Read Online The Orchard of Hope by Amy Neftzger - Free Book Online

reserve. You know, like keep it safe
somewhere else so that you could bring me back to
life, ” Kelsey
reasoned aloud.
    “It
doesn ’ t work
that way, ” said
Roland.
    “How does it
work? ”
    “If I tell you
how it works, it may not work at all. So for now
you ’ ll just
have to trust me. ”
    “What is he
saying? ” Maggie
asked after a few minutes of silence in which Kelsey had been
thinking.
    “Nothing. No
one is talking, ” Kelsey answered. “ He said that I have to trust
him. ”
    “Then I think
you should, ” said Maggie.
    “Why? ” Kelsey asked in a challenging tone.
    “Because you
can see him, and you know who he is. ”
    “She raises a
good point. ” Roland nodded with approval as he spoke.
    “It ’ s just so
creepy, ” said Kelsey.
    “Reality can
sometimes be creepy, but that doesn ’ t mean that it ’ s bad for you, ” Roland replied. As Kelsey
sighed in resignation, Roland turned to the bird and said something
that Kelsey couldn ’ t understand, and the bird flew off.
    “Am I going to
learn how to answer the birds, also? ” Kelsey asked as she watched the
bird soar into the bright sky. Understanding them was useful, but
communication needed to go back and forth for it to be fully of
use.
    “Yes, but not
today. You ’ ve
learned enough for one day. ”
    “My brain feels
so full, it hurts, ” Kelsey replied in agreement as she reached her hand up to
her temple and rubbed the skin gently.
    “Mine
too, ” said
Maggie.

Chapter
    Six
    Moss Grows On You

    His hair was
white, but he had a very long green beard the color of moss, and he
smelled of earth. It wasn ’ t a dirty smell, as if something
were rotting. Instead, it was a rich smell that reminded Nicholas
of the forest. It had the scent of both new and old things that
intermixed in the present air. The fragrance seemed relevant, but
Nicholas couldn't explain why.
    “Hello,
Sir, ” Nicholas
said politely.
    “How much time
do we have? ” Moss asked.
    “I
don’ t know, ” Nicholas replied, since he
wasn ’ t sure how
long his lessons were scheduled to last.
    “Then
I ’ ll need to
teach you to tell time, ” Moss concluded. “ Have you ever seen a clock
before? ”
    Megan winked at
Nicholas and then slowly drew a circle in the air. Nicholas
understood why she had said that genius was circular, but he still
wasn ’ t sure
that Moss was a genius. But he was certainly odd.
    “I ’ ve seen a clock,
sir, ” Nicholas
answered.
    “Good. Then
telling time won ’ t be quite so foreign to you. ”
    Moss rapidly made his way across
the room to an old clock and brought it back to where Nicholas was
standing. The old man set the clock down on the table and told
Nicholas to study the hands. Nicholas first glanced at Megan and
then at Moss before turning his attention to the walnut clock that
stood before him. He watched a small pendulum erratically swaying
from side to side as it settled into a regular rhythm. Then he
looked at the hands, which were shaped like little gloves with the
palms turned outward and fingers held stiffly together.
    “How many hands
are there? ” Moss asked as he tapped a pencil on the back of a
chair.
    “Two, ” Nicholas quickly replied.
    “Look
again, ” Moss
insisted as he stopped the tapping motion. Nicholas glanced at
Megan, who motioned for him to follow directions.
    Nicholas stared at the face of the
clock, and as he did, the hands turned to wings. They were long
slender wings that stretched out elegantly in a slight curve as
they moved slowly around in circles. Then they faded from his
sight.
    “How many hands
are there? ” Moss asked again.
    “None, ” Nicholas replied as he stared at the face of the
clock with no hands on it. He blinked forcefully a few times, as if
attempting to wake himself up. He was certain there were hands or
wings on the clock only a few moments ago. Now there was nothing
but a smooth round disk with numbers around the edges. There
wasn ’ t even a
notch in the