CHAPTER (THREE)

Buried (Treasure) in the (Oak) Leaves

Upstairs, Licey heard Hukku-san shuffle around the kitchen.

She curled

tighter in her blanket and wondered, maybe if I stuff up my nose my stomach wont realize its breakfast. Up at the high window, she heard something tap. Great, she thought, one more who thinks Im responsible for them. But she stood, kept her balance, feet sinking into the mattress and let Shirley cat inside. Look, Licey grumbled as she helped the huge cat squeeze through the tiny window, Just cause I drew you doesnt mean, ooph! They tumbled to the bed. Sure. Sure. The cat meowed, impatiently making muffins on her stomach and about killing the girl in the process. Get off, Shirley. Licey gasped and waved to the far corner of the room. Theres some stuff over there left over from dinner. Go eat that and let me up! With a loud gah-thump, the cat hopped down to the dirt floor and wandered to the dish like some sort of round furry king. The girl slid into her blue hand me down dress and tied the stings extra tight so it wouldnt fall off her skinny body. Licey sat her suitcase on the bed and piled a couple of spare boxes on top so the cat could get out on his own. Outside, she heard the town school bus hiss to a stop. Hands on the windowsill, she watched Lorina trudge down the sidewalk. She doesnt realize how lucky she is that she gets out of here for a while. I so dont wanna deal with the others today. She whispered, petting the cats shoulders. Between the twins whining for her attention, Bellas love hate attitude, avoiding Hat and Marsha, Slightlys whining and tripping over the sleepy Matty, shed had about enough. She flat out ignored Pete, shoving thoughts of the wild boy out of her mind as she crept up the crooked stairs. Licey snuck past the kitchen when Hukku-san's back was turned. She snatched a piece of toast from the huge plate. Sumi looked up, resting her muzzle on her paws and whined, but let the girl pass in peace. The ugly yellow door spat her into the dusty heat of the overpowering sun. She headed for the old oak tree where wide green leaves and swaying plastic eggs offered some shade. The grass crinkled under her feet like singed paper. "Finally." She sighed, "Some peace." She closed her eyes and let the spots of the sun of late spring warm patches of her hair and face. Silence

enfolded her for two blissful seconds. Then an angry squawk rolled her eye lids back and she felt something tug at her shoelace. An angry puff of black feathers with eyes black as the spaces between the stars studied her. A crow gnawed the end of her lace between its thick beak. "You can't have that." Licey said, yanking her foot away. The bird hopped, fluttering like a flustered child and got closer again. "I said you can't have my shoelace!" Licey reached into her pocket and pulled out some of the bread she'd stolen. "Look here, bird. She whispered, leaning closer. "This might be poisoned. Pete says all grown ups are pirates, so even though this slice seems deliciously ordinary, it could be the last thing that ever goes down your throat." She offered the crusts. The bird only cocked its head at her. "Oh, youre clever!" Licey leaned back and popped part of the bread in her mouth. "There, see, I'm just fine..." She rolled her eyes back in her head, flopping down in the dust. "Ah...cruel world. It was poisoned after all." She coughed, playing it up and peeking through her eyelashes as the bird hopped right up where the blue dress was tied around her middle. It nestled down and gently nibbled the rest of the crusts from between her fingers. "Hah! She likes you!" Licey shot up. The crow took flight before touching the ground. Pete perched next to her on his haunches, grinning. "Old Hukku was seeing red when he figured out you weren't in there, stupid girl." Pete flopped down beside her, small clouds of dust puffing up around his messy curls. Why are you out here? Licey was already up and walking towards the back of the house. "Hey!" He caught up with her. "Don't be like that." He looked over his shoulder at the oak tree. "You wanna see something cool?" "No." Ridiculous boy. "Come on, stupid! She'll let you see now that you fed her." He rummaged in the pockets of his shorts. "Here. I brought this out for you." He handed her a piece of cold fried chicken wrapped in a greasy napkin. Licey snatched it up and gobbled it down. Okay, so maybe Pete wasnt completely useless. She thought she'd save some for Shirley but Pete shook his head and tossed the remains in the side garbage can with the raccoon proof lid. "Your cat's bad news. He messes with Sally." "Sally?" Licey raised an eyebrow, and who says the cats mine? "My crow, I'd named her Solomon before I knew she was a she." He shrugged. "Someone did the same with the damn cat." "Language."

