The Calm Before the Storm

You know, one of the weirdest things about Waverly Hall is that for all the crazy stuff that happens, there are days where absolutely nothing happens at all. Times like that mean that this place is actually not bad.

Take today for instance. I got up, I brushed my teeth, and did my school work with Mrs. Davidson. Since I’ve been here I’ve learned that one of the good things about being homeschooled is that you can get done faster and get on with life. I was done by about one so then I went outside. It’s beautiful out there on the lawns, especially now that the air is getting cooler here in the mountains. We’re far enough south that the leaves haven’t really changed yet, but we’ve finally lost some of the summer heat. Highs in the seventies, lows in the forties (Mr. Davidson has a weather station and he keeps me apprised on a daily basis).

There’s a waterfall outside my window that flows down out of the mountain and I like to go down there take my shoes off and wade in the creek. It was pretty cold today, so I won’t be able to do it much longer this year. I just walked down the stream bed and snuck under the wall into the garden. There’s a pool in there that’s too deep to walk into (yes, I found out the hard way), but if you go along the edge you can get to a spot at the very back corner of the garden. A tree grows in the middle of it and its obviously really old. Its trunk is all notted and gnarly, and the branches and over the water. Its leaves are so thick and hang so far down that they block the whole corner from the rest of the garden. I think that’s one of my favorite places. Since its in the shade and there’s so much water, it stays cool even in the summer.

I like just sitting in there, in my own little world, listening to the creek flow into the pool. There are so many little nooks and crannies even there that I don’t get tired of looking into each one of them from my perch against the trunk of the tree. I think one of these times I’m going to see a whole bunch of tiny people living in one of them.

Today Reep and me snuck in there and took a nice, long nap. It was just about warm enough, but not too cool. I had all kinds of dreams. Maybe I’ll write them down sometime. Anyway, after a few hours I woke up and went for a walk. I got back just in time for dinner, and afterward I read a good book from the library. This kind of stuff may get boring some time, but it isn’t yet.

And so now its dark and I’m sitting here in my room, typing. Nothing has disappeared. Nothing has tried to eat me. I haven’t heard any weird noises or seen anything unnatural. It was good day.

The bad thing is that you can predict what this place will do. Days like this make me suspicious. What is it setting me up for?

TTYL,
Meg