would never need to share it with anyone else. I now doubt that was the correct decision.”
Kristoffer glanced in Elder Anderson’s direction. His face had turned an unnatural shade of red.
“How dare you have kept this from me?” he said. “I am the chief elder. The chief! How dare you?”
Elder Anderson had taken the toupee from his head and was wringing it in his hands without seeming to know or care what he was doing. His breathing was sharp, intense.
“And it’s all because of you, you little snot.”
Elder Anderson leapt across the table at Kristoffer. Cups of tea and stale cookies went flying. Kristoffer lunged backward, knocking over the sofa he and Ethel were sharing. The sofa rolled over, spilling Kristoffer and Ethel to the floor.
Elder Rogers grabbed Elder Anderson and wrestled him to the ground.
“Carl! Get a hold of yourself, man!” he said as the two men struggled against each other.
“I’ll. Kill. You,” Elder Anderson said, breaking free, only to be tackled once more.
Missy Davis and Connie Scopes rushed to Ethel’s side, helping her up. Kristoffer backed into the corner of the room.
“Kristoffer, upstairs,” said Horace Heckle, pointing to a staircase in the hallway. Kristoffer crawled towards it, gained his feet, and sprinted up the stairs. He picked a room, what looked to be Elder Heckle’s den, and ran inside, locking the door behind him.
He sat against the door, chest heaving. Who were these people? Who could he trust?
As Kristoffer sat, he ran through the events of the day. Then further back, and further still. Being a young boy, able to pick up and play any instrument he could find. Being able to sing perfect notes. Being mocked for his interests. Being accused of thinking he was better than everyone else simply because of his skills. And yet music was his savior. His best friend. Without it, he was nothing. And now, once again because of music, he was a target for attack. He couldn’t win.
Kristoffer heard a soft knocking at the door.
“Kris, it’s Ethel. It’s okay.”
Kristoffer unlocked the door, and Ethel and Elder Heckle entered. They moved past him and collapsed into two chairs. Kristoffer slunk back to the floor.
“What a day.” Ethel said.
“What happened to Elder Anderson?” Kristoffer said, glancing at the lock.
“Elder Rogers got him outside, but I fear he has gotten the rest of the council as worked up as he was since they’ve been out there. I hope they haven’t alerted the rest of Greenwood to your whereabouts, but just in case, we must hurry.”
Kristoffer looked from Ethel to Elder Heckle. They didn’t seem to be rushing, but maybe it was all too much for them. It was starting to feel like too much for him as well.
“As I was saying earlier, before we got interrupted.” Elder Heckle paused, clearing his throat. “There was a note attached to your basket when Ethel found you. The note was unlike anything we had seen before, and it was my fear that if the rest of the council knew about it, they would have denied the adoption request from Ethel.”
Kristoffer looked at Ethel, the only person he knew loved him unconditionally. He knew he had been adopted, and he had gotten half-stories about who his real parents might be, but left in a basket from the forest? Was he that unwanted?
“I felt then…we felt,” Elder Heckle said, nodding at Ethel, “the odds of you having a good, productive life in Greenwood were far better than anything the note said. I still agree with that.”
It was Ethel’s turn, and she looked at Kristoffer, her kind eyes staring straight into his.
“I have tried to raise you the best I could, Kristoffer, knowing you were special. I know it has not been an easy life in many ways, but I trust the lessons you have learned and the strength you have will serve you well in what you are about to attempt. To accomplish.”
“Kristoffer, the fate of Greenwood is in your hands,” Elder Heckle said. “A terrible thing has happened, and you are the only one who can save us.”
Ethel reached out and gently brushed Kristoffer’s hair from his eyes.
“But yes,” Elder said. “The note, I almost forgot.”
Elder Heckle remove a piece of paper and passed it to Kristoffer. It was unlike any kind of paper he had seen or felt before. It was nearly translucent, and yet did not feel delicate. But if the paper was strange, the words on it were downright bizarre.
The words looked to be alive, shimmering on the page with a magical fluidity. Kristoffer focused on the letters, and they seemed to straighten before him as if they wanted to impress him. As if they wanted to be read.
The boy you see in front of thee is quite the special gift.
When darkness falls upon the land, Music will have left.
But this dear boy does hold the key to get it back again.
And to the forest he must go to find his truest kin.
When all is lost along the way, seek ye three the muse.
But watch dear boy as foe and friend are easy to confuse.
“That’s it?” said Kristoffer. “That’s the note? It doesn’t make any sense. I mean, it rhymes and all, but what does it mean?”
“Rhymes?” said Elder Heckle.
“Rhymes?” said Ethel.
“The note didn’t rhyme when I read it,” Elder Heckle said. “Read it again.”
Kristoffer read the note out loud
“Oh dear,” said Ethel. “That’s different from what I read.
“Me too,” said Elder Heckle. “Oh dear.”
“Well, what did your notes say?” said Kristoffer. “Didn’t you write them down or something?”
Elder Heckle looked even older and wearier now than he did before, which was quite old and weary to begin with.
“Er, well, no. I didn’t quite count on the note changing.”
“Nor did I,” Ethel said.
“The basic gist was that music was the thread holding everything together, but it was fragile. Right, Ethel?”
“Yes, fragile, and in danger, and if music disappeared, or was stolen, then we would all be in grave danger. I mean, it was similar to the note you read. I didn’t really take it too seriously though. And now all this…”
“Didn’t take it too seriously?” Kristoffer said. “This is my life we’re talking about.”
“Look Kristoffer,” said Elder Heckle. “We have handled this all very poorly. I will be the first to admit it. But this is the reality we are facing. Greenwood is falling apart, just as the note…one of the notes…said. And you are the only one who can save it.”
“So you expect me to just venture off into the forest and find music, whatever that means, and just, you know, save the world? It’s too much.”
“I know, Kris. I know. I’m sorry. You do not deserve this decision, this fate. But it is yours.”
As Ethel spoke, a crash rang out from the yard. Kristoffer rushed to the window, while Horace and Ethel struggled to their feet.