"Speaking English. You coming or what?" Licey rubbed her shoulders wary at the attention. "Tell me what you want me to see first." "But that takes the fun out of it." Pete whined. "Then forget it." Licey headed around the side of the house, stepping over the long vines of the garden's cucumbers. Pete grabbed her arm. "Okay, okay. You win. Sallys got a nest up there." He whispered and pointed to the gentle sway of the oak's branches. "And theres an egg in it." The little girl's mind burst into pictures. An egg? She'd never seen a crow's eggs or even a nestat least she didnt remember ever seeing one. Just because a crow was sitting on the eggs didn't mean that there were really baby crows inside. Some mystical thing could have snuck into the nest and switched the eggs when the mama crow wasn't looking. She felt her fingertips tingle at the idea of scaling the tree and looking inside. Like a treasure chest... Pete stared and waited until her eyes cleared. "You see things, don't you?" "Hmm?" Licey mumbled already heading back to the tree. "Of course. I'm not blind." "No, I mean things other people can't see. Pictures in your head? You know?" He pointed at his temple and acted like he was drilling through his forehead. "Stuff in here, stuff that cant really happen or be real?" Licey ignored him. Her feet planted firmly between the bumpy roots, digging deeper into the layer of dry dirt, she jumped and pulled herself up and over the lowest branch. Not like I can admit that to him since hes right, she thought, hed never let me hear the end of it. She steadied herself so that the boy wouldn't notice that she shook when she stood. With a soft whistle, Pete hopped up beside her. "Not bad, stupid girl." He swung up to the next branch and hung upside down waiting for Licey to catch up. "This is a good climbing tree, but are you sure you wanna do this in your dress?" His bright eyes looked over her blue dress then flicked back up to her red face. "You know, being a girl and all, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to do this some other time. You know, be dainty and lady like and all that shit." "Language!" Licey said, looping her leg around the next branch and yanking herself up after the boy. "Still speaking English!" He laughed when she rolled her eyes. For the next few minutes they climbed in silence, with only the creak of the branches and the hot winds speaking to them. Pete always led, showing

Licey where to step and how long a branch would hold her before it bent to shake her off. Licey felt he was being a perfect gentleman, never sneaking below to peek up her skirt. Maybe he was still too young to worry about all that yet, she thought, reaching for the next junction to climb. Then the world in her mind swept her away again. They explored some great cathedral, the light shining through stained glass, older than the ancient tree they were climbing. Beautiful copper bricks, green with age, lined the walls and runners of orange glinted in the colorful lights where peoples hands had brushed by as they prayed. At the top of the spire was the pulpit. A twist of branches, woven together to hold comforting words. "Licey!" Pete called, much higher now. "I'm sure whatever you're seeing is great, but you gotta watch where you're going." He hopped back down, as comfortable in the branches as he was on the ground. Howd he know? Did he see things too? Her shoes slid on some of the new leaves, but she snapped her knees together and regained her footing. She reached up and grabbed a hold of his hand. He pulled her up with so much force she almost missed the branch. "You eatin at all?" Pete asked. "You're way too light." "I'll be sure to eat a lot at dinner tonight." She whispered, sad she'd broken her silence. She pushed another plastic egg out of the way and watched it fall to the ground below. "You're not scared, are you?" Pete asked, already knowing Licey wasn't afraid at all. "Nope." She kept climbing, ignoring the fact that the plastic egg had cracked open at the gnarled foot of the tree. "Not bad, for a girl." He hooted, regaining his lead in an instant. "We're almost there. So make sure you move real slow. He tapped branch he was talking about with sap sticky fingers. Sally don't like a lot of quick movements near her nest." Okay. Licey lapsed into herself again, climbing with care, savoring the feel of each branch as she went higher and higher. Over her shoulder she was almost level with the cobwebby attic window of Joy House. Pete crouched above her, staring down though his knees, Sally the crow on his shoulder. He grinned and pushed one of the branches out of the way. The tangle of nest surpassed everything in Liceys imagination. Woven between the twigs were braids of colored strings and yarn, bits of feathers and tufts of cottons in every shade of the rainbow. Small pieces of the tree, broken a thousand times and sculpted into shape, stuck out in a burst of

