Winter was in the air. Summer had mellowed into autumn, which had long since slipped away. Snowflakes drifted down from the clouds intermittently and mystery was afoot in a small town called Elkwood. It had all started a few weeks earlier when Mackie Tannenbaum noticed a moving truck making its way slowly down the old forest road. Well--no. In all honesty, it had all begun twenty five years before when young Mackie had watched forlornly as a great, black car drove away with his best friend and the love of his life inside.
He remembered to this day, how sad Ephanie Carter's big brown eyes had been. He remembered how they had glittered with tears when she gazed back at him through the car's back window, as it carried her away from the only home and the truest friend that she would ever know. He was two years her senior, but the pair had formed a bond that defied all the usual adolescent age and gender barriers. Even at that delicate age, she'd completed him in ways that his childish heart could never have fathomed. Although he had never seen or heard from her after that day, he never forgot the mischievous, dark haired girl who had taken turns leading and following him everywhere.
That last time Mackie had seen Ephanie had been a very tragic episode in his young friend’s life. Her father had died a year earlier and just a few days before, Ephanie's mother had suffered the fatal experience of being thrown from a horse. The house that they’d lived in had remained empty for years. Young Mackie had waited and waited for his best friend to return but no word ever came from her or from the distant relatives who'd swooped in and carted her away, on that bleak afternoon.
The house had never been allowed to fall into disrepair. Workmen came and fixed things that were broken and this kept the slim hope alive in Mackie's heart, that someday his orphaned friend would return.
Of course. The man thought--filled with bittersweet nostalgia, as he trudged down the snow-lined main street. Too much time had passed. They'd both grown up and Ephanie it seemed, must have married and had a daughter who had inherited her lovely, green eyes. She'd probably forgotten all about the young boy that she'd onced shared her secrets with and dreamed fantastic dreams with, while roaming the magical woods behind their homes.
Elle first noticed the young boy standing on the side of the road as the moving truck crept down the gravel road leading up to her old home. He had such clear gray eyes and the the most serious expression that she'd ever seen on the face of a child. Something shifted in her heart when their eyes met. It was him! It was her Mack, her dearest and truest friend. The truck turned a corner. In the rear view mirror, she saw him raise a hand to wave at her tentatively. She shook her head, fighting off a sudden wave of nostalgia. Of course, her Mack would have grown up and married by now. He would have a son who looked just like he did at that age. By now, he would have forgotten all about the awkward and gangly little girl, who'd pestered him endlessly and followed him everywhere.
She'd forgotten how wonderful the lake was. Elle sat on a rock by the frozen edge. Too bad she hadn't gotten the sudden urge to abandon everything and come back here in the summer. She had a keen longing to sink her body into that cool and mysterious wetness. It was so beautiful out here. Everything was pristine and white. The only sound that could be heard for miles was the hollow wind and the occasional echo of some animal or another crying out. There had been a time when she could have named every single one.
Those memories had faded away. After her mother had died, her aunt and uncle had been dismayed by the immense tragedy that had touched the life of one so young and one that they loved so much. They'd spent years doggedly trying to eradicate any memory that she had of this place. She'd found out later that they had even intercepted every letter that she ever wrote to her friend Mack and destroyed them. She had tried hating them for it for a while, but couldn't because what they had done, they'd done out of love. Eventually, she let it all fade away into the past. She grudgingly took on the mask of another life, far away and for many years.
Now, two husbands and a long trail of heartbreak later, here she was. She’d had an epiphany as she stepped outside and felt the first few droplets of snow, four weeks before. It had been the morning after a particularly bad breakup. She'd suddenly found herself longing for the innocent perfection of those halcyon days. She was well aware that things would never be the same, but she was tired of life in the city. The maddening monotony of work and the endless parade of bad dates and failed romances had become too much to bear.
She decided to come back home and stare down those demons that had driven her away from Elkwood. Maybe if she could make her peace with this place, her life would begin to make sense again. She was well aware that her reasoning was probably convoluted. Like Aunt Brenda had said, to just burn all of her bridges and return to Elkwood was insane. Still, Elle stared down at her sketchpad. She'd been drawing the face of a man that she didn't recognize--save for the eyes. It wasn't so terribly out of character because she was complex and this was something that complicated women did, was it not? She sketched the eyes again. They were Mack's eyes.
Mackie's cabin was perched almost at the top of a hill in the crook of a half-formed valley that had been carved out by unknown forces eons ago. It was the perfect rustic environment for the small town's much celebrated Author. He sat at his desk, tapping aimlessly at his typewriter. He stared down on the snowy panorama below. His unique vantage point offered a breathtaking view of the town from one window and the woods from the next. He happened to glance down towards the west and was startled by a red flurry of motion below. It was the little girl that he'd seen before--Ephanie's little girl. He hadn't been able to summon the will to go and see her again yet, but the kid was headed directly for the frozen lake. His heart lurched at the possibility that she might not be prepared for the peril that lay ahead. He didn't see anyone else with her. The child was probably taking off into the woods all alone.
"No time like the present," he muttered and grabbed his jacket before hurrying out to catch up with her.
She'd heard the crunching of boots in snow coming toward her for quite some time now. She had also caught a glimpse of the boy's jacket as he nimbly made his way down the hillside a few moments earlier. Her pencil froze over the sketchpad when she heard a twig snap behind her. There were no sounds of footsteps after that. She guessed he was just standing there, watching her.
She didn't turn around. "A bit young to be a Peeping Tom, aren't you?" She finally asked - still without ever turning around to look at him.
