Ihaan spied on the two rangers with Ro during the remainder of the morning. She and he grabbed his canoe and paddled to the island’s point. Ihaan parked it in a cluster of plants and made his way to the campground. After ensuring Kate and Amelia weren’t watching, he hid under the picnic table.
“Sensei Kate, are you feeling all right?” Ihaan heard Amelia ask Kate. “There’s no way you saw a boy. What proof do you have?”
Curious, Ihaan tilted his head to the left and continued to eavesdrop.
Beside him, Ro nodded to herself. That was good. The longer Ihaan stayed with Kate, the faster his memory would return.
A little bit later, Ranger Amelia slipped into the tent for a power nap because Ranger Kate’s wild story gave her a headache.
To Ihaan’s surprise, Kate knew he was watching her.
She waited until Amelia disappeared before announcing, “I know you’re watching me.” Sure enough, Kate’s eyes landed on the boy hiding under the picnic table. She knew him, especially after seeing his interest in her picture. She also saw the leaf he wore around his neck. If only she could get him to come out. Then she could help him.
Kate got down on Ihaan’s level. They looked like animals stalking their prey by how they stared at one other.
“How did you get here? Did you canoe?” Kate questioned as she moved closer to the nervous stranger.
He saw her coming and crawled back a few feet, not blinking or saying a word. A few shadows sheltered his face.
However, Ranger Kate did not run and hide. The boy needed her, and she needed him. “Are we in your turf? Is that why you’re here?”
Ranger Kate’s voice calmed Ihaan, like when a mother sang their child a lullaby. It was so soothing—he edged a tiny bit closer to her. He wondered if, aside from him, she also saw Ro.
She answered that question with, “Who’s your friend?”
For the first time that day, Ihaan spoke: “Ro.” His voice was deep but not too deep.
“Oh, so you can speak?” said Ranger Kate. “All right, then, what’s your name?”
“I am Ihaan.”
“I-an or E-han?”
“I am Ihaan.”
“Well, you certainly don't have a big vocabulary. Come on out. I don’t bite.”
Ihaan did. He felt like he could trust Ranger Kate. The shadows gradually left his face as he crawled out.
Ro followed him because it was her duty to protect him, including the Ghost of Ontario. However, it wasn’t Kate she was worried about, but Amelia. Ro didn’t want to fail her. Through telepathy, she told her friends to prepare themselves.
A mystical sound engulfed all of Red Squirrel Lake.
At the sight of a few clouds twirling unusually in the sky, Ranger Kate rose to her feet.
A faded glow washed over the forest’s treetops, and a trail of green leaves circled both her and the mysterious boy.
From the leaves, treetops, sky, and lake came Spirit Animals.
A few eagles and hawks dropped from the clouds while bears, moose, and wolves emerged from the forest.
Wolves and coyotes passed by Kate’s arms, and a moose herd escaped from Red Squirrel Lake’s surface.
Kate examined each Spirit Animal with a look of pure wonder. She lifted her arm and reached for a flock of sparrows and eagles who flew over her head. Wow—Spirit Animals were, by far, the most incredible thing that ever happened to her on those lakes.
The animals settled down in a circle behind her and the mysterious stranger. It was there that Ranger Kate knew what they were doing.
“They’re protecting you,” she told Ihaan. “Please, we’ll leave if you don’t like us being here. It’s just that—ever since that awful tragedy ten years ago, we’ve always wanted to find the Ghost of Ontario. That’s why we do this 24-Hour Challenge. We mean you no harm. I promise.”
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