controlled chaos. And inside the perfect frame lay the masterpiece, a single oval tear of an egg, all deep gray greens, with blooms of darker gray like craters on its shell. Licey thought, it looks like the moon fell into the nest. "Wow." Licey leaned closer her fingers outstretched, ignoring the indignant caw of the mother crow as the bird hopped off Petes shoulder to the branch. "Don't." Pete grabbed her hand. "You can't touch it! If you do she won't sit on it anymore." Licey looked back down at the perfect egg. Was that how I started out? Perfect? Then along the way something scratched me up to the point Im not pretty or the right shape. Did someone come along and snatch me out of my nest, or made me so bad that no one wants me anymore? Could it have been as simple as a single touch? Tears filled her eyes. She turned away from the miracle nest, the egg and its watchful mother. She didn't want Pete to see her cry. Then she'd just be a stupid girl to him again. Sniffling, she backed away, letting the wind catch the edges of her dress and cool her sweaty, scraped knees. "You know," Pete said carefully. "For a girl who doesnt seem to care about anything, you're awful thin skinned." "Whatever." Pete leaned next to the nest, so relaxed you'd never know he was almost thirty feet up in the air as the winds rocked them. He looked from the egg to Licey and then back again before saying, I cried too when I first saw it. But you tell anyone that and Ill have to beat you up. Im not crying. Licey said. She bowed her head and Sally settled back onto the nest. Like an eclipse, the egg disappeared under her shiny black feathers. Yeah right, and Im not amazing. He laughed. Sally cawed at the boy as if telling him to be nice to the sobbing girl. "Don't worry Sally, Licey's more of a rabbit person than a bird person. My mom was a bird person, like me." Pete said softly. "I don't remember much, but no matter what they say, I know she flew away. Like in a plane? No! Like, really, really flew. Just like Sally." He peered over at the girl, his face deadly serious. When Licey didnt laugh at him, he continued. "And it wasn't like when you go off somewhere in your head." He looked through the branches at the bleached out sun above them. "Her hair was blowing everywhere. I don't remember what color it was, but it wasn't curly like mine. It was long and when the wind caught it, it was like it was fighting for every piece of it to go in different directions. I think that's when I realized she was

going to fly away." He blinked, "Then she was gone. The wind and the sky took her, just lifted her up and away." "Like a balloon" Licey whispered, imagining Pete's mother in a dress, the wind billowing it out and lifting her up and up, the woman's arms flung wide like wings. "Yep, like a balloon." He stared at Licey. "Don't tell anyone that either." "I won't." "Promise?" "Oh for heaven's sake, who would I tell?" She rested her head on the branch. "Dumb and Dee." He laughed. "Who and who?" "Your twins." Licey felt the tension twang between her shoulders. "Why did you call them that?" "Well, she's not really someone who acts like a 'Delia' so 'Dee' works better. And Elliot is an idiot," he said it like a sing song so it rhymed, "So 'Dumb' for him." "Thats so mean!" She tried not to laugh. She loved the twins when they weren't hanging off her, but the names were too funny. "Can we spell it, Dum without the 'B' at the end so it's not so awful?" "There's a 'B' in dumb?" Licey gave up and howled her laughter until she felt like a crow herself. Pete joined in, laughing louder just because he could. The branches scratched up her fingers as she held tighter to keep from tumbling down. Pete slapped his hands over his mouth when the mother crow squawked at him for being too loud. That made Licey laugh harder as the wind gusted and rustled the leaves. Licey felt light, as if her laughter somehow carried away her loneliness. Maybe the wind could pick me and Pete up and blow us somewhere too, she thought. She leaned back and let the currents of air ruffle her hair. Careful. Pete reached out and wrapped his arm around her back. Oh, thats funny coming from you. Licey murmured. She flung her arms out and let the air slide against her fingers. When she glanced at Petes face to check if he could hold her weight, she didnt feel so light anymore. He stared at her, mouth open. They were a lot closer than shed thought. Licey shuddered at the intensity of the boys expression. I, uh, you can let me up. Nah, itsyoure not heavy. He mumbled, swallowing. See?

