Tales From the Glades of Ballymore (27 page)

BOOM!        BOOM!  BOOM!

The concussions rolled across the pond and bounced off of the cottages, trees, and residents’ ears.  Those indoors came out.  This was not to be missed.  Even Grenby ventured out.  He sat on his dock and gobbled the fresh pie he found waiting for him.

A minute of quiet followed.  That gave everyone some time to get settled.

BOOM!        BOOM!  BOOM!

This time, the thunder claps were accompanied by giant dazzlingly white sunbursts of light that exploded over the pond.  The next group quickly followed, rose even higher, and showered their white, confetti-like light over the first barrage.  The rockets zoomed and boomed and zoomed with so many different colors and sounds.  Each flash reflected off the cottages and trees.  The whole landscape of Ballymore seemed magically lit.  Everyone was impressed and oohed and clapped.  They had never seen anything like this.

BOOM!  WHOOSH!  BOOM!  BOOM!  SIZZLE!  BOOM!  BOOM!

There were brief pauses to let everyone catch their breath.  Then, they would begin again with new explosions of light and noise.

The rockets were to launch straight up, and 99% of them cooperated.  About fifteen minutes into the show, a rocket, spewing showers of green sparks, decided upon a different course.  Shortly after shooting up from the boat, it turned horizontally and headed right towards Petunia Porcupine.  She saw it coming and, initially, wasn’t alarmed, but it kept coming.  It shot over her head and crashed in to a pile of leaves near her back porch.  A small green explosion immediately ignited the dry leaves.  She ran to the trough and grabbed a couple buckets of water.  The small fire was soon extinguished.  It all occurred in less than a minute.  There wasn’t even time enough to become upset.  She made sure the fire was out and went back to the dock.  The weasels hadn’t even noticed.  Some animals had, but they, also, saw that Petunia had quickly taken care of the problem.

The display lasted about half an hour and ended spectacularly.  Successive rockets climbed higher than the previous, each with its own BOOM!  Each showered the pond with sizzling, alternating white or yellow sparkles.  Together, they formed a wide column of rising light.  Four more rockets followed and climbed to the top of the column.

They exploded simultaneously!

BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!

They capped the column with four large sunbursts of red and green light streamers.  Each burst had thousands of brilliant points.  The giant colorful “mushroom” in the sky moved eastward as it faded.

Darkness and quiet reclaimed Ballymore but for the cheering of the animals.  With the show ended, they returned to their cottages.  Most locked their doors.  It was still Halloween.

The weasels heard the appreciation and were ecstatic with what they had accomplished.  Unfortunately, they didn’t get to view the show as well as everyone else.  After everything had quieted down, they extinguished the sparklers on the railings.  Sam towed the boat back to where it had begun the evening.

It had been a great adventure for everyone.  Wilde and Wilder were thrilled and excited, but Sam had mixed emotions.  He loved the fireworks but still felt uneasy about the strange looking boat and black weasels.  After all, it was Halloween.  He was tired and right now, he just wanted to go home to his safe cottage and warm bed.  He unhitched himself, told the weasels he was very tired and thanked them for a memorable night.  The weasels were very grateful to Sam and told him so.  He said goodnight and swam away to the east.

Wilde said, “We need to blow out the candles and clean up the boat.”

Wilder was disappointed that the night was ending.  It had been as successful as he had hoped, and he couldn’t ever remember having a better time.  He walked around and blew out the candles in the pumpkins.  Wilde lowered the gang plank and went down to the dock to secure the boat.  The church bell bonged twelve times.  It was the witching hour.  Something caused him to look into the woods.  He noticed what looked like a patch of fog moving slowly between the trees.  Oddly, it was moving against the wind.  Wilde watched it.

He said, “Do you see that fog in the woods?”

Wilder looked over the railing and saw it, also.  “Yes.  What is it?” he asked.

“Well, it looks like fog, but it’s moving opposite to the wind,” responded Wilder.

They both watched for another minute, and then it stopped moving.

Wilde said, “I think we can clean up tomorrow when we can see better.”

Wilder was happy to agree and walked down from the boat.  The cold wind continued to blow the clouds across the sky.  A few large rain drops mixed in.  Above the wind, Wilde thought he heard a low wailing sound.

As he continued to watch the fog, he said, “You don’t have to wail anymore.”

“I’m not!” was the quick response.

They looked at each other, turned around, and jumped in the water.  Wilde and Wilder Weasel swam away without looking back.  Halloween had been everything they hoped for and more.

CHAPTER NINE

Unexpected Visitors

After dinner Bartholomew walked outside to enjoy some fresh air.  It was early evening on November 1st.  Rain, earlier in the day, had ended.  He watched the trees sway and clouds move across the sky.  A colder wind blew mostly from the north.  It felt like an early winter was coming.  He was thinking about what needed to be completed in preparation.  He also recalled the exciting Halloween that the weasels had created for everyone last night.

His keen ears picked up a sound from far across the pond.

“Whoo.  Whoo, Whoo.  Whoo, Whoo.”

Could that possibly be an owl, he thought.

It came again, “Whoo.  Whoo, Whoo.  Whoo, Whoo.”

“Whoo.  Whoo, Whoo.  Whoo, Whoo,” he answered.

Shortly thereafter, he spotted two familiar shapes winging their way towards him.  As they approached, he noticed that one was significantly bigger than the other.  It only took a minute for the owls to cross the pond and land next to him.

“Welcome to Ballymore,” he said cordially.

The older visitor said, “Thank you.  Hello, Bartholomew.”

Bartholomew was startled.  “You know me?” he asked.

