For a second, I thought James was leaving, but he merely walked to the edge of the meadow and gathered broken limbs and kindling. He carried the wood back to where he had placed his pack. I watched in silence as he made the trip several more times. Next, he pulled a small shovel out of his backpack and began scraping away the some of the grass until he had cleared out a smooth area. He dug a depression in the ground, then stacked the kindling and firewood. James returned to the edge of the forest. This time he emerged carrying several large rocks, which he placed in a circle around the firewood.

“Planning to be here long?” I asked.

“As long as it takes,” James said.

“Aren’t you going to get hungry, hanging around here?”

“I may.” James sat beside the firewood. “But I don’t think my hunger will be nearly as bad as your freezing inside that cave.” He flashed his gray eyes at me with a smile. “Here’s hoping we can reach some sort of compromise.”

7

The Beginning

By midafternoon, a chill had settled deep in my bones that my jacket didn’t keep away. I pulled my blanket from my bag to drape it over my shoulders. It did little to protect me against the dampness of the cave. Shivering, I peered outside and felt my blood boil when I saw James lying on his back, soaking up the rays in the sunny meadow. If I was this cold now, in the middle of the day, what would night bring?

I’d once again found myself trapped. I could make another run for it. But to where? Until I found the rose garden and the exit from this world, it would only be a matter of time before James caught up to me.

And why did I want to leave anyway? My plan all along had been to prove to the Elders that I belonged in Judaculla. For the first time since coming here, I’d been handed an opportunity to do just that.

The more I thought this over, the more it made sense. I should just wait with James until the Elders had court, or council, or whatever they called it. Then, I’d show them all, including James, that I was supposed to be here. I still hoped if the Elders accepted my claim, they would return James’s memories to him.

When the tips of my fingers began to burn from the cold, I decided I’d better leave the cave. I picked up my pack and squeezed through the opening, hating how summer always took its sweet time in coming to the mountains.

James sat up, a huge grin on his face. “Wow, you didn’t even last until the sun went down.”