Up Rooted
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Branches and leaves littered the sidewalks. Garbage cans were wedged between parked cars. Newspapers and plastic bags were slowly floating down to earth like the lazy crisp coloured leaves of autumn. Everything paused. There was an eerie silence hovering over the area as if the neighbourhood needed to take a deep breath.
Reality crashed the stillness with sirens and alarms. The police, fire trucks and ambulances were screeching in every direction. Ashley looked back at her friends and said, “We can cut through Uncle Charlie’s backyard. We’ll get to my place faster.”
Myah, Wesley and Fig were still trying to take a deep breath.
“Come on!” demanded Ashley as she began to run, “We can get back to my house, but we gotta go through Uncle Charlie’s!”
The three classmates chased after Ashley. Uncle Charlie’s was a half a block down the street. The four kids found themselves leaping and dodging tree limbs, trash and tricycles as they sprinted along the sidewalk.
“What was that?” asked Myah as she tried to regain her breath.
“What wasn’t it?” questioned Wesley as he caught up with Ashley, “It seemed to be a bit of everything.”
“It was strong, fast and completely invisible,” said Fig.
“It was a storm,” said Ashley, “A real freaky storm.”
The four companions came to a stand–still in front of Uncle Charlie’s.
“Doesn’t look like there’s much damage here,” said Myah.
They paused for a second and gazed carefully at their neighbourhood. Then Wesley took the lead as he crossed the front lawn and followed a stone path up the side the house that lead to the backyard. Wesley stopped at the gate and waited for everyone to catch up. Ashley, Myah and Fig arrived out of breath. Wesley approached the gate and was just about to lift the latch when he turned and asked, “So, why do they call you ‘Fig’, anyway?”
Fig smiled slightly and answered, “Its short for Figures.”
“Figures?” questioned Ashley.
“Yah,” continued Fig, “It’s a nick name I got because I seemed to always figure stuff out. I gather up information and come up with a good answer.”
“That figures,” said Wesley with a grin.
“Why didn’t they call you Reese?” asked Myah.
“Huh?”
“Reese,” she repeated with an uncontrollable giggle, “Short for RESEARCH!”
“How about we just call him Fig!” said Ashley.
“How’s about we get moving,” suggested Wesley.
The group snickered and shuffled about until they were all facing the gate. Wesley reached out to lift the latch when a horrendous noise charged at them and drowned out all other commotion. SNAP! GRRRR! SNAP! SNAP! And the fence lunged forward. Paws, claws, snouts and teeth jabbed out the gaps in the fence. All four fearful friends leapt back in full panic.
“Uncle Charlie doesn’t have a dog!” screamed Ashley, still in shock.
“There are three dogs!” declared Myah.
“He doesn’t have three dogs either!” responded Ashley.
“We’ll go another route,” suggested Wesley.
“Wait,” said Fig, “I know one of those dogs. He belongs to a family three doors down.”
“He’s in the wrong back yard,” said Ashley.
“Maybe he’ll calm down if he recognizes me,” said Fig.
“What’s his name?” asked Myah.
“Bones,” answered Fig.
“You gotta be kidding me!” declared Wesley.
“It’s short for Sam-bones,” said Fig.
“Is everything a nick-name with you?” asked Wesley.
“How about I call the dog,” said Fig.
Fig carefully approached the fence and sat down on the ground. He quietly called out “Bones,” without making eye contact. After two or three “soft” calls, Bones came over to the fence and began to wag his tail. The other two dogs joined the tail wagging and it wasn’t long before everyone was calm and happy.
“How did you do that?” asked Wesley.
“Oh it’s the ‘pack mentality’, if you can make the leader happy, then everybody follows,” said Fig.
“Where did you learn that?” asked Myah.
“The National Geographic Channel,” answered Fig.
“What should we call you now?” asked Wesley, “The Dog Whisperer?”
“Just Fig,” said Fig.
“It figures,” said Wesley with a grin “Is it safe?”
“Yup!” answered Fig, “But remember never attempt anything like this without consulting a professional!”
