TwinTales: The Forest Behind Our House

By Lynn Gibeault

An exciting adventure you won't want to miss. While getting to know their new surroundings Jasmine and Alex encounter a peculiar stranger.

This will lead them on the most important mission they will ever experience. A race against time where they must find the secret scrolls in order to save the forest from doom, if they fail the forest and all that live in it will be lost forever.

Join in the adventure Jasmine and Alex and see if you can figure out the mystery or meaning behind the secret scrolls.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Jan 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9780228802051

Book preview

9780228802051-DC.jpg

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter-3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Copyrights

Introduction

We should go back home Alex, sighed Jasmine. If we aren’t back soon, we are going to get grounded for life.

It’s not even dark yet! Alex replied.

Yes it is! Look, I can see the moon up there!

Quit worrying, he shouted back, but she couldn’t hear him over the whistle of the approaching train.

The moonlight danced off the trees to our left, and the wind rolled through the long grass in the field to our right. We rode at breakneck speed to catch the noisy train. Dirt flew from the horse’s hooves and a trail of confused dust rose to the sky behind us. The train was moving faster now. With Jasmine holding on tight behind me, I dug my heels in harder and leaned into the wind to catch up. As we approached the crossing at Lacey’s Lane, the train’s whistle blew again, and I hollered at the top of my lungs in return. Jasmine laughed and hit my back, then told me to grow up. I reined back on the horse, and came to a stop at the crossing. We watched the unassuming cars click quietly past, oblivious to our racing hearts and soaring spirits.

As the train’s last car crossed over the dirt road, I looked down, sighed, and gave our mare a friendly pat on the neck. It seemed that the three of us could do anything or go anywhere together because we understood and trusted each other. A few silent minutes went by with nothing more than all of us enjoying the fragrant night air. The warning bells stopped as the train sauntered away in the distance, and the red strobe lights at the crossing extinguished. More minutes ticked past in the calm of the night.

Then from nowhere, the silence was shattered as our horse reared up on her hind legs, pawed at the moonlit sky, and nearly sent both of us flying off her back. She returned to all fours quickly, but was still very nervous about something. Whoa, what is it girl? I asked her, almost expecting an answer. She neighed and threw her head around, the steam from her nostrils looking like fire chortled from a dragon. My heart pounded so loudly I thought the world would hear it. I cast a quick glance back at my sister, who had nervously tightened her arms around my waist. Then I noticed it. A glowing light flickered through the trees of the forest, just off in the distance across the railroad tracks. I patted the horse’s neck again and leaned forward, squinting to see what it was. Jasmine had noticed it at almost the same time. For some reason we were drawn toward it, not from curiosity but from something else that we wouldn’t understand until weeks later. I urged the mare forward across the tracks and she nervously obeyed. There was the light, and its pull was like a magnet, but there was another feeling too. It was as though we were being watched from afar. I shook that thought off with a little shiver and continued toward the spectacle.

As we crossed the metal rails, a strange feeling came over me, as though I was lighter than air. The light glowed brighter now, even brighter than the moonlight, and cast a strange blue-green glow on everything it touched. Scared but still drawn, we slowly advanced. As we approached, the light began to dance crazily. Dizzy with anticipation, we stopped just short of it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This couldn’t be true! But there it was, plain as plain, standing right there in front of us.

It was a bear.

Now, seeing a bear in the woods is not an unusual event, but this was a most unusual bear. He was brown and rather large. He looked calm, and was not scared or startled. The bear walked on its hind legs, upright, looking decidedly human but being unmistakably a bear. He held a lantern in his right paw, which was obviously the source of the blue-green light. It swayed as he walked, flickering almost magically over the trees looming around him. Our horse stopped as the bear held his lantern up higher to cast the light more clearly on the three of us. We rubbed our eyes at the same time, still trying to take in this image. Yes, it was certainly a bear, but he wore a droopy woolen sweater over his furry chest and had round, wire-rimmed spectacles sitting on the end of his nose. He wore pants too, which looked oddly small for his stocky legs because they stopped at an awkward spot somewhere just below his knees but well above his ankles. He carried an old, weather-beaten burlap satchel. It was strapped over his right shoulder, and hung somewhat reluctantly over his left side. He looked up at us, noticing that we were somewhat bewildered, and then he smiled.

