In the early morning light, with her dad all to herself, Emery cast her line and patiently wait for a nibble. She enjoyed the soft sounds of the bugs and birds waking up, the steady and somehow delicate crashing of the waterfall into the pond, and quiet talks with her father. Her favorite was when he’d talk about growing up in the city… although by how he described it, she didn’t think she would want to live there. It sounded very busy and noisy – nothing like their home or Cinnamon Crest Falls.
Emery cherished these mornings. With three younger siblings at home, it was hard to get quality one-on-one time with her parents, let alone quiet time to herself, even though she had her own room. Soon Aria would have her own room, too… ‘Maybe the house will be quieter when that little noise-maker has her own space,’ she thought.
As it was, spending time at Cinnamon Crest Falls felt like a blessing. While Bridget spent her mornings gardening and minding the younger kids, Altman would take Emery up the Falls and they would fish. He told her she was a natural, but she assumed he was just being nice because he loved her so much. Whether or not she had a talent for it, her dad seemed proud of her, and she thought it was fun. Fishing felt like the best of two worlds: Emery could enjoy the stillness of the early hours, the sounds of nature, and peaceful moments with her father; but every so often, they would feel the thrill of a tug on their line! They had to pull and try to reel in their catch before it got away – which was always so exciting – and cheered each other on. If she didn’t succeed, her dad would always console her and encourage her to try again.
The Falls quickly became her favorite place.
The newest competitor for her parents’ attention was Ryker. He was already an excitable child; he loved to smile and laugh, was always happy to see his family members, and would wave his arms around if he was particularly energetic. Emery had to admit that it was cute how happy he’d get when he saw her, but otherwise, he just seemed like another noisy, smelly baby.
‘At least Matthew is finally gonna’ be more grown up,’ Emery sighed to herself as she watched her mom fussing over the new baby. ‘Why does she even want all these kids, anyway?’
Emery and Matthew were less than two years apart, but to Emery it felt like it took forever for him to turn 5.
“Turning 5 is a big deal because it means you aren’t a baby anymore, you’re big enough to go to school,” Emery explained to him.
“But you don’t,” Matthew replied skeptically.
“But I could!” Emery scowled. “Isn’t it better to learn things here with mom and dad than go off to some ‘hoarding’ school and live with strangers?”
Matthew’s eyes widened.
“Exactly!” Emery shook her head. “I don’t know why you still doubt me.”
“Kids!” Bridget called. “Matthew’s cake is ready!”
“CAKE!” they both shrieked.
Giggling wildly, they ran into the kitchen. Matthew started to slip when he rounded the corner, but Altman caught him before his head made contact with the counters.
“Careful there, buddy,” Altman chuckled.
Matthew looked at his dad sheepishly in a silent apology.
“It’s okay,” Altman said, kissing his forehead. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” He adjusted his arms around his son. “Goodness you’re getting heavy! Soon I won’t be able to lift you.”
“He’s GROWING, dad,” Emery said proudly. “He’s FIVE now.”
“Almost a man, hm?” Altman chuckled. “First thing’s first, you’ve gotta’ blow out your candles.”
With as big of a breath as he could muster (and a little help from Altman), Matthew blew out his candles as his mom and sisters cheered. Altman served each child a slice, which they gobbled up eagerly. The family wasn’t big on birthday presents while the children were small; they usually just bought what the kids needed as they needed it. But birthdays did mean some new toys, and this year Matthew had asked for a football.
“Oh, I wonder what ‘dis could be,” Matthew joked as he held his football-shaped present.
“Hm, I’m not sure,” Bridget giggled.
“A space helmet?” Matthew mused, turning it over thoughtfully. “A pirate ship?”
“A pony!” Emery laughed.
Matthew tore the paper off and rushed outside to play with Emery. As they tossed the football back and forth, Emery excitedly rambled on about all the things they would be able to do together and things she could teach him “now that he was big enough.” It made Matthew excited, too. It was fun playing with Aria, but he idolized Emery and loved to learn.
