The Swallows

The Swallows is a spiritual fantasy novella about a boy that falls into a world of spirits. I never tried to publish it because the end needs buttoning up, and at this point putting it on Amazon seems like dealing with the Devil. Please share if you like - this is Chapter 1. 

Ch. 1. Summer Ends

One summer not too long ago, a boy named Calvin sat all alone on the porch outside his new home. 

Calvin had only known the city, but everything changed quickly when his father died last month of a sudden heart attack. His mother told him they would be moving in with grandma and grandpa, to the country, after school ended. Last night they had made the trip in the rain, and somewhere between kissing his grandparents and unpacking his luggage, he had fallen asleep. 

He had awoken in a strange room. It was large and mostly empty. The sun had woken him, reflecting off the clean, white fabric of a silvery couch. The stillness and silence of the room caused something to stir in him. It was relieving yet he felt uncomfortable. Everything recently had been rushed and loud and changing. As he opened his eyes, it seemed life had stopped and restarted in a moment, like a long movie that had turned from blurred and frantic… to clear and slow. 

He had made his way through the quiet house to a creaky wood porch at the front door. As he now surveyed the open countryside, he found himself growing increasingly uneasy. The cool morning air was beginning to turn hot as the sun climbed in the sky. 

He walked up the steps to a bench and began to rock, looking out at the landscape again. A dirt driveway slipped down fields of grass, and eventually met a paved road, which ran toward the horizon in either direction. Here and there were trees, some of which looked very good for climbing. Then again, he would need a friend to help him reach the first branch of any one. 

Visually it was sublime, but Calvin itched to leave with a sudden pang of despair. I want to go home, he thought. This is my home now. I want to go home… I want to see my father. I want to hug him… Dad, what do I do? He sprung to his feet, and pushed the thought away. He felt like he might pop through his skin. Breathing, he looked for a distraction. 

Perhaps he could find something of interest in the house. Apparently, his mother and grandparents had gone out, so it would be a good time to look around. After all, he hadn’t yet been told that anything was off limits. The house had many rooms, but it didn’t take him long to look through them. Like the room he woke in, most of them were plain and half empty. He opened cabinets and closets, and shuffled through cushions upstairs and down, only to find nothing more exciting than a magnifying glass. He had found it in a chest, beside his grandfather’s bed, where he sat to examine it. 

It was finely crafted. Unlike the plastic ones, this had a polished wooden handle with graceful curves. The glass was housed in silver. Silver adorned the base of the handle as well, where he noticed something peculiar. A tiny compass, embedded in the bottom of the handle . No wider than his finger, it seemed the compass worked perfectly as he turned the glass between his fingers. 

The sound of an approaching car broke him from his thoughts. His mother and grandparents were home. He went to put the glass away, but found himself compelled to hold onto it. The allure almost felt physical, like a magnetic force between his hand and the wood. He knew it was valuable, and he should return it to the chest before breaking or losing it. But what if he should never see it again? 

As he held it in his gaze, his thoughts were again broken, now by voices at the front door. Reluctantly, he placed it back in the chest, on a velvet bed where he found it. As he shut the chest, he noticed a roll of parchment bound with string, mostly hidden behind a thick leather book. A temptation ran through him to examine it. Perhaps it was related to the magnifying glass… He forced himself to go down to greet his family.

That night, Calvin listened to the humming of crickets and tree fogs as he lay in bed. His new room was so large that all his belongings seemed hardly to take up any space. Logically, he was safe here, but the house made him uneasy. There was so much space, and so much of it empty. 

He got up to look out the window and taste the warm summer wind. The wind shuffled through the leaves of a vast forest beyond the backyard. He imagined a friend beckoning him from the edge of the woods; he was much too frightened to explore them on his own. Many of the trees appeared wider than he was high. The massive trees swayed and groaned, and he imagined dangerous creatures hiding in the quiet shadows. If his father were alive, they would have gone to explore together.

He heard his mother from the door. “It’s a nice night,” she said. 

He climbed into the bed and she sat next to him. “Yea, still warm,” he replied. 

“Are you ok?”

“I guess.”

“We just don’t have any other options right now Calvin.”

“I know…” He was still thinking about his father. He couldn’t get his mind off the times he had explored the city with his father, and how safe he had felt. He imagined how much fun it would be if… He didn’t want to cry in front of her. Then she would cry, and he would cry hard. He forced back the tears.