The dogs followed the children over to the gate, wagging their tails and panting happily. Wesley carefully unhooked the latch and swung open the gate. Everyone stepped through and they secured the gate behind them. As soon as those four students turned the corner, they realized what had happened. A huge tree from two doors down had been up rooted during the storm. It was the biggest and tallest tree in the neighbourhood. When it toppled over it covered three backyards. It crushed all of the fencing as it fell. When the fences came down the dogs ran back and forth between the yards. Now that the children were in the yard, the dogs were happy.
It wasn’t long before the kids were climbing up into the horizontal arms of the gigantic maple. The four explorers worked their way through the limbs of the ‘sideways’ tree until they reached the trunk. They looked down the length of the trunk and began to understand how magnificent and humungous this tree was.
“Look at the roots!” celebrated Myah, “The roots are as big as the tree!”
They scampered down the length of the trunk and slid off onto the ground. The friends carefully moved around to see the massive root system that was now exposed to the air. The students stood and stared at the snaking mixture of wood and dirt. Then deep within the tangles of fine hair like fibers and the knotted, twisting, knarred wood, Myah saw something.
“I see something shinny in the roots!” she declared as she jumped up and down.
“Where?” asked Wesley.
“There!” she shouted.
Myah was pointing towards the center of the enormous root ball, and in the shadows of damp earth there was a tiny glint of something shiny.
“I can see it!” called out Ashley.
“I can see it too!” joined in Fig.
“Me too!” piped in Wesley.
Ashley and Myah volunteered to retrieve the shiny object. Soon it was in reach and Myah recognized what it was, “It’s a key!” she hollered back to the boys.
“Grab it!” directed Wesley.
Myah took hold of the key and pulled, “It’s attached to a chain!” she discovered.
The chain would not come free. Myah and Ashley followed the chain and further back into the roots.
“The chain is attached to a long and narrow wooden box,” said Ashley.
It took Myah and Ashley a lot of effort, but they were successful at freeing the box from the grasp of the roots. They carried the mysterious wooden container over to the boys and placed it on the ground.
“Aren’t ya gonna open it?” asked Wesley impatiently.
“You found it Myah, you should open it,” offered Ashley.
Everyone crowded around and waited for Myah. She carefully picked up the key and inserted it into the lock. She turned the key. It stuck a couple of times, but Ashley helped. The lock fell, Myah flipped back the belts and latches. Then she took both hands and lifted the lid. The other three squished in close so they could see. Inside the box was a long leather pouch with beads and markings on it.
“Wow!” whispered Myah, “I wonder what it is?”
“Open the pouch!” demanded Wesley in a soft voice.
“No don’t!” said Fig, “We might break it. We need to take it to someone who might know more.”
“Who do you think we should take it to, Reese the researcher!” taunted Wesley.
“It’s Fig,” said Fig, “And I think we should take it to Uncle Charlie. He might know about this kind of stuff.”
“What about Miss Stewart?” questioned Ashley, “We found this on her property. So it really belongs to her.”
“So let’s open it first and then show her what we found,” suggested Wesley.
The three other treasure hunters stopped and stared at Wesley until he realized that he was wrong. Then the four of them took the box up to Miss Stewart’s house. Once the children explained to Miss Stewart how the box was found, she agreed to let the kids take it over to Uncle Charlie’s. When Uncle Charlie saw it, he nearly fell out of his chair.
“I think you’ve found a very old artifact,” stated Uncle Charlie with control enthusiasm.
“What’s an artifact?” asked Myah.
“It is an object of importance and value from people that lived a long, long time ago,” answered Uncle Charlie. “What you have here, I think, is a Narwhal Tusk. Narwhals are the Unicorns of the Ocean and are thought to be very magical animals. From the markings on the box and the leather pouch, I’d venture a guess that this comes from the north, way north.”
“How old do you think it is?” asked Ashley.
“Well, some maples can live to two hundred years or more,” said Uncle Charlie, “That box was buried when that huge tree was still a skinny sapling. To get an exact age, you need to count the rings of that tree. It’s one year for every ring.”
“Well Fig,” said Wesley, “Do you know all about Narwhals?”
“No, I don’t,” said Fig, “But I have an idea of where we can start to find information.”
“What you need to find out is the origin of the Narwhal,” said Uncle Charlie, “Once you know the myth of the first Narwhal, then you will understand its magical powers. Go and find the story of the first Narwhal.”
