Roots

Iris and Lincoln Stodge live at 1835 Fernhook Lane, a very long drive through fields of corn which ends at the base of the Whatcom Timber Reserve. Iris and Lincoln are fourth and fifth graders.

The sister and brother also have a little sister named Josie Poo (A nickname given because of her uncanny ability to fill her diaper at the most inopportune moment), a dachshund named Kevin, and a Rhode Island Red hen named Alissa.

During the school year, the kids are driven to the end of the long driveway each weekday morning to wait for the school bus, which is driven by Miss Cheryl, a grandmotherly woman who, according to the children, looks very much like Mrs. Claus. They are then driven to school to have a day like any other child in the Elementary grades. They are of course smart children but also have a hard time not daydreaming about their adventures outside of school.

In the summer months, as the corn is rising and the days are warm, the kids are free to explore the woods and the creek nearby after their chores for the day are done. Lincoln’s responsibility is to go around the yard and fill in all the holes that Kevin had dug. Because of his breed, Kevin felt it was his job in the household to dig up moles in the yard. Once he catches one, he holds it in his jaws and flips it high into the air until that mole is no longer giving him a problem. It was not unusual to have Kevin’s snout covered in dirt which would also make him snort brown mud from his nostrils.

Iris’ job is to go to the shed each morning and search the nest to see if Alissa had laid any eggs during the night. She is usually good for one a day. During the day, Iris would leave the shed door open for Alissa to roam the yard to eat grass, bugs, and grit. This combination produced the best eggs.

After the chores are done, their favorite thing to do is to explore the timber reserve which is just beyond the backyard. They tie their heads in bandanas to keep the twigs and bugs from getting caught in their hair. This gives them the appearance of looking like a couple of pirates. Usually, mom would place sandwiches and juice boxes in a backpack which Lincoln wore, knowing that they would be out for the day. Also in the backpack was a flashlight and a marine air horn which they could sound if they were hurt or got lost. Mom also kept one at the back door to call the kids for dinner time.

Because of their daily treks into the woods Iris and Lincoln knew almost every inch, every stump, every boulder, and every bird’s nest. Their trails wound around vine maples and through deep Sword Ferns. They imagined where the lost boys would hide if they were in the branches of the towering fir, hemlock, and cedar trees. This was their land to imagine and explore.

One morning, after a late breakfast, the two children left the house to begin their chores. Lincoln retrieved his spade from the garage and set off searching for Kevin holes. Iris took her wicker, fabric lined egg basket to the shed to see if Alissa had left her any presents.

Upon entering the shed, she heard Alissa’s friendly cackle from her nest.

“Come on, move out of the way Alissa. What do you have for me today?”

She gently grabbed the hen and lifted her into the air. In the belly of the nest lay two brown eggs and . . . four strands of red yarn.

“Well, you little sneak. Where did you find the yarn?” she asked the hen.

Leaving the shed door open, she took the eggs to the house. Mom was busy changing Josie Poo’s second diaper of the morning.

“Alissa gave me two eggs today, mom. Also, something weird. There were four strands of red yarn in the nest.”

“Red yarn?” mom asked. “Where would she find red yarn in our yard? Keep your eyes on her today. Maybe she will lead you to where she found it.”

After the chores were completed, it was time for the two to go to the woods. Mom had prepared lunch sandwiches and placed them and juice boxes in Lincoln’s backpack. As was the case most days, Kevin went ahead as the scout, just in case of a mole ambush. Sometimes Alissa would hang with Kevin in the yard because in his search for moles, he would dig up nice fat nightcrawlers. Today Kevin entered the trail to the woods and following his tail was the hen.

“Look at that,” said Lincoln. “I’ve never seen Alissa go into the woods before.”

“I’ve never seen her go there either,” Iris commented. “She’s usually afraid of the woods. By the way, have you seen any red yarn in the yard before? I found some in Alissa’s nest today.”

“Nope. I’ve been all over the yard looking for Kevin’s holes. I’ve never seen any red yarn. I don’t know where that old hen found it.”

They could hear Kevin rooting through the ferns ahead of them. Occasionally, Alissa would let out a cluck to let them know she was also up ahead somewhere.

Normally, Lincoln and Iris stayed on their well-traveled paths in the woods but today they could hear Kevin and Alissa far to the right of their path, somewhere next to a large mound.

“Kevin, come here,” Lincoln yelled. He whistled but the dog didn’t come.

“Kevin Weiner, you come here,” Iris called. “Alissa, I’ve got some corn for you.” Neither the dog nor the hen responded.