She laid down, and hugged him tight. “Calvin, what is it?” 

“I miss him,” he broke. For a few minutes, they cried together, as they had on many of the past nights.  

Beginning to recover, she wiped her eyes and said, “We wanted to give you a brother or sister you know.”

“Really?” For a moment excitement ran in him, but then he remembered… That wasn’t possible now. 

“Yes, but that reminds me, grandpa says he will buy you a dog, any kind you want!”

“Really!?”

“Yes, but listen… Grandpa is very sick. We took him to the hospital today, and they said he has to stay in bed to save his strength.”

“Is he dying?”

She shook her head as if to expel the thought, “We’re not sure how long he has left, but you should try to talk to him, and keep up his spirits. And… spend time with him.”

“Ok, but how will he take me to get the dog?”

“I will take you as soon as I can, but I have to find a job first.”

Calvin sighed and quelled a flash of anger. He hated himself for being angry with her. None of this was her fault. “Can I talk to grandpa now?” he asked. 

“He’s sleeping now Calvin. He had a hard day today. Talk to him in the morning.”

“Ok.”

“Get to sleep. Grandma will cook something for you in the morning, and I should be back around five tomorrow.” She kissed him and said, “I love you. Goodnight my child.”

“Goodnight mom, I love you,” he said. He laid awake for a while, imagining all the kinds of dogs he might get. 

Again he awoke to bright sunshine. Again, an uncomfortable stillness. A hollow chill crept over his skin like a fog. In opposition, he threw off his covers and hastily changed into his clothes. He raced out of the room and stopped at the top of the stairway. He could smell his grandmother cooking breakfast, and he could hear his grandfather coughing in the room down the hallway. Turning from the succulent bacon, he approached the door to his grandfather’s room. 

The cough sounded painful. Calvin could almost feel it in his ears as mucous tore at his grandfather’s throat. When the bout finally finished, his grandfather let out a long, wheezing sigh. 

Calvin opened the door slowly. He had always looked up to his grandfather, who was strong and wise. With Calvin, he was gentle and affectionate. More than anything, he wanted to feel the comfort of his grandfather’s presence, but he feared what would be left of it. Peering in, he found the old man sitting up in the bed, wheezing, and trying to catch his breath. He caught sight of Calvin. “Hey pal,” he breathed. “Come in, come in.” His voice was weak and slow, but excited.

Calvin sat on a wooden chair beside the bed. “Are you ok,” he asked. “Do you want some water?”

His grandfather shrugged with a light growl, “I’ll be ok… so your mother told you about the dog eh?” Calvin nodded. “I would go with ya to get it today, but your grandmother hid the keys to the car, that…” he glanced at Calvin and stopped himself, beginning to wheeze again. 

“Don’t worry grandpa. It’s ok, I can wait.”

“Yeah,” his grandfather agreed, but his mind was elsewhere. He went on, “Listen Calvin, I know this isn’t easy for you. I know you miss your pop, and there’s not much civilization to occupy your mind out here. But you’re going to have to grow up fast now, and help your mom as much as you can. I haven’t got much time left now, and your going to have to figure a lot of things out for yourself.” 

Calvin stared at the floor, his stomach sinking. “But… you listening?” Calvin nodded. “Ok, I want you to remember this now, you just listen to your mother, and to yourself. You don’t trust anyone or anything that turns you into something your uncomfortable with. You understand what I’m saying?”

He looked into his grandfather’s bright green eyes. His face looked tired, the wrinkles of his speckled skin continually stretching and contracting as he wheezed. His grandfather’s body was weak, but the effect of his glare was as powerful as ever. “I understand Grandpa,” he said, and he did understand. But he did not feel up to the challenge. He felt the comfort he had sought in his grandfather’s presence. That presence was still alive, but it could not hide the absence… How was he supposed to trust himself when he was so angry. Death takes everything. Although his grandfather’s green glare offered refuge, it too was leaving him and his mother. 

“You don’t forget that now. All your old grandpop asks is that you remember that.”

“I won’t forget grandpa.”

“Don’t. Now, I’ve something to give you. Go into the chest and get that magnifying glass you were playing with yesterday.” Calvin began to protest, but his grandfather cut in with another growl, “You can’t fool your old grandpop.” As Calvin went to retrieve the glass, his grandfather continued, “You see that piece of parchment there. Yeah get that too.” 

“What are they?” Calvin asked, handing over the items. 