“Where do we start?” asked Myah.
“Elders!” answered Uncle Charlie and Fig at the same time.
“Figures!” said Wesley.
“Fig, just Fig,” said Fig.
“This is a conundrum,” pondered Wesley. ”What are elders?”
Ashley declared, “Elders are people who have been around forever and ever and are amazingly wise!”
“Why are we going to the elders?” asked Myah.
Uncle Charlie explained, “We need to figure out the legend of the narwhal and I don’t know it because I’m really not that old.”
“Where can we find these elders?” questioned Fig.
“Ashley’s grandpa is fascinating and he seems ancient to me!” exclaimed Myah.
Ashley yelled excitedly, “He’s at the Bingo Hall, let’s try and find him there!”
Wesley shouted at Myah and Ashley, “Go get the Narwhal Tusk!”
“Why?” Myah replied.
“We need to show this to Ashley’s grandfather in case he can tell us something about it!” explained Wesley.
As the kids rushed outside, the dogs started barking wildly and Fig tried to calm them down again but they won’t stop.
The tusk tumbled out of Myah’s hands! The four friends reached for it at the same time and poof the dogs magically vanished.
“I wonder what happened?” queried Ashley.
“It must be the magical Narwhal tooth!” said Fig boisterously.
“How are we going to get to the Bingo Hall?” asked Myah.
Fig responded excitedly, ”Let’s . . . . . . . . . . try and use the narwhal tusk to get there!”
“Why do you think that will work?” questioned Myah.
“Well,” retorted Wesley, “it made the dogs disappear when I wished that the dogs would be quiet! Give me the tusk!”
Myah shouted, “No!” But Wesley snatched it out of Myah’s hand.
“Why isn’t anything happening?” hollered Wesley. “It happened the last time! Let me try again.” Wesley demanded as he started shaking the tusk vigorously.
“Maybe we all have to grasp it at the same instant!” exclaimed Fig. “Let’s all grab it and hope that works!”
As Myah tore the tusk out of Wesley’s hands, she snapped, “Ashley, why don’t you go get Uncle Charlie?”
When Ashley and Uncle Charlie stampeded back, everyone clutched the tusk.
“Focus everyone, just focus on the bingo hall!” said Fig.
Poof!
Streaking from the sky, there were red lightening bolts flashing, darting, zinging, and flickering beneath the five adventurers.
“What just happened?” queried Ashley in a terrified voiced.
“I don’t . . . .
I don’t. . . . . . . know,” replied Fig.
Ashley gradually twisted her head and stuttered, “w, w, w, we’ve landed at the Bingo Hall.”
“That was amazing! You don’t get to do that everyday!” exclaimed Wesley.
“I think it’s magic! The Narwhal tusk brought us through time and space!” declared Fig.
The five adventurers dashed into the bingo hall. Unfortunately, there was a sea of elderly men and women taking shelter under the tables and they couldn’t pinpoint Ashley’s Grandpa.
Ashley wailed, “Grandpa?”
All the Grandpas staggered slowly to their feet. “What happened outside?”
“There was a mammoth wind storm! The streets are covered with trees and debris.” Myah remarked.
“How did you survive the storm and get here?” queried Ashley’s Grandpa.
“We all had to touch the Narwhal tusk at the same millisecond and wish to go to the bingo hall!” Ashley replied.
Ashley’s Grandpa grabbed his walker and limped over to the adventurers. He began examining the tusk.
“I have never seen one of these in such good condition. Where did you find this?”
“We found it in a box at the bottom of an uprooted tree,” claimed Myah.
Ashley quizzed, “Where did you see one last?”
“Last time I saw one was when I glanced at the tattoo on my lower left arm.”
“Where did you get that?” questioned Fig.
“I got it when, . . .”
. . . I was a scientist working for the NTA!”
“Grandpa, what’s the NTA?” Ashley excitedly interrupted.
“It’s the Narwhal TUSK ASSOCIATION.” declared Grandpa.
