Cutler 05 - Darkest Hour

venturing into their midst as we were. They flitted from branch to branch, jabbering and following us along the way. In the distance, a row of small puffy clouds floated in a cotton caravan from one end of the sky to the other.
    With the air so warm and the sky so blue, we couldn't have chosen a nicer spring day for a walk. If ever nature could make us appreciate being alive, she could do it this day, I thought.
    Eugenia seemed to feel the same way, taking in every sight and sound, her head moving from left to right as I rolled her forward over the gravel. I thought she was probably overdressed, but she clung tightly to her shawl with one hand and held down the blanket over her lap with the other. When we turned the corner at the bottom of the driveway, I paused and we both looked back and then at each other, smiling like co-conspirators. Then I moved her out on the road. It was the first time she had ever been wheeled there. I pushed her along as quickly as I could. A few moments later, Niles Thompson stepped out from behind a tree to greet us.
    My heart began to race. I looked back again to be sure no one saw us meet.
    "Hi," Niles said. "How are you, Eugenia?"
    "I'm okay," she said quickly, her eyes dancing as she looked from Niles to me and then back to Niles.
    "So you want to see my magic pond, huh?" he asked her. She nodded.
    "Let's go quickly, Niles," I said.
    "Let me push her," he offered.
    "Be careful," I warned, and we started away. Moments later, we were turning Eugenia up the path. It wasn't really wide enough for the chair in places, but Niles pushed the wheels over brush and roots, stopping at one point to lift the front of the chair. I could see that Eugenia was relishing each and every moment of our secret trip. Finally, we were at the pond.
    "Oh!" Eugenia exclaimed, clapping her small hands. "It's so beautiful here."
    As if nature wanted the moment to be special for her, a fish jumped up and dove back into the water, but before we could laugh with joy, a flock of sparrows burst into the air, lifting so suddenly and with such synchronization from the branches, they looked like leaves taking flight. Bullfrogs leaped into the water and then out again as if they were performing for us. Then Niles said, "Look," and pointed across the pond where a doe had appeared and was drinking. She gazed at us for a moment. Unafraid, she took her drink and then casually turned to disappear in the forest again.
    "This really is a magical place!" Eugenia cried. "I feel it."
    "I did the first time I saw it, too," Niles said. "You know what you've got to do. You've got to dip your finger into the water."
    "How can I?"
    Niles looked at me.
    "I can carry you to the water," Niles said.
    "Oh Niles, if you should drop her . . ."
    "He won't," Eugenia declared with prophetic certainty. "Do it, Niles. Carry me."
    Niles looked at me again and I nodded, but I was full of trepidation. If he dropped her and she got soaked, Papa would lock me in the smokehouse for days, I thought. But Niles lifted Eugenia out of the chair with graceful ease. She blushed because of the way he held her in his arms. Without hesitation, he stepped into the water and lowered her until her fingers reached the surface.
    "Close your eyes and wish," Niles told her. She did so and then he carried her back to the wheelchair. After she was settled in again, she thanked him.
    "Want to know what I wished?" she asked me.
    "If you tell it, it might not come true," I said, glancing at Niles.
    "Not if she tells it only to you," Niles explained, as if he was an authority on magic ponds and wishes.
    "Bend down, Lillian. Bend down," Eugenia ordered. I did so and she brought her lips to my ear.
    "I wished you and Niles would kiss again, right here, right before my eyes," she said. I couldn't help but blush. When I stood straight up again, Eugenia had a wicked smile on her face. "You said this was a magic pond. My wish has to come true," she teased.
    "Eugenia! You should have wished something for yourself only."
    "If it's only for yourself, it probably won't come true," Niles said.
    "Niles. Don't encourage her."
    "I suppose if you whispered in my ear what she wished now that she's told you, it won't be bad. As long as the frogs don't hear it," he added, coming up with his own rules instantly.
    "I will not!"
    "Tell him, Lillian," Eugenia urged. "Go on. Please. Go on."
    "Eugenia." I was blushing all over by now, feeling those blotches Emily said would come, even though Niles