The Ghosts of Cherry Blossom Avenue

"I even began to suspect we had a ghost," said Celandine.

Celandine Ivory and her husband, Cecile's cousin Coltsfoot, were visiting us and telling us about mysterious noises that they had started to hear in their house on Cherry Blossom Avenue.

"You know what I think about that," said Colt, exhibiting the practical engineer side of his personality. "There's no evidence of supernatural activity."

"And you know I'm not totally serious," said Celandine, pulling a face at her husband, "but you haven't found evidence of natural activity either. The noises must come from somewhere."

"What do you think, Jack?" asked Colt.

I needed more information. "About ghosts? Couldn't say. Weirdy stuff is more Mulder Honey-Fox's area of expertise. Anyway, what sort of noises are we talking about? If it's just creaks, then houses do that sometimes."

"He's an engineer," Cecile commented, "so he probably knows that. And the house isn't that old."

Cecile had a point. The upmarket homes on Cherry Blossom Avenue were only ten to fifteen years old. We didn't pay much attention at the time they were erected because Beverley wasn't long born and our attention was also diverted in the search for Cecile's brother Rowan who had gone missing. Letters and phone calls exchanged with places such as Purrchester (where he had been seen scant weeks before his disappearance) ensured we were not up to date with recent building work.

"Fair enough," I said, "but my question remains. What sort of noises? And when did this start?"

"We're talking about four or five weeks," said Colt. "Yes, quiet creaks at first but they don't sound like the house settling from temperature changes. We would have heard it before, anyway. I asked Maynard Chestnut and he'd heard nothing all the time he lived there."

Maynard Chestnut had been looking after the house all the time the Ivory family had been away. (*See Coltsfoot and the Autumn Colours)  

"What about insects or something like that?" said Cecile.  

"An infestation?" said Celandine. "Oh, I do hope not."

"I think that's unlikely," I said. "The houses were designed by Henry-Lloyd Construction. I used to work for them. Rowan did too. They are very careful in their choice of materials. They use bore-mite resistant timber and their designs are built to last."

"Maybe we should reconsider the idea of ghosts," Celandine teased.

"If your house is haunted, why would it suddenly start?" said Cecile. "Aren't ghosts supposedly tied into the history of the building? We've just agreed the house isn't that old."

"Some sort of anniversary, maybe. Maybe from before the house was built.."

"Goodness, Cel," said Colt, "we are not haunted!"

Celandine smiled at us. "It's so easy teasing my husband, sometimes."

"You may have a point," I said to her. 

    

Colt stared at me. "Ghosts? You too, Jack?" 

"No. But it could be something about the land. Not an anniversary, but from before the house was built. Perhaps we should have a word with one of the Henry-Lloyds..."

o 0 O 0 o

I expected to speak with Ben Henry-Lloyd on the phone, he being in charge of the firm these days, but his father Willard insisted on having a word, he being my old boss.

 

"Good to hear from you, Jackson. I heard Ben talking about Cherry Blossom Avenue. I handled that job. What do you want to know?"

I outlined the facts as told to me by Colt.

He made humming noises as he brought back his memories. "Well, you probably don't remember, but the houses are built on rock flats. The surface was originally at an angle so we had to bring in stone smiths from outside the county to do the levelling before construction could begin. In case you're wondering, they did a good job and we checked their work. But it was a natural surface so we had to adapt to the final result. Minor changes to the architect's designs to ensure maximum stability. Rowan did a brilliant job. The last work he did for us before he left the firm. A sad day for Henry-Lloyd Construction when he gave up the job."

"Rowan designed the houses?"

"He did indeed. Best materials. Custom adaptations to each prospective house to meld into the landscape. Those houses are a credit to him and added to the reputation of our company." 

"Well, I didn't expect Rowan to be involved. But what about the actual building work? That was after his time."  

"Yes it was, but the builders were told to follow his designs to the letter. You must remember it was at a time when we had an influx of new people coming to the county. We wanted the houses completed as soon as we could. For that reason we supplemented our builders with reputable workers from John Beavers and Monkey Homes - both trustworthy firms. All quality checks were done by Henry-Lloyds. Architecturally and geologically I can think of nothing that would account for the noises you mention."

There was some small talk before the telephone conversation ended and then I returned to relate my information to Cecile and the others.

 

o 0 O 0 o

"Rowan designed our house?" exclaimed Colt.

Cecile looked at him. "You don't think... as a payback for our prank..."

