The entire town of Goodharts was preparing for the Fires of the Hills Festival, and especially the people living at the Pride Mansion. Everything had to be perfect. Each blade of grass had to have the same size. Each plant in the garden had to be splendid. The white tents rose one after other like castles of clouds, the distance between them always the same. Inside, long tables were perfectly aligned, adorned with table cloths his mother carefully washed and starched; they were so white, they almost hurt the eye with their brightness.
The lawn was surrounded by hundreds of lanterns, shining almost like daylight even at night. Somewhere, upfront, huge boilers with logs were waiting to catch fire so they could warm up the dozens of guests attending the after-party. October of that year had turned out to be fairly warm, yet the evening brought the coolness that made people feel shivers down their spine, a sign that summer was long gone. Or maybe it wasn't the cold at all, but the reminder that it had been almost seven years since the last people disappeared into the forest. Fortunately, the last ones had returned, but that did nothing to make people's concerns disappear.
In the backyard which led to the kitchen of the mansion, there had been installed barbecues and spits for cooking suckling pigs, lambs, and bushmeat to treat the fine tastes of guests, at the feast after the festival.
Ferry noticed the hustle and bustle at the manor. To his astonishment, the last floor was still locked, a sign that the mysterious guest wasn't going to attend the festival. Somehow, solving the mystery of the last room on the third floor was no longer so urgent.
The town was also full of excitement and impatience. People were talking only about the festival and the contests—the best pie contest for the most skilled housewives, the kite competition for children, and the basket bidding for young girls, but especially for the young boys who hoped maybe that way they could go on a short picnic-date with the girl they liked. Ferry knew from Ben that Steph and May were participating in the basket bidding for the first time. With the money from the auction, the Town Hall intended to purchase books for the new library, and the girls had agreed to attend as long as it was for a good cause. This year, even Matilda was participating.
"I just wanted to please my mom," she said, looking moody. "She loves to see me cooking with an apron and a ribbon in my hair. Of course, she'll do most of the cooking. Maybe Shadow will help us. Anyway, no one is going to bid on me, so I'm not worried about it."
Ferry also felt the fever of the preparations, although he knew this year would be different. His mother couldn't attend because her help was needed at the Pride Mansion. So Ferry had agreed with all his heart to stay at the Knight family's tent. He had all the reasons to be enthusiastic about the festival—he received his first salary for gardening, and he intended to use the money to buy coins to bid on May's basket. It was the perfect opportunity to get a date with her. Of course, he didn't tell anyone. How much would a basket cost? He was certain he could miss some spare coins.
Cecilia had bragged about her basket which was to contain the finest dishes, and rumors were circulating throughout the school that most of the boys would bid on her basket. Cecilia cooking any of the dishes in that basket was unlikely, but that was certainly not the purpose of her participation. She just wanted to prove to everyone that she was the most popular girl in high school.
Ferry, just like the entire town, couldn't wait for the day of the festival to come. In the evening time, when he was heading to Lavender's house after a long day of work, his footsteps were guided by dozens of fireflies, small sparks in the night's air. Lavender told him the time of the fireflies had been long gone, now that summer left, and that could only be a good sign. Unlike the spiders, who were a sign of misfortune. Fortunately, only fireflies appeared on his path. And Ferry wanted to believe in her words with all his heart.
His relationship with Thyme had remained somewhat cold since their last quarrel, though the raven-man was still taking training seriously to prepare Ferry for his departure to Akna. Departing for Akna... Ferry didn't know when the time to leave Goodharts would come. He hoped that would happen as late as possible. But he had seen his Guardians worried, saying that the times were getting darker in his homeland.
But now, Ferry intended to put his worries aside. If only for a day.
