Web of Dreams (Casteel 5)

seemed like a strange name for a home.

"Oh, living on the mountainside is enough to

give anyone the willies---especially when the wolves

howl like the wind and the bobcats screech. Up there,

wild things roam at will. Gotta keep your eye on your

puppy dogs," he added and laughed.

"You don't make it sound very nice. No wonder

you left to work in the circus."

"No, I'm just kiddin'. It's not that bad. Actually,

I miss the peace and quiet of the woods. Most of the

time, you hear only the birds singin' or a nearby

crystal-clear brook babblin'. And I miss the smells--

the rich green leaves in summer, the pine needles, the

wildflowers. It's great to look eye ti eye with squirrels

and the like, and when the sun comes up in the

morning and lifts its head above the mountain or

peeps through the trees, you feel. . I don't know . . .

alive, I guess."

"Now you make it sound wonderful," I said.

"Which is it?"

"It's both. So, where are you going?"

"I'm going to Texas," I said. "Fullerton, Texas,

to stay with my grandmother."

"Oh? Where you from?"

"Boston and Cape Cod."

"How can you be from two places?" he asked. I

laughed, but he looked hurt. I saw he was a very

sensitive young man and didn't want to be thought

stupid or foolish.

"My family has a few homes," I said. "I grew