“These are very special, and more valuable than you can imagine. Now, my time is coming soon, and it is time for me to pass them on. They would have gone to your father, but the Lord took him, so they will go to you. But you must promise to keep them secret. No one can know of them, not even your mother.” His grandfather looked at him for confirmation. 

“I promise grandpa.”

“You must also promise not to misuse them, and to do with them as I tell you. They are powerful and dangerous, and they are not meant to be used as toys.”

“I promise.”

“This magnifying glass is magic.”

“Grandpa… I’m not a little kid you know.”

“I know you’re not.”

“I’m too old for those games now.”

His grandfather roared, “This is no game now. Does it look like I’m playing?”

Calvin thought… “No, I guess not.”

“Here, take it in your hand… Now, do you feel it?”

“Feel what?” 

“Close your eyes. You feel its power buzzing in your bones?” 

Calvin could feel it. He nodded. “What does it do?”

“Well it does what all magnifying glasses do, magnifies things. But, this glass allows you to see things that you can’t ordinarily see at all.” Calvin began to use it to look at his hand, but his grandfather stopped him. “It doesn’t work like that. You have to look in the right places. Here, try this,” he said, handing Calvin the parchment. Calvin untied and unrolled it. 

It was blank, yellow and blotched and it smelled musty. He gripped the polished handle of the magnifying glass with a sweaty palm. His handed trembled with anticipation. He glanced skeptically at his grandfather, who encouraged him with a nudge and a smile. Slowly, he drew the glass over the paper. However, the magnifying did nothing more spectacular than magnify the dirty blotches and watermarks. 

Disappointed, he flushed again with anger. It might have been foolish, but his Grandfather was only trying to lift his spirits. “Grandpa!” he said playfully. “I told you I was too old for these games…” His grandfather did not say anything. His face was slack, and he began rubbing his chin, his eyes lost in thought. “Grandpa?” 

His eyes came back to Calvin. “You don’t see anything ey?” His sober tone confused Calvin. His grandfather was more disappointed than he had been. 

“No,” Calvin replied. His grandfather nodded. “Grandpa,” he began, but his grandfather interrupted. 

“Calvin. I don’t understand how the magic works. You are not ready to see it yet, but one day you will be. When that day comes you must treat it carefully. Its purpose is to…” he thought, “serve as a guide you when you lose your way. It will reveal things to you and bring you to new places, but it is very dangerous to use it unnecessarily. Promise that you will not use it unless you are absolutely certain that you must.”

This was too much. Calvin squinted, trying to think of why his grandfather would keep up the act. 

His Grandmother called from the bottom of the stairs, “Calvin! Time for breakfast dear!”

“Promise Calvin!”

Calvin turned back with all sincerity, “I promise grandpa.”

His grandfather tied up the parchment and handed it to him with the glass, “Put the glass in your pocket and put the parchment back in the chest. Come back and get it when no one will see.”

Calvin did as he was told, and then hugged his grandfather tight. “Thank you grandpa. Love you.”

“I love you too Calvin. Hurry downstairs now.”

The following morning was very different from the previous two. He found his mother sitting on the bed beside him as he awoke. The sun was still rising, and the forest cast long shadows over the house. The sky was clear, but violent, cold winds howled through the open window. The room was frigid.

His mother was sniffling, and her eyes wet with tears. “Mom?” he asked. “What’s wrong?!”

She wiped her eyes. “Grandpa died last night,” she said. 

Calvin tried to absorb the information, saying it over and over in his head. Grandpa died. Grandpa’s dead now too. Grandpa died. He’s with dad. He was waiting for the attack of emotions. The fear, anger, sadness and pain he felt when his father died. He thought they should come, and he felt guilty as he realized they were not. It seemed the cold air against his skin had seeped into his mind, freezing it. He hugged his mother and tried to console her. Grandpa’s dead. Take care of your mother… Grow up fast. Life is not made to be enjoyed. Not for me at least. Everything good dies. 

A few minutes later, his mother left to make arrangements for the funeral with his grandmother. He lay there, numb, until falling into an agitated sleep. When he woke the sun was high in the sky. He didn’t want to leave the bed. What could he do? There was nothing to do, nothing he wanted to do. He would have gone back to sleep, but the sun shined brightly in his eyes.

The air was still chilly, so he got up to shut the window. He noticed the magnifying glass on top of his bureau, which was not where he left it. He was almost certain he had left it in the sock drawer.

