Sylvieâs dad, signing off.â He also didnât say, âThis is Julesâs dad, signing off.â She didnât know which was worse, to hear it or not to hear it. She plopped the homework down on the kitchen table, and she and Sam both walked out onto the porch into the warm afternoon sun.
âElk came by today,â she said.
Sam nodded, frowning a little, but he didnât say anything. It was hard on him, how Elk had changed, Jules knew, and she also knew that even if Sam didnât say anything about it, he worried about his brother. Maybe by letting Sam know that Elk hadnât spent the entire day alone in the woods, that he had come by the Shermansâ house, visited a little bit with Jules and her dad, maybe that would make him feel better?
But Sam didnât talk about Elk. He leaned toward her, as if he had a secret, and whispered, âGuess what, Jules? Someone spotted a catamount.â
âWhat?â
A hundred years had passed in these woods without even a trace of a catamount.
âThereâs been a sighting,â he said. He smiled at her, the first real smile sheâd seen from anyone in a while, and for a moment Jules felt her own face relax too.
Ever since she and Sylvie and Sam had seen that stuffed catamount at the museum in Montpelier during a school field trip, Sam had wanted to see a live one. He had stood in front of the glass case where the cat had been mounted since 1881, and stared at it, for nearly the whole rest of the visit, almost as if Sam were in a trance.
Jules understoodâits eyes were made of glass, and its coat was faded and shaggy, and she could hardly bear that he wasnât still roaming the woods and mountains, his native territory. It was hard to look at the catamount, but harder to not look at it.
âFor real, Sam?â For the first time since Sylvie had gone, something that wasnât sadness or anger crept through Jules.
âMaybe heâll come here,â Sam said, his voice low and soft.
âMaybe,â said Jules. She knew that their woods would be the perfect place for a catamount to make a home. There were plenty of places where a large cat, even a huge one, could hide on their land. In fact, the Grotto would be a good place for a catamount to hide.
The Grotto! Her new burning wish. Find the Grotto.
After that day at the museum, Sam had thrown hundreds, maybe thousands of wish rocks into the Slip: Catamount return. That was, until Elk left for Afghanistan. Then Samâs wishes changed to Elk return . Samâs wishes had been granted. Elk came home.
And now the catamount, too?
Without warning, anger zipped its way into her cheeks, small and ugly. Jules tried to clamp down on it, but she couldnât help it.
âThatâs so unfair!â came out of her mouth. And it was. Not fair that a catamount, the rarest of animals, had come back after a hundred years without Sylvie to see it. Not fair that a hunter or a game ranger or a scientist would probably track him down now, and depending on who found him first, would either kill him or tranquilize him and strap on one of those radio collars. Not fair that a huge cat, a cat that could eat a person, just like that, might be roaming through their woods, the woods that Sylvie once roamed through too.
And now that she, Jules, had a big, burning wish, it wasnât fair that she could never, ever throw a wish rock into the Slip again.
âIt makes me so angry!â she said. â You make me angry! Why should both your wishes come true?â
Samâs eyes went wide. He backed out onto the porch and down the steps.
âAnyway,â said Sam, his voice shaken. Jules saw that he had only wanted to share the good news with her. The small, ugly anger hovered in the air between them. She wished she could take it back, but it was already free in the world. She wrapped her arms around her waist and tried to swallow the ugliness that tasted like grit
âElk came by today,â she said.
Sam nodded, frowning a little, but he didnât say anything. It was hard on him, how Elk had changed, Jules knew, and she also knew that even if Sam didnât say anything about it, he worried about his brother. Maybe by letting Sam know that Elk hadnât spent the entire day alone in the woods, that he had come by the Shermansâ house, visited a little bit with Jules and her dad, maybe that would make him feel better?
But Sam didnât talk about Elk. He leaned toward her, as if he had a secret, and whispered, âGuess what, Jules? Someone spotted a catamount.â
âWhat?â
A hundred years had passed in these woods without even a trace of a catamount.
âThereâs been a sighting,â he said. He smiled at her, the first real smile sheâd seen from anyone in a while, and for a moment Jules felt her own face relax too.
Ever since she and Sylvie and Sam had seen that stuffed catamount at the museum in Montpelier during a school field trip, Sam had wanted to see a live one. He had stood in front of the glass case where the cat had been mounted since 1881, and stared at it, for nearly the whole rest of the visit, almost as if Sam were in a trance.
Jules understoodâits eyes were made of glass, and its coat was faded and shaggy, and she could hardly bear that he wasnât still roaming the woods and mountains, his native territory. It was hard to look at the catamount, but harder to not look at it.
âFor real, Sam?â For the first time since Sylvie had gone, something that wasnât sadness or anger crept through Jules.
âMaybe heâll come here,â Sam said, his voice low and soft.
âMaybe,â said Jules. She knew that their woods would be the perfect place for a catamount to make a home. There were plenty of places where a large cat, even a huge one, could hide on their land. In fact, the Grotto would be a good place for a catamount to hide.
The Grotto! Her new burning wish. Find the Grotto.
After that day at the museum, Sam had thrown hundreds, maybe thousands of wish rocks into the Slip: Catamount return. That was, until Elk left for Afghanistan. Then Samâs wishes changed to Elk return . Samâs wishes had been granted. Elk came home.
And now the catamount, too?
Without warning, anger zipped its way into her cheeks, small and ugly. Jules tried to clamp down on it, but she couldnât help it.
âThatâs so unfair!â came out of her mouth. And it was. Not fair that a catamount, the rarest of animals, had come back after a hundred years without Sylvie to see it. Not fair that a hunter or a game ranger or a scientist would probably track him down now, and depending on who found him first, would either kill him or tranquilize him and strap on one of those radio collars. Not fair that a huge cat, a cat that could eat a person, just like that, might be roaming through their woods, the woods that Sylvie once roamed through too.
And now that she, Jules, had a big, burning wish, it wasnât fair that she could never, ever throw a wish rock into the Slip again.
âIt makes me so angry!â she said. â You make me angry! Why should both your wishes come true?â
Samâs eyes went wide. He backed out onto the porch and down the steps.
âAnyway,â said Sam, his voice shaken. Jules saw that he had only wanted to share the good news with her. The small, ugly anger hovered in the air between them. She wished she could take it back, but it was already free in the world. She wrapped her arms around her waist and tried to swallow the ugliness that tasted like grit
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