"What?" I said. "Surely you don't think Rowan would spend weeks making ghostly noises simply because you'd hidden that Colt had been a long-term resident during his absence? How likely is that?"

"It does seem overkill even for him," Colt acknowledged. "Still..."

"Go on," said Cecile. "What are you thinking?"

"We did manage to keep the truth from him until a few weeks ago. Close to the time we first heard the noises. Coincidence maybe, but Jack - do you think Ben Henry-Lloyd will let us look at the architectural designs and plans for our house?"

o 0 O 0 o

Ben was more than happy for Colt to see the general plans but the detailed work was held in the council archives. Maybe the general plans would suffice until the others could be retrieved. As an ex-employee I tagged along in case I was needed - I wasn't, but I was privy to any information that came to light, and there was something. 

 

We returned to 18 Cherry Blossom Avenue with the knowledge we learned. The plans seemed to showed a gap in one of the walls - possibly a doorway. In an unusual place.

"Under the stairs at the back," said Colt. "Can you see anything?"

"No," I said, then, "Oh, wait. There's a clear space on the floor. Should that be there?"

"We tend to stack things all the way back, so it sounds as though things have been moved. Can I get in to see?"

We changed places and Colt felt around. After a few minutes, using his engineering knowledge and remembering the plans, he reached to a bracing joint and grasped it.

 

"There's no reason why this joint should be here. It also feels a bit loose. I think it will pivot."

 

A twist of the cosmetic joint resulted in a subdued click. I looked over Colt's shoulder towards the back wall. A panel appeared to have moved back an inch or so. 

"Something's opened!"

Colt reached back and found he was able to slide the panel sideways into the wall, revealing a passageway. It was large enough to enter without squeezing. Furthermore, to the left, a small alcove held a spark-fly jar dimly illuminating the way forward. An indication someone - not ghosts - had been there recently.

"Shall we?" said Colt, and I admit my curiosity had eliminated any minor fears I might have had.

The passageway led behind the walls of the sitting room and I heard Colt mutter, "Explains the noises if someone came along here without trying to be quiet. I wonder where it leads?"

We didn't have to wait long to find out. We came across even stone steps leading down. 

 

There was evidence of more lighting below and as we carefully descended we became aware of low voices punctuated with restrained laughter. Colt shot me a glance and upon reaching the bottom step we both emerged as one into the area beyond.

 

It was a compact tiled chamber empty except for three upended boxes, a broom, a tin of cookies and two young rabbits. Our sons! They were using the two smaller boxes as seats, and the third supported a board game. Upon seeing us the youngsters beamed.

"Oh hi dad," said Chervil, "you've found us!" He turned to Brendan. "There. I told you they would eventually."

"You did. I was beginning to wonder if they would," said Brendan, winking at me. "Hi, dad. It's alright here, isn't it?"

 

"I think some explanation is due," said Colt.

"It's your secret wine cellar," said Brendan. "We've been using it as our secret hideaway until you found it."

"Wait. Go back," said Colt. "How did you find it, and more to the point, why didn't you tell us?"

"Ah," said Chervil, "that would be Uncle Rowan. He told us about it."

"Details, Chervil."

Slowly the details were revealed. On one of Rowan's visits to the house he had mentioned to Chervil how each house on the avenue was slightly different due to variations in the supporting rock foundations. He had said how number eighteen had space for a cellar. Rather than build over the space he had incorporated an additional room into the house. As Cherry Blossom Avenue was his last job before leaving Henry-Lloyd Construction, he decided to make the designs interesting. Houses that had space for unplanned rooms would have inventive entrances. He figured it would be a nice surprise for the eventual owners.

Chervil had said, "So we've had a secret wine cellar all the years we've been here," and in that unguarded remark Cecile's prank had been revealed. Rowan's cousin had been a resident for years and they had been pretending Coltsfoot and his family were newcomers. Rowan hadn't visibly reacted, processing this and in response had volunteered to show Chervil the hidden door. The unused cellar was revealed. "But," he had said, "don't spoil the fun for your parents. Let them enjoy finding it themselves."

"You chose to keep it a secret?" said Colt to his son.

"Well, I told Anise and Brendan. We cleaned out the cobwebs and stuff. Anise wondered if we should say something but I told her what Uncle Rowan had said. We decided you should have fun finding it."

"What if you'd got blocked in here?" I asked.

"The other end of the passage leads to another door in the outhouse where the lawnmower is kept," said Brendan. "We temporarily wedged it open so that we could get the broom and stuff."