“Okay,” Lincoln said, sounding somewhat frustrated. “Let’s go find them.”

They waded through the brush and the ferns in the direction they last heard Alissa cluck. Ahead, they could see a tall fir tree that had blown over. The flat root system had pulled right out of the ground making it look like a vertical root wall.

“Wow. Cool! I wonder why we’ve never found this before?” Iris asked.

As Lincoln walked about and examined the base of the enormous root ball, he suddenly stopped.

“Look at that,” he whispered, pointing.

There, at ground level at the base of the root ball was a large Kevin hole burrowed under the roots and into the hill. Kevin had taken a great deal of effort to dig it high and wide. Both kids squatted down to look at the dirt. It was easy to see both dog and chicken prints in the soft soil.

“Kevin must have been digging this hole for a long time,” Lincoln said. “It’s enormous.”

He looked inside.

“Kevin, come here Kevin,” he called.

There was no response.

“What should we do?” Iris asked. “Will they find their way out? It could be a fox hole and Alissa could get eaten.”

“Okay, well, shall we go bring them out? It can’t be that deep in there. If we slide on our bellies, we can get in.”

Iris stared down at her pink stretch pants. “Mom is going to kill me for getting these dirty,” she moaned. “Let’s go.”

Lincoln took the flashlight from his backpack and shined the light into the tunnel. He then pushed the pack on the ground in front of him and slid on his belly into the root ball. Once his feet were inside, Iris got down on her belly and followed him in.

“What do you see,” Iris asked nervously.

“It doesn’t look like the tunnel is that deep. Maybe another eight feet. I can see a bright light up ahead.”

“Shine the light back here,” Iris squealed. “I felt something slimy.”

As Lincoln shone the light back, the dirt floor of the tunnel was illuminated with the squirming bodies of fat nightcrawlers.

The pitch of Iris’ scream was enough to drive them back into the ground.

“Come on. We’re almost there. Don’t freak out on me now,” Lincoln said calmly.

They continued sliding forward on their bellies as the light ahead grew brighter. Finally, Lincoln pushed his backpack out into the daylight. He popped his head up and then slid his body out into the deep ferns. Turning around, he grabbed Iris by the hands and pulled her out into the sunshine. They stood up, brushing the dirt from their clothes.

From close by, they could hear the bark of Kevin, but it was not until they looked around that they found the unbelievable shock of their lives. There, not more than 30 feet away was the shore of a beautiful lake.

“A lake? How could there be a lake? We have explored the woods. We know the woods. There is no lake!” They both had this same thought which they voiced.

Almost immediately they heard the cluck of Alissa coming through the ferns. She appeared with a beak full of red yarn strands. Strutting back into the hole from which they emerged, she disappeared. Lincoln and Iris just stared speechless.

Iris took Lincoln’s hand, and slowly the two walked through the tall ferns to the shore of the lake.

It was beautiful. Far out on the water, ducks, geese, and swans swam. They could hear the squeal of eagles overhead and saw one glide to the water to grab a large fish in its talons. From somewhere around the lake, a woodpecker could be heard drumming its beak on the trunk of a tree. Lily pads were blooming with large white flowers. The air smelled so fresh and clean. They saw movement on the far shore as a buck deer stepped from the brush and dipped his head to drink from the water.

Iris bent down and dipped her fingers in the lake. “It feels so nice,” she said. Then, looking down at the dirt caked on her pants and top, she moaned, “Mom is going to be really mad when she sees this.”

Kevin’s bark made them both look up and stare down the shore. There was the dog, sitting on a blanket on the sand. His tail wagged uncontrollably and his tongue, dripping slobber, hung from his mouth.

“Yip, yip!”

They walked in the sand along the water’s edge to the happy dog.

“Look!” said Iris. “A red blanket. Alissa has been pulling yarn from around the fringe. This is where she is getting the yarn for her nest.”

“Wow,” exclaimed Lincoln. “Mom and dad are never going to believe this when we show them. This is a great place to sit, let’s have a picnic.”

They sat on the red blanket, took off their shoes and socks, and removed the lunches from the backpack.

“This is about the best place I can imagine,” Iris sighed. “The very best place.”

“Hello.”

Both children dropped their sandwiches, their heads snapping toward the direction of the voice. It was a man walking toward them through the water lapping against the sandy shore.

Normally, Kevin would be up on all fours barking uncontrollably, but he lay peacefully on the red blanket enjoying the warmth of the sunshine.

“Don’t be afraid. You may not know me, but I know you. I am safe. May I sit with you?”