He lifted her closer, no effort at all. Licey wobbled and ended up with a hand on his chest. Petes heartbeat felt like a live thing trapped, moving through his body. Licey was struck dumb, imagination and curiosity for once failing her. Pete? He leaned closer and closed his eyes. "Licey! Pete! What are you doing?" Mrs. Rouge's voice snaked up through the branches, sharp and angry. "Uh-oh." Pete glanced down. Licey scrambled away and clung to the trunk of the tree like an embarrassed koala. "Get down here this instant!" Mrs. Rouge screamed up at them, her face white as the flour in the pantry. Beside her the others crowded, trying to get a look at the pair. Hat-Trick glowered at them, face unreadable under the rim of his beat up hat. Marsha's hands held on to the twins as they strained against her. Matty and Slightly didn't look surprised in the least. They were used to Pete's antics. "Ten bucks, they fall." Slightly muttered. Matty smacked him on the arm. "Don't," His dark face stormy. Hukku-san stood at the base of the tree with Sumi barking up the trunk. The cook glared up at them with deep eyes that were now as red as holly berries with anger. Licey felt herself go cold when his gaze fell on her. She couldn't remember if she'd ever seen such intense anger on an adult's face before, but she bet Hukku-san's fury put it to shame. The green of the leaves faded away. Inside, her bones felt like ice. "Pete." Licey whispered. Were in so much trouble, she thought. Swallowing, she tried to force her fingers to hang on. She felt the rough bark under the soles of her sneakers. "Pete." Her tongue turned to lead. From the top of her head down to her ankles, her body stiffened up. She could only watch, sick to her stomach, as everything tilted. The solidness of the tree vanished, the leaves kissing her fingertips as they brushed by. The last thing she heard was the low scrape of her shoes as the bark gave way under her. Then there was nothing. Nothing but air and the fall. I wonder what it will be like when I hit, Licey thought. Will it hurt? Will I die? Some part of her deep down, was relieved. This way I wont bother to anyone ever again. And no one would ever bother me either. But I dont want to die, do I? There were things she still liked; her cellars fifth step that squeaked like a tattle-tale, Shirleys two oddball curly whiskers, the relief when she was

alone. And her rabbit, wherever it was, she still loved her rabbit. She couldnt die without finding it! Eyes snapping open, her body smacked against the tips of the branches, sharp sticks stinging like bees. She flung her hands out, trying to catch something, anything before she collided with the dusty roots of the oak. Then she saw Bella. The girl stood with her arms up, like she was going to catch Licey. That or throw dirt on her. Or glitterSomething collided with her belly, the world spun the wrong way and everything went very dark. The fall slowed and her shoulders felt all itchy and tingly through the confusion. There was a thump, she heard it more than felt it, and the fall stopped. O-okay, she thought trying to find the courage to test her limbs, Licey kept her eyes closed just in case. Wiggle, wiggle...hands seemed good. She tried to set up, but couldn't. Wiggle. Okay, her feet were fine too...nothing felt broken. So why couldn't she move? Behind her, something pressed into her spine. Blinking she looked up and found the sky in the right place again, not under her, or beside her. A soft hiss made the hair next to her ear ruffle. "Nn. You dead?" "Hmm? I don't think so?" Am I talking to God, she thought. He sounds awfully young. The weight on her chest rolled off. "Can you get up? You're on my arm." Oh, it wasnt God, "Pete?" "Yeah?" Before she said anything else she peered around her, brushing her hair off her sweaty forehead. They were on the small roof above the porch. The tiled shingles were blistering hot under her hands. She sat up, curling her legs up to keep her calves from burning, tugging her dress over her knees. Pete wiggled his arm out from under her shoulders. He perched next to her, rubbing his arm, still smiling. "Pete?" "Yeah?" "Diddid you just fly?" Licey whispered, heart thumping so fast she was afraid shed fall again. The boy grinned at her, Of course I did.