Colt began to laugh. "Well, Rowan got the better of me this time."

The children looked at each other, confused. "What do you mean, dad?" asked Chervil.

"Never mind, lad. Do you know your mum was beginning to think we had ghosts?"

"Ghosts?"

"Unexplained noises. From you two creeping about."

Brendan waved his arms slowly. "Wooooh! We are the ghosts of Cherry Blossom Avenue..."

 

Well. It seemed Mulder Honey-Fox's services would not be required.

o 0 O 0 o

 

 

 

Fun on the Seaside Cruiser (Part 2) - The Quest

The story so far:

Morgan and Isla Hopscotch are aboard their houseboat Seaside Cruiser and they are slowly travelling downriver. They are accompanied both by their grandchildren Freya and Coco Chocolate  and by their wards Grady and Esther Chocolate.

The children have a copy of a map supplied by Captain Horatio Seadog and it seems to show an island surrounded by a circle of numbers - plus a riddle. Attempting to interpret the riddle, the children have concluded that they have to determine four particular numbers and these will be supplied by four Sylvanians who live or work near the river. So far they think they've identified three of the four people they need to meet. These are Beth Puddleford, river warden Wade Waters and fisherman Clayton Spotter...

 

o 0 O 0 o

Mrs Beth Puddleford was clearly expecting them. 

 

"I would have called you if you hadn't stopped," she said.

Isla winked at her. "Oh, the children are good at puzzles."

"Then do they know what they need from me?" said Beth.

"We think so," said Esther. "Do you have a number to tell us, please?"

"I do. Twenty-one. Make sure you remember it."

Coco looked at the map and the numbers encircling the island. "Got it."

o 0 O 0 o

They later came across Wade Waters, taking a break from his duties keeping the river bank safe. He had a further number. Ten.

 

 

The children thanked him and then they filed back aboard to resume their journey.

"Half way there," said Freya.

"So who are we looking for next?" asked Morgan.

"Clay Spotter, we think," said Freya.

"But there should be someone else too," said Coco.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Morgan chuckled.

o 0 O 0 o

They did find Clay Spotter, fishing as one might suspect. The children clambered over the rocks to reach him. 

 

He gave them the number seven so that they could mark it on the map and then he asked them how they were doing.

"We need one more number," said Freya.

"Ah well," said Clay, "I'm sure you'll meet someone else before you leave Mellowdene's waters."

"Do you only have the one number," asked Coco, "'cause if you have the other one..."

"Nice try," said Clay, "but Horatio only gave me a single number and a request to watch out for you. Besides, you'll get more fun if you do it properly."

"Maybe," said Coco. "Thanks Mister Spotter."

o 0 O 0 o 

The journey continued but no other names came to mind. Isla had taken the wheel to give Morgan a rest. Grady was up front too, surveying the river ahead.

 

"You seem to be doing well with the riddle," said Morgan.

"Well, it's good we've got three numbers, but we need a fourth for two lines to cross and find the treasure," said Coco.

"We still don't know that it is treasure, dear," Isla called back. "It says 'happiness' in the rhyme."

"I'd be happy with treasure," said Grady.

 

"That's not my point," said Coco. "We are travelling down the river and we might miss the fourth person before we figure out the clue."

Isla nodded, peering ahead from her place at the wheel. "That's a fair point. I was thinking it was about time we stopped a while. There looks to be a decent place coming up. Your grandad and I will take a break there and we can all work on the clue."

o 0 O 0 o

The Seaside Cruiser came to rest near a small pooled area and everyone gathered to discuss matters.

"We've spoken to Mister Waters, Mister Spotter and Mrs Puddleford. I can't see another hidden name," said Coco.

 

"We're not going to solve it, are we?" said Esther, and she and her brother plonked themselves down in disappointment.

"I don't know," said Freya, frowning. "Look at that mark on the paper between the words 'green' and 'waters'. Could it be a comma?" 

She glanced expectantly at her grandmother but no advice was forthcoming. Her cousins, sensing hope, were more helpful.

"That might mean 'green' could be something separate," said Esther, coming to her feet.

"The village green?" said Grady, "Who would we ask there?"

 

"Lena Dandelion's daddy keeps the grass tidy," said Freya.

"But we've left the village green far behind," said Coco. We've missed the last number!"

Morgan spoke up. "I don't think Denzel Dandelion is the answer, Coco, given all the other people have river connections."

 

"I think we need our minds to relax and see if any ideas come naturally," said Isla, standing and going to the door. "Anyway, I think we have a visitor." 

