The entire house was engulfed in flame. The forest fire had surrounded the house, trapping Meg alone inside. She tried to get out, but each door she opened led to another burning room. Slowly, she succumbed to the heat and smoke, collapsing as her strength abandoned her.
The yellow flames licked at her, then retreated, almost as if on command. A man stepped out of the blaze and looked at her, sneering. He kicked some embers at her, and, though she could feel the red-hot pain, no marks were left.
He laughed, saying something Meg could not hear. He raised his voice so it was audible. "Fool. They're lying to you and you know it. I know their secret. Help me and you will have your greatest dreams filled. I know the truth, the truth they've been afraid to tell you." Then he turned back to the inferno, disappearing once more into the pyre made for her. Only the song he had been whistling was left on the air. Mae's song.
Meg knew it was over. She fought for her final breath, begging God to let her live one more moment.
And suddenly she could. She clutched the side of her bed, taking in the pure air. It was just a dream. Only a dream.
She looked out the window. The stars were clouded, but the moon was full and bright. She could see that the boys weren't home, neither was Winnie. She wondered where they were.
She got out of bed and changed back into her clothes. The dream was troubling her. Something about the man's face was familiar. Too familiar.
She crept silently into the night, an unknown something drawing her deeper into the forest. Bringing her closer to the place in the woods, and the world, where time moved slowest.
Her heart ached as she heard the loon cry. The most melancholy sound in nature, Tuck had said one night. Meg understood somehow, and wondered if she, too, could make a sound like that. At that moment, she was almost sure she could.