Chapter 19 : After the Fight
Three days later, the Woodsman was still looking after the wounded wolf. It had unsuccessfully tried to stand up a few times and started eating again, but full recovery would be slow.
"Here, take this, it'll help you", the man told the wolf as he fed it some meat from the kitchen.
He stood up when he heard someone climb the ladder to join him.
"Hello, Father", Clover greeted him. "I got something for our patient! Whispers said it'll help him recover faster."
The old man handed his daughter the wolf's water bowl for her to pour the potion into. He then set it back down.
Father and daughter sat next to each other on the chairs that had been placed up there just for them.
"I heard what you said the other day… you know, about not having to fear your own family's rejection?"
The Woodsman remained silent.
"I just… wanted to say thank you", Clover continued. "For everything."
"It's my role as a father to provide a safe space for you. And I don't want you to go through what I went through when I was young."
"You're like me?" she asked.
"I loved your mother deeply", he explained, "but I also… had one or two relationships with other men. Not at the same time."
"Oh, so you're not like me", Clover concluded. "I only like other girls. You- wait a minute, was that why that one neighbour visited our house so often when I was little?"
Her father averted his gaze.
Their pre-Unknown life felt like centuries away, and given the strange way time passed there, maybe it really was. Either way, they rarely talked about it. Maybe now was the right time to do so.
"I had a thing for Mary at the time", the teenager said. "You remember her? She was the other neighbours' daughter."
"Of course I remember. Her parents came to me to accuse you of witchcraft once."
"Really?"
"That's why we moved away."
"They came way too early then", Clover laughed.
Her father couldn't help but smile a little.
He pushed the water bowl slightly closer to the wolf so it could reach it more easily. His daughter shifted in her seat to find a more comfortable position.
"Father?" she asked. "What… what was Mother like?"
The Woodsman remained silent for a full minute before he finally sat up, turned to his daughter and told her :
"She was the kindest, most gentle person I've ever known. She could make anyone smile… except herself."
"I wish I could have known her."
"So do I, Clover. So do I."
Once the wolf had fully recovered, they let it go just as promised.
Beatrice, Clover and the Woodsman then headed out to Auntie Whispers' house. Just like Lorna suggested, Beatrice was sent back to the other world to give the bell to Wirt as a souvenir from the Unknown.
"Oh, hello again", Greg said when the ghost appeared in the graveyard. "Did you forget something?"
It looked like the brothers hadn't even moved since the last time she saw them.
"It's been days on my side", the girl in blue said.
"Not here", Wirt explained. "To us, you literally just left. Just like… when Greg and I came back. We'd been lost in the Unknown for a while but here it had been, like, maybe a minute?"
"Anyway, we used the bell and things are back to normal."
"I don't think 'normal' is the right word", the teenage boy pointed out.
"You can have this back", Beatrice told him, handing him the bell. "Lorna didn't want to keep it."
"What about your brother?"
Oh, that's right. She had told them that…
"…He's fine. Everyone is fine. And Lorna and the Woodsman told me to say hello."
"Can we see them again without almost dying?" Greg asked. "I miss everybody."
"I don't think so", Beatrice replied. "You better just wait until I come visit you."
"Ain't that just the way", the little boy said.
Wirt stored the bell in his pocket.
"And… what happened to the Woodsman after we left?" he asked.
"Long story short, he killed the Beast, got back to his own home and family, and… I guess you could say he's my father-in-law now?"
It still felt a bit weird to think of it that way.
Both brothers raised their eyebrows in surprise.
"I guess I should go now", Beatrice said. "Maybe I'll visit you two again some day."
Wirt nodded and grabbed his brother's hand, ready to leave the graveyard for good. They all said goodbye and a second later she was back in the Unknown.
She had put off revealing what she learned on her first visit long enough. She needed to talk to someone about it. Someone who could help her make sense of everything.