Enjoy!
An hour later, Jack rushed into the mountains. If the legends were true, he had come up with a great idea. He hurried past the carpenters' house, quickly waving as he went by. He pushed through a thicket of trees and bushes, and revealed what he had hoped he could find. There, canopied from the hot summer sun, was the twinkling and legendary Goddess Pond. His heart began to beat faster. If this didn't work, then the legends of generations were untrue, and he would never think of any other way…
Without thinking another thought, he pulled a bundle of tomatoes from his pocket and threw them into the middle of the pond. He waited. The air was still and full of a silence that was pressing in on him. There were no birds or animals. He would've suspected everything dead had there not been flowers and trees and grass. The part of woods was completely shadowed, and Jack imagined visiting here on a rainy day. How wonderful it would be to sit under the canopy and watch the rain fall barely a few feet away. Suddenly the waters parted, and a beautiful woman with green hair floated above the surface.
"A worshipper!" she said, delighted. "Not many people make offerings anymore."
Jack was stunned. Deep in his heart he had believed it wouldn't work. But it had and there was the Goddess in front of him. She was different than anything he had ever seen before. What she wore was nothing like what the girls wore at the Flower Festival—this was more of a white, silk shawl. Her eyes were a green—not like Karen's eyes—more like a forest green. The spirit of nature sparkled in her eyes and she truly did look like a goddess.
"Well, don't just stand there! What would you like to wish for?"
"Err—" he began, but was still lost for words. An impatient look came upon the Goddess's face, and he feared she would no longer grant his request. Quickly, he blurted it out. "I was wondering if there was something you could do to help the vineyard prosper."
She stared at him blankly. "That's the Grape Spirit's job."
"Yes, but something must be wrong. The vineyard hasn't done well in decades."
The Goddess stroked her chin in thought. She floated around as if pacing with her chin still in her hand. She remained like that for a minute or so until she came upon an epiphany. "Come," she said, grabbing onto Jack's wrist. Suddenly, by some form of magic, they were transported to an old dead tree at the edge of the vineyard. He'd actually never visited the vineyard before. It was much different than he expected. He didn't really know what he expected to see. The Goddess had hovered over beside the tree and was examining it. It was a menacing tree that loomed some thirty feet in the air. The base was thick, and unlike all the other trees in Flower Bud Village, it had no leaves. Seeing a once great tree sitting alone, dead, was a very depressing sight. The Goddess muttered to herself. "It looks dead—can't be—then there'd be no way to save—maybe it's sleeping." Without warning, she whacked the tree trunk really hard with her hand and yelled "Wake up!"
Jack looked around to make sure no one in the house heard. When he turned back, the tree was changed. It was not nearly as dark, and as he looked on it slowly began to grow brighter. The Goddess's eyes were aglow with this magical phenomenon. Every hue brighter sent Jack's heart pace faster. There was a slight cracking noise as the tree assumed a full and healthy color. Then an out of body voice said, "Oh, goodness, how long have I been asleep? It can't have been twenty years…"
The next thing Jack knew, he was lying in his bed. Had it all been a dream? Hardly! He would never forget the ethereal floating of the Goddess as she approached him on the edge of the pond. She had awoken the Grape Spirit! Jack was elated. He had done something that Karen would love. She would never know that he'd done it, but just the thought of saving something so dear to her moved him beyond words. Outside, the world was still dark, and his clock said that it was 1:00 am. He wasn't the least bit tired. He got out of bed, and went outside onto his front porch. In his extreme glee, he took a dead run into the grass he had planted in spring. He jumped around and hollered underneath the bright moon and stars. He had never felt so happy or accomplished in his life. Even when he had completely cleared the entire field on his farm he wasn't as complete feeling. His dog came tromping over, alarmed by Jack's midnight craze. Jack plopped down in the grass and searched deep into the stars for one to wish on. The dog came over and curled up under his arm. And Jack wished.
This was a very short chapter, so I'll try to have the next one up real soon. Please keep reviewing!! Thanks to Fairy Friend for being an awesome reviewer (I'm going to make you like Karen if it's the last thing I do!! haha). I really like hearing what everyone thinks about my writing, it helps me improve! Thanks bunches :-D
