Through the Mirror and Into Snow (3 page)

O
TTER
W
HINED
A
ND
K
EPT
P
USHING
her nose in the hole as far as she could. Her tail wagged so fast, I thought she’d take off flying. Even on a regular day, Otter’s tail is not something you ever wanted to get in the way of. It’s much worse when she gets excited. Val’s dad often commented about how he wished her tail was docked like Dottie’s. Dottie was part boxer as well as Dalmatian and her tail had been docked when she was a puppy. Otter’s, on the other hand, would knock over anything in its way. I’m living proof. Okay. I’ll cave. That’s why I have hot glue on my hat. It’s an embarrassing tale, but hey, chicks dig scars, right?

“Do you think the possum is in there, Val?”

“It must be. I don’t think she’d go this crazy if it was just one of the cats.”

Val opened the door a crack then flipped the light switch. When it didn’t work, she tried it a few more times.

“You can keep trying, Val, but I don’t think it’s going to do any good.”

“Darn it. I remember my mom saying something about getting my dad to replace the bulb when he got back.”

“I know I am more than capable of doing it myself,” her mom had said, “but I don’t feel like hauling the ladder over from the garage. I don’t really need the light since I’m usually out here before dark anyway.”

Valerie had heard the statement enough to know it was coming and helped her mom finish the sentence. They said together, “There are just some jobs better left for men.”

Valerie looked down at Otter. She realized she hadn’t gone running into the tack room ahead of them like she normally did. Oddly, she just sat at the doorway.

“What’s up, Otter?” Valerie asked.

Otter stayed sitting and wagged her tail, giving the dusty cement floor a good sweeping. The girls walked past her, leaving her sitting there.

The tack room wasn’t much bigger than a walk-in closet or a large pantry. There was a large trashcan in the right corner to store grain for the horses. On the wall to the left, there were three wooden brackets to hold the saddles for the horses. Beside them were hooks for the bridles, halters, and lead ropes. They searched with flashlights, first looking behind the trashcan then under the saddles. They didn’t see any signs of an animal at all and were starting to get disappointed. Valerie returned her attention back toward the door at Otter. She tilted her head and wagged her tail but stayed at the doorway.

“Come on, Otter. Where is it?”

Otter got up and walked to the far corner opposite the trashcan. She sat down in front of a tarp that was draped over what looked like a piece of plywood. Facing them, she tilted her head again with a ‘now what?’ expression.

The girls shifted their lights to the tarp, then down toward the bottom of it where it pooled in a pile on the floor. They both let out a small shriek and covered their mouths in surprise.

“Eww,” Samantha whispered. “No wonder your mom was so freaked out. It is ugly! Gross!”

I’d call that a foul. Everyone is beautiful in their own way there, missy. Calling someone ‘ugly’ is right up there with calling your friend ‘stinky.’ That’s never right, even if he is a skunk.

“Shh. You’ll scare it and it will rush at us, Sam.”

They stood for a minute looking at the long, fat, bald tail.

“Do you think it’s sleeping?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it thinks we can’t see it.”

Otter had lost interest in the game and sniffed her way back out the door.

Valerie frowned. “See? She doesn’t care what it is ’cause it’s not running away. She just likes to chase things.” They watched her walk out then shifted their gaze back to the tarp. “It’s gone!” Valerie cried.

Samantha walked over to it slowly. “I’m sure it’s hiding underneath the board. There’s no way it got out.”

Valerie’s voice was a little louder than before. “Careful, Samantha! It could still jump out at you!”

“I’ll be careful but I didn’t sneak out to just stand here and stare at its butt!”

Sam was hesitant to lift away the tarp, not knowing which way the possum could be facing. With great precaution, she pulled the top of the board away from the wall and adjusted her stance so she could run away fast if needed. After shining the flashlight to the ground she screamed.

“What the heck? Where did it go?” She let the board fall back against the wall. “How did it go anywhere? We were right there the whole time! Darn it! If we weren’t watching Otter we would have seen it!”

“There must be a hole in the wall somewhere.” Valerie walked up and down the back wall looking for a crack big enough for the possum to escape through.

They spent five more minutes searching every inch of the tack room before deciding to call it quits for the night. They took their time making their way back to the house, kicking pebbles and wondering how they could have missed the possum’s escape. I’m sorry, but I can’t help giggling. They completely missed it. Nincompoops!

They realized Otter wasn’t with them but when they reached the house, she was sitting at the door waiting to be let in. Again being careful to keep the noise to a minimum, they let in themselves and Otter. By the time they crawled into bed, it was well on the way to midnight. They closed their eyes and fell asleep almost before their heads hit the pillows, both sad at the non-eventful endeavor.