“Matthew wants to learn to fish, too,” Emery told her father as she tried to keep up.
“Does that bother you?” Altman asked her.
It was a comfortably cool evening and they were heading up to the Falls together. They hadn’t gone that morning, so when the gardening was done, Altman had agreed to take Emery after dinner.
Emery thought about her father’s question before answering, “No. But I’ll miss it being just us.” “Well you don’t have to worry about that yet,” he smiled. “He has to wait until he’s 6, just like you did.”
Emery was sad that their fishing trips would soon change, but tried her best to appreciate the one-on-one time while she still had it. She found it frustrating how much of her parents’ time Aria and Ryker stole, but she knew her mom and dad tried their best to make time for all of them. She had to be patient.
Luckily, she decided Matthew coming along was “actually okay” after the first few times. He’d also caught their father’s affinity for fishing, although he wasn’t as naturally gifted at it as Emery was. She enjoyed helping to teach him and he was a gracious student.
When Emery was a bit older – “almost 10,” she’d proudly say – Bridget and Altman began allowing her and Matthew to take their bikes up to Cinnamon Crest Falls on their own. They would spend hours there fishing, playing and talking. It wasn’t long before it became Matthew’s favorite place, as well.
When they weren’t at the Falls, Emery enjoyed painting while Matthew preferred to be curled up with a book.
The easel had to be moved outside as the house got more crowded, but Emery was happy to spend most of her time outdoors. Her favorite thing to paint was the waterfall and what she imagined the town might be like when more families moved in.
Matthew quickly devoured all of the children’s books in the house. He usually read in his room with the door closed to help muffle the sounds of Aria’s singing and Ryker’s crying and giggling. He finished children’s books and teen novels on his own, but sometimes took turns reading the more advanced books aloud with his father. Taking a page from his sister’s book (so to speak), he began using the computer to practice his writing and make up stories. He also signed up for a book club that would mail him and his father something new every week.
“See, dad? Computers can be great!” Matthew commented when he shared his book club discovery with Altman. Altman only grumbled.
Matthew was heading over to the cabin to use the computer on a sunny Sunday morning when he noticed a girl walking up to their house. He hadn’t seen, well, any other kids around before. He stood and stared for a moment. She had very pretty, dark hair tied up with a blue bow and a bag of newspapers over her shoulder.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” the girl sneered.
It made Matthew jump. “Uh—sorry, I, uh—”
She snickered. “Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you. You probably don’t see many people around here, huh? I sure don’t.”
“Do you live here?” Matthew asked hesitantly.
The girl shook her head. “No, my dad just makes me deliver these stupid papers every Sunday for like, responsibility, or whatever. It’s so lame.”
“…Oh,” was all he managed to say. She giggled. “You’re weird. Must be weird living out here with, like, nothing around,” she paused for a response, but he remained quiet.
“Stunned by my beauty, huh?” she giggled again.
Matthew’s face went beet red. “No! I—uh—”
This time she laughed melodically. “I’m Dorothy,” she said.
“Matthew,” he said shyly.
“Guess you’re not used to teasing, huh?”
“Uh, no—I guess not.”
“That’s okay,” she smiled. “You’re weird, but I think you’re okay.”
“Thanks? I guess you’re okay, too?” Matthew was thoroughly confused. Was this how all ‘normal’ kids talked and made friends? Was he weird?
“See you next Sunday, weirdo,” Dorothy said cheerfully, lazily waving her hand as she walked back to her bike. Matthew watched her ride down the hill towards the community garden and boarding house. He wasn’t sure what to think of what just happened, but he knew he was glad to hear he’d see her again next weekend.