“Long ago I was on a research ship somewhere in the Arctic ocean. One foggy morning, I was fishing for my lunch when I felt some powerful tugging on my fishing rod. It felt like the whole ocean was pulling at my hook. I was struggling to stay on the ship but my heels wouldn’t dig in on the slippery deck and I was yanked overboard like a bullet soaring through the air.
Suddenly it all went black as I fell into the deep cold dark sea. Water began to fill my throat and eyes I couldn’t breathe or see. My heart was beating out of my chest; I thought that I would die from shock! It was so painful I thought my heart would explode!
Abruptly I felt something thrust me to the surface of the ocean. I started to catch a glimpse of light. It was dim but it was still light. Rapidly I shot out of the water as the mysterious creature flung me up into the air. Finally I could see and breathe, I was alive.
But when I smashed on to the deck I was knocked out cold and ended up in the emergency room.
Eventually I woke up and the doctor told me, “when we found you on the deck you had the tattoo on your arm and the tusk of a narwhal was beside you. What happened?”
“Well . . . .
“Well . . . . I don’t really recall! Amazingly all I can remember was fishing off the side of the ship when suddenly I was yanked into the face numbing icy water and my mind is blank from then on!”
“UMMUHHM a bad case of amnesia”, murmured the doctor.
The Doctor jumped up and conveyed the tusk to the ship’s tiny library. He examined an ancient dusty book. Wow! On the cover he found pictures of Narwhal tusks and inside he read the Narwhal legend.
“The story was about a little boy and girl who didn’t like their grandmother. While the little boy was fishing he tied a rope to the end of the harpoon and then around his grandmother. The boy launched the harpoon at a mammoth fish. The tip of the harpoon hit the fish square in the nose and it started to panic! Swimming furiously in circles the mammoth fish dove to the bottom of the ocean. Grandma’s hair twirled as she followed the fish to the murky bottom.
Astonishingly, as the doctor flipped through the book, he discovered a chapter on Narwhal tusks. Beside each carving he saw an English letter of the alphabet, now he could use the book to decode the writing! He started decoding the carvings and it said, . . .
He started decoding the carvings and it said . . .
“CAUTION, BRACE YOURSELF, MAGIC TUSK! If you don’t treat the tusk right, the danger could come to you!”
The doctor sprinted down the hallway to the emergency room where Grandpa was recovering.
Vigorously, he shook grandpa. Waking up feeling as if a hundred eels had shocked him, grandpa heard the doctor pant.
“I found out what the message on the tusk is! CAUTION, BRACE YOURSELF, MAGIC TUSK! If you don’t treat the tusk right, the danger could come to you!”
“Danger, What danger?” I wailed as my arm started twitching rapidly out of control.
Before my very eyes the tattoo started changing into a frightening ferrous monster fish with scaly rainbow-coloured skin and a mammoth mouth filled with huge slimy teeth.
“What’s happening to my arm?” I thundered as my arm started burning with excruciating pain while the tattoo started changing again. Under his arm his veins started rapidly twisting as the tattoo changed into . . . . . .
a map with a miniature island shaped like a terrifying broken decaying skull. It was labeled, The Forbidden Island! Suddenly, the image on Grandpa’s arm began to zoom in just like Google Earth’s satellite camera. We were able to pinpoint a tiny, shriveled old man dressed in a furry red robe carrying a mammoth book that was weighing him down.
“He looks like a wise man!” the doctor exclaimed.
“This sounds so exciting, I wish I could have been there!” squealed Ashley.
“What happened next?” wondered Mia.
“Why did you have to ask another question?” cried Grandpa as the excruciating pain multiplied by fifty percent.
Crash, Bang, Boom! The red lightening bolts flashed as the adventurers and grandpa zoomed through time and space crashing on the sand. Wesley pushed Ashley, yelling, “Now look what you have done!”
“Wait a minute! We were all holding the tusk, right?” asked Ashley.
“Yah!” responded Grandpa.
“And we all had to think about it, right?” wondered Ashley.
“Yah!” Wesley acknowledged angrily.
“So you see it’s not all my fault! Everyone forgot that when we wish something it comes true!” exclaimed Ashley.
“Quit arguing, let’s figure something out!” snapped Fig.
Mia suggested, “Why don’t we just try and wish ourselves back?”
“Agreed!” exclaimed all the adventurers.
