Wonder Never (The Fairytale Diaries #2) (12 page)

Part VI

Beans

Chapter 22

"M
om please try and calm down!" Jack LeBeau begged, trying to soothe his wailing mother.

"He's DEAD! You know he's dead!" Helene shrieked, sobbing mercilessly.

The police had just left their farm after taking a report about his missing twin brother, Alan. He'd been missing since the previous morning when they'd begged him to call the police regarding Samuel's vicious attack on him. However, he'd refused and seemed distracted over a date with his girlfriend, Roxan.

Also since that time, they'd received numerous angry phone calls from Roxan's father. Mr. Richelieu was a gruff bear of a man who repeatedly demanded to know the whereabouts of his daughter. He refused to believe that they had no idea where Roxan or Alan had gone.

"Maybe they ran away together, Mom. Roxan's father is a terrible man. It makes sense that they would run off so they could stay together."

"Never! Alan would never leave us like that, Jack! It would make sense for
her
but not for my Alan," Helene bawled. "It's Samuel. I know it's that miserable man. He's probably done something to all these missing kids."

Jack's face darkened. "Well, if that's the case, then at least the cops have a lead now. They're out there looking for him. And I'll go out and do some searching myself."

Helene's head shot up. She reached up, grabbed Jack's shirt, and pulled him down closer to her face. "NO!" she cried urgently. "Not you too! You stay clear of the whole mess, you hear me?"

Jack gently pried his mother's hands off his collar and righted himself. "Alright Mom, alright," he said soothingly.

"Besides," Helene said, swiping the tears and leaving dirty streaks across her blotchy face. "We've got more important things to worry about now. With Alan gone, what are we going to do? We're near broke even with his paycheck! Without it, we're sunk."

Jack sighed, refraining from shooting off a salty remark. It figured Helene was more worried about money than her own son. All the dramatic tears and heartbroken display for the police… It had all been fear over her own hide.

"Jeeze, Mom, just because he ain't here now don't make him gone forever. Have a little faith would you?"

Helene smirked. "Faith never got me nothin' but two boys with no daddy and a bunch of bills I can't pay." She stood abruptly from her chair and shook the wrinkles out of her house coat. "Now then, first things first. That old milk cow ain't gave milk in over six months. It needs sold for slaughter. The butcher in town said to bring it in, he'd give us a fair price. That might hold us over til we figure out what to do."

"Alright," Jack agreed, knowing it was best just to do whatever Helene asked. "But how do you suggest we transport a cow to town, Mom? We got no truck, we got no trailer."

Helene looked at him like she was dealing with an imbecile. "Well, son, you tie a rope around its neck and you lead it to town. It's really not that tricky. Now get going, you're losing day. Gotta get there before the butcher closes."

***

Jack thundered around the barn preparing the cow for the hike. It would be a mile into Enchantica, then another two miles to the butcher.

With a cow on a leash.

As a teen aged boy, Jack was more than a little tired of looking ridiculous because of his mother. He was tired of turning his paychecks over to her. And tired of her constant worrying which directly resulted in incessant nagging. And most of all, tired of his mom not giving hot damn for his brother and him. To him, it didn't seem improbable at all that Alan may have run off. Once he carried out this mundane chore, he planned on taking a look around Enchantica, despite his mother's demand not to.

It was a typical sweltering hot Louisiana afternoon. Jack gently tugged the line, urging the cow along, but it moved excruciatingly slow. The dust kicked up by his feet, stuck to his sweaty skin, and he could taste the gritty stuff. He felt disgustingly hot, filthy, and outrageously cranky.

The walk to the butcher took ages and twilight descended by the time he and the cow reached the parking lot. He'd completely lost patience with the slow moving animal. He dragged at the rope and muttered foul words.

He circled around the back where he saw the door open and the butcher inside cleaning up. When he reached the back door, he knocked on the frame.

The butcher threw down his cleaning rag and approached. "You're late," he grumbled.

"Yeah? Well, sorry," Jack muttered, trying not to blow his stack.

"Yeah? Well! I'm closed up for the day. You'll have to come back tomorrow." This he said with a smart Alec sort of smile.

Jack's jaw dropped. "You kidding me?"

"Sure ain't!" the butcher answered, his voice gnarled by years of smoke and whiskey.

Jack raked his hand through his filthy hair, shifted from foot to foot, and balled his fists at his sides. "Man, I just walked three miles in hundred degree heat with a COW! Now just pay me like ya said ya would, and I'll be on my way!"

The burly man snatched Jack up by his shirt, nearly lifting him from his feet. "You don't TELL me what I'll do, son," the man snarled, spraying spittle in Jack's face. "I don't even need your dang cow, I was just doin' your mama a favor. Now you can go tell her that your smart mouth just wrecked the deal!"

He shoved Jack hard, sending him sprawling to the ground. The door slammed shut in his face.

***

Jack led the cow back the way they'd come feeling angrier than ever before in his entire life. Just then, he hated everyone and everything. He hated his dad for dying. He hated his mother for being selfish. He hated his brother for disappearing. He hated the godforsaken farm. And most of all, he hated that LAZY COW.