When the day of the festival finally arrived, Ferry was awake long before dawn. In the morning, he met Ben and his family and they went together to set up the Knights colorful tent at the foot of the hills. It wasn't big, but it was among the most welcoming ones. This year, Mrs. Knight, Ben's mother, decided to decorate their tent as a candy store full of treats. So she set up a counter behind which, arranged on wooden shelves as if coloured soldiers at the parade, there stood lollipops, gingerbread, sugar-coated apples, muffins, cotton candy, and honeycombs. For drinking, Mrs. Knight prepared lemonade, apple cider, elder tree juice, and just about every tea you could ever think of, resting in thermoses. For the pie contest, Ben's mother and sisters baked a gigantic leek and cheese pie. All this carnival of sweets was wrapped in the tent made of colourful patches sewn by the Knight girls as a huge blanket to warm up the souls of their guests and keep the cold away.
The other tents began to show up like mushrooms after the rain, some of them even days before the festival. The most impressive was the Pride family's tent, of course, a white castle standing out, at the base of the hills.
All this time, Ferry had not lost sight of May's tent. Further back, the tent, the colour of the blue sky, was small, but pretty, adorned with roses and hydrangeas, but also with branches of mace, blackberry, and chain on which the small fruits shone like colored beads. From the past years, he knew that May's mother prepared delicious cakes, as light as a baby's sleep, in which one could always feel the scent of flowers; the treats were delicious: rose jelly, acacia blossoms pancakes, raspberry jam with a touch of wildflowers. But May had not yet shown up; only her parents worked by the tent, setting the flower arrangements.
Yet it was the Knights tent that proved to be the most visited. They didn't even finish installing, that a crowd of people gathered in front of it, eager to taste from Mrs. Knight's treats—Beth, accompanied by her parents, Mr. Adams, the biology teacher, Miss Summer who accompanied him, as well as Matilda's parents. Then, other people from the neighbourhood began to hover around the tent, then deciding that the goodies coming out of Mrs. Knight's hands were hard to resist. The Knights could barely cope with the requests—everyone wanted to indulge in the wonderful, delicious treats from the wooden shelves.
"Oh, it looks like you need some help, Benji-Benji," Steph chirped towards Ben as soon as she arrived; she then put on an apron she found in the tent without asking anyone. "You're lucky with a girl like me," she continued without minding Ben's frozen smile, nor his sisters who were whispering behind her.
Ferry finished helping his friend's family, and now he was trying to keep himself busy by mingling with the crowd. He didn't have the time to take two steps that he bumped into Matilda. The wind had ruffled her short, curly hair, and her shoes were dusty, as usual. Burrs were hanging on the grey, large sweater she was wearing over the white shirt. But instead of a skirt, Matilda wore navy pants she had made herself. A girl wearing pants was unthinkable in Goodharts, and many of the women in town were glaring at her, shaking their heads in disapproval.
Matilda was struggling not to lose the cord of a kite, the shape of a strange creature, some sort of frog with green wings. Finn's kite. Ferry remembered that he was supposed to help Matilda build that kite, which he had completely forgotten. And then, he remembered. The thought struck him like a lightning bolt, and this made him retreat a few steps away from her and avoid her gaze. He remembered the reason why they had not found the branches for Finn's kite that late, warm afternoon with the taste of strawberry-flavoured kisses. All the scents, images, and feelings came back to him as if it just happened.
"What is it?" she asked, surprised by his reaction. "Don't you like the kite? Shadow helped me make it. It looks a bit scary, it's true, but I say it's great," she added.
Ferry still couldn't look into her eyes, so he pretended to look around.
"Who are you looking for?" she asked, looking at him through narrow eyes.
"I was looking for Finn," Ferry lied, suddenly feeling awkward in her presence. If Matilda had found out he was thinking about their kiss, that would have ruined their friendship. And he didn't want to lose his best friend.
"He's here, somewhere. Hiding, as usual. You know he doesn't like the crowds..."
"Well, I'll go look for him, then. It isn't long before the kite contest begins," he said, ready to leave.
"Ferry, wait!" she said before he could take a step forward.
He slowly turned towards her. Was she reading minds? Matilda came closer which made him feel uncomfortable. She seemed like she couldn't find her words.
