Last Wild Boy (22 page)
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When Alice finished tidying up the summer house, it dawned on
her that Tish had been outside playing on her own much longer than usual. Usually by this time, her daughter would have found a dozen excuses to make her way back inside. Today, there had been no thirst, no hunger, no burning question that just couldn't wait for an answer.
Alice was on the verge of going out to investigate when she
heard the door open and close again. She waited for Tish to appear in the kitchen. When she didn't, Alice went out to the
living area. The bedroom door was open and Tish was seated on her bed, playing with a doll. She had a dazed expression, and was obviously preoccupied. Alice sat down beside her, and draped her arm around her daughter's shoulders.
“Who is Nora, Mom?” Tish asked.
Alice was thunderstruck. She struggled to control her voice as she answered, “Why do you ask, darling?”
“The woman I was talking to beside the pond said her name was Nora. She asked me who I was and who my mother was.”
“Did you tell her?”
“Yes. She said she used to know you a long, long time ago.”
“Is she still out there?”
“I think so. She stopped talking and went really quiet and I got nervous so I came inside.”
“Can you show me where she is?” Alice asked.
Tish nodded. She took her mother's hand and led her out to a spot in the grove beside the pond.
Nora was no longer there. There was no sign that she'd ever even been there.
“Mom?” Tish asked.
“Yes, darling.”
“The woman said to tell you something.”
“What was it, darling?” Alice sat down on a rock and gazed out across the pond. The great wall around Aahimsa loomed in the distance across the water, casting a dark shadow over its rippled surface.
“Thank you.”
THE END
Acknowledgements
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I'd like to thank Terrilee for believing in this book from the start and to Caitlin Drake Smith for her amazing editorial advice.
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I'm so grateful for The Acorn Press which has been so important to the development and encouragement of writing on Prince Edward Island.