Read Online Green by Laura Peyton Roberts - Free Book Online
Authors: Laura Peyton Roberts
Tags: Fiction, General, All Ages, Children's Books, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Children: Grades 4-6, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Legends; Myths; Fables, Grandmothers, Legends; Myths; & Fables - General, Fairy Tales & Folklore - General, leprechauns
Ads: Link
encountered a new set of entries with dates running up through sixty-three.
Gigi's predecessor! I realized, flipping madly. Sixty-three years as keeper! Wait, was this Gigi's grandmother? The name at the start of those entries was Violet Green. A new thought stopped my breath: Violet must have been, like, my great-great-something!
Another set of entries appeared before Violet's, and another before that, keeper after keeper stretching back hundreds of years. Somehow I'm related to all these people , I thought, awed. I flopped the remaining pages over to see who had started the book. A letter written in the same green ink waited for me between the book's first page and its cover.
76
Dear Lily,
I'd so looked forward to being here with you, sharing the Meadows together as you prepare for your keeper trial. But life doesn't always go as we hope, and you're holding this letter instead of my hand, so something must have carried me off before your thirteenth birthday.
Whatever has happened, please don't be sad. I lived a charmed life, and you were one of the best things in it. Another thing I loved was spending time here, being keeper for my clan. My fondest wish was to pass this honor on to you--and here you are, preparing to take my place. I couldn't be more proud.
Congratulations on passing your first test! Finding this letter means you've opened the inner keep. You must strive to pass the remaining two tests and become our next keeper. As keeper, you'll receive a share of leprechaun luck and a fine salary for life. More importantly, you belong here, Lily. This is your extended family and a place where you'll always be loved.
I don't know what your other two tests
77
will be. I wouldn't be allowed to tell you how to pass them if I did. Just remember this: You're a Green, Lily. You're Green through and through. The answers are inside you, and you'll find them when you need them most.
I wish I had something truly wise to close with. Instead, I'll have to settle for a few grandmotherly pointers:
The only way back is forward.
Be what you'd become.
Leprechauns don't swim.
It never hurts to take a sweater.
Lying here is A-OK.
Always remember how much I love you. I believe that you and I will meet again. Until then, hold your head up and never doubt for one moment how truly special you are.
With you always,
Gigi
I put down Gigi's letter with, shaking hands. Curling up on the keeper's cot, I inhaled the hint of her perfume that still clung to its blanket. Gigi had wanted me right where I was. She had wanted me to pass my tests and take her place as keeper. It had been important to her, and that
78
made it important to me. And maybe, when I was keeper, the pain of losing Gigi could finally start to heal.
The lamp on the desk went out by itself. The gold dimmed to a gentle night-light. I stretched out more comfortably on the cot, not sure what was supposed to happen next.
Balthazar probably expects me to yell for him and tell him I passed the test , I thought. I hoped he was driving himself crazy wondering what was taking so long.
He can wait till I'm good and ready , I decided with a yawn. After everything he's done to me, he deserves to wait all night. Besides, Gigi said lying here is A-OK .
For the first time since I'd left home, I felt completely safe. It was the oddest thing, but when I shut my eyes, I could hear the gold buzzing, giving off a low faint hum like a distant air conditioner. Except that the inner keep was warm. Surprisingly comfy and warm.
I shouldn't fall asleep . According to Gigi's letter, I still had two more tests to pass, and I knew my mom must be frantic. If only I could tell her I'm all right!
But the only way I knew of doing that was to hurry up and become keeper so that I could tell her in person.
I'll just rest five minutes , I promised myself. Then I'll totally tackle test two .
An annoying scraping sound wormed into my sleeping brain. Groaning, I rolled over on my cot.
79
Then I
Gigi's predecessor! I realized, flipping madly. Sixty-three years as keeper! Wait, was this Gigi's grandmother? The name at the start of those entries was Violet Green. A new thought stopped my breath: Violet must have been, like, my great-great-something!
Another set of entries appeared before Violet's, and another before that, keeper after keeper stretching back hundreds of years. Somehow I'm related to all these people , I thought, awed. I flopped the remaining pages over to see who had started the book. A letter written in the same green ink waited for me between the book's first page and its cover.
76
Dear Lily,
I'd so looked forward to being here with you, sharing the Meadows together as you prepare for your keeper trial. But life doesn't always go as we hope, and you're holding this letter instead of my hand, so something must have carried me off before your thirteenth birthday.
Whatever has happened, please don't be sad. I lived a charmed life, and you were one of the best things in it. Another thing I loved was spending time here, being keeper for my clan. My fondest wish was to pass this honor on to you--and here you are, preparing to take my place. I couldn't be more proud.
Congratulations on passing your first test! Finding this letter means you've opened the inner keep. You must strive to pass the remaining two tests and become our next keeper. As keeper, you'll receive a share of leprechaun luck and a fine salary for life. More importantly, you belong here, Lily. This is your extended family and a place where you'll always be loved.
I don't know what your other two tests
77
will be. I wouldn't be allowed to tell you how to pass them if I did. Just remember this: You're a Green, Lily. You're Green through and through. The answers are inside you, and you'll find them when you need them most.
I wish I had something truly wise to close with. Instead, I'll have to settle for a few grandmotherly pointers:
The only way back is forward.
Be what you'd become.
Leprechauns don't swim.
It never hurts to take a sweater.
Lying here is A-OK.
Always remember how much I love you. I believe that you and I will meet again. Until then, hold your head up and never doubt for one moment how truly special you are.
With you always,
Gigi
I put down Gigi's letter with, shaking hands. Curling up on the keeper's cot, I inhaled the hint of her perfume that still clung to its blanket. Gigi had wanted me right where I was. She had wanted me to pass my tests and take her place as keeper. It had been important to her, and that
78
made it important to me. And maybe, when I was keeper, the pain of losing Gigi could finally start to heal.
The lamp on the desk went out by itself. The gold dimmed to a gentle night-light. I stretched out more comfortably on the cot, not sure what was supposed to happen next.
Balthazar probably expects me to yell for him and tell him I passed the test , I thought. I hoped he was driving himself crazy wondering what was taking so long.
He can wait till I'm good and ready , I decided with a yawn. After everything he's done to me, he deserves to wait all night. Besides, Gigi said lying here is A-OK .
For the first time since I'd left home, I felt completely safe. It was the oddest thing, but when I shut my eyes, I could hear the gold buzzing, giving off a low faint hum like a distant air conditioner. Except that the inner keep was warm. Surprisingly comfy and warm.
I shouldn't fall asleep . According to Gigi's letter, I still had two more tests to pass, and I knew my mom must be frantic. If only I could tell her I'm all right!
But the only way I knew of doing that was to hurry up and become keeper so that I could tell her in person.
I'll just rest five minutes , I promised myself. Then I'll totally tackle test two .
An annoying scraping sound wormed into my sleeping brain. Groaning, I rolled over on my cot.
79
Then I
Similar Books