“Yes and no,” replied the visitor.  “I’m sorry.  My name is Jonathan Owl and this is my son, Oliver.  We flew here from Cadwell to the east to give you some important information.  Unfortunately, I’m afraid that our information might be disturbing.  Could we possibly go inside and sit down?”

Bartholomew was now concerned but said, “Yes, of course.  Please come in.”

As he led them into his home, he remembered that Sam had mentioned a Jonathan Owl.  He offered the unexpected visitors seats at the dining table.

Jonathan began, “I don’t think that there is an easy way to say this, so I will just say it.  Bartholomew, I am your brother and Oliver is your nephew.”

Bartholomew stared at them in disbelief.

“I am sorry to shock you this way.  Please let me explain.  Our parents’ names were Chesney and Olivia.  We were both born twenty-one years ago.  Our parents used to live in Cadwell but decided to move to Ballymore because they had heard many good things about it.  Upon arriving, they built a home, and soon thereafter, our mother had two eggs.”

Bartholomew was listening intently.

“Our mother’s sister, aunt Penelope, had also lived in Cadwell with her husband, uncle Percy.  Unfortunately, they were not able to have any children.  Our parents had a close relationship with them and offered one of the eggs to them before it hatched.  No one else knew of the arrangement.  It was a very kind thing to do, but I’m not sure if it was the right thing to do.  I was born in Cadwell, and my father and mother were Percy and Penelope, as far as I knew.  You were born and raised here and thought you had no brothers or sisters.

“When I was two years old, my foster parents told me the truth about us.  Needless to say, it upset me greatly.  It upset all of us.  However, they were the only parents I knew, and I learned to accept the situation.  I must say, they were very good parents to me.  Apparently, both sets of parents decided that it would be better if we had no contact and so we didn’t.

“I found out later that you were never told about me.  I don’t know what else to say except that I am sorry to be the one to bring you this information.  Coming here was difficult, but I finally decided I had to do it.”

Bartholomew was overwhelmed with these revelations.  He didn’t know where to begin.  Then, he thought, stay calm and don’t rush.

“You are my brother, and you are my nephew?” he asked.

“Yes, we really are,” answered Jonathan.

Bartholomew, with tears in eyes, stood up, went to them, and hugged them.  They hugged for a long time.

Bartholomew looked at them and said, “I don’t know where to begin or even how to feel.  I need to sit down again.  No, I’ll make some tea.”

That was a good idea.  He went to the kitchen and prepared the tea, which he made extra strong.  That gave him some time to gather his thoughts.  

He returned to the table with the tea and asked, “Why did you wait so long to come here?  Our parents have been gone for a long time.”

“Yes, they have,” answered Jonathan.  “I lived with my foster parents until I married.  Then, my wife, Regina, and I had Oliver.  Time went by quickly, and I heard you were doing well.  I thought of visiting many times, but I didn’t want to cause you trouble.  Also, I didn’t know how you would react.”

“Something must have changed for you to come here now,” said Bartholomew.

“Yes.  Last year, Regina passed on,” said his brother sadly.  “We were married for ten years.  She was a wonderful wife and mother.”  He smiled and continued, “I am not getting any younger either.  When I think about Oliver, I want him to have the best possible future.  I believe that Ballymore offers that opportunity.  I also knew that we finally had to meet.  You needed to know the truth.  You deserved to know the truth.”

Bartholomew stared at the table.  There was silence.

“I’m very sorry to hear about your wife and your mother.”  He nodded at Jonathan and Oliver and looked down at the table again.

Emotion was brewing in him.

“You have given me quite a surprise.  I wish we had met sooner, but I understand the difficult situation in which you found yourself.  But I am happy that you finally came to me.  I welcome you to my home and to Ballymore.  This morning I had no family.  Now, I have family.  It’s a day to remember.”  

They stood and hugged again.  Jonathan and Oliver were very happy that Bartholomew had accepted them.  They had been worried that he might not.  

A new owl family had been created or perhaps finally reunited.

The next few hours passed quickly as they each told of their lives.  It was late when they finally retired.  For the first time in years, Bartholomew forgot his nightly rounds.  The treehouse wasn’t meant to sleep three, but they managed.  Jonathan slept in Bartholomew’s room, and Oliver slept in the parlor.

Even though it was after midnight, Bartholomew couldn’t fall asleep.  He tossed and turned.  It would take a while for him to become used to the fact that he now had some family.  When he was younger, he had always hoped for a brother or sister or someone.  As time went by, he adapted to the missing pieces in his life.  The dear animals of Ballymore had become his family.  Now, out of the sky, a brother and nephew had flown into his life, only a few hours ago.  He hardly knew them.  Would he come to love them?  What will happen?

He needed to relax, and let things unfold in their own time.  They always do.  

In the morning, he awoke with a strange new feeling.  The house was not empty.  He saw his brother wrapped up in a blanket on the floor under the window.  Suddenly, he realized he was now part of a family.  It felt good and comforting.  He smiled.

“It’s morning everybody,” he yelled.  That woke the others.  They yawned and returned the greeting.  It was a new experience for Jonathan and Oliver, also.  They were in unfamiliar surroundings but with the knowledge that they had gained a brother and uncle.  Ballymore would be their new home.  It was an exciting change to their lives.  Jonathan knew that he had brought his son to a place where he could thrive in many ways.  Living in Ballymore didn’t guarantee happiness, but it offered a wonderful opportunity.  It would be up to Oliver to make the most of it.  Jonathan would continue to guide him the best way he knew how.  That’s what a parent does.