Birdie's Book - Andrea Burden [10]
“So, tell me something about The Book of Dreams,” I said as I sat down and poured syrup on my pancakes. I thought Granny Mo was going to choke on her blueberries when I said it. “You put that book in my room, didn’t you?” I asked.
“It’s not from me,” she said. A big grin was growing on her face. “But it has the most beautiful writing on the cover, doesn’t it?”
“But if you didn’t put it there,” I said, “then how … who?”
“It must be the fairies,” Mo said. Her eyes were sparkling in a way that I hadn’t seen before.
“Excuse me?” I said. “Fairies?”
Mo leaned over. Her green eyes were so close to mine that I started going cross-eyed. I sat back in my chair a bit. “The fairies are the keepers of the book. Don’t you see?” she asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t see, but I could feel myself starting to get excited anyway. I couldn’t help it—what would you do if someone told you fairies were real, and clearly believed it themselves?
“Fairies?” I asked again, trying hard to sound normal.
“Oh, there’s so much ahead of you,” Mo said. “The last time—” Suddenly her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away. “Where is the book?”
“In my room,” I said. I was feeling a little tense, like, what do I do now? I decided that I’d just follow Mo’s lead. I was clearly in over my head on this one.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Mo asked, cramming the last of her pancakes into her mouth like a little kid.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I raced upstairs with Mo right behind me. I admit it: I had given in to the excitement and the idea of fairies being real! I threw open the bedroom door. The room was filled with the scent of lilacs.
“Fairy magic almost always brings that smell!” whispered Mo, sniffing the air.
I glanced around the room but saw no flowers or fairies. There was something else I didn’t see either.
“It’s gone!” I said. It wasn’t where I’d left it. I checked under the pillow and then threw back the covers. It was absolutely, positively gone! I looked over at Mo; her expression had turned thoughtful, but I wanted to know what had happened!
Rustle, rustle, I heard. I went toward the window where the sound was coming from. I ripped down the blanket I’d stuffed into the cracks last night and threw it on the bed. There, fluttering in the cold breeze, stuck between the window and the sill, was a cream-colored envelope. I pulled it out. I recognized it; it had been tucked inside the front cover of The Book of Dreams.
I looked from the gray sky out toward the Glimmer Tree. I held up the envelope.
“Oh, yes … the tree,” Mo whispered.
“The … tree?” I asked. Carefully, I ran my fingernail along the silver wax seal. When it loosened, I held my breath and opened the flap.
“Yes, we have many things to talk about, Birdie dear. But I’ve got a couple of guys coming to deliver fertilizer and potting soil in a few minutes,” she said. “Believe it or not, the fairies can wait while we take care of some present responsibilities. Come out to the greenhouse with me?”
“Ummm, yeah. Sure,” I said. I didn’t want to wait at all, but I didn’t know Mo well enough to argue with her—not yet.
“Bring the letter,” said Mo.
Totally curious, I put on my jeans right over my thermals and put the envelope into my back pocket. Mo had been so serious, I was a little afraid of it now. Maybe the whole thing was a joke or something cute Mo had thought I’d like because I was a kid. Or what if my mother was right, and Mo was certifiable? In that case, I guess the worst I’d have to do was play along with the fairies game. Or was it a game? I really didn’t know.
I caught up with Mo by the snake hooks. I pulled on my boots, then grabbed the long scarf, a ski hat, and my gloves. I threw on Mo’s big green coat again and managed to follow in her footsteps as she clomped through the kitchen. Willowby joined us as we walked out and along the path.
The steamy double doors of the greenhouse