Matthew began hanging out by the front of the house every Sunday morning so he could say hi to Dorothy. He learned they were nearly the same age and she went to a huge public school – or at least, it must have been huge, because there were 28 students in her class! Matthew couldn’t even imagine how many kids there must be in the whole school! He decided to research what public school was like, so he could look like less of a weirdo to Dorothy. She never seemed to mind explaining things to him, but he really didn’t want to be a ‘weirdo’ forever.
They became fast friends and Dorothy began frequently spending her Sundays with the Tevellyns. Their house was now routinely the last stop on her route so that she could stay for a few hours and play. After delivering the paper to the homes in the next town over, her dad would drive her to the boarding house in Appaloosa Plains. She’d drop their copy off on the porch, then bike up to the Tevellyns’. Bridget would call her dad when she arrived, and he’d drive back to town to pick her up before dinner.
Emery would play with them, too, although she didn’t like Dorothy nearly as much as Matthew did. She thought Dorothy was mean, but Matthew always brushed off her comments about it. He figured she was just jealous that he’d made a friend before she had.
Even in the winter, they were happy to play outside or indoors. When it was cold enough, Bridget or Altman would take the kids up to Cinnamon Crest Falls to go skating on the pond.
It was those afternoons that made Matthew realize he had his first crush.
Those afternoons also made Bridget realize how much time she was missing with her older children. She’d been so preoccupied with the little ones and the gardens that she worried she didn’t spend enough time with Emery and Matthew. That spring, she made a point to go to the Falls with them from time to time. She wasn’t very interested in fishing, but she loved listening to them ramble about their adventures – the fish they’d caught before or which trees and rocks were important for their games of pretend. Sometimes they would make up a character for their mom to play in one of their games, while other times they stuck to playing tag. When the kids wanted to fish, Bridget would collect seeds or relax nearby with a book.
They often saw different birds, reptiles, deer and other animals near the Falls. Bridget was usually the one to point them out, so when Emery was the first to spot a pygmy tortoise, she was overjoyed.
“Look, mom, he’s sooo cute!” Emery cooed.
Bridget giggled. “He’s very cute for a turtle.”
“He’s very cute for any animal,” Emery insisted. “Can I keep him? Pleeease?!”
Bridget couldn’t think of a good reason to refuse, so the pygmy tortoise became the first-ever pet they had in the house.
Matthew’s favorite creatures were the bugs and wild horses. The horses usually ran by or stopped at the pond for a drink, but occasionally they would graze across the water from where the children were fishing.
One night, one horse stayed behind. Matthew watched it intently from a distance. He knew his mom would be upset if he went too close; she told him it wasn’t safe because animals weren’t predictable. Plus, if she yelled, she’d scare it away. So he obeyed and kept his distance. He watched in awe.
It was a beautiful black horse with a long, dark mane and cute pointy ears that flicked around. When the horse took a drink from the hitching post trough by the road, Matthew thought he saw all the colors of the rainbow radiating from it, but quickly dismissed the idea as a product of his imagination. The horse raised its head and gave it a shake, tossing the locks of its mane gingerly, and Matthew thought he saw a horn. It was Matthew’s turn to give his head a shake. ‘Horses don’t have horns,’ he reminded himself. But when he opened his eyes again and focused, he saw that this one …did.
“Emery!” Matthew said in an excited, though hushed, voice as he ran over to her. “I think it’s a unicorn!”
Emery looked at the horse and smiled at her brother. “It is a really beautiful horse,” she replied.
“No, Emery, it has a horn!” he insisted. “I saw it!”
“Maybe another time, Matthew, I just want to catch one more fish before we head home. I can’t play pretend with you right now.”
“I’m not playing pretend,” he frowned. “It can’t have three ears, one of them is a horn! Look carefully—it’s hard to see because it’s dark.”
Emery smiled sympathetically. “I only see its ears, Matt.”
Defeated, her turned back towards his mother and tried to get her to look at the unicorn. As Emery had, Bridget agreed it was a beautiful horse.
“I’m not sure why it didn’t continue on with the others that ran by,” she added.