"I wanted to tell you something," she said, biting her lip.
Ferry wanted to run that very moment or just vanish from the face of the earth. But that would have made things even more complicated. So he waited, his heart pumping in his chest.
"Your father," Matilda dared, "he's here with widow Jones. I wanted to tell you before you see them..."
Ferry didn't know whether to be happy Matilda didn't guess his thoughts or to be mad at his father. He chose to be the latter. The gossip he'd heard over the last weeks was true. And for the first time, he was glad his mother didn't come. That would've broken her heart even more.
"I can't believe he did that," he said with his fists clenched. "In front of everyone! If I see him, I swear--"
Matilda put her hand on his shoulder, "Ferry, it's not worth it," she softly said. "You would only make things worse. Promise me you won't do something stupid, as usual."
Matilda was right.
"I promise," he said.
Matilda smiled. She wrapped the kite's rope around her hand and started firmly towards the top of the hill. "See you later. I have to find Finn now."
Ferry felt he lacked the air after she left. The growing crowd gave him headaches. He needed to see May. He needed to talk to her. Her presence would have brought him peace, he knew that. He decided to go to May's tent and ask her parents about her. But not even this time, he didn't get too far. Miss Summer approached, smiling. Even though she was no longer his teacher, Miss Summer has remained close to him. She was as kind and warm as the first day they met. She had two sugar-coated apples in her hand. She offered one to Ferry, but the boy refused.
"Ferry, we haven't seen you in a while," she said. "What have you been doing lately?"
"Not much,", he shrugged. "I was busy with school and work..."
"I heard," said Miss Summer. "If I can help you with anything..."
Ferry shook his head.
"You know, Oliver— I mean, Mr. Adams," she flustered, "would want you to go to him when you have time. He can't stop talking about you every time we meet. How much you love plants, and how well you understand them. He thinks you should become a botanist."
Ferry shrugged. He couldn't care less what Mr. Adams thought at that time.
"I know. I know I promised him I would go over his place to see the greenhouse. But I have so much on my head right now," he said, frowning.
Miss Summer was a little confused, "He's worried about you, Ferry," she defended him. "We all are. Your situation is very complicated, now that the true son of the Donovans has appeared."
"I know," he said. "Now I have to leave", he added. And he stepped away from her and the people around. At one point, he thought he saw May, or at least the flowers in her silky hair. He tried to follow them, but their perfume was muffled in the growing murmur around. He finally managed to get away from the crowd and thought that, far away from the world and the noise, he would find some peace. How wrong he was! Billy and his group have already seen him, and they were all heading towards him. Andrew was with them.
"Look, it's the orphan," Billy said as soon as he laid his eyes on him, "Aw, the orphan seems lost. Are you lost, little baby? he laughed, and the other boys played along. "You may not have someone holding your hand," he said, emphasising the word May.
Ferry was not in the mood for that.
"Maybe, maybe not," Andrew added with a grin on his face. "Maybe he's just looking for someone. She may or may not be here..." he laughed.
Ferry felt his gaze turning blurry. Andrew was finally showing his true colours; he was watching Ferry without blinking, his eyes large and intensely green. The five boys surrounded him and didn't let him pass through.
Ferry felt a funny warmth taking over his right hand, becoming more intense as though an unseen, hot force was controlling it. As his hand was slowly rising, everything around him turned fuzzy. Everything but Andrew. He felt the instant urge to hurt him. He could, if he wanted to; he could feel that with his whole being. The heat in his hand was growing stronger.
He could hear whispers coming from nowhere, first faint and unclear, then louder. An unknown, yet familiar voice, whispered, "Hit him. You know you can... Why don't you hit him? He is to blame for all the bad things happening to you now. It's so easy. Just raise your hand and hit him."
TO BE CONTINUED
Thank you for your patience! I know you've been waiting for this for a long time. I missed you, too ;) Hope you enjoyed this chapter.