The Fires of the Hills celebration has been around for over a hundred years, the first Sunday after mid-October. It was a great opportunity for the people of Goodharts to meet and spend long hours together in front of large meals.

For the Donovans, it was their first time in nine years to attend the celebration. Mrs. Donovan has been outdoing herself: she made delicious meat pie, fish soufflé, pumpkin juice and the fluffiest, most inviting sponge cake ever, filled with blackberry jam. The neighbors couldn't get enough of the delicious dishes, praising Mrs. Donovan's cooking skills with every bite.

Right in the middle,  the tents of Pride and Haughty families were settled; they were, after all, the wealthiest families in Goodharts. Under the pristine white tents, their tables were the most luxuriant and richest of all. Dishes no one knew how to pronounce, exotic fruits, and fine drinks placed on shimmering, golden trays, in perfect symmetry. The Mayor, Mr. Goody, the town's doctor, and the school's headmaster, Mr. Bell, were all the guests of the most famous families in town.

While the parents were enjoying the tasty dishes, the abundance of drinks and the nice company of their neighbors, the children gathered in a large crowd, right on the top of the hill.

It was a perfect autumn day, and the sun proved to be generous at that time of the year. Ferry, Matilda, and Ben also joined the loud group. Almost all children in Ferry's class were there, for no one wanted to miss such a big, pleasant gathering. Each child had made a kite for the annual contest. Some of them were helped by their parents. Others had to manage all by themselves. Ferry's was the shape of a raven. Matilda had made a kite the shape of a giant, green boot. As for Ben, he hardly convinced his father to help him build an astronaut-shaped one, coated with aluminum foil, the same type his mother used for cooking.

Nevertheless, the most spectacular kites were, as usual, those of Billy Pride and Cecilia Haughty, which had been bought long before the feast from the Big City over the hills. Billy's kite was a green dragon with a giant tail of golden little bells that made a playful jingle at every move. While Cecilia's kite was a huge butterfly with shiny wings, the colors of the rainbow.

Ferry looked for May the moment he'd arrived. He finally saw her, close enough to Cecilia, holding a gardenia kite, with sparkling petals. Ferry wished that, just for once, May could win the kite contest.

All children started to raise their kites long before the contest started, just to check if everything was all right. And it looked like Cecilia's butterfly-kite rose the highest. Even the kite's rope was special, wound on a cylindrical plastic handle. After letting the kite swing in the wind to everyone's admiration, Cecilia's hand got tired.

"Here! You hold my kite until I come back," she said, giving the kite's rope to May. "But be very careful," she continued in a menacing tone, "if you lose it, you'll no longer be part of my group. Nor of any other group in school. For I'll take care no one will speak to you again!" Then, she went to her family's tent to relax with a lemonade after the effort of holding the kite for so long.

As for May, she could barely hold the giant butterfly which was lugging her at every wind blow. She put her kite aside so she won't lose Cecilia's precious kite. For as it seemed, Cecilia was to be the kite contest's winner. But the kite was too big for a fragile girl like May. And no matter how hard she tried to tame it, a strong blast, coming from nowhere, pulled the kite from her hands, leaving her with teary eyes and blood on her delicate hands. The kite rose in the air with astonishing speed, becoming smaller and smaller on the clear, blue sky. May desperately ran after it, trying not to take her eyes away from its big wings. The other children also noticed the big butterfly, rising higher and higher in the clear sky and pointed to it, their fingers in the air. Not long after, Cecilia also noticed it. She headed towards May like a storm of rage, screaming at the sight of her precious kite.

"What have you done, you fool?" she yelled as loud as she could so that everyone could hear her.

 "You will pay for this!"

"I'm so sorry, Cecilia," May mumbled, teardrops falling from her pretty eyes.

"You bring it back this very instant!" she shouted. "Or else I'll be your worst enemy for the rest of your life. Now leave!" she said, pushing her forward.

May began to descend the hill with tears in her eyes. Up above her, the kite was making for the Shepherd's Forest.

