Chapter 3,
New Home
When Ashley looked out her window that night, it was like being on a different planet. In the streets of Sacramento, there was rarely a dull moment. She could look out her apartment window any time of the day and expect noise, light, and people. Even at night there was the perpetual glow of streetlamps, businesses that never seemed to close, and a thousand souls on the move. If all those failed, there was always a hobo kicking around the dumpsters.
Here the world was dark and beautiful. The small light from the neighborhood homes seemed to be crushed by the night sky. There were no streetlamps, no traffic, just a vast emptiness filled with stars. Sacramento was so light polluted she’d never had a chance to really look at the stars. It looked like God had poured a bag of diamonds across the sky with the full moon sitting in the center. A gentle knock on her door distracted her.
“Yes?”
“Can I come in?” asked Alex.
“Sure.” The door creaked open and her dad came in.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking at the stars. They’re beautiful.” He walked up next to her and looked out.
“Yes they are. Do you know any of them?”
“What?”
“Like that one there.” Alex held out his hand and pointed to a bright star in the sky. “The shining one there is the North Star. Always good to know if you need to find your way home. Over there you see the little box with the tail. That’s the little dipper and over there is its brother the big dipper. One of these nights I can show you all the bigger ones too if you like.”
“How did you learn about the stars?”
“I used to spend weeks sitting under them just for fun. One day I went out and got a book on them. I still have the book if you want it.”
“Yeah, that’d be nice.” He nodded and headed back downstairs. Ashley leaned further out the window. It was too quiet. She looked at the photo of her mom she’d placed by her bedside. Her mom always had a way to make the nights beautiful. Alex came in the room just as she was unpacking her flute.
“You play?”
“Mom taught me. Your world is too quiet for me.”
“By all means, make it louder.” He sat down on her bed and watched her intently. She blew a few practice notes before flipping open her song book. She chose a classic tune and started. It sounded strange to her because for once there was no background noise. There was nothing to distract her and every note came out in distinct ways she’d never heard before. When she was done, she put down the flute and looked at Alex. He was clapping.
“Bravo.”
“Thank you.”
“It was a wonderful song. I’m sure the town enjoyed it.” She took a step back from the open window.
“Should I stop?”
“No. It’s still early enough so you can play to your heart’s content. When it gets about nine or ten, I’d shut the windows.”
“Nobody will mind?”
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“Nobody minds good music. If they do, they’re lying or are just jealous of your ability. Do you mind if I stay and listen or would you rather play alone?” She shrugged and looked back to her music. Ashley knew most of these songs by heart. Since it was late and she still wasn’t feeling well, she stuck to slower songs. It made her happy to play and made the place feel more like home. When she’d finished her third song Alex asked her, “Do you think you’ll be in band this year?”
“No. I never liked playing with others.”
“It’s the only real way to get better you know.”
“I know, but I’d rather learn slowly than by some teacher. I want to play what I want, not what some old guy thinks is good.”
“Have you tried it before?”
“Yeah. I had a mean old guy for a teacher.”
“Well maybe you should give the teacher here a chance. You keep saying everything here is different, maybe our teachers will be too.”
“Maybe.”
“Just maybe. Play me one more song before I go downstairs, will you?” She looked through her book but couldn’t find one that fit her current mood. Remembering the songs the woman had given her, Ashley dug one out.
“I haven’t played this one before.”
“Then this is the best time to practice.”
The song started out shrill and then moved onto a longer, slower melody. She already liked it. It was sweet and came out just like she felt. Halfway in she felt the song change. Someone was playing, feeding into a chorus for her. It wasn’t just one person, but a whole group. They added in a loud and deeper sound to her song. Whenever she changed a note, they followed along beautifully. When the song was finished, she tried to listen to who had been aiding her. There was howling in the distance. They carried on for a few more seconds before they disappeared. Alex walked over to the window and put his hand on her shoulder.
“It appears you have some fans.”
“Dogs?”
“Wolves. There’s a family or two on the mountain. I think they liked your playing.” Ashley looked at the mountain, worried.
“There are wolves here?”
“Yes. Don’t worry about them though. They don’t bother the town and we don’t bother them.”
“They never hurt anybody?”
“Not a recorded attack in years. Last person to be hurt was an out of towner trying to hunt them. I don’t think he realized how big of a pack they have out there. He injured one and they injured him back. First lesson living near wild animals is this, most animals aren’t aggressive. If you leave them alone, they’ll usually leave you alone. Don’t give them a reason to harm you and 99% of the time they won’t. Rule number two is if you ever see any cubs, pups, or anything that looks too young to be out on its own, odds are it isn’t. Never approach anything young. Most attacks in the wild happen because somebody gets too close to something’s baby and the parents get scared. Remember those two rules and you’ll do alright.”
“I will. If they can hear me though, doesn’t it mean they’re close?” Alex shook his head.
“You’re not used to the mountains. A strong sound carries very well out here and wolves have insanely good hearing. The tiniest whisper that we would never hear, they’ll catch from a long ways out. Flutes have a high pitch which dogs can hear even better. They could be all the way up the mountain and listening to you.”
“Weird.”
“Animals are very different from us.” Alex patted her shoulder and backed out of her room. “I’m going to watch some TV and then get some sleep. If you want to come down feel free, if not, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay, I think I’m going to stay up for a bit and play some more.” Alex closed the door behind him and Ashley looked back to the mountains. The wolves liked her songs. For some reason this made her smile and she pulled out another piece.
She blew out the notes slowly and let them drift into the wind. The wolves must’ve been waiting for a new song now because the howling started almost immediately. She enjoyed listening to their voices mixed in with her music so she kept playing. The wolves seemed content to keep howling as long as she kept playing. Ashley soon forgot about everything else in the world and just let the music sweep her away.
“Hey.”
Ashley stopped her song abruptly and took a step back. That hey had been directed at her. She peeked out the window and wondered if she’d been too loud. She looked around the street, but didn’t see anyone.
“Up here.”
Ashley’s eyes went up and there was a girl in the house across from hers. She was leaning out a second story window the same as Ashley was. She had long brown hair and looked to be about Ashley’s age.
“My name’s Liz, who are you?”
“Ashley.”
“Did you just move in?”
“Um…yeah.”
“Your music is beautiful. Do you mind if I come over?” Ashley gave Liz a smile and shook her head.
“Not tonight. I’m still getting settled.”
“Okay. Well you should come over sometime.” Shouting came from inside Liz’s house. “And I’m in trouble. Nice meeting you Ashley!”
“Nice meeting you too.”
Liz waved goodbye, slammed her window shut, and disappeared inside. Ashley closed her window and sat down on her bed. Maybe it was beginning to be a bit late for playing music. The wolves were fun, she’d have to do that again. And who knew, Ashley might’ve made a human friend tonight too.