was a tiny nutty pastry cup filled with raspberries and topped with fresh cream. All the food was small except for the final pastry—a gigantic strawberry shortcake. Red glaze dripped down the sides of the white cake, which was filled with sweet red berries and fluffy custard. It was topped with mounds of whipped cream, had a dusting of sugar on top, and was served with milk.
When we were finished, I leaned over to Kishan and said, “I had no idea vegetarians ate this well.”
He laughed and scooped up another helping of the shortcake.
I dabbed my lips with my napkin. “Faunus, may I ask you a question?”
He nodded.
“We found the ruins of the ark. Do you know about Noah and the animals here?”
“Oh! Do you mean the boat? Yes, we saw the boat settle in the hills, and all manner of creatures emerged. Many of them left our realm and entered your world, including the people who were in it. Some of the creatures decided to stay. Others had generations of descendents and then returned to us. We agreed to let all of them remain if they followed the law of our land—that no one creature may hurt another.”
“That’s . . . amazing.”
“Yes, it’s wonderful to have had so many of the animals return to us. They find peace here.”
“So do we. Faunus . . . we are here seeking something called the omphalos stone or the navel stone. Have you ever seen it?”
All the Silvanae shook their heads as Faunus answered, “No. I’m afraid we don’t know of such a stone.”
“What about a giant tree thousands of feet tall?”
He considered for a moment, and then shook his head. “No. If there is such a tree or such a stone, they reside outside of our realm.”
“You mean back in my world?”
“Not necessarily. There are other parts of this world that we have no control over. As long as you walk our lands beneath our trees you are safe, but once you leave their shelter we can no longer protect you.”
“I see.” I sank back in disappointment.
He brightened, “However, you may find your answer if you sleep in the Grove of Dreams. It’s a special place to us. If we have a difficult question that needs to be answered or if we need direction, we sleep there and can find the answer or see a dream of the future and realize the question wasn’t so important after all.”
“Could we please give it a try?”
“Of course! We will take you.”
A group of excited Silvanae began chattering at the other end of the table.
“How momentous that you came at this time! One of the trees is splitting!” Faunus explained. “Come and see, Kelsey and Kishan. Come and see the birth of a tree nymph.”
Kishan held my hand while Faunus guided us behind one of the cottages to the tree behind it. The whole town waited, humming quietly, at the base of the tree.
Faunus whispered, “These trees were here before your Noah and his boat of animals landed. They have given birth to many generations of Silvanae. Each cottage that you see is set before a family tree. This means that all who live in the cottage were born from the mother tree behind it. It’s getting close to time. Look up. See how the other trees offer their support?”
I glanced up at the leafy bower overhead, and it did look as if the branches were squeezing the leafy fingers of the tree that was straining nearby. It made wooden groaning and popping sounds as the leaves trembled above us.
The tree nymphs seemed to be focused on a large, knobby mound that bulged near a low branch. The tree shuddered as the long branch quivered. After several intense moments of listening to the deep rumbles of the tree and watching the trunk expand and contract, so slowly that I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t paying attention, the bottom branch broke off from the enormous trunk with a terrible crack.
A hush fell over the assembly. The branch hung loosely, touching the ground near us, held on by only the bark of the tree. Tucked in the space where the base of the branch met the trunk was a small silver head.
A group of Silvanae approached and cooed, speaking softly to the small being resting in the tree. They gently lifted it out and wrapped it in a blanket. One member of the group lifted the small Silvanae baby in the air and announced, “It’s