Night fell completely before he reached the city limits sign. It was a slight reprieve from the heat, but did nothing to improve his disposition. Just outside of town, he heard tires crunching in the gravel on the berm.

Jack turned around to find a big white dually hauling an animal trailer behind, rolling to a stop right behind him. A green logo printed on the truck said, "WN Farm and Seed."

Huh,
he thought.
Thought I knew of every farm in the state. Never heard of no WN Farm and Seed.

He couldn't imagine what whomever drove the truck might want with him, and he didn't much care. He returned his attention ahead and started walking, deciding to ignore whoever it was in hopes they'd just go away.

"Hey! You there!"

Jack groaned.
No such luck,
he thought. He turned back again to see a man in a crisp white long sleeved shirt leaning out the window of the truck. He had sliver hair, a pristine smile, and wore a spotless ten gallon hat. He certainly didn't look like a local. Local farmers would be grimy and sweat drenched, not riding around in some fancy air conditioned truck.

"Yeah?" he said, his impatience showing.

"Whatcha doin' with that cow?"

His foul mood waned slightly. He was so angry at that stupid cow by then, if this guy wanted it, he'd likely give it away for next to nothing.

"Gotta take it home," he explained, leading the cow closer to the man in the truck. "Butcher won't take her."

The man smiled down graciously at him and the cow. "Well today is your lucky day, I might just be able to take her off your hands."

"Mister," Jack said, his conscience getting the best of him. "I gotta be honest with ya, she ain't worth much. Don't even give milk."

He nodded, his smile never wavering. "That's alright!" The man turned into his truck for a moment then back to Jack. Reaching out, he unclenched his fist and revealed a handful of strange looking beans. "Now, these here are a special bean that will soon revolutionize the farm industry! They're fast growing beans. Plant just this small amount, and you'll have twenty acres of beans growing in under a week. Don't need water, don't need chemicals. Plant, harvest, plant again!"

Jack gasped, staring down at the beans. It couldn't possibly be true. Such a thing would save their farm and restore it to what it once had been. It was too good to wish for.

"These beans for your cow, son, and we're square," said the smiley man with a wink.

In that moment, he realized how exhausted he was. He'd blown the sale, and he simply didn't want to wrestle with the dang cow any longer. He stepped back so the man could open his door, and he held up the rope he'd been using as a leash.

"Deal," Jack said.

In a matter of seconds, the exchange was made. Jack trudged on down the road, watching the fancy truck's taillights disappearing on the horizon, beans pressed tightly in his fist.

***

Jack approached the back door and found his mother standing there in the dark on the porch.

"What took you so long?" she griped. Jack just sighed. "Never mind that," she rushed on, extending her palm. "Where's the cash?"

"Well," Jack said hesitantly as he mounted the steps. "I've got something better than cash."

The look that passed over Helen's face was one of pure evil. "What?" she said maliciously.

"I met a farmer on the road," Jack said enthusiastically. "A rich one! And he told me about a new kind of fast growing beans. Just a handful of them yields twenty acres in under a week!"

His cheeks reddened as he said it. The tale sounded ridiculous even to him. Yet he hoped beyond hope his mother would be pleased. He opened his fist to show her the beans.

"Beans?" she said, staring down at his shaking hand. "BEANS?" Her sharp eyes shot up to meet his. "You gave away the only thing we had to sell for… BEANS!"

"Mom! Twenty acres! It's worth a-"

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID?" Helene shrieked. She snatched the beans from his palm and hurtled them into the dark yard.

Chapter 23

J
ack spent a few hours restlessly tossing and turning in his small uncomfortable bed. He was hot and plagued by thoughts of Alan. He also speculated about the fate of the farm and living with his increasingly volatile mother.

"Please come back, Alan," Jack whispered into the darkness.

At some point he must have fallen asleep because an out of place sound woke him. He sat up in his bed which was next to a window overlooking his backyard and the neck of Enchantica forest right next to the property.

"What the…"

Jack rubbed sleep from his eyes wondering if he was still asleep and dreaming, for what he saw couldn't possibly be real. Scrambling from his bed, Jack leapt up and dashed out of his room, out of the house, and off the back porch.

A vibrant green plant that appeared to be a bean stalk rapidly emerged from the earth. It looked about twelve inches in diameter and snaked along the ground, unfurling across the yard to the trees. Stems and leaves shot out of the stalk as it grew and moved.

It wasn't exactly what the farmer had told him, but it was amazing, nonetheless.

Jack took off running for the trees, following the beanstalk as it grew.

***

He raced through the forest, gracefully jumping roots and fallen limbs as he followed the rapidly growing vine. He could scarcely keep up with it or take his eyes off the marvel of nature.

Then, finally, it stopped.

The bean stalk so huge and so heavy that it lay on the ground instead of growing straight up, unfurled its last curl then came to a rest in a small clearing. It took Jack a moment before he even thought to look around, which was when he beheld a silvery glittering weeping willow tree.

He drew a sharp intake of breath upon sighting it. Another feat of nature that could only be explained by magic. Alan and he had spent most of their childhood tromping those woods and yet he'd never been in that spot. Jack wondered again if he was dreaming. But, despite the fantastical nature of the magical plants, it all seemed real. Drawn by some unseen force, Jack wandered beneath the boughs of the tree.