Mackie stared down at the little girl in consternation. "What? God! No."
He backed away a few paces. "This is sort of a dangerous spot and I didn't see anyone watching over you."
She finally turned to look up at him. “I haven't needed anyone to watch over me in a very long time."
God. She was so much like the girl he remembered. Her tongue was just as sharp. He shrugged again, appalled that he felt the need to explain himself for a twelve year old. She was staring up at him expectantly, her gaze unwavering.
"I was only looking out for you," he said. "I know your Mom. I think she'd like to know that I'd look out for you."
The little girl's eyes softened. Her smile was kind and sad, albeit a bit confused. "Impossible," she murmured. "My mother's dead,kid. She died years ago."
Mackie's heart cracked just then. He felt it. Tasted it. Could have sworn he heard it. Suddenly his eyes were burning. He turned away stiffly.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," she smiled. "You're a sweet boy for asking," She added, after a moment. She stood suddenly and walked away, leaving him to stare after her in bewilderment.
"Sweet boy?" he muttered. "What the hell..."
That was how it started. After Mackie spoke with the child--after she had made that awful revelation, he went back to his cabin lost in grief. He reached for the only thing that had been left of his childhood friend, the diary in which she had kept all of her secrets and dreams. He had a sudden inspiration as he lay awake in bed late into the night, the old diary laid out open on his bedside table. He knew just the perfect way to give that little girl a little piece of the mother that she'd lost.
He enlisted the aid of his favorite cousin Shue Harper, manager of the local hardware store. It was supposed to be a small secret, his Christmas gift to the new people who'd moved into town but the spirit of the season had a way of infecting the populace of Elkwood. Mackie's little dream was first shared with another cousin, then whispered from one person and the next and soon snowballed into a big non-secret that bowled the whole town over. People became caught up in the magic of his amazingly lofty wish. While he had the presence of mind to scale his efforts down to a single tree--a whole forest short of accomplish the humongous wish that he'd read about in the old diary, he did find himself murmuring to Shue to if he could, he would have made young Ephanie's whole wish come true.
It was strange. Not many remembered Mackie's young friend. Her family had only been living in Elkwood a couple of years before the tragedy happened. Most of them didn't even remember even seeing a little girl with the woman who'd moved into the old ranch and had been seen a couple of times around the town. Still, they threw themselves into Mackie's project wholeheartedly. It was widely known and generally accepted that Mackie was a dreamer, a dreamer of the tallest order. Those dreams often lead to amazing deeds, like the mural on the water tower or the water delivery system from the well at the back of the Mahan's financially challenged farm to their house. What they did was for him, for his kindness to those around him. Ed Mahan and even the grumpy Doctor Dover had joined the ranks of those who wanted to lend out their backup generators for the night.
On that frozen Christmas Eve, much of the day was spent in the forest climbing trees and throwing up wires and lights. Kids took turns watching the ranch for signs of anyone emerging to investigate the strange sounds coming from the forest. Sure, they tried to be quiet about it but it wasn't easy amidst all that flurry of activity. The sun went down and with their task complete, everyone gathered at the edge of the forest. Mackie went knocking on his childhood friend's door.
She’d heard a commotion in the forest during the day but Elle had been too engrossed in her latest canvas to care. By the time she finally tossed her paint splattered smock aside, things had quieted down and she'd forgotten all about the sounds of people in the woods. She stood back and surveyed her work. It was the little boy that she'd encountered near the river a week before. It was chilling, the resemblance. He looked just like her old friend. She’d even dug through faded old photographs to check. Her memory hadn't been playing tricks on her. Mackie's son looked just like him at that age.
She jumped involuntarily at the sudden blare of a horn. She hurried to the window, just in time to see the young boy alight from a black pickup truck and run around to where the front door was. She tried to get a better look but it was too dark to see if there was anyone with him. Had Mackie heard that she was back in town and come to see her? There was a rap on the door. She hesitated for just a moment, full of trepidation. She hadn't tried to see him before because... well, she wasn't sure why. Maybe she'd been waiting these few weeks to see if he even remembered her. To see if he would be the one to come to her. She hadn't seen him leave the truck so after that brief moment of hesitation, she open the door with a smile for the little boy.
He saw her poke her head through the curtains to look outside the window, the little girl with the too serious eyes. When the door opened he had a smile ready to present her with his surprise--a gift to the child from the little girl that her mother had been. Something else happened. The door opened and a women stepped out cautiously. His eyes widened in shock. Her eyes widened in shock. The spoke all at once in a dazed rush.
"Mack?"
"Ephanie?"
Spoken in unision, the realization hit them both simultaneously. She had no daughter. He had no son. There had only been Mack and Ephanie all along. Now that the strange spell was broken, she smiled.
"Wow, I haven't used that name in years. My god, look at you!"
He grinned, "Look at you!"
"It was the strangest thing..." she murmured.
"Wasn't it?" he was breathless, heart reeling. His world had been set on its side.
The sound of motors buzzed into the air.
"What's going on?" Elle frowned.
"Come and see."
Her eyes widened in wonder as tree after tree within the forest was set ablaze, one by one with twinkling white lights as far as as the eye could see. Until this moment, she had forgotten about this wish. But even her imagination did not compare to this wondrous beauty.
"Oh my!" she whispered, voice shaky with tears. She threw her arms around her long lost friend.
"Mack, how did you... when did you...?"
There was a smattering of applause as everyone who come out to help Mackie started to show themselves. He held her hand, leading her into the ethereal, starry forest.
"Ephanie." he murmured. "Welcome home.”
Seasonal Bewitchment