“Because it’s a unicorn, mom!” Matthew insisted.
Bridget smiled at him, then looked back at her book. “If you want to do any more fishing, now is your chance. Once Emery catches her next fish, we have to head home. It’s getting late.”
Matthew was crushed. He was sure it was a unicorn. Why didn’t they believe him?
“Mom’s pregnant again,” Emery told her pygmy tortoise. “I like having other kids around, but babies are so annoying… they just cry and smell weird and make mom and dad more busy…”
She sighed and put her face close to the glass of the terrarium. “You understand, right? I bet your shell is a perfect spot to hide when other animals bother you.”
The tortoise stood still on its rock. Emery smiled at him, “Thanks for listening, little guy.” Sometimes it felt as though her tortoise was the only one who listened to her anymore.
The bigger Bridget’s belly got, the less time she and Altman had to take the kids to the Falls. But since Matthew was a rather responsible 10-year-old now, they let him go whenever he wanted. Sometimes he did so after dinner; as long as he was home and in bed by 9:30pm, he could keep the privilege. He dreaded the thought of being grounded, so he timed the bike ride to learn exactly how long it would take him to get home – and therefore, how long he could stay and wait. It took weeks, but it finally happened: the unicorn returned.
Matthew had to fight his desire to jump up and shout in excitement. Shaking with delight, he watched from afar as patiently as he could. The unicorn didn’t seem to mind, but it also took no interest in him. Matthew watched intently and stayed as late as he could, but eventually he had to hop on his bike and get home.
With the validation that the unicorn was real, Matthew kept returning to the falls after dinner and waiting to see if it would visit again. Sure enough, it began to gallop into sight or seemingly appear out of thin air every few days. In those nights watching it, Matthew had never seen the unicorn act aggressively towards other animals and it didn’t seem very jumpy. He was sure it was aware of his presence each time, too. So he decided to take the risk and approach the steed to introduce himself.
“Hi,” he said softly. “I’m Matthew. You’re an incredibly beautiful unicorn… Thanks for letting me hang out with you all these nights.”
The unicorn nickered and sniffed Matthew. He was elated. Smiling from ear to ear, he took the apple he’d brought in his pocket and offered it to the unicorn. It sniffed it, then hastily gobbled it up and snorted at Matthew.
“You liked that!” Matthew giggled. “I’ll bring you some more next time. For now, I have to go home, or my mom will worry.” The unicorn seemed indifferent and trotted to the water’s edge for a drink. Matthew watched it for another moment, then hopped on his bike and headed home.
Emery’s 13th birthday arrived on a beautiful spring day. The winter cold had thawed and seemed like a distant memory now that the warm summer air was starting to move in. Emery’s cell phone alarm quietly chimed before the sun rose, but it woke her as planned. After she brushed her hair and pulled on a tank top and shorts, she pushed around the fabric in her top drawer, looking for a specific wide headband she’d made. She wasn’t very good at sewing, but she’d made a few fabric headbands by following SimTube tutorials. The purple one with a funky pattern was her favorite. Her mission a success, she pulled it on and adjusted it to comfortably keep her long hair out of her face. She pushed the drawer closed and opened the next. She took out one of the button-up blouses and wide belts to complete her outfit. She knew it would just be another day, but she wanted to feel pretty and still be comfortable enough to go fishing without feeling ridiculous. Emery was out the door and riding her bike up to the Falls in no time.
Emery returned home to the smell of pancakes. It was mid-morning, but only her parents and Ryker seemed to be up so far.
“There you are,” Altman beamed. “Go to the Falls this morning?”
Emery smiled and nodded.
“Why don’t we go together after dinner tonight, just the two of us?”
Her smile widened. “I’d like that.”
For Altman, it felt like yesterday that she’d been the length of his forearm, cooing as he held her close, or fussing impatiently while he heated up her baby formula. He almost couldn’t believe she was already thirteen. Where had the years gone?
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