Forever Birchwood by Danielle Daniel

Author:Danielle Daniel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2021-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

After eating Grandma’s delicious bannock plus raspberry rhubarb pie, my heart still feels broken. It probably will be for a long time, but the sugar makes my head less foggy.

I tell Grandma I want to walk home even though she really wants to drive me. I tell her I need the fresh air. I know Mom is working late tonight because she left me a note telling me so on the kitchen counter this morning. Before I leave Grandma’s house with my backpack full of containers filled with soup and stew and homemade muffins, I remember to ask her if I can borrow her binoculars, and she doesn’t think twice before saying yes.

Once I get home, I decide the best thing to do to stop my heart from hurting is to keep my mind moving, so I get to work. I start to write down all of the animals I remember seeing around Birchwood.

This is my list so far:

Brown rabbits

Eagles

Crows

Ravens

Foxes

Black bears

Painted turtles

Blue jays

Robins

Squirrels and chipmunks

Owls (we heard them but haven’t seen them yet)

After I’m done with the list, I reheat some chicken soup, put my muffin on a plate and climb the stairs to my room. I consider calling Hari on my new phone, and then I think, no way, what if I say the wrong thing and what if he wants me to leave him alone not just because of his dad, but because of the Penny kiss? So I decide to write him a letter instead to let him know how sorry I am for him and his family. And, like Grandma said, this is one way I can show him that I’m a good friend. I start over three times until I like the way his name is written and then I just keep going:

Dear Hari,

I heard about your dad this afternoon at school, and I’m SO sorry. Your dad was always nice to me, whenever I saw him. He always called me “Little Lagacé” and tipped his ball cap when he said it, and he’d always bring my grandma a batch of garlic from his garden every fall. He also helped to push my mom out of the snow once when she got stuck on the road. Please know that I we are all thinking about you: me, Brandi, Ann and Penny, my mom and Grandma Houle too. Everyone at school actually. We’re all so sorry Hari.

Your friend always,

Always,

Wolf

Writing this letter makes me feel a tiny bit better. I’m not sure how I’m going to give it to him yet. The last thing he said to me on Saturday was “See you at school, Wolf.” I wish we could go back to that night, to Summer Solstice, and alter what’s happened. Everything changed on that day: the pack, finding out about Mom and Roger’s plan for Birchwood, and now Mr. Patel . . . If only we could go back in time.

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