There was indeed a visitor. The pooled area was home to the Bullrush frog family and the father - Walter - was coming to pay his respects. 

"Hello Morgan, Isla, children," he said. "Horatio said you might call. Were you wanting something from me? A number perhaps?"

He turned his smiling emerald visage to the children. They didn't vocalise it but they had the same thought - face green! They nodded and managed to get the words out - "yes please, Mister Bullrush." 

"Okay," said Walter. "You need the number thirteen." 

When the excitement subsided they returned to the map and their spirits dropped. The number Walter provided wasn't what they expected. 

 

Connecting the four numbers, the two lines intersected to the side of the island. If X marked the spot, it was in the water. Furthermore, in the excitement to mark that spot they had forgotten an important fact. Nobody recognised the shape of the island.

"Do you know that island, Mister Bullrush?" asked Esther.

"I'm afraid not," he said, "It's nowhere around here. Maybe there's another clue written somewhere."

"All the other clues are in the poem," said Grady, "so maybe we need to take another look."

 

Morgan chuckled. "I see it. Look at the first line, children."

Coco read it out. "If I should swap land for the sea..."

 

Freya squealed. "It's not an island. It's a lake. The Lake!"

 

o 0 O 0 o

You may think this isn't a particularly adventurous name for a body of water and of course it isn't. It undoubtedly has other names but "The Lake" suffices for most native born Mellowdenians as they don't tend to travel too far. Because of its relative proximity they will have only seen this one lake and a more specific name would have been considered pointless. However, for your benefit perhaps a little bit of geography is in order.

The river bordering Mellowdene County continues a way further and then it forks. Most refer to the left fork as East River and this route finds its way to the sea, passing the communities of Whisper Wood and Thistledown. The right fork (South River) takes a little longer to reach the sea bearing southeast, and this is the regular route Captain Seadog follows to reach the coastal waters that in turn leads to Possum Creek. About a third of the way along South River there is another fork, and this narrower water course leads to the large body of fresh water called The Lake.

On the move again, the Seaside Cruiser chugged past Tall Tree Forest and with that, Mellowdene Country was behind them. The rabbits enjoyed the scenery, sang songs and kept an eye out for the first fork in the river. They were on their way!

 

Eventually they reached the second fork...

 

...leading to the placid lake itself.

 

 

It wouldn't be long until they got to their destination.

o 0 O 0 o

Morgan steered the cruiser towards that part of the shore nearest to the spot marked on the map. 

 

 

The boat was secured and they went ashore. 

 

As soon as they were on dry land, they followed what seemed an established trail.

 

Before too long, Esther spotted a small cabin. She pointed it out to the others.

"Yes, that's the place," Coco said, referring to the map and in response the children walked just a little quicker.

"What could be inside?" said Freya.

"Something to make you happy, I expect," said Isla for she had caught sight of movement within the cabin. When two figures emerged, Freya and Coco squealed with joy and the other children chuckled in that reflected happiness.

It was Frasier's parents - Rhys and Patricia - and they held out their arms for their grandchildren. 

 

They had secretly returned from their extended holiday and been made aware that Freya and Coco had particularly missed them.

 

Coco summarised it best when he said, "You see, it was a treasure map!"

o 0 O 0 o

Teri finished the tale, saying how Rhys and Patricia had a picnic feast awaiting.

 

Morgan Hopscotch had learned from Horatio Seadog that he was due to transport the Chocolate grandparents back to Mellowdene. When Isla had been told of this she had suggested that all four grandparents should do something special to cheer up the children, something fun to engage them. They went back to Horatio and he had hatched the idea of the treasure map and riddle. He had secured the help of the other villagers. 

As for Grady and Esther, they were kept in the dark so that they could enjoy the quest alongside their distant cousins. Their prize was not only to see the joy of the reunion; it was ensured that the feast included their favourite food.

 

 

"Rhys and Patricia have finished their holiday, then?" asked Cecile. "How long has it been?"

"Nearly two months, but now they're home," said Frasier. "They took lots of photographs. I foresee a few evenings of slide shows."

 "A few evenings?" I asked.

 

"It was a LOT of photographs," said Teri.

"We might need a holiday to recover," laughed Frasier, "Do you think your parents might give us a berth on the Seaside Cruiser?"

 

"I suppose that 'before the slide show' is out of the question," said Teri, a smile tugging at her mouth.

 

You see? We're not the only silly family in Mellowdene. 

o 0 O 0 o