The Dream Weaver: A Katie Minerva Adventure

By L. K. Quinque

Katie Minerva is a little girl growing up in the mystical town of Sumneytown in the late 1800s. She is kind and loving, with a curious natureand she is different from other girls her age. She has made a new friend named Asia, who is the niece of Willow Jewel Oldcastle. Mrs. Oldcastle is a weaver of rugs and blankets who lives on Thistle Twist Lane and is an old friend of Katies Granny Ruby.

Katie meets Mrs. Oldcastle and Asia for the first time while having afternoon tea with Granny Ruby at Dream Weaver Cottage. Even though theyve only just met, the weaver gives Katie a gift wrapped in brown paper with a purple bow. Its a beautiful shawl with silver threads woven in with the colorful fabric.

With this strange gift, Katie Minervas adventures truly begin, taking her a world far away from that of her normal, everyday lifefor what the Dream Weaver has truly woven for her is magic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Mar 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781480805866

L. K. Quinque

L. K. Quinque is a retired office worker, wife, world traveler, and mother of two daughters, four grandchildren, and one fat cat. This is the second Katie Minerva Adventure set in the mystical village of Sumneytown, Quinque’s hometown.

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Copyright © 2014 L. K. Quinque.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-0586-6 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-0585-9 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014933165

Archway Publishing rev. date: 3/10/2014

Contents

Part Two The Invitation

About the Author

To Heather Nicole, my granddaughter,

who was the inspiration for the Katie Minerva Adventures

W illow Jewel Oldcastle, a lifelong resident of Sumneytown, had a reputation among some of the ladies of town. Oh, it wasn’t a very extreme reputation, but it caused some chatter in certain quarters. Willow Jewel lived in a cottage on the outskirts of town atop a rise on Thistle Twist Lane—Dream Weaver Cottage, to be more specific, as the sign hanging on a post at the entrance of her winding walkway told. A cozy house it was, nestled among the whispering pines that seemed to thrive along Thistle Twist Lane and through the surrounding fields. She had been married once but now was a widow of many years. She was a weaver of beautiful rugs and blankets, known far and wide for her unusual designs and lovely colors. Ladies from across the counties sought her wonderful creations. A truly gifted woman, everyone said of her—almost everyone. A few viewed her quite differently. She had ladies in for tea on Sunday afternoons. Her teas were quite lovely and well attended by those ladies, who paid no attention to the whispers of some.

Katie Minerva had not been introduced to Mrs. Oldcastle. Oh, she knew of her from her Granny Ru, who spoke of her often, attended her teas, and had only recently acquired one of her beautiful rugs, a gift from Katie’s grandfather, Joe. Mrs. Oldcastle rarely came into town, and when she did, Katie was never around to see her. Katie knew she lived along Thistle Twist Lane. Try to say that really fast! Well, it was a mouthful, and Katie felt it was right up there with Hot Pot Road and Ax Handle Road as one of the oddities in road names in her small village of Sumneytown. Where people came up with these names was a curiosity.

When Katie’s grandmother spoke of Mrs. Oldcastle, a strange smile would appear on her lips. It was fascinating to watch her. Katie asked her mother one time what Mrs. Oldcastle was like and why her Granny Ru talked about her so much. It was funny, but her mother was pretty tight-lipped on the subject of Mrs. Oldcastle.

Winter was well underway, according to the calendar, and Christmas was just a memory. But winter had not met any of Katie’s expectations. Her shiny new ice skates sat in a corner of her bedroom closet unused, and whenever Katie went in there, for whatever reason, she was sad for the rest of the day. Skating was one of her favorite winter things to do, and so far this was one of the mildest winters ever. Just when Heller’s Pond started to show signs of freezing, a warm snap came along and dashed any hopes Katie had of breaking in her new skates.

Her best friend, Delly, didn’t like skating. She didn’t know what all the fuss was about. All you did was go around in circles and freeze to death. Katie’s other friend, Josie, said the truth of the matter was that Delly had weak ankles and had a hard time staying on her feet when she tried to skate. Of course, they humored her and said it wasn’t for everybody. In truth, they didn’t want to hurt her feelings by letting on they knew the real reason for her disapproval.

So it was the end of January, and the world outside of Katie’s bedroom window was dead grass, leafless black branches, and not a hint of white anywhere, except for the clouds sailing across the brilliant blue sky and the white sheets in the backyard flapping in the breeze.

It was Friday afternoon, and school was out for the week. Katie, Delly, and Josie had decided at recess that very day that they would find something exciting to do over the weekend, if it was the last thing they did. Nobody had a clue so far what that would be. Katie’s sigh filled the quiet of her room. She opened the drawer of her bedside table that held different things she had saved over the years that were good for all kinds of things.

Staring at the inside of the drawer, Katie had the sudden realization that a lot of the things in there didn’t interest her so much anymore. Lately, she didn’t know what was the matter with her. Her thinking was changing. She found herself being more interested in how she looked when she went to school in the morning, and the hems on her dresses were definitely staying intact far more often than they used to. That made her mother happy. She had even commented on that very thing just recently. Again, she sighed. She didn’t know what to think of anything anymore. Well, she guessed she was just bored. This happened sometimes when things weren’t going her way.

School was going better than she had thought it would. Math was getting harder, but she was managing okay. There was one sad thing. This was the last year Katie would have Miss Pickle for a teacher. Katie and her friends all agreed they would miss her. But the idea of having a man for a teacher was exciting and a little scary. Mr. Heitz seemed like a nice man, and the older kids said he was okay. Oh well, that was next year.

Katie, are you awake up there? You’re awfully quiet. Your Granny Ru is here. Come down and say hello.

That was strange. She hadn’t even seen the buggy come up the driveway. Katie looked in the mirror, fixed her hair, and reset her bow. Her mother and grandmother were sitting at the table drinking coffee and sharing what looked like one of her grandmother’s special pineapple upside-down cakes. Katie’s mouth started to water. She could use a treat about now, but—

Hello, dear. I just made it this morning. Well, actually several, and I was delivering them to some of the shut-ins in town. I knew this was one of your favorites. How big of a piece do you want? We don’t want to spoil your dinner, though, do we?

Oh, Gran, I’m not real hungry just now. I’ll save it for after dinner. Actually, Katie thought she could lose a few pounds. She did like her sweets maybe just a little too much.

Her mother and grandmother looked at her funny, but neither one said anything.

Her grandmother patted the chair beside her, and Katie sat down. Actually, I came for another reason. Mrs. Oldcastle sent me a note the other day inviting me to Sunday tea, and she specifically asked me to bring you along, Katie.

"Me? Why me? I