V
AL’S
M
OM
L
ET
T
HE
G
IRLS
S
LEEP
L
ATE
the next morning. She figured they stayed up late talking, as usual, so it was in her best interest to try to keep quiet rather than wake them and deal with tired, grouchy girls. When she went to let the dogs out, she realized it was raining hard. Of course Otter was the only taker for a quick dash outside. Dottie looked up with that ‘you’ve gotta be crazy, lady’ look on her face. “You want me to go out in that?” She wasn’t forced to go and within a second, Otter came rushing back in shaking the rain off her coat to share with everyone who didn’t go outside with her.

Rain I don’t mind. Wet dog shake with
eau d’ wet dog
smell is much worse. I’m actually enjoying the weather this morning. My impatiens plants were getting a little impatient for a good watering. I crack myself up. I’ve been dying to use that line.

“Well, we certainly aren’t going to take the four-wheelers down to the river today in this mess,” she said to the dogs. “The girls will have to amuse themselves in the house today. I can hear them now. ‘You can’t crown my checker with a pawn unless you have the one blue twenty dollar bill from the stack and lightning has hit for the fourth time.’” She laughed just thinking about what crazy rule she would hear today over their card game. I have to admit I’m a little jealous; she seems to understand it more than I do.

Valerie’s mom was often talking out loud to one pet or another. It sometimes drove Val’s dad crazy. He would ask, “What?” then she’d explained she wasn’t talking to him. Of course there were also the times he was in trouble for not paying attention when she was speaking to him. Val’s dad was usually on the losing end of the household conversations. Welcome to my world. My missus lives a few yards over, but I still get in plenty of trouble from over there.

While relaxing with a cup of coffee and sitting in her recliner, she listened to the rainfall and decided to wait a little while before heading out to the barn to take care of the animals. Within an hour, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. She decided she’d better get out to the barn to take care of the chores while she could. The weatherman said there would be rain all day. The cats were happy to see her and the horses were especially loving. They were usually out of the barn when it was raining. Maybe they knew she had apples for them. Val’s dad usually did the outside chores but her mom still went out for doses of daily loving. It had been almost a week since he had left; she was certain the horses were catching on to her and the extra treats. She decided to leave Leroy out of his pen for the entire day. Her decision in doing so had two reasons. She felt bad he was in so long yesterday, but mostly she wasn’t going to risk forgetting until after dark and running into her ugly little friend again.

“Try not to be a pig today, little man,” she said as she petted the pony. Despite the looks everyone gave her when she did it, the horses got kisses on their noses before she returned to the house. She had started the tradition by giving Ringo treats from her mouth. He would gently take the carrot or horse cookie then she’d sneak a kiss on the nose while he enjoyed it. The other two never learned the patience for this particular trick, but they tolerated the kisses just the same. You wouldn’t catch me kissing that fake donkey by the garden even if he were real. Bleh!

It was after nine o’clock before she heard any noise coming from the girls upstairs. She let them unwind for a while then called them down for breakfast.

“Did you guys sleep good last night or were you up late talking again?”

They turned to each other and chuckled. “We slept fine.”

“It was raining earlier and it looks like more to come. Sorry, but we won’t be going on the four wheelers today.”

“That’s okay,” Val said. “We’ll find stuff to do inside.”

“I’m sure of that.” Val’s mom smiled and walked away, knowing full well they could entertain themselves when they were together.

After breakfast, the girls went back upstairs and looked out Val’s window toward the barn. They strained to see it through the heavy rain that had started up again, even though they knew there wasn’t a chance to catch sight of the possum from there.

The day flew by for the two of them as they went from one activity to the next. Playing cards, drawing, making things with clay, and watching a couple of movies helped fill their day with laughter. Lunch and dinner were bothersome interruptions to the fun. Before they knew it, Val’s mother told them to get ready for bed. Normally that would bring some complaining but both of them were excited that night was finally here. Even with all the games, the only thing either of them could really concentrate on was sneaking back out to go on their possum hunt again. Although dragons were Valerie’s obsession and not Sam’s, they took turns reading out loud to each other from the bed. Val’s mom came upstairs, said her good nights, kissed them both, and turned off the light.

“I don’t want you princesses up too late talking again tonight.”

“We won’t,” they both answered almost too quickly, but she didn’t think twice about it. That was always the answer, but she still had to go upstairs a time or two to tell them to settle down. She was far too exhausted herself and knew if they were up talking, it wasn’t going to keep her from falling asleep fast tonight. With the rain and Val’s dad being away, it was a great excuse to give the house a thorough cleaning. She had overdone it though and was sore from hauling the vacuum through the house, up and down all three levels…well, two levels and the stairs to Valerie’s room. She didn’t dare try to clean around the girls and the mess.