Approaching it, he noticed something carved into the desk beneath the glass. He slid the glass away to get a closer look, but the carving disappeared. He paused and looked at the glass, his heart fluttering. He slid the glass back, and the carving appeared. Again he slid the glass away, this time looking more closely to see if the carving was merely very small. Nothing. His heart beat faster yet. He slid the glass back, and realized the carving was larger than the glass itself. Only the parts under the glass could be seen. He slowly slid the glass over the wood, but he could not piece together what the carving was. Pulling the glass higher, he viewed the whole image at once. A roll of parchment.

He realized he had not yet gone back to retrieve the parchment as his grandfather told him. His grandfather had not been joking, or lying, or loosing his grasp on reality… Calvin stood motionless, awestruck. No one was home now. He should retrieve the scroll while he could. Glass in hand, he dashed into his grandfather’s room, and opened the chest. Empty. 

His heart sank. It was gone. His mother must have already cleaned out his belongings. How could he have been so foolish not to believe his grandfather, who he respected so much? He had felt no rush to retrieve the blank piece of parchment, save to please his grandfather. Now it was gone. 

He looked to the glass for help, looking over every inch of the chest, but he found nothing. Scanning the room, he saw none of his grandfather’s belongings left, save a few books on the shelf. One book lay in front of the others, and he recognized it as the one he had seen his grandfather reading the day before. A thick novel with a tattered green leather cover. He took it down and laid it on the floor. Doubting he would find anything, he scrolled over the cover with the glass before opening it to read for clues. 

It was right there, on the first page! Another hidden image. A compass, pointing southeast.

For a moment he froze, thinking frantically. In a flash, he remembered the compass on the bottom of the handle of the glass. He found it pointing in exactly the same direction as the image on the cover of the book. Standing, he held the compass in front of him, ready to follow it, but the apparent power of the device was beginning to frighten him. He summoned the courage to move. His grandfather’s words ran in his mind: You must promise not to misuse them. They are powerful and dangerous. His grandfather would want him to find the scroll. There was no other choice. 

Calvin began to walk, and the compass moved steadily, directing him into the hallway and down the stairway. He wound through the house, and his eyes were still fixed on the compass as he met a tall shelf in the living room. He gazed up and spotted the scroll on the top shelf, half sticking out of out of a grocery bag. Securing the glass in his pocket, he began climbing. The shelf was heavy and sturdy. It was finely crafted, but its wood worn with years. Calvin easily made it to the top, but as he reached for the scroll, the shelf began to tip. He tried to adjust his weight, but only pulled the shelf in the wrong direction. He realized it was too late. He cringed as he fell, imagining the weight of the shelf crushing him. The shelf abruptly stopped, striking the backside of a couch, and flinging Calvin into the cushions. 

Calvin triumphantly rose to his feet, and immediately searched for the scroll as he regained his bearings. As he spotted it on the floor, among a clutter of books, he heard the screen door slap shut at the other end of the house. “Calvin?” his mother called. He snatched the scroll and tucked it into his sweatpants, hiding it beneath his shirt. His mother arrived at the entrance to the room and halted. Her face flushed; she was too angry to speak. As Calvin began to utter an explanation, she finally burst out, “What did you do? What the hell were you thinking Calvin?”

He didn’t know what to say. “I…” He looked around. The contents of the shelf were scattered across the room. He spotted the broken remains of a china collection. However, his mother ran to the shelf, which he realized was badly damaged from its collision with the couch. 

“Oh my God! Oh my God, your grandfather’s shelf!” She cried, tears welling in her eyes. She brought her hands over the wounded areas of the shelf as if it could feel her gentle touch. “He built this shelf when I was a girl,” she said, her eyes lost in the past. 

Calvin didn’t know how to respond. He sensed that she would react angrily no matter what he did. After a moment, he began, “I’m sorry mom. I just wanted to see something…” 

She did not respond immediately. She was sniffling, and when she finally answered she still faced the shelf. Her response was cold, “Go to your room Calvin, and don’t come out until tomorrow.”

“But mom,” he began. 

“Just go Calvin,” she said firmly. He stomped past her and out of the room. “And don’t expect any dinner!”

Before he could think he yelled back, “I don’t want any!” He stormed up the stairway and slammed the door to his room. Then he fell on his bed and began to sob. The emotions he could not find for his grandfather came in a flood. After some time, the flood began to ebb. In its wake, he fell asleep.