He spotted the small door with the golden knob instantly and smiled broadly. He didn't know exactly what he'd stumbled onto, but it excited him.

When he found the treats inside, he didn't even think for a second before partaking.

***

Jack lay on the bank of Wondernever River grasping his chest and gasping for breath. Despite the horrific thing he'd just experienced and almost insurmountable confusion, his sheer excitement had only increased. If this was a dream, it was the best dream he'd ever had. He leapt to his feet.

He raced to the wrought iron gate under the Wondernever sign, found it unlocked, and slipped inside. Once on the strange checkered path among the flowers, trees, and sparkling mist, he did not hesitate to begin his exploration.

After a while strolling down the path, gazing wide eyed this way and that, Jack found himself at a fork in the road. So he came to a stop. Peering down the left fork, he could see a village of sorts in the distance. Of course, it was unlike any sort of village he'd ever seen before, except perhaps, in the pages of a storybook.

Then he studied the path to the right and found it simply wound on, deeper into the forest, and disappearing into the mist. A shiver coursed through him. For the first time, it occurred to him since he was in some thoroughly unknown land, it might not be wise to assume that he was welcome. He took off down the forest path.

It seemed as though Jack wandered half the night away roaming deeper and deeper into the woods. His foot falls gradually slowed as he grew more wary. Listening to the eerie sounds of the forest, he began to regret his eagerness in following the beanstalk. But an adventurous spirit compelled him forward.

Finally he came to a clearing where a giant stone mansion materialized in the mist. His mouth fell open as he stared up at the place that was practically a castle. He'd never seen anything like it. Not only was the structure itself gigantic; each individual door and window was huge as well, as if made for a giant person.

Jack crept to the front door, mesmerized by the awesomeness of the place. Placing a trembling hand on the knob, he found it turned and the door swung open. Normally Jack would never presume to enter someone's home uninvited. However, he simply wasn't in a normal state of mind.

Inside a grand foyer, Jack found himself surrounded by artworks and furnishings that were all twice the normal size. He began to creep about, studying wondrously, all the opulent finery. When he came to a massive winding stairway, he made his way up.

Jack explored hallways and rooms, delighted and amazed by the wonders he found. But it wasn't until he entered a certain room, which he found, hidden beneath a stairwell, that he became truly thrilled.

The room had stone walls and a ceiling that towered twenty feet up. And it was brimming with treasures beyond Jack's wildest imaginings. He could barely take it all in. There were stacks of gold taller than Jack. Soft celestial music played and he found it came from a golden harp that played by itself. He startled when he heard a honk and his attention was drawn to a white goose who laid an egg which appeared to be solid gold.

"What is this place?" Jack murmured to himself.

"Who are you?"

Jack jumped and spun around to face a woman with a pale, alarmed face. His heart sped up. "I… Uh… I'm…"

"You must leave! Now!" the woman demanded in a hurried whisper.

"But, I… What is this place?" Jack asked. "Where am I?"

The lady's face softened slightly. "Listen, sir! Please! You. Must. Go. Now! Take some gold if you must, and then leave. Please!"

He knew he should do just as she asked, but he was under the spell of the magical place. "Miss, why would you let me take your gold? And what are you so afraid of? Are you in danger? Do you need help?"

"It isn't me who's in danger, sir! It's you if you don't get out now!"

"But why? Please tell me what's going on," Jack pleaded.

"It's my husband, Wiley. He's been cursed by an evil witch and turned into a giant!"

Jack couldn't help a laugh. "A curse?" He gestured around the sparkling room of treasures. "Doesn't seem like much of a curse to me."

"Well," the woman said, becoming conversational. "You see, it rather affects his temperament and causes an ache in his bones. Wiley would do away with the gold if he could do away with the pain, I believe."

"Really?" Jack replied, not believing a word of the woman's tale. "What would it take to break the curse, do you think?"

A small smile played on her lips. "Killing you would do the trick," she said softly.

Jack's face fell as the woman took one step toward him. The same woman who'd seemed gentle and lovely took on a dark menacing quality.

"WILEY!" she shrieked.

Footfalls so heavy they shook the house, sounded outside the door. "WILDA! WHAT'S THAT I SMELL?" a deep voice thundered.

Jack sprang into action, brushing straight past Wilda and bolting out the door.

Unfortunately, he ran straight into a man who stood fifteen feet tall, at least. His craggy face and rock hard body seemed made of stone. He snatched Jack up by his neck, lifting him into the air.

"FINALLY!" the giant bellowed.

In a flurry, Jack found himself shoved into a sort of huge sack, and slung over the giant's shoulder as though he was no more than a sack of laundry. Jack wept bitterly as he screamed and fought with all his might. But it was to no avail. He was being taken somewhere he could not see, but he could tell he was back outside by the sounds of the forest.

"WITCH!" hollered the giant. "OOOOH WITCH! I'M READY FOR YOU!"

All the while, Jack heard the woman called Wilda cackling somewhere nearby.