if it quirks..

They were definitely rascals, but they meant no harm.  It was just the way they were.  Besides, they were family.  Yet, as Glenn scanned the stars and found Gemini he knew Lark and Wren would not be this way forever.  One day, maybe soon, something would give.  And there would be pieces to pick up.  Glenn’s gaze roved over the hunter Orion, Perseus, Pegasus–all explorers.  The stargazer swung higher, willing his body to rocket into the sky.  Why was he grounded here?  The garden remained the same, but he was outgrowing it.  There must be something more outside.  Did he dare…?  Dare what?  There was his family.  What about Sunny, Lark and Wren, Yvette?  How would it be without him there to watch over them, guard the garden, and keep things running smoothly?  A sigh escaped him as he dragged his feet through the dirt.  The swing stopped, but he continued sitting and gazing.

“It’s beautiful tonight.”

Glenn smiled and said, “You always know where to find me.”  He didn’t have to come back down to earth to know it was Yvette.

“May I join you?” Yvette asked.

“Be my guest.” Glenn motioned to the swing next to him.  She stepped forward carefully and sat down in the swing.  They looked up at the sky together.  “The twins and Sunny are in bed.  They were having a pillow fight, but ceased when threatened with medicine.  They hate the taste and they had already brushed their teeth.”  Yvette laughed softly as if the tiny points above might topple down like crystal figurines in a glass case.

Glenn said, “I don’t know how you keep it together and tame them so easily. I just get frustrated and angry…all the time.  I feel like it’s growing more often.”  He trailed off.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, ” said Yvette.  “They know that you don’t mean it.  It’s just who you are.  I can see that you try to keep composed, and hold us all together while managing the garden.  All the while you dream of getting out.  You were meant for so much more, but you battle the stifled tension within that comes with great responsibility.”  She finished in the same hushed voice and dug her bare toe into the dirt.  She continued, “This place is beautiful, but you are meant for greater things, Glenn.  I know it.  Just keep your eyes and chin turned up.”  She gestured at the diamond speckled sky at those words.  Glenn turned to look at her.  She could be a living constellation.  Her charcoal eyes reflected the starry bodies, like billions of diamonds in the recesses of a cavern.  He could not read her.  He stared at her profile a moment longer then looked back at the sky and laughed.  “Did I tell you what they did today?”

“Mmhmm, Glenn, you let Lark have it, didn’t you?”  Yvette shook her head, but a smiled played at the corners of her mouth.  He started chuckling at the memory of the twigs sticking out at all angles.

“Yep, I guess it tamed them for now, ” Glenn said.  “They are so funny!”

“I know!  I don’t know a pair of crazier pixies.”

Glenn looked at Gemini again.  “Did I ever tell you the story of Gemini, the twins…”

Glenn made his way straight for the woods.  The tall trees, ample vines, and thick entanglements made it a favorite haunt of the twins.   Once he stepped into the outskirts of the forest, darkness immediately descended, chinks of sunlight patched up the woody floor.  Glenn was wary of the wild tricksters and it fueled his determination to round them up.  So he squared his shoulders and darted his eyes left and right, looking for any sign of motion.  A bush rustled and a poorly stifled giggle escaped from the branches above him…somewhere.  He knew better than to take the rustle for a rabbit and the chitter for a squirrel.

“Lark! Come down!  Wren, show yourself!  I know there are no squirrels or rabbits in this wood because you two probably scared them away!”

Pause and nothing but a slight breeze.

Clapping commenced behind him and mocking whistles.  Right from underneath his sharp senses Lark and Wren had crept up behind him, each donned a smirk.

“A valid observation; absolutely genius!” Wren said.

“Although..it’s not quite an accurate account.  We were simple bowling…” Lark’s eyes glinted.

“…in their house holes,” Wren piped up cheerily.

“And they weren’t in the mood to play today, ” Lark finished with a dramatic sigh.

Glenn rolled his eyes and decided to steer them away instead of wasting his breath chiding monkeys.  So he reached for their elbows, but they were too quick for him.  One moment their bright blue eyes glinted up at him and then they broke free, running at a break-neck speed.  Glenn barreled after them, knowing it was pointless.  Wren and Lark were the best climbers and the swiftest of the group.  They also had great evasion tactics.  Lark grasped the nearest vine and ran up the tree trunk into the canopy.  Wren veered off into the muddy, mossy swamp.  Glenn didn’t even attempt to chase either of them; he headed for the house and the hot spring.  He knew they would meet him there.

