The Hidden Forest

The Hidden Forest — page 5 — Chapter 2 CHANCE o Addy have you finished packing for Nantucket You need to help your brother too Adelaide’s eyes flew open when she heard her mother’s voice Her neck was stiff from falling asleep with the head lamp on Oops Adelaide said as she slipped it off and turned off the high beam She looked over at the map of Nantucket Island on her wall next to the poster of the Great Pyramid of Giza Nantucket looked so small and flat Not exactly Kilimanjaro she mumbled as she hopped off her bed and grabbed the pair of binocu lars that she kept on her bedside table She opened 6

The Hidden Forest — page 6 — Chance 7 the window and looked through them down into the backyard where Louis was playing catch with Dash She adjusted the focus and couldn’t help but laugh when the tennis ball bounced off the dog’s head and into the bushes Outstanding she shouted down to her brother Dash loves it Come down and see Louis shouted back He was four years younger but he liked to pretend they were the same age Kid stuff Besides Mom said you’re supposed to be packing for Nantucket Are you Louis asked grinning because he knew she wasn’t None of your business she said as she closed the window She didn’t want to go There weren’t any pyramids on Nantucket as far as she knew What was she going to do there staying with her grandparents It was just another ploy of her mother’s to shuffle them off Who could blame her really Adelaide thought A sadness clung to their home like the kind of dampness that’s only in the British Isles At least that’s what Adelaide over heard her aunt Julie say to her mother one night when she and Louis were hiding on the back stair case eavesdropping It was true Adelaide felt it ev ery time she walked by her dad’s empty study It

The Hidden Forest — page 7 — The Hidden Forest 8 left a terrible pit in her stomach until she started avoiding it altogether and took the back staircase whenever she went up to her bedroom Maybe it would be good to get away Adelaide opened her closet door and there hanging on the hook was the leather flight jacket her dad had given her just like Amelia’s She looked past it and started rifling through her closet She pulled out the metal detector her grandfather Poppa had surprised her with last Christmas Maybe there were some buried treasures from shipwrecks she could look for at least She grabbed some snorkeling gear too Now we’re getting somewhere she said as she started to pile up the gear to take The bedroom door opened and her mother popped her head in Adelaide why didn’t you answer me She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the pile of stuff on Adelaide’s floor Oh sweetie Mother please These mere trinkets are abso lutely necessary for the journey we’re about to em bark on You don’t mean you want to take all this junk with you I would hardly call my equipment junk It’s of the utmost importance Now maps where are my maps

The Hidden Forest — page 8 — Chance 9 Adelaide went over to the wall and carefully took down the map of Nantucket I think I might need this one too she said as she took down the map of the internal walkways of the Pyramid of Giza There may be some universal symbology that could be of use in the days to come The days to come her mother asked as she started taking out some of Adelaide’s summer clothes to pack Yes and Mom Adelaide said as she came over and rested a hand on her mother’s shoulder I’m sorry I won’t be here to look after you Will you be all right I’ll be okay I’ll have Dash with me Nantucket with Nana and Poppa is really the best place for you guys this summer her mother said trying to smile It didn’t fool Adelaide Everyone said that in time things would start to get bet ter but Adelaide was starting to wonder Things didn’t feel any better yet and all she could think about was tomorrow and tomorrow and tomor row Because tomorrow maybe there would be some adventure to undertake pyramids to climb secret passages to explore and the promise of the future to help forget the past Rein it in while you’re there okay Mind your grandparents her mom was saying And most

7

PAGE 7 OF 120

The only kids' eBook subscription service that offers thousands of high-quality books from well known publishers like HarperCollins, National Geographic and others.

JavaScript Required

Whoops! We're sorry but Epic doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Check your web browser's settings to make sure it's enabled.