⃰

May was getting further and further away from the other children. Dry brambles were catching at her sky-blue dress and her shoes were scratched by rocks. She didn't know it, but she wasn't alone. Ferry witnessed the whole scene and, without wasting any time, he set off following May. He walked on a side path, so he wouldn't be seen. After a couple of jumps, he was already at the foot of the hill. He saw May going down, a blue dot on the gray hill. The poor girl was stumbling and falling at every step she took. Ferry looked up. Cecilia's kite was a small dot among the clouds. Suddenly, a storm started wriggling leaves and twigs in messy twirls.

Ferry, come and play! he thought he heard a voice coming from the forest. It was a deciduous forest, were poplars and oaks climbed to the skies like firm guardians. The leaves should have left their green color a long time ago, yet they didn't. Golden and greenish sparkles danced in the air, trapped in a thin mist, winding around the trees. Then they scattered into thousands of pieces, like dust in the wind. The forest was calling him.

Ferry wanted to stay away from the forest, remembering his mother's pleas. But without knowing why, he took off his gloves and touched a poplar's trunk. The tree seemed to breathe and Ferry felt his palms itch. Then shivers went through his body. It was a strange, new feeling. It felt as if he was seeing someone loved after a long, long time. He almost forgot why he was there when he could hear footsteps coming closer. Hidden behind a poplar, he could see May coming. The girl stopped, not daring to come too close to the forest. The kite was now a small dot on the sky, barely visible. Almost stuck to the tree, Ferry raised a hand and wished with all his being that the kite would come down. He kept his eyes shut, wishing for something magical to happen. And then he opened his eyes. He watched with wonder as the tiny dot in the sky grew bigger. The kite was descending, a giant butterfly with spread wings. When it touched the top of the trees, the kite stopped, waiting. Then, it began creeping through the trees as if searching for someone. When Ferry came out of the forest, the kite headed towards him rapidly, then sat quietly at the boy's feet. Ferry lifted the kite's rope and was amazed at how easy it was for him to handle it. That's when May saw him. She smiled, and the boy didn't even hear the whispers coming from the forest.

You'll thank me for this someday...

Ferry gave the kite to May without saying a word. The little girl held the rope with one hand and took Ferry by the hand with the other. Then, they climbed up the hill together. Her hand was ice cold. But at her very touch, Ferry felt as if the whole world was his. He never thought he could be so happy just by holding someone else's hand. When a sweet warmth was coming over him, Ferry couldn't even remember that his gloves, the color of the sunflower, were deserted near the poplar at the edge of the forest.

⃰

"Thank God you found it," Cecilia cried at the sight of her kite. "I was so worried. Worried about you, May, of course. To go to that horrible forest... I wouldn't have had your courage. Now come, the kite contest must be starting," she added, casting a hostile glance at Ferry. The two girls went away, hand in hand, but just before arriving at Cecilia Haughty's tent, May looked behind and smiled at Ferry with her heart.

The kite contest was the biggest attraction of the celebration. The jury was made of only one person only because that was the old customs and no one had the courage to change it. It was said that, in the past, only one inhabitant of the village, chosen from the most privileged ones, had the right to be a judge. For they said that not the kites were the ones to compete, but the fairies themselves. Now, the judge was decided by drawing. Over the years, the mayor, the priest, and the doctor of the town had been selected as judges.

This time, Miss Summer was also interested in judging the contest. The school's headmaster, Mr. Bell, thought it would be appropriate to teach her a few things before the contest started."I hope you know, Miss Summer, that the Pride family, as well as the Haughty family, have been the sponsors of our school ever since its beginnings. In your class inclusively, many of the books, manuals, and other teaching materials are bought because of their generosity. The City Hall hasn't got enough money for the town's necessities, not to mention our school. Over the past years, Billy Pride has won the contest because he had the most spectacular kites. But this year I think someone else should win. And you must admit Cecilia Haughty's kite is quite impressive..."Miss Summer felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. "Maybe the Pride and Haughty money can buy the whole school," she said with a firm voice, "but they won't buy me! I can assure you that, if Cecilia's kite is the most spectacular, she will surely win," she added before turning her back to a furious Mr. Bell.