Upon entering the yard, Glenn beheld a greeting committee of a mud monster and a demented wood sprite.  Wren was completely bathed in mud from head-to-toe.  His hair was plastered to his scalp where it usually stuck out at odd angles.  He was laughing as the demented wood sprite capered out of reach from his muddy grasp.  Lark sported twigs, leaves, pine needles, and an assortment of gnats glued to her body by tree sap.  They straightened up and looked condescending as Glenn jogged up to them.  “It’s about time you got here,” Wren tapped an invisible wristwatch, some mud sloshed Glenn’s face.  “Tsk, tsk.  We expected a little more punctuality from you,” Lark wagged her finger at him, but swiftly brought it to her armpit to itch.  “I mean, honestly, it’s been ages.  Look at how much dirt I’ve accumulated standing here.  Birds are building nests on Lark!” Wren chided.

Glenn hung his head gasping for breath.  He couldn’t say anything, let alone laugh.  Yvette glided to Lark’s side and took control of the situation.  “Lark, you go first so that the water is not quite as dirty…then, Wren…” but she was cut short by an indignant protest from Wren.  “Wait a minute!  Why can’t we take a bath together?  We have always done it that way.”  Yvette opened her mouth to speak, but Glenn had finally caught his breath and said, “You are too old, too big, and too dirty.  The water only stays warm for a short time.  Don’t argue, just do it.”  Glenn spoke before Wren and Lark could protest further.  The twins exchanged a glance and sighed.  They realized that battling was futile and surrendered to the will of their elders.

After Glenn left the clearing he sighed in relief.  Yvette was gonna have a time getting Sunny into that pool; she would have better luck growing tulips from her ears.  He chuckled to himself thinking about Sunny’s furious stance–she was more adorable than threatening.  Thinking about it brought him back to the task at hand–finding the twins.

“Lucky me.” Glenn thought sarcastically.  “Twins, twins, twins…now where could they be?” he thought out loud, “…where’s their favorite haunt?  They absolutely love climbing…and they’re never apart.” Glenn mused to himself as he approached the woods behind the orchard.  As he stepped onto the footpath of the woods, the temperature dropped a few degrees.  Tall trees and dense under brush blotted out the sunlight and the ground.  Greens of every shade surrounded him.  Every now and then a straggly shaft of sunlight pierced through the canopy, dazzling to the eye accustomed to the dark hues.    Glenn proceeded softly, almost tiptoeing.  There was something bordering on sacred and eerie about the woods.  It would be creepy except Glenn knew that there was nothing to fear, except maybe two, twittering twits.  They must know about his presence or it would not be so deadly quiet.  Lark and Wren quiet?  It was a fantastic joke!  They would often proclaim that they didn’t know the meaning of it.  Glenn stifled a snigger so as not to give his position away…too late.  He heard it.

“Rustling? Scraping?  What was that?  It was so momentary I could have imagined it.  NO, it was the twins. I know they’re here.”  Glenn tensed and his senses went into hyperactive drive: every little nuance in the darkened forest was amplified and emphasized.

“Bath time!”, he called out into the cool summer evening.  They wouldn’t want to come at first, but Glenn would never shirk on big brother duty.  He came firsts bearing Sunny on his shoulders.  She, however, did not look pleased in the least.

“I almost had ‘im, Glenn! This close to capturing Captain Gargantua Bull Frog!  But noo-o, it’s time to get squeaky clean.  Why couldn’t you get the twins first, Gle-enn?!” Sunny’s lips were pursed and her brow furrowed at the back of his head.  He gave her a slight buck and said, “Because I know that you have the mysterious tendency of playing ‘hide-and-go-seek’ when it’s bath time.”  He was grinning now at her indignant demands.  This was always the formula with Sunny at bath time.

“Well, why do we have to wash anyway when we’re jus’ going to be right back out here tomorrow, and get stinky all over again?!” she pouted.  “So that Captain Gargantua Bull Frog doesn’t pick up your lovely stench and head for the hills never to return,” he was still grinning to himself .  He wanted to laugh but Sunny did not seem to genial.

He came to a footpath which led around the cottage to an enclosed clearing with a small pool.  It was six feet in diameter, generally round, and bordered by flagstone.  A river birch was planted near by and cool, blue-green conifers clumped around the clearing created a wall of privacy.  Small tendrils of steam curled up from the pool’s surface.  Yvette had already entered the clearing, ans was waiting for Glenn and Sunny when they loped in.  Sunny slid off his back and rooted herself to the spot, crossing her arms.  Yvette and Glenn glanced at each other, rolled their eyes, and sighed.  “She’s all yours.” he said turning away, and passing through the thick fir branches.

Yvette turned and scrutinized the stubborn prickly pear.  The ebony eyes squinted at the blue jays.  The blue jays dared the ebony to try.  “You know you won’t win, Sunny.  Whether you will or you won’t it’s going to happen, it’s your destiny at the end of each day.  Now are you going to cooperate or do I have to call Glenn back?” Yvette spoke authoritatively.  Her normally soft, melodious voice always took on a hard edge at bath time.  Sunny’s arms only tightened over her check and she stuck out her chin indignantly.  “Come on, Sunny!  Everyone else has to take a bath, too; and the pool only stays warm for a short time,”  Yvette pleaded.

