Read Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle Online
Authors: George Hagen
Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle (4 page)
MovingG
abriel often spent the afternoon at the Sandoval house. It had the same brownstone facade, tall windows, and iron gates as his own. Inside, however, the furniture was new and modern.
When Gabriel went to Addison's, they often wound up playing computer games, which Addison always won. This afternoon, Gabriel became tired of losing and suggested they tell riddles instead.
“Here's one,” Gabriel said. “What lies at the end of forever?”
Addison chewed his lip and stared up at the ceiling. “That's an impossible question,” he replied. “Forever is infinite. It never stops.”
“Yes it does.” Gabriel smiled. “If you give up, I'll tell you.”
“Fine. I give up,” said Addison.
“Okay. The letter âr' lies at the end of forever.”
Addison slapped his hand against his forehead. “That's not a fair question.”
“It's a riddle!” Gabriel grinned. “You have to stretch your mind!”
Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Aunt Jaz with a bag of take-out food from the Chinese restaurant. If his aunt didn't find Gabriel at home, she knew he would be at Addison's. After talking to Mrs. Sandoval for a moment, she turned to Addison and said, “How do you feel about moving to a new city?”
Gabriel looked at his friend with surprise. “You're moving? Why didn't you tell me?”
Addison shrugged, thrusting his hands in his pockets. “My dad got a job somewhere else, but I was hoping he might not take itâ”
“Not take it? Oh, Addison,” sighed Mrs. Sandoval. “It's a wonderful opportunity! He's going to open a new restaurant in Los Angeles. You'll have a great time there.”
“Whatever,” replied Addison glumly.
As they left the Sandovals' house, Gabriel's mood sank. He thought about his friend being far away, which reminded him of his father's absence.
“Aunt Jaz?” he said as they trudged up their stoop.
“Yes, dear?”
“Where exactly is my dad?”
“Oh, goodness, Gabriel, not again!” said his aunt. “I only wish I knew. About three years agoâI remember it so wellâ
your father remarked that he might disappear quite suddenly. I laughed at the time, because it was such an odd thing to say.⦔ Aunt Jaz put her hand to her cheek with a look of regret. “But a few days later, on a fall evening, like this one, I brought you home from the playground. The house felt cold and strangely empty, so I hurried upstairs to the study and found the curtains blowing freely from the wide-open window. Everything was tidy in the roomâunusual for your fatherâbut there was a note with instructions saying that if I should find the window open, I should take care of you until he returned.”
Gabriel studied his aunt's expression. “When a person is missing, shouldn't you call the police?”
“I don't believe your father is in a place where the police
could
find him,” replied Aunt Jaz. “Gabriel, he promised me he would return as soon as it was earthly possible. Did you take a look at that book I gave you? It explains a lot of things.”
“Oh,” said Gabriel. “I forgot about that old leather book!”
Aunt Jaz glanced around nervously, as if the very trees might be listening. “My dear, it was his
diary.
” Then she hurriedly fumbled with the lock to the front door.
As soon as he got to his room, Gabriel fished the notebook out of his backpack. He opened it up and squinted at the very small handwriting. It was difficult to get past the first page or two; but slowly, Gabriel grew accustomed to the scrawled lettering, and it became easier and easier to understand, until he was racing along faster than he had read anything in his life.
BaldasarreT
he things I am going to write in this book will seem unbelievable, but I can promise you that they are true. Each and every thing I describe really happened to me.
April 1: Today, as I was walking home from school, a big black bird landed right in front of me on the sidewalk. It had a large, blunt beak and black eyes and a strange oily sheen to its wings. It sat at my feet, wobbling unsteadily.
“Shoo,” I said, and I stepped forward, expecting it to hop away, the way pigeons do.
Surprisingly, it didn't move. And then, even more surprisingly, I heard a voice in my head say very clearly:
I have one eye but cannot see,
A long tail always follows me,
I'm a doctor and a cobbler's friend,
Your button I will gladly mend.
What am I?
Now, I don't believe magical stories with animals that talk. But this was amazing. This voice was as clear as could be, in my head, and the bird had a lookâvery seriousâas if it was waiting for my answer.
“Well, what has an eye, a long tail, and mends a button. It must be â¦Â a needle!” I said aloud.
The bird made a sound like a laugh, as if it was pleased with my answer. It limped forward.
My leg is broken
, said the voice in my head.
I opened my mouth, but I couldn't speak from surprise. I could understand the bird's thoughts so clearly, and it seemed to understand me!
“If you show me to your father, he can mend it,” said the bird. “My name is Baldasarre,” he added, dipping his head in a bow.
Now I was really astonished. A bird talking like a person! Then his voice became desperate. “Please help me,” he begged. “I am in grave danger.”
How could I leave this amazing bird? I gently picked him up in my jacket and carried him to my house.
My father was in the kitchen. I told him the bird had a broken leg. He said I should have left it outside.
“I swear it spoke to me,” I said. “It told me a riddle.”
My father looked confused, but then he smiled.
“Oh, I understand, it's April Fools' Day, and you think this is a funny joke!” he said.
“No. It's true.”
I was ready for him to laugh again, but he didn't. After a careful look
at the bird, he cleaned the wound with some things from the medicine cabinet and bound the leg with a pair of chopstick splints.
Now came many entries in the diary describing the raven's recovery; but what most fascinated Gabriel was an entry farther along.â¦
April 10: Watching my father take care of this bird, you might think he was a veterinarian, not a family doctor. He seemed to know exactly what was best to feed it, and he was very tender, as if he understood, somehow, what it was feeling. When I asked how he knew so much, he took a deep breath and let the question vanish into silence.
April 15: Today, after examining the bird's leg (it's a raven, I've learned), my father turned to me and said, “So, Adam, tell me what our patient has been saying to you.”
I explained that the bird had told me that he had enemies. And that he was in grave danger.
“In grave danger from what?” my father asked.
The raven stopped eating, tilted his head, and looked at me. Then he looked at my father most carefully, as if weighing a very serious decision.
“I am in danger from Corax,” the raven said.
My father's expression changed quite suddenly.
“Who is Corax?” I asked him.
My father said nothing.
The raven spoke again.
“Your father knows exactly who he is.”
When I questioned my father about this, he let out a long sigh.
“Corax is my son. Your older brother,” he replied.
“What? I have an older brother? Where is he? Why haven't I ever met him?”
“Because ⦔ And here, my father's expression darkened. “He is a disgrace to our family.”
Valravens on the MoveI
n the oak tree near Gabriel's house, the raven mother was feeding her chick with scraps found in the neighborhood. Between mouthfuls, she asked questions:
“Now,” she said, “what's smarter than a raven?”
“Nothing is smarter than a raven,” he replied.