Blueberries, Cousins, and Big Wolf Cliff

Blueberries, Cousins, and Big Wolf Cliff is Chapter 3 of How I Met My Echo On Big Wolf Cliff

Liz slips into the water to guide the motorboat up the beach.

“You can pull the motor up, Kath,” Liz tells her cousin.

“I've got the painter,” Kath's little sister Allie says as she hops over the bow and ties the line to a black spruce branch hanging over the beach.

Liz scans Big Wolf Cliff. "I wonder what Jenny's up to today?” she whispers.

“Huh?” asks Allie.

“It's nothing.”

Let's get picking before we melt,” Kath yells as she slips up the path to the top of the cliff.

“It must be almost thirty degrees. Remind me why are we doing this?” Allie asks, climbing over the tree roots that lead to the cliff path. Liz offers her hand, and they continue, sweeping branches aside to keep them from whipping in their faces.

Kath flashes Liz a teasing smile as she hops over a hole. “It’s about time we meet the infamous Jenny.”

“She’s never shown her face, so I think we’ll just be picking blueberries,” Allie replies.

“Either way, it’s a win-win,” Kath laughs. Her eyes widen as she licks her lips. “I can't wait for Aunty Jo's blueberry muffins.”

“If we pick enough, she’ll probably make a pie too.”

“We'll do our best,” Kath answers and stops, turning to Liz. “Why are you so quiet?”

“Am I?”

“You haven’t said a word since we left the cabin.”

Allie laughs and bumps Liz from behind. “Figuring out your first words to Ol' Jenny?”

“Ha! Yeah,” Liz answers, passing Kath on the path, quickening their pace up the cliff.

“I come in peace,” Kath jokes.

“Yeah, something like that,” Liz mumbles.

“You know Jenny is another scotch-created lake myth, like the North Bay Monster,” Allie laughs. “Those women in the row boat who spotted their Nessie likely paddled out after an afternoon of playing crib and drinking a lot of scotch.”

“Ha! Ha! Yup,” replies Kath.

Liz smiles. “I don’t think it was scotch this time. Dad saw her cabin a bunch of times and he’s not a big drinker.”

“Yeah, but Uncle Len is a pretty good storyteller,” Allie laughs.

“He is,” Liz replies. “But, don’t forget, I saw it from the boat in July too.”

“Well, let's find out what's myth and what's reality,” Kath states.

Allie crouches, grabs a handful of fat blueberries, and shoves them in her mouth. “These are definitely real,” she laughs.

“Ha! True, but let’s not stop here. The patch at the top’s always better,” Kath says, eyeing the ridge. "No one wants to climb down with a bucket of berries.”

“Sounds good," Allie replies, jogging up to Liz at the bottom of the steep incline. “It’ll get you closer to Jenny’s cabin too, Lizzie.”

“I'll climb up, then you can hand me the pail,” Liz offers, eyes fixed on the rock wall as she wedges her foot into a crack and pulls herself up with an old root. At the top, she calls down to her cousin, “Okay, give me your pail, Allie.”

Allie pulls herself up. “Yes!” she shouts, skipping to the dense plants heavy with berries. Kath scrambles up and follows her sister to the patch.

Liz walks to the steepest incline and stops, scanning the higher spots.

“Just go, Liz. I hope you find her,” Kath says as she squats beside Allie.

“Okay, you don’t want to come?”

“Nah. I hate climbing up that steep spot anyways.”

“Okay.”

“Say hi to Ol' Jenny for me,” Allie says without looking up.

                                                              * * *

“I'm sure this is the right place,” Liz mumbles. This has to be where the cabin was.

There are no other open places. I'll try echoing like in the boat.

“Hello?”

“Hello?” her echo returns.

“Hello?”

“Hello?”

“Jenny, are you here?”

“Are you here?”

“It’s Lizzie.”

“Hi, Lizzie.”

Did I hear that right? If so, that was no echo.

“Where are you?”

“Where are you?”

“Jenny, are you near?”

“I am here.”

Liz steps around a wide white pine, sidestepping a long arm of needles, and sinks ankle-deep into a carpet of vibrant green moss, dotted with crunchy reindeer lichen. Her eyes lift from her submerged feet. She isn’t alone. Her doppelganger stands three feet away, leaning against a gnarled jack pine.

Liz raises her hand in greeting. Jenny mirrors her, stepping forward with a smile.

Liz smiles nervously, hands clenched to her stomach. The girl reaches out, easing her grip, and takes both hands in hers. Neither speaks. Two pairs of bright hazel eyes scan each other’s faces: clear, olive skin, narrow brows, long curly copper hair. The only difference is that Liz’s messy curls are pulled back in a green scrunchie and Jenny’s fall to her shoulders in soft ringlets.

Jenny steps closer, her long fingers reaching for Liz's face, causing her to flinch. The girl tugs out her scrunchie, releasing Liz’s hair to her shoulders, and slips the band up her smooth, narrow wrist.

“That is better.”

She takes back Liz's hand.

“It has been too long since I have seen you,” she whispers.

“Seen me? I’ve never met you.”

“Sure you have.”

“I have?”

“You were very young so perhaps the memory did not stick. You were with Joanne, picking in the patch where your cousins are now.”

“We always used to pick here. When did I meet you?”

“You do not remember?”

Liz shakes her head.

“You climbed up to this moss patch and we sat and ate your blueberries.”

“That was real?”

“Of course. So, you do remember?”

“Yeah. My mom got so mad that I climbed up here by myself. I thought I imagined you—Mom said I imagined you.”

“It was me. Joanne did not bring you back again after that.”

“Yes. Why not?”

“I do not know exactly. We were very good friends for many years. One afternoon I returned from Echo Bay, the door of my cabin stood open but no one was around. I think she went in without me.”

“Is that bad?”

“Not bad but the other side of that door holds many secrets and mysteries. A wrong foot can plant you there forever.”

“No way? It’s that dangerous?”

“No, not dangerous if you know where to step. It is quite magical with the right guide.”

“I’ve been to the patch below with Dad and my cousins, even up here, and you’ve never come before.”

“No. I was afraid.”

“Afraid?”

“Yes. I was afraid I would scare you away too. I can connect with very few people.”

“So, why did you reply to me today?”

“I have not spoken face-to-face with anyone since we shared blueberries that day. Each time I hear your sweet voice over the water it warms my heart. I could not resist anymore.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Will you be my friend?”

“Of course!”

A wide smile spreads across Jenny’s face, a face so much like her own. Jenny gently squeezes her hand.

“What would you like to do, my friend?”

“Can I see your cabin?”

“You are not afraid?”

“I am not afraid of anything.”