A Lost Hope by Maria Montgomery

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SUMMARY: A young boy discovers fairies near his home and meets a very special friend.

Jakob stepped into the forest. He felt the forest encircle him like a protective layer of clothing. One short glimpse of a black tail in the undergrowth and he dived toward it. But he failed to grasp the smooth wriggling figure. Kailee was too fast, her lithe body slinked through the thick undergrowth of the forest. She went deeper into the trees. Jacob sighed annoyance. His leather shoes and wool suit would get dirty if he went into the forest; but, his mother's distress over the loss of a cat would be a far greater hassle. So he stepped between two great cedar trunks and scanned the forest floor for Kailee's black, furry figure.
It had been years since he had come in here, he realized. In truth, it had been years since he had been in any forest. Though he welcomed the view of forested mountains from his North Vancouver condo, he never felt much of a desire to be a part of that living being. It is not that it seemed an unknown, dangerous world. It was just that the thought never occurred to him. He didn't have much time for thoughts of new places to go or time to go there since he had been made partner of the firm.
But today, on this early spring afternoon, his thoughts did something they rarely attempted. They slid back, past thoughts of courts, cases and claims. His mind reeled back. Jacob tried to remember the last time he entered this forest.

*********

It was a sunny, summer day. The type of lazy, peaceful day that can occur only in summertime. He and Jimmy had decided to try fishing in the lake. Jimmy who lived next door. Jacob remembers the feeling of relief in meeting a friend here. It was not like he could content himself with his mothers company alone, being a boy of 13 years. After living in Vancouver for a few years, Vancouver Island had begun to seem very boring.
Jimmy claimed that there were fish in the lake and that he had caught them before. In truth, it was more like a pond, and most likely the only creatures he caught were minnows. After getting in an hour with no bites, the two teenagers decide to see if the raft in the middle of the pond would work. They both swam out. Jimmy was first to climb on to the wooden raft, old and waterlogged, merely a scrap of an old fence really. Jakob climbed on to it immediately after Jimmy and before the raft had adjusted to his weight. The raft suddenly pitched forward. Jimmy lost his bearings and fell, hitting his head on the side of the raft. Next he hit the water, but whether he was too shocked to swim or was knocked out, Jacob was not sure. One thing was sure: Jimmy was sinking deeper and deeper into the pond. Jakob, now in the water as well, ducked under the pond to retrieve him. He looked, but the cloudy murk that was the pond would not reveal Jimmy's body. Jakob came to the surface, gasping for air, "Jimmy!!!" he yelled. He ducked under again.
Nothing again. And then there did seem to be a body in front of him, but it was not Jimmy. Dark hair and a kicking leg was all Jimmy saw. Jakob, confused, came back to the surface.