“I think I knew,” Ivan said slowly. “Back then I mean. I knew but I didn’t want to know.” “When we showed you Pey,” Mava replied knowingly, then added with a hint of reproach, “You didn’t like it.” The two of them were sitting a little way downstream from the clearing, beyond the fern grove,… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part XI
Tag: young adult fantasy
A Place in the Forest, Part 10
Mava had returned to their place in the forest every day, for many days, but Ivan had not appeared. That was alright. There was so much to do in this place. So many other creatures, from the most minute ant, clay-red and soft as a smudge, to the most gigantic moose, imperial and somber-eyed, passed… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part 10
A Place in the Forest, Part 9
It was already dusk when Ivan’s father beckoned him from the open doorway. The cool blue light of evening hovered thickly just outside the house; descending the two front steps, his father was quickly immersed in it, the warm yellow of firelight draining from his head, his shoulders, last of all his feet. Uncertainly, Ivan… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part 9
A Place in the Forest, Part VI
“I’m ready now,” Ivan said. “I want you to show me today.” Mava looked up from where she was planted on hands and knees with her nose nearly brushing the moss, studying a pair of tiny snails with rose-pink shells and pearlescent flesh. Her small horns twitched in Ivan’s direction and he noted that although… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part VI
A Place in the Forest, Part V
Mava sat at the edge of the rock pool, her feet submerged in the cold crystal water, letting the raindrops pelt her. The pattering of rain blended together with the rush of the waterfall and the susurration of the trees, creating a smooth wall of sound on which her thoughts skated. But no matter how… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part V
A Place in the Forest, Part IV
A branch snapped loudly beneath Ivan’s foot, hidden by the carpeting of brown leaves that covered the forest floor. He froze and held his breath, listening intently. He was conducting an experiment; he wanted to find out how close he could get to Mava’s clearing without her sensing him. Every time he went there she… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part IV
A Place in the Forest, Part III
“That settles it,” Mava said decisively, concluding a dialogue she’d been having with herself. “We’ve got to go swimming.” Ivan smiled weakly. “I think I’ll just put my feet in,” he ventured. “I’m really not that hot.” A drop of sweat chose that moment to roll off the tip of his nose, undermining him. Mava… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part III
A Place in the Forest, Part II
“Oh no, I can’t eat that.” Ivan paused with his hand still outstretched offering the smoked trout on its open napkin. “Uh, there’s hardly any bones in it, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said uncertainly. “I’m pretty good at deboning them. But you do have to be careful anyway,” he added hurriedly. “Some… Continue reading A Place in the Forest, Part II
Queen of Elves 