Moonlight on The Northwoods

Even those who think that they know the cold, tree-filled northwoods of Minnesota can be out in the dark about many facts. There are secret places, odd carvings on cliffs jutting out from Lake Superior, and flashes of amber caught in the dark. There is a secret people here, beings of both the forest and the waves. This is a story of what happened not long ago, but it was such that the old lapping waters of the great lakes in the world will not long forget it.

Part One

Amelia Stroenberg was utterly bored. It was a crisp fall evening, and the tree in their backyard was ablaze in royal gold, just the sort of thing to awake fairies- if there were fairies, of which she was doubtful- but she still felt bored, the irritating, internal boredness that you can have though you may be surrounded by entertainments. And then she happened on an idea. She would go outside and take a walk- just to the park, a few blocks away.  With parental consent she started off, walking briskly towards it, and she soon reached her destination. She wandered down the apple lane, a row of ten small apple trees at the foot of the gentle hill-like curve of the park. Toward the end was the sign that proclaimed that this indeed was Tischer Park, and the crab apple tree. The crab apple tree was a special spot for Amelia. Ever since she was little, whenever her family came to the park she would climb this tree and stuff her pockets with the small red fruit, trying to eat them. She climbed the crab apple tree and sat there for a while, drinking in the brisk fall air. Dusk began to fall, and then, suddenly, though she had no idea how they got there, wolves ran into the park, right toward the sign- and the crab apple tree. She screamed. Oh no- total wrong move. If they didn't already know of her presence, they would surely know now. And she was now probably going to die within a few minutes. Sure enough, the wolves flocked around the tree, surrounding her. There were  four of them, snarling and baring their teeth. 

Part Two

And then, just as they were about to jump- just before she thought she would die- she jumped first. She had no idea what she was doing, no tangible way to understand- she just jumped up, power of some sort flowing in her veins. And then she landed, right on top of a large branch- and just in time to see another unusual spectacle. Her hands were scratched and bleeding from the force of her jump against the rough tree bark, but she was too interested in what was going on below- and above- her to care. As soon as she had positioned herself comfortably upon the branch, from above her leapt seven lynxes- was this a nightmare? But no, the lynxes were there to help. The six larger (and probably older) ones leapt down, scaring all but two of the wolves away, and with six versus two, the fight was in favor of the lynxes and it was soon over. The youngest one, however, stayed on the branch with her- and before her eyes turned into a boy, wearing an odd black bodysuit outfit and- what were those things that went over your palm, like for rock climbing? Silently, he helped her get down, while all of the time she was in an utter muddle. Was this a dream? It had to be. Yet it couldn’t. As she quickly showered and got ready for bed, her mind was in knots. But sleep comes quickly to those who are tired, and soon she was asleep, to wake up with the decision that it was all a dream after all.

Part Three

Luckily, the incident had taken place on a Friday, and Amelia was glad for this- she needed to recharge and think about what happened yesterday.  For some reason, she felt drawn to the storage room on the third floor, so there she was at seven thirty A.M, with the light off, looking through the piles of stuff- her parent’s old high school yearbooks, out-of-season winter coats, and orphaned chairs. Oh, and an old steamer trunk sitting in a corner. Wait- a steamer trunk? She had never seen that before. Cautiously, she opened the lid, which to her surprise was open. Oh- the lock was broken. What was in the trunk? To her surprise- and annoyance- it was just an old photo album. But still- this could contain something big. She opened it- and it was empty. She flipped through to the back of the album- and there was something! A huge photo- of all sorts of animals, predators and prey, and a few people- all standing together, in complete harmony. Well, not exactly standing- some were crouched on tree branches, and some of the avian ones were in the air. But still. And, come to think of it, how could this picture exist? It looked like a lost snapshot of heaven. Except that was impossible- and there were names scrawled over the photo, names written in her mother’s handwriting. Amelia peered closer at the names. There, written above a creature that appeared to be half cougar kit, half little girl was her mother’s name. Tara.

Part Four

Amelia tentatively took the photo out, looking at the back. Again, her mom’s handwriting, but this time in a neater form. It was now 9:00, and she had managed to come downstairs and eat breakfast with her parents and baby sister- the dirty secret-keepers!- get dressed, and return to the storeroom. Looking closer at the page, she read the whole thing- a story of a secret people, called the shifters, experts of metamorphosis and able to change into any animal at free will- especially a lynx. So it had been real, and not just a dream. And her mother was one of them- one of the shifters. So she had it in her blood as well. Suddenly, she heard a knocking sound on the small window. She looked at it- and there was the boy shifter that had been with the group that had saved her life the day before. Raising the window (it had no screen) up, she said, “Hello. What are you doing here? And thank you for saving my life yesterday, anyway. I’m Amelia,” The boy nearly blushed, looking embarrassed. Amelia quietly noted that he had such interesting eyes- they were a rich, ambery color, and they looked rather like a cat’s. “Oh, I didn’t do anything. I was just following- to see what was happening,”  he said. “Following what?” Amelia asked, ever more curious. “Well- It’s really against our laws to tell this to humans, but after seeing you jump, I don’t know for sure about your humanity. Those wolves are- they’re dangerous. And special. They were from somewhere in Canada, and- why am I telling this to you?” He morphed into a rather large squirrel, and was about to leave when Amelia yanked him by the tail. “My mother was one. One of you. And I won’t tell anyone, and if you knew me you would know that I don’t stop until I get something when it comes to information,” She said. He morphed back, a scowl on his face suppressing a smile. “Fine. We’re tracking the wolves down, and I was following when you had to go take a walk. And I’m Gilbert,” With that, he morphed back into the squirrel and went down the tree outside the window.

Part Five

That was not the last time that Gilbert and Amelia rendezvoused. They met several times after that, sometimes with Amelia sneaking out, practicing shifting. Gilbert told her all about the history of the shifters that he knew, and she listened exuberantly. But things came to a rather disarming head a few weeks later. It was seven on a Saturday morning, and Amelia slipped in excitedly after an enchanting hour of going on a cliffside trail, with secret-looking carvings on the walls left behind just 50 years ago as the latest and 200 years ago as the earliest by the shifters. But then, waiting for her (or so it seemed) at the kitchen table was her dad. “Hold it, young lady. What were you doing out there- with some strange boy?” He had a horrible look on his face- anger and fear mixed together, just from all the possibilities that could’ve happened to his daughter. “WHAT boy?” her mother said from the living room, coming in immediately. And so Amelia told the story- starting with the wolves and ending with her hike with Gilbert just that morning. The expressions on her parent’s faces softened. “Sneaking out of the house with only someone your age without permission is wrong and dangerous, so don’t expect to get home free, but everything else you’ve been doing isn’t bad. It’s not wrong to want to learn about your personal history. In fact, I was doing something wrong to you, hiding your past-” Amelia’s mother looked over at her little sister, Enile, and said, “I will never make this mistake again. But you are not allowed to have any non-school related screen time for a month still, and I won’t let you out again by yourself until the wolves are gone,” her mother finished. But Amelia was only half-listening, borne away on the waves of fantasy, full of past and present and future- and a crush on a certain someone whose name started with G- and helping get rid of the wolves- It was a very interesting world, she thought.