A few moments after their stormy conversation, Albert Pride, Billy's father, pulled out from the glass bowl (with all the names of the possible judges) a small piece of paper with Miss Summer's name on it.

All the participants of the contest gathered on the top of the hill, sitting in a line. At Mr. Pride's signal, the children raised their kites. And Cecilia's was truly the most spectacular of them all, rising with determination above the others, followed closely by Billy's kite. Cecilia's giant butterfly, with its colored wings, got higher and higher while all the other cardboard kites got entangled with each other, most of them refusing to go up.

Suddenly, the eyes of the beholders noticed another kite in the shape of a raven which boldly rose above the forest, leaving the colorful butterfly far behind. After a while, it seemed that the raven-kite had spread its huge wings with a greenish iridescence and it was actually flying. As if there was no one on the other side of the rope. But somebody was on the other side of the rope. The one who was holding it tight by the small wooden handle was Ferry. All the children were looking at him with admiration and envy. After a while, the kite went away from the forest and began to descend. The giant bird was slowly plunging, then climbed again, this time towards the hills; it flew over people's heads, any of whom would've sworn that its wings were moving, seemingly with the help of a special mechanism. And they could even feel the currents caused by its wings messing their hair and taking away their hats.

When the contest was over, the raven-kite descended slowly and then sat quietly near his owner as everyone began to cheer.

"I believe we have a winner!" Miss Summer said, smiling. She handed Ferry a small, iron cup, painted in a golden color, which tried to imitate a genuine cup.

Ferry's eyes were sparkling. He reached his hands towards the cup. But at the very touch of the cup, a terrible pain pierced his body, and the boy dropped it, watching helplessly as the cup rolls over to Billy Pride's feet. In a blink of an eye, Eileen Donovan was next to her son, observing his wounds. "Ferry, what have I told you about not taking off your gloves?" she scolded him with a gentle voice.

Under everyone's eyes, Ferry opened his fists. His palms looked as if they'd been stabbed with a knife. But instead of blood, a white, viscous liquid no one has ever seen before was dripping from his wounds. And the most intrigued was Billy Pride. Who, no matter how carefully he studied the cup, couldn't see one crack to make such a wound.

Mrs. Donovan then fomented her son's wounds with a special potion of indefinite color, held in a small jar which she took out from her small handbag. She also took out a pair of colored gloves she gave to Ferry. Then, mother and son headed to their tent. Matilda, who also witnessed the whole scene, snatched the cup from Billy's hands and hurried to catch up with Ferry, leaving Billy with a smirk on his face. The boy had finally found a weakness of the day's hero.

Some hero, he thought. So Ferry could get wounded at the very touch of iron. He intended to use that weakness the first time he had the chance.

Sneak peek of the next chapter

"But what about the disappearances in the woods? Aren't those some sort of a hoax, too?"

Suddenly, there was silence. Miss Summer who asked the question, also joined the jolly group. Although she never intended to ruin their good mood.

"There's no such thing as mysterious disappearances around here, Miss Summer." Ferry's father answered. He seemed pretty disturbed by the unexpected question. "They're just fairy tales to keep children away from the forest so they won't get lost."

Nobody laughed anymore. With the forest so close, nobody dared to make jokes about it. They were all watching the fire in silence.

"Oh, but they are..." an old, rattling voice said. "The vanishings are real."

All heads turned towards the one who had been speaking. It was Mrs. Mildred Cobbs. She was over eighty-years-old, perhaps the oldest person in town. She could barely walk or see, and she was always accompanied by Tootsie, an old maid, a niece of hers, who was also old. Mrs. Cobbs's hair was always styled in a bun on the top of her head and her clothes, although old-fashioned and stale, were still keeping a tinge of her long-gone elegance. Her watery, dingy eyes were staring at the fire, without really seeing it.

"They are real," she repeated. "For my little girl, my sweet, precious, little girl vanished in that damn wood over sixty years ago! And I've never seen her ever since..." she added while tears started to fall from her almost dead eyes.

Thanks for reading! Please vote, comment and let me know whatever comes to your mind about the story so far.