The Unlikely Story of the Six-Toed Ferntail
It was mid-July, and my family had just left our chilly home in Montreal and taken the long flight down to Neuquen, Patagonia. My Abuela and Abuelo lived there, in a small home in the countryside, and this was where the annual mid-summer festival was hosted. Although most of my family was thrilled to be meeting up with our extended relatives, unwrapping summer-themed presents and gathering about for extravagant dinners my Abuela produced, I was far from excited. This year marked my thirteenth mid-summer festival, which in our family meant that I had to help cook and clean for the first time, leaving me unable to explore and play outside with the rest of my siblings and cousins. Today was the only day I had free, so I was going to spend as much time outside as possible before the prison-like kitchen chomped me up and swallowed me whole.
My siblings were still inside, getting a snack I believe, and the rest of my cousins had not yet arrived, so I had about a half an hour to explore by myself. The warm, still air had an eerie, almost magical ambience to it, and I relished the feeling of the slight breeze on my neck. I headed down to my usual hideout, a system of caves dimly lit by shimmering crystals embedded in the high ceiling. As I walked, I drew in a breath of the stagnant air and ran my hands down the rock walls. This was the last I would see of this place, at least for this week, so I wanted to stay here as long as I could, at least until my family caught wind of my location. My endeavors were highly frowned upon by my mother, but it didn't matter to me, these crystal caves were my place, my home away from home.
I was heading deeper into the caves when I heard what sounded like soft steps in the darkness. "Hello? Anyone here?" My voice echoed across the walls, but no response came, just another pitter-pattering of steps in the darkness. I ventured nearer into the caves when I heard what sounded like a snake slithering over rock. All my senses were on high alert, my eyes darting from corner to corner. I knew I should leave, but my curiosity got the best of me and I ventured even deeper in.
Out of nowhere, a shadow leaped across my field of vision. I whipped my head around, hoping to get a glimpse of my attacker, but my long black hair flew in front of my eyes for a split second, and when I pushed it out of my face, exasperated, there was nothing there, just the walls of rock, glowing a soft shade of blue from the bright crystals overhead. I turned cautiously in a circle, my eyes inspecting the rock with precision.
Suddenly a creature jumped out of the darkness right into my arms, nearly knocking me backward onto the hard ground. I screamed in fear for a moment when I heard a strange sound. Was that...whimpering? I looked down at the creature in my arms and began to notice that it was not the rabid, menacing monstrosity that I had envisioned. It, in fact, looked more like a sad sloth than anything else I could think of. It had long clawed toes, six on each foot, and shaggy tan hair that draped unceremoniously over its bony frame. It had a small face, equipped with long ebony tusks, short white whiskers, and huge brown eyes. At the end of its body, it had a long, paper-thin tail shaped almost like the leaf of a plant. That must have made the slithering sound from before.
I was busy staring down at it, softly petting it to calm it down, when I suddenly heard a barrage of steps coming towards me. I turned my head just in time to see a crowd of my cousins, led by my younger brother Nico, racing down through the cave. He ran towards me. "Sophie! What happened?" He must have seen the confused look on my face, as he quickly continued. "We heard you scream." He suddenly noticed the creature in my arms and gave it a long stare before turning his attention back to me. "What is that?"
I shrugged. "I just found it. Discovered it, I guess. Kind of cute, isn't he?"
"I guess. What are you going to name it? As far as we know, this is the first of its kind."
I looked down at it, puzzled. I had never thought about what its name could be. It did have six toes, that had to be significant. Leaftail maybe? No, that was a bit too cliche. It hit me suddenly. "I've got it. The six-toed ferntail!" Nico looked down at it again and shrugged.
"Sounds good to me. What are you going to do with it?" I looked down at the ferntail, its brown puppy-dog eyes staring back up at me with a questioning look.
"Let's bring it back up to the house. See what mother thinks." I clutched the ferntail closer to my chest and we slowly, but surely, made our way up through the cave system, up to the open air. Before we left, I threw a bit of rock up at one of the crystals, shattering it. Before they hit the ground, I caught a few of the largest shards and stuffed them into the pocket of my shorts. Something to remember this place by if my parents forbade me from returning.
Usually, a few of my cousins would have scattered, going off to play in little groups in the yard. Today, however, every child under the age of thirteen had gathered into a mass around me and the ferntail, waiting to see how the adults reacted to my discovery. Abuela and Abuelo must have seen the flash mob from inside because all of the adults were already stationed in the backyard, waiting. When we arrived, the younger kids slowly began filtering out until it was just Nico, the ferntail, and I. I quietly shooed Nico away. This was my situation, not his. My mother and father were standing off to the side, giving me a long stare like it would somehow undo all the embarrassment their daughter had brought upon them. To my surprise, however, my Abuela looked rather excited.
"Finally! My nieta has found her spirit guide!" She turned to the group of adults with an unreadable expression on her face, and when she turned back a barrage of animals, all as unique as the ferntail, who had buried his head down and curled up into a quiet sleepy little ball of fur, had appeared behind her. Even my mother was standing next to a deer with feathered antlers, and my fathers face softened as he gazed down at the fluffy dog standing next to him, hooves clacking as it paced in a small circle. My Abuela was still watching me affectionately, her hand brushing over the winged tortoise standing at her side. My jaw dropped slightly as my eyes panned over the group, watching adults young and old gazing warmly at the collection of strange creatures standing quietly at their sides.
"This is your legacy, nieta, and we are all with you." She gestured to me. "Join us, nieta, join your family, your fate, your destiny." I stepped closer, and the mass of adults slowly shifted to the sides, leaving a space open where I could stand. I looked over my shoulder at the mass of children behind me, a hole in their midst where I had stood. I moved in to stand between my mother and father. The masses of both groups changed, the adults shifted, accepting me as a part of their group, and the children shifted as well, pushing Nico into the spot where I had stood before. I looked down at the ferntail, cuddled up in my arms. My Abuela's words rung in my ears. Your fate, your destiny... I looked around me, at my Abuela, my Abuelo, my family. I looked at Nico, our eyes locked for a moment, and my face burst into a smile. |
