The Light Through the Leaves(131)

“Who is that?” Jackie said.

“Ellis. My mother.”

“What did she say about the wind?”

“There’s a hurricane here.”

“I saw that on the news. I had no idea you were in it.”

“Please come out,” Ellis said.

Raven heard the roar of the wind, felt it shudder the tree walls.

“I have to go,” Raven said. “I’m inside a hollow tree, and the wind is really strong.”

“You’re inside a tree? In a hurricane?”

“Yes.”

“I have to tell Reece this. He’ll love it.”

“Give him a big hug for me.”

“I will—even if I get teased.”

“I love you, Jackie.”

Silence, maybe because he was crying.

“I was afraid I’d never hear you say that again,” he said. “I was afraid to keep being in love with you.”

“You are still?”

“I love you as much as ever.”

“I can’t wait to see you.”

“I know. Give the baby a kiss for me.”

“That might be difficult.”

“It was a joke. Get out of that tree before it blows down.”

She handed the phone to Ellis and climbed out of the oak into the squall of rain and wind.

“How did he take the news?” Ellis asked as they walked to the house.

“He’s not upset. He said he loves me.”

Ellis took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m happy for you. Did you ask him if he wants to visit?”

“He’s coming. As soon as we get tickets.”

A strong gust made branches snap overhead. They ran back to the house, laughing at how drenched they were as they arrived on the porch.

“Talking to Jack has done you good,” Ellis said. “I’m glad I’ll get to meet him soon.”

“You’ll love him. He’s the sweetest person.”

“Raven . . .” She put her hand softly on her cheek. “I see how much you love him. And out of that love came this baby. You and he and your love made this child. Nothing and no one else. Do you understand?”

“I’ll try to.”

She kissed Raven’s cheek.

“Do you mind if I start calling you Mom?”

“I would love that,” her mother said.

They were both going to cry. They looked out at the Wild Wood. The wind had stopped, and sunlight suddenly slanted through the oak canopies. Rain dripping out of sparkled leaves and drapes of moss looked like glitter in the steamy, straight-edged shafts of light. It was the most magical the earth had ever appeared to Raven.

“Wow, look at that,” her mother said.

“Is the storm already over?” she asked.

“No, we have hours to go,” she said. “The hurricane’s swirling center sends out bands of squalls that make the weather change rapidly.”

Even as she spoke, racing gray clouds scuttled the sunlight, plunging the Wild Wood into mysterious darkness. With a precipitousness that captured Raven’s breath, the wind returned with unrestrained fury, whipping branches, moss, and leaves into reckless flight.

“You see?” her mother said. “The tempest has returned.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Raven said.

Her mother laughed and hugged her arm around her. “You’ve got a lot of me in you, girl.”

She did. She had often felt something, a strength of heart and soul that kept her going when Audrey was too sick to take care of her. When she’d wandered as a lonely half-spirit child in the woods. When she’d vowed she would never let go of Jackie, Huck, and Reece once she’d found them. She used to think that power had come from the raven spirit. Now she knew much of her strength had passed to her from Ellis. From this woman watching the storm with her. This mother who could hold her in her arms. Who could cry with her, talk to her, and understand her.

She was half-Ellis. Not half-spirit. And she’d never felt stronger.





10


ELLIS

The baby moved beneath her hands. Something hard jutted against her palm. An elbow. Maybe a knee.

“She likes it,” Raven said.

Raven always referred to the baby as a girl, though she was only guessing.

“She can see the sunlight through your skin,” Ellis said. “Maybe that’s why she’s so active.”

“That must be beautiful.”

Ellis poured more massage oil onto her belly and gently rubbed her hands over Raven’s taut, sun-warmed skin. Raven relaxed against the pillows.

Ellis looked out at the muted colors of the field, thought of the new life soon to emerge from the roots of the hibernating grasses and flowers. She wondered where the baby would be when the first flowers bloomed. Raven and Jackie still hadn’t decided whether to keep the baby or give it up for adoption. Or maybe they had decided and hadn’t told anyone. Ellis stayed out of their decision. Raven and Jackie were remarkably mature teenagers. They didn’t need advice, and Ellis wanted them to feel confident about whatever they decided.

Ellis pulled Keith’s soft flannel shirt down over Raven’s belly. He had offered his shirts when Raven refused to buy maternity clothes. But in recent weeks, she’d grown out of most of Keith’s clothing.