They all grasped the tusk and dreamt of the Bingo Hall but nothing happened.
“What’s wrong? How are we supposed to get home?” whined Wesley.
“Quit asking questions!” Grandpa thundered as the excruciating pain forced him to knees.
Fig exclaimed, “Let’s look for the wise man that we observed on Ashley’s Grandpa’s arm!”
“Why?” Wesley wondered.
“To see if he can help us to get back home!” cried Ashley.
“Follow me!” Grandpa thundered as he tried to ignore the pain, “Let’s find the wise man’s cave. His colossal book may lead us back to the bingo hall.”
Rapidly the adventurers dashed off together following grandpa through the jungle. Leaves were slapping their faces as they dashed through the thick tropical undergrowth and the long vines with sharp needles when they heard a sound.
“What’s that?” questioned Myah.
“Quit asking questions it hurts so much I think I’m going to explode!” whimpered Grandpa.
Suddenly they heard the sound again but this time it was louder. It was getting closer.
“I think it’s from over there!” hollered Wesley. “Maybe it’s the wise man let’s go check.”
They shivered as they walked quietly following Grandpa toward the sound.
A narrow trail suddenly appeared before their eyes! As the adventurers walked along the trail a colossal cave emerged from the mist.
“Are you sure this is safe?” squeaked Myah in a whisper.
“No! But it might help us,” retorted Fig.
As the scared adventurers started to tip toe into the cave, the hairy old shriveled up man limbed up to Grandpa and asked, “Do I know you? It’s so dark in here I can’t tell?”
Grandpa croaked, “Dr. Huber, is that you?”
“Yes, I know you! You’re the researcher saved by the Narwhal all those years ago?”
“Yes, and you are the medical doctor that helped me,” said Grandpa. “Why are you here?”
“I’ve been stuck here because I was greedy,” replied Dr. Huber.
“Greedy?” questioned the four young archeologists.
“Yes!” answered Dr. Huber. “I saw something I wanted, I knew what it was and I didn’t care about the consequences. I witnessed your Grandpa being thrown back on the ship. A small young brownish whale had saved him from drowning. It hurled your Grandpa up on the deck and gave him a very special gift.”
“The tusk!” exclaimed Fig.
“Quite right, young man,” agreed Dr Huber. “Well, you’re almost right. It really isn’t a tusk at all.”
“I know,” interrupted Fig. “The Narwhal doesn’t have a tusk like an elephant; it’s more like a redirected tooth.”
“You are a bright boy!” replied Dr. Huber. “But the other point of interest is the Narwhal that saved your Grandpa was too young to have a tooth of any size.”
“But the tusk, I mean tooth is short,” noted Ashley. “Wouldn’t that be the right size for a young Narwhal?”
“It wasn’t always that length,” reported Dr. Huber. “Originally the tooth was over six foot and was very, very old. It had carvings on it. I can only guess that the tooth was once in the possession of a brave hunter and great carver. Somehow it was lost or given back to the sea and then the young Narwhal found it on the ocean floor and showed great kindness to your Grandpa by first saving his life and then giving him a very special gift.”
“Then you saw this tooth before it was broken?” questioned Grandpa.
“Yes,” answered Dr. Huber dropping his gaze. “I saw it; I recognized what it was and I became very greedy.”
“How could you see the tooth and not see me lying on the deck unconscious?” Grandpa continued to question.
“I saw you and the tooth,” confessed Dr. Huber. “And you were not unconscious.”
“WHAT!!” shouted Ashley.
“Let him continue,” requested Grandpa.
“Like I mentioned before,” began Dr. Huber with guilt in his voice. “I witnessed the little brown whale saving you from a certain icy death. Except it didn’t hurl you back on board, it gently placed you on the deck and lay the tooth beside you. You were in shock. You may have been dead. But, then the Narwhal tooth began to glow and shake and you started to breath and move. I saw the magic of the tooth. I saw its power. It made you well again. So I took it. No one else was there. I had to have it. I quickly snuck over and picked up the tooth. You turned your head and looked right at me. I struck you across the head with the tooth and ran back to the emergency room. I slammed the door behind me. I could hear the commotion on deck when they found you. I hid the tooth. Two crewmen brought you in and put you on the table and placed the tusk beside you.