Valerie and Samantha waited almost an hour after they said goodnight before getting ready to go outside. The rain had finally stopped after dinner, but it was still cool out so they thought to grab their jackets again.

Samantha giggled as she closed the door, careful not to let the lock click. “Another clean getaway.”

Otter was happily running around ahead of them again. This was a treat for her to be out on an adventure for a second night in a row. She waited for them to catch up to her at the barn door. Once in, she wasted no time sniffing around.

The girls moved cautiously as they inspected the barn with the flashlights, careful not to miss an inch. They didn’t want to come across the possum by accident and scare it, or worse, have it scare them. The girls spent less time with the kitties this time, being eager to continue their mission, but they had to give them a quick dose of love.

Val moved her flashlight to the tack room door and saw Otter sitting there. She knew that Otter could have run to the door because that’s what she did the night before, but Val was almost certain the possum would be found in the same place. Together they walked to the tack room door and opened it. Otter walked over to the tarp again, sat down and looked up at them.

“You were right, Val,” said Samantha. “She sure is a creature of hab…” She stopped talking before she could even get out the word ‘habit.’ Her gaze was fixed on the tail sticking out from under the tarp once again. Valerie saw that Sam was staring at something. She followed Sam’s eyes in time to see the tail getting smaller and smaller.

“It’s trying to hide from us behind the tarp but we have it now. It has nowhere to go,” Valerie said, very excited. Samantha went over to drop down the board again. She gently pulled it away from the wall but there was nothing there.

“What the heck!” they said at the same time.

“There is no way it got out! We didn’t find any cracks that it could fit through back there last night. Wait! Be careful Samantha. Maybe it’s curled up in the tarp that’s bunched on the ground.”

Samantha leaned the board back before she carefully lifted the tarp up. There was no sign of the possum but Val made another discovery. As her flashlight hit the area under the tarp, the light reflected back at her. The tarp was covering an old mirror, not a board.

“I don’t know how it got away. This is crazy.” Sam’s attention went to where the flashlight was shining. “Why would you guys have a mirror out in the barn, Val?”

“I forgot about that.” Val pulled the tarp completely off. “We found it in here when we moved. The barn was filled with lots of old junk. My mom and I spent a whole day cleaning it out. We had a huge bonfire to get rid of all the rotting wood and hauled everything else to the dump. She left that in here; it was too heavy for us to carry. My dad is supposed to bring it in the house and hang it. I guess it’s one of those jobs that keeps getting put off or forgotten.”

“It sure is pretty.”

Their flashlights moved along the old ironwork as they admired the frame, then the beams of light went to the mirrored glass.

“It must really be old,” Val said. “The images aren’t sharp at all.”

As they returned their attention to the center, they realized it had the image of a scene of trees in it, rather than the dull gray cement walls of the tack room that it should have been reflecting. They both turned around, looking at the wall then back at the mirror again.

“That’s really weird, Val.”

“Not as weird as that.” Valerie pointed to the center.

A small gray body with a large bald tail had come into focus. “How is that the reflection of the possum?”

They both turned to look behind them, expecting to see the possum there causing the reflection. When it wasn’t, they returned their attention back to the mirror.

“If that’s the possum, it’s further away than the size of this tack room, Sam.” Together the girls turned back to the wall then looked up as if searching for a projector.

“That would have been a funny joke,” Sam said, realizing they had thought the same thing.

“My dad’s not home, otherwise I would have thought he was playing a joke on us.”

They turned back to the mirror and froze in amazement as the images of a forest became clearer.

“This is not just a mirror,” Samantha whispered as she put her hand on the glass to touch it. To their surprise, her hand passed through as if nothing were there. All they could see was the end of her arm and what appeared to be the forest. She pulled her arm back in a hurry, worried that her hand would no longer be there. Sam carefully inspected the back of her hand, flipped her hand over and studied her palm, then wiggled her fingers. For several minutes they gazed from Samantha’s hand back to the mirror with their mouths as wide open as their eyes.

“That so did not just happen!” Samantha put her hand back through again. She stopped when they saw the possum walking away, getting smaller and smaller.

“A magic mirror!” Valerie shouted. “No way! I have been waiting my whole life for something exciting to happen to me!” Without another minute of hesitation, Val squeezed her body through the narrow frame, leaving Samantha sitting there with her mouth wide open. Now we’re getting down to business! Finally! I thought I’d have to shove them through it myself!