Thank goodness you finally found me! said the bear.

My name is Mr. Jacobs and we have so much to talk about, but so little time.

Chapter 1

We live in a big house in the country. Well, it’s not a mansion or anything, but mom and dad always say that you get more house for the money if you live outside of town, so I guess this is more house. We used to live in Woodside, which is a nearby town on the other side of the forest. Dad got a new job in the spring and we had to move to Cobblers Creek, about a half hour car ride from where we used to be. Its ok, but I miss the old house and the barn, and all the trails we made riding along the forest. We have a barn at the new place but it’s smaller and older than the one we used to have, and our horse, Spirit, doesn’t seem as happy. There is a huge oak tree in the backyard at the new place, and its right behind my room. I can actually open my window and climb out onto the tree. So far I haven’t been caught doing that or I think my dad would nail the window shut. Our house is white and has black shutters. It faces the road that goes into Cobbler’s Creek.

My twin sister, Jasmine, and I get along really well, which some people find strange but we don’t care. We both love the country, and we love to be outside. More than anything, we like taking Spirit out for a ride. Spirit is perfect as far as horses go. She is friendly and happy, and runs faster than anything. We take her out as often as we are allowed to, but the rules are never to leave the property, and always be back before dark. Most of the time that isn’t a problem, but sometimes I push the limits a little. Of course, the problem with the first rule is that mom and dad have never shown me where our property line is! That makes it really tricky to tell when I have gone past it. The second rule is equally tough because it’s so hard to tell when it’s actually dark outside. I mean, how are you supposed to know? There isn’t really a set time when that happens is there? I suppose I could ask mom and dad to change the rule to be back by 9:00pm instead of being back before dark, but in the peak of summer, it’s still sort of light outside at 9:00pm. I guess we will just have to live with the uncertainty of the rules. Sometimes we ride farther then we should, and sometimes we stay out later than we should, which drives mom and dad crazy. Once I overheard mom telling dad that if that is the worst thing they ever do, then I think we are getting off pretty lightly. I guess it’s wrong to take advantage of that, but I do anyway.

Mom and dad are happy that Jasmine and I hang out together, but a little worried too because they want us to make new friends. We don’t worry about it at all, mostly because we don’t have time for that. We’re too busy telling each other stories, or outside exploring in the fields or at the edge of the forest. It never fails that we learn something new out there. Nature has so many surprises; sometimes all you have to do is turn over a rock or peel back a small piece of tree bark and you find a whole new world. That’s what we were doing after school today, and I had the dirt under my fingernails to prove it. Jasmine and I ended up in the field beside the house after school. There is a clump of trees not far from the driveway, and after it rains (which it did last night) there are little pools of water under the rocks at the base of the trees. If you quickly but carefully flip those rocks over, little creatures are everywhere. Once I even found a salamander. After exploring, Jasmine and I headed inside to talk. We weren’t there for more than a few minutes when mom interrupted.

Alex, come and get ready for dinner, my mother shouted upstairs.

Coming! I shouted back. I think we need an intercom. Dinner smelled great and I was really hungry. So I ran into the upstairs bathroom, and made a lame effort at washing my hands. I was in no hurry to dislodge that dirt under my nails, but I was in a hurry to fill my empty stomach. I dried my hands off quickly and tossed the towel in the sink, which I would definitely hear about later. I ran out of the bathroom, and paused at the top of the stairs. I crouched down and eyed-up the railing, running my mostly clean hands across it. Yup, she waxed it today, I thought, and a small smile appeared on my face. I jumped up and sat sidesaddle on the railing, then slid all the way down, jumping to the floor at the bottom and landing with a thud.

What have I told you about that? my mother warned, without even looking at me. If I see that happen again, no riding Spirit for a week, do you hear me? See that happen again? She didn’t even see it the first time.

Okay I grumbled. Hey, where is dad? I didn’t hear him come home.

He’s late as usual, remarked Jasmine.

Your father is working on a very big project at the office and has to put in extra hours. He called earlier and said to go ahead without him, so that’s what we are going to do. What, you don’t like having just mom time? she remarked. She smiled and motioned to tickle me under the ribs. Laughing, I darted out of her way and sprung toward the dinner table, which Jasmine had just finished setting. I plunked myself down at the place where I always sat, and examined the plate