For the Twins, a serial story, part 10

He stopped abruptly and whispered softly to Audrey as the others went out the door.

“You go on ahead. I’ll fix a couple bags of cucumber sandwiches and be right along.”

She nodded her head and slipped out the door. By the time Ben finished making the sandwiches and went outside the three adults and four kids were deep into the woods and out of sight. He broke into a jog to catch up and began repeating the phrase “ magic gone wild” over and over as a cadence to his pace.

“What are you saying?” asked Oakland as he ran up to Ben. Audrey had sent him to be on the lookout.

“Magic gone wild. I was just repeating a phrase your parents and Audrey and I called the fire circle years ago when we were much younger.” Ben shortened his stride to match the shorter steps of the young buck beside him. He slowed to a walk, but his breathing was hardly labored. Ever since moving near the woods when the twins were just babies, he and Audrey had altered mornings running through the woods and taking care of the girls. Audrey had always loved running and had even won the steeplechase event in the conference track competition three of her four years in college.

“Magic! That’s what the twins called it,” Oakie exclaimed, “But I didn’t believe them.” He paused briefly, then cocked his head to look up at Ben. “Is magic real, Uncle Ben?” Although they were not blood relatives, he and Dara called Audrey and Ben ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’.

“Of course it is, Oakie. Just wait until we get to the fire circle clearing. You can see it with your own eyes.”

“See what?” came a voice from out of the twilight. Ben recognized it as Taylor’s just as he stepped out from behind one of the giant oak trees that marked the circle surrounding the fire pit. Ben did not answer right away as he and Oakie stepped forward into the glow of the fire. Now he could see the outlines of the two women and three girls sitting on the logs.

Upon seeing their dad, the twins rushed to him, each grabbing a hand and pulling him to a log to sit. Almost immediately there were four young voices clamoring to know where he had been.

“We’ve been here for hours-s-s-s waiting on you.”

It had started to get dark, so they had built a fire to guide him in case he got lost. Everyone was getting hungry and he was the one bringing the cucumber sandwiches.

Ben shot a questioning look at his wife.

“Yes, Ben. It has been over three hours since we left you at the house. Where have you been? Taylor even went back to the house, but you weren’t there. He found your footprints and tried to follow them, but they stopped at a riverbank. There were no footprints coming out of the water, however I see your shoes are all muddy. Did you go to the place?”

“Yes.” There was brief period of silence before he continued. “Anytime you’re ready. I’ll go talk to Taylor and Danielle. Maybe they will change their minds and come with us.”

He found Taylor at the stone fire pit they had built together and they sat down on the logs talking in soft tones. Audre and Danielle finished putting the sandwiches and drinks on the table that had been hewed out of huge limbs fallen from the oaks. After they had eaten all of the cucumber sandwiches, Ben asked everyone to move to the logs that surrounded the open fire pit. They had recently told the twins that their mother was going to have a baby and the family was going to travel deeper into the woods, to their old home. They would probably not see Taylor and Danielle nor Oakie and Dara again.

“Aw, why not, Dad? They’re our friends,” asked Fawn.

“Yeah, why not?” mimicked Bunny.

“Because they have chosen not to go with us,” he replied. “As humans, they are staying here and will live in our house. Maybe when the new baby is up on his or her feet and strong enough to make the long journey back, we can visit. But you will not be able to understand what say and they will not be able to understand you. When you are older, you will know why.”

The four adults and four children traveled together as far as the river where the humans watched as Ben, Audrey, and the twins waded out into the water. Within minutes, a magnificent four-pronged buck, a sleek doe, and two yearling fawns where climbing up the bank on the opposite side, where they headed north into the woods and out of sight.