“Well, then, you go first, ” Sunny bristled.  They stood on either side of the pool and the steam rising from the pool made Sunny look comically angry.  Yvette rolled her eyes, searching for a way to persuade the boiling volcano in front of her to stay dormant.  Suddenly, she had the answer.  Yvette, smiled, bent down towards the edge of the pool, and flicked some of the water at Sunny’s toes.  “Hey! Stop it!” Sunny jerked back.

“Ha! Got you to move! I thought you were a mighty sequoia rooted there and nothing could sway you?” Yvette smirked.  “You jumped away from a little water?!  What kind of a Deciduous Duchess are you?  You must care and nurture your brothers of the bark~  You must lead them, set the precedent.  They are counting on you; you the spirit and shepherd of the trees!  Are you going to let a little dribble of water bring down your kingdom?!”  Yvette finished dramatically by smashing her fist into the surface of the water.  She stared hard at Sunny, but a slight smile curled on her lips.

Sunny was still rooted to the spot, but her arms had slackened, and she looked intrigued.  “I’m not scared of a little water!” Sunny insisted.  “Then, prove it to your royal court of conifers.” Yvette gestured at the ring of trees around the pool.  “You see the golden birch?  He look a little droopy.  You must restore his golden skin or else he will be no more.” Yvette spoke in the same epic tone as before.  “What must I do to restore strength to him?” Sunny spoke in a hushed voice; she was completely engrossed in the game now.  Yvette looked straight into the blue-jay irises without blinking and said, “Only water from the Silver Pool of the Fourth Depth can rejuvenate the Golden Birch.  You must immerse yourself in its waves, wash away your stains, and offer a precious jewel to The Pool.  Then, you must return to your kingdom with water from the pool and sprinkle it upon the birch.  Only then will he return to his magnificence.  Are you prepared to take on this quest?”  Yvette asked.  Sunny nodded.  “Good.  Now, let us collect a beautiful jewel…” Yvette faltered looking around the clearing for a ‘jewel’.  Her eyes fell on a pine cone nestled in the needles beneath the trees.  “A-ha! Here, lady, is a mystical amber gem.  It will be perfect.”  Sunny examined the ‘gem’ and said, “It’s gorgeous, let’s go!”  Yvette and Sunny walked up to the edge of the pool in a stately manner.  Yvette bowed to Sunny saying, “I, your faithful nymph, wish to accompany you on your journey, and serve you to the best of my abilities.”  Sunny nodded and commanded in a lofty tone, “You must hold the amber while I am bathing, don’t let it fall!  First, help me undress; my mantle will only weigh me down.” “Yes, my lady,” Yvette said.

Sunny held out her arms like a tree while Yvette undressed her.  She stood back while Sunny lowered herself into the steaming water.  Sunny waded in the water for a bit, kicked her legs, and rowed her arms through the water.  She was just reaching for the soap on the flagstone when Yvette came forward with a stick and swirled the water around Sunny.  “Hurry!  A whirlpool is forming!  You must cleanse yourself and drop the jewel in to still the water!” Yvette cried urgently.  Sunny grabbed the soap, plunged it into the depths, and twirled it in her hands creating suds.  She rubbed herself clean, washed the suds off and fought the whirlpool to the edge where Yvette pulled her out and wrapped a fluffy towel around her.  Sunny took the amber cone and dropped it into the whirlpool.  It slowed after the cone touched the bottom.  “The Silver Pool is satisfied, good queen of the trees.”  Yvette smiled at Sunny.  Sunny said graciously, “It was the perfect gift.  Thank you, lovely nymph.  But we must hurry back to the birch, time is running out!”  “You are right; time is running out, ” said Yvette. “Here scoop up some of the healing water with this shell,” she instructed the child.  Sunny filled the shell to the brim and straightened up, “Now, let’s be quick!”

They approached the birch.  Its leaves rustled in a light breeze which passed through lazily.  “Now, sprinkle the water over the roots,” said Yvette.  Sunny stepped forward and tipped the contents of the shell over the ground at the foot of the tree’s trunk.  Sunny straightened and retreated back to Yvette’s side.  “You’ve don it!  Look at how he moves with the breeze.  He’s reinvigorated; his golden aura has returned.  You are the champion of the trees.  They adore you and declare you their queen!”  Yvette hugged Sunny.  “You deserve a sweet reward.  How about some strawberries and cream?  But first, let’s re-mantle you, Lady of the Lake, ” said Yvette in a soft Yvette tone.  Sunny nodded fervently, “Yes, please!”