Chapter 7
-The Running Tree-
The darkness had been lifted. Nameless was finally able to leave the forest. At the edge of the forest, he was greeted by Emily and her new friends, including Sesame and the owl. Nameless could tell by the smile on her face that Emily had found new companions. He waved good-bye and went on his way.
Sesame and the owl also had their own plans. Sesame said something about leaving for outer space, but Emily didn't quite understand. And the owl? He said he was going to enjoy a nice, long vacation under the sea. Apparently, the forest wasn't dark enough for either of them.
By the end of the day, only Emily, Senn and Adam were left. Adam was on his roots, begging to go with the three of them on their journey, but Senn wouldn't let him.
“No,” said Senn, shaking his head. “No, no, no.”
“Why not?” said Emily.
“He's not normal, and we don't know a thing about him.”
“So?”
“He could be a monster! What if, on the night of a full moon, he transforms into a giant—”
“Pineapple?”
“Yes, a giant, deadly—erm—pineapple. In any case, until I know for sure that he's not dangerous, he can't come with us. And that's that.”
“But he'd be very helpful,” said Emily brightly.
“Helpful?” Senn gestured toward Adam. “He's just a tree!”
“Just a tree?” said Adam, sounding offended. “Just a tree?”
Senn said, “Well, you are a tree, aren't you? You're not going to tell me you are really a pineapple.”
“I am tree,” said Adam flatly. “But I am not just a tree. Some trees can walk, and some trees can talk—but have you ever seen a tree that can run?”
And run he did. Adam ran through the grass. Adam ran through the fields. He sped up and down the hills, jumping and skipping and doing cartwheels and somersaults. “Wahooooo!” The earth quaked under his weight every time he landed with a thump. Then he darted off. He ran far, far ahead until everyone looked like little dots and then came back in a flash.
Emily was clapping her hands at his return. “Bravooo! Bravooo!”
“Thank you, thank you.” The tree took a bow. “I'll take applause, but no flowers—I'm allergic.”
“Okaaay,” said Senn, sounding half-impressed and half-annoyed. “You're pretty fast. But so what? If you're thinking of giving us a lift, you'd be out of your mind. You can't expect to carry us around like that. We'd be flying all over the place.”
“You still think I'm just a tree?” The tree waggled his finger-like branch at him. “Watch this.”
The tree's mouth fell open, looking much like a doorway, and his tongue rolled out, forming a small set of stairs. Senn was hesitant, but Emily climbed the stairs in wonder.
She gasped as she passed through the doorway. Inside the tree was hollow, and it looked like the interior of a cozy cabin. It was way bigger than any of them thought possible.
The entrance hall was shaped like a circle. Several doors were on the sides of the round wall. Emily opened one of the doors and discovered another room. She opened more and found that the doors all led to empty rooms. Even though the tree was smaller than a house, the inside was bigger than a mansion.
“This is amazing—and impossible,” said Senn slowly as he entered.
Adam said, “If you thought that was amazing, wait till you get a load of this!”
The tree began to shake. The center of the room was glowing. Senn and Emily moved away from the light. Both of them tripped and fell onto chairs molded out of wood. Right between the two of them, a large round table grew out of the floor.
“You made furniture,” gasped Senn, grasping the wooden chair beneath him. “Out of wood.”
“Duh,” said the tree, laughing. “I'm not making it out of stone, that's for sure. I can only make things out of wood and leaves. If you want something else, like a fireplace, you'll have to make it yourself.”
“Now this is what I call a tree house.” Emily grinned at Senn. “Any more complaints?”
Senn stared at her with wide eyes, shaking his head.
“Good,” said Emily. “Then let's go!”
“Okay!” Adam shouted. “Uh... where are we going?”
Senn said, “Well, as I said before, Cecil and I are on a journey. We're searching for the twelve wonders of the world. My grandfather told me about them. But only four wonders are known to be real. People think he made up the rest, so I'm going to show everyone he was telling the truth by bringing back proof.”
“The Forest of Eternal Darkness is only the first wonder?” said Emily.
Senn nodded wordlessly.
“And there are more amazing places in the world like this one?” said Emily.
“Yup,” said Senn. “And—get this—when I heard about your mother, the story sounded familiar. So I asked the owl about it. As fate would have it, your mother went to the last wonder on our list. That's why I decided to ask if you wanted to come along.”
“I want to see it,” said Emily, smiling. “I want to go where she went—to see what she saw.”
Senn nodded. “It's decided then. We're off to the next wonder. Cecil knows the way.” Senn glanced around the room. “Speaking of which, where is that blasted—ah, I remember now.” Senn opened his backpack, took Cecil out and laid the talking book on the table. “He's been so quiet, I forgot he was still in there.” He tapped on Cecil's cover. “Where to next, buddy?”
The book was silent.
“Cecil?” Senn said, looking concerned. Cecil wasn't moving.
Emily's eyes darted from Cecil to Senn. “What's wrong with him?”
Senn's eyes widened. “He's...”
“He's...?” Emily gasped, staring at him.
“He's sleeping!” Senn growled.
“How could he be sleeping at such an important time?”
Cecil snored.
“WAKE UP!” Senn screamed at the book and jolted him awake with a strong shake.
Cecil yawned in Senn's hands. “W-what? Did I miss something? Where are we?”
“Never mind that,” said Senn. “We're out of the forest. That's all you need to know. And we need to know how to get to the second wonder.”
Cecil said dreamily, “Hmm, the second wonder. It's supposed to be in the Netherian Desert—about 1000 miles to the east.”
“The Netherian Desert, huh?” Senn grinned. “Adam, did you get that?”
“To the east?” asked Adam.
“Yes, to the east!” Senn exclaimed.
“Aye, aye, Captain,” said Adam.
And thus began the journey of the running tree.
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