Lincoln began to reach into his backpack for his air horn, but the man stopped approaching.

“Really,” he said. “I am good. May I sit with you?”

Iris slid toward Lincoln and patted a spot on the blanket for him to sit.

“Thank you,” he said with a warm smile on his face that instantly made the kid’s fear vanish. “Iris and Lincoln, welcome to my lake.”

What they hadn’t noticed when the man walked up was that he also had a backpack on his shoulders. He removed and opened it. From inside he brought green and purple grape bunches, bananas, nuts, biscuits, and a canteen of liquid.

“Please. I want to share,” he said.

Iris looked at Lincoln to see if he objected, and seeing no indication that he did, she took a handful of grapes and a banana.

“Lincoln?” he asked, pointing at his offering.

Lincoln took some red grapes and a handful of nuts.

“Ahh, doesn’t the sun feel wonderful?” he was staring down and wiggling his toes as he asked.

“Who are you?” Iris asked sheepishly. “How do you know us?”

“Well,” he said, “I am the owner of this lake and so much more. And how do I know you? Well, let’s just say that even though this may sound creepy, I have known you before you were born and every day since.”

“Oh, you mean you know my mom and dad,” Lincoln said, apparently thinking he understood what the man meant.

“Yes and no,” the man answered with a smile. “You will understand someday what I am saying.”

“This is your lake?” Lincoln asked. “Iris and I have explored all the woods. We have never found it.”

“It has always been here, obviously. Many people look for my lake but very few find it. Today I am letting you see it.”

“But you let Kevin and Alissa find it.” Iris said quietly.

“Yes, I let Kevin and Alissa find the lake so that you could find it too.

“You own this beautiful lake. What else do you own? Do you live close by?” Iris now had many questions.

“Everything I own is beautiful,” the man responded. “My mountains; my gardens; my oceans; my islands; my mansions. They are all too wonderful for you even to imagine, and do I live close to you? Yes, and always.”

The children were now thoroughly confused for they had only the minds of a child.

“Could we come back here tomorrow and bring our friends and swim in your lake?” Lincoln asked.

“Lincoln, I let your dog and your chicken find my lake so that you could be brought here to see for yourself this wonderful, beautiful place. But like I said, I own so many beautiful, wonderful places that your mind wouldn’t even be able to imagine. Have you ever wanted to soar through the puffy white clouds and play hide and seek? I can do that too. I want you to know that I have prepared all of this for you . . . someday.”

“To answer your question, no, you can bring your friends, but you will not find my lake again until I open the way for you to enter. You have seen me. You know that I exist. When you leave my lake, seek after me daily and you shall find me and when you find me, you shall be given the right to share everything I own.”

“Do you allow muddy kids too?” Iris giggled.

“I see no mud,” the man said.

She looked at her clothes and those of Lincolns. There was no dirt.

The three ate the food before them until it was gone. Then they stood and the man folded the red blanket and placed it in his backpack. They then walked back to the hole at the root ball of the fallen tree. Of course, Kevin went into the hole first.

“I hope,” the man said, “that you will look for me and find me. I will wait for you. Goodbye Iris, and Lincoln.”

Lincoln entered the hole first with his flashlight shining and Iris followed holding onto his feet. Soon they came out the other side into their familiar woods. Kevin met them with a yip.

When they returned home their angry mother and father wondered why they hadn’t returned home when the air horn blew. Could it be that the lake, though not that far away, was still a long way away indeed. The parents were also angry about the filthy clothes Iris and Lincoln were wearing.

With much pleading, mother, father, and Josie Poo followed Kevin, Iris, and Lincoln back out into the woods to the blown over fir tree. All the way through the tall ferns the kids shared their experience of meeting the man who owned the lake. As they came into the clearing, all they found was a firmly planted upright fir tree with its tip reaching the clouds.

The storytelling was punished by being grounded and extra chores.

The next day after breakfast, Lincoln went to the garage, grabbed his shovel, and searched the yard for Kevin holes to fill. Iris carried her wicker basket to the shed and lifted Alissa to gather eggs. As she stared into the belly of the nest, there lay two brown eggs and eight pieces of red yarn. There was also a small piece of paper with writing on it.

She placed the eggs in her basket, gathered the lengths of yarn and read the note on the paper. It said: Broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many will find it for wide is the gate. But narrow is the pathway and only few find it for small is the gateway that leads you to life.(1)

(1)Matthew 7:13,14

• His Lake was created using Microsoft Image Designer AI

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