It was a gloomy group that gathered at Dulcy’s apartment the next day.
Hardly a word was spoken. Dulcy and Rachel were crying. Everyone eventually sat down in a circle, still not saying much.
“The Grove has been desecrated,” I said.
No one said anything for a while.
“But when a tree has been pruned, even to the roots, it can sprout again,”
Issa said. “Are the roots of our tree still alive?”
I looked up. I knew he was trying to give us hope. “Yes,” I said.
“Yes,” Rachel said firmly.
“Yes,” Dulcy said, wiping her eyes.
“Yes,” Michael said.
There was a long pause. Finally Penny looked up. “Yes!”
They weren’t smiling, but there was hope in their eyes.
“We need to clean up the Grove and say good-bye,” I said.
Everyone went home to get packs, and then we met at the park. Michael had a small shovel and Issa a little rake. We noticed a Sheriff’s car patrolling the picnic area, so we went in from the north. We walked slowly and silently.
The Guardian Hedge looked the same as always on that side, but it didn’t feel the same.
At the Grove, it appeared that no one had been there since I left the night before — candles still in their holders, chalice still on the altar. We began by packing all our things into backpacks. Michael and Penny filled in the fire pit
while Issa took down the tarps. Dulcy and I packed our tents, then Penny packed hers. Firewood and Magic Circle stones were scattered in the woods.
Finally the whole area was raked.
Now it really did look like no one had ever been there. I never told the others what had happened the night before after they left. It just seemed like it should stay between me and . . . God.
We stood where the Magic Circle used to be and I thanked the Grove for the last time. Everyone was sad. Issa and Michael carried the altar between them and we walked slowly down the hill. I was at the end of the line, and just as we reached the Hedge, something on the forest floor caught my eye. I reached, and my hand came back with a brass medallion. I recognized the Hebrew word for Understanding. Someone will appreciate this someday, I told myself.
The Guardian Hedge was a real mess where it had been cut through.
“It’ll
take
years to grow back,” Penny said, trying to hold in more tears.
“Maybe not,” Dulcy said. She brought out a pouch and sprinkled something onto the ground where the Hedge had been trampled. “Spirits of the Forest, please hear my prayer . . .”