You were still unconscious so I made sure you were stable, then I took the broken piece of the tusk and I tried to reattach it. That didn’t work. I went and got my big book on mystical powers and returned to the emergency room with the tusk. When you came around, I talked to you and checked to see what you remembered. I realized that you would have to be taken to a hospital.
So I took the larger section of the tusk and rushed to hide it in my cabin. I slammed the door and locked it. I knew I was going to be caught. I collapsed in my chair, held the tusk, leaned my forehead against it, closed my eyes and wished I was off of that boat. There was a loud noise, some lightening and when I opened my eyes, I was here all alone on this island. I soon realized that when I hit you I broke the tooth. I have wished many things many times over the forty years I’ve been here and this is the only other time it worked.”
“You’ve been here for forty years?” exclaimed Fig.
“Yes.”
“How did you survive?” asked Myah.
“I think I’m alive because of the Narwhal tooth,” answered Dr. Huber. It would glow and rattle all night long, never letting me sleep. Yet every morning I had just enough food and water to make it through the day. I believe that this has been my punishment for what I have done.”
“Where is the other part of the tooth?” asked Grandpa.
“I’m surprised it hasn’t made itself known,” answered Dr. Huber. “I’m sure you will hear it soon enough.”
As soon as Dr. Huber voice had stopped, everyone began to hear a soft tap, tap, tap.
“Look at that,” celebrated Dr Huber. “Right on cue.”
The gang cautiously followed the sounds deeper and deeper into the cave. Then Grandpa stopped.
“Why is it so far into the cave?”
“Every night it rattles and shines and bounces its way back to me,” answered Dr. Huber. “I plant it farther and farther away in hopes of getting a few moments of sleep.”
It was only moments before they discovered the longer section of the tooth leaning up against a large bolder that divided the cave. As the group move nearer the tooth became more animated. It shook and rattled. The movements became larger and louder.
“Ashley,” Grandpa called out softly. “Could you please hand me the small section of the tooth?”
“Sure,” said Ashley as she carefully removed the artifact from its leather container.
Grandpa took the tooth from Ashley and stepped towards the larger piece. Suddenly all sound and motion stopped. Grandpa slowly positioned the smaller over the larger section and lowered it into place. There was a brilliant shock of light and shrill screeching. Then everything was back in place. The Narwhal tooth was complete without a mark. The tooth developed a slow warm glow and a good feeling spread through the group. Grandpa reached out to touch the tooth, but before he could get close enough, the tooth moved into his grip.
Without saying a word, Grandpa signaled to everyone to step in close. “Put your hand on the Narwhal tooth. It’s time to go home.”
When the last hand touched, everything turned white-cold.
“We’re in the Arctic!” shouted Fig.
“I thought we were going home!” replied Myah with concern.
“I think we are,” said Dr. Huber. “When we wished for home, the power of the Narwhal has brought us to its home.”
The four kids huddled together to try to stay warm.
“We’re in the middle of an ice flow!” declared Ashley.
“We can’t stay here!” called out Grandpa as he grabbed hold of the tooth. “We will freeze to death.”
Suddenly water splashed up between two large chunks of ice. The head of a bluish-grey-white whale bobbed up and down in the waves. It seemed to be staring at Grandpa.
“It’s THE Narwhal!” declared Dr. Huber pointing at Grandpa. “He recognizes you.”
“How can you tell?” questioned Grandpa.
“He’s a male with no tooth, but a hole where one should be,” said Dr. Huber.
Grandpa realized what was going on. Without hesitating he grabbed hold of the tooth and limped over to the edge of the ice. He slowly reached out and touched the end of the tooth to the hole. The tooth became part of the Narwhal. The whale slowly slipped away into the near frozen water.
A flash of lightening left the four kids and Grandpa standing next to the exposed roots of the huge maple in Uncle Charlie’s back yard.
Fig looked around and asked, “Where’s the doctor?”
“His own home I hope,” said Grandpa.
“So, Grandpa, I have a question for you,” said Fig. “Who buried the artifact under the tree?”
“I don’t know. But that’s another story,” answered Grandpa as he walked away without a limp.
