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going on!?
    He was about to call out when
something stirred in the grove ahead, causing him to gaze into the
shadowy interior of the close-knit trees. At first he couldn't see
anything at all, but then a figure became visible, a woman dressed
all in white. She was picking flowers.
    Edging closer and clearing his
throat so as not to alarm the lady, Jack decided to ask if she knew
the way back to Tom's house.
    "Excuse me," he began, now only
a few feet away from her.
    The woman looked up at him and
smiled. "Hello," she said.
     
    Tom was becoming frantic. If
Jack was lost he would need his Uncle's help to find him, but now
that it was too late, he realised how foolish they had been. It had
been all very well coming over the hedge but how was he going to
find his way back? Somehow he would have to negotiate his way
around it, but dense thickets of bushes and trees grew wild all
along this side of the hedge, making it difficult to keep it within
sight and already Tom had become disoriented, his sense of
direction failing him.
     
     
     
     
    "Jack!" he shouted out. He
couldn't be that far away, Tom was sure. Surely he would be able to
hear his call. But Jack didn't answer. Reluctantly, leaving the
hedge even further behind, Tom made off along a worn path that led
toward some trees.
     
    "I think I'm lost," Jack told
the woman
    "Oh dear," she sympathised,
smiling kindly.
    Jack smiled too, a little
embarrassed. This lady was certainly very beautiful and dressed as
she was, all in radiant white, she seemed almost magical to him.
Her clothes were made of what Jack thought to be fine silk and it
flowed about her, now and then caught by the subdued breeze.
    "I was wondering if you knew
the way back to my friend's house?" He pointed vaguely over his
shoulder. "It belongs to the McKern’s and I'm staying with
them."
    The woman continued to smile
reassuringly. "I'm not sure that I can help you. There's no house
around here that I know of." She paused as if giving the matter
some thought. "And where might your friend be?"
    "I've lost him," replied Jack,
"he could be anywhere."
    The woman in white shook her
head slowly. "Oh dear," she said once again, frowning, "I'm sure he
will turn up."
    "Well, thanks anyway, but I
think I'd better keep looking for him," Jack resolved and was about
to turn and go when the woman leaned in closer to him. Her face so
close to his made him feel a little dizzy.
    "Remember," she said softly,
"the road is long and little boys can fall foul of all manner of
things."
    Jack looked up at her with wide
eyes, struggling to clear his head. He felt ill. What was the lady
saying? He tried to think. "What?" he mumbled, not
understanding.
    Clutching a bunch of flowers in
one hand, she held out the other and pointed off into the distance.
"That's your path." Her long fingernail seemed to change and grow
and the ground began to spin. Jack became faint and feared he was
about to blackout. "Be on your way, while you can." Jack heard the
woman's voice but he could no longer see her. All he saw was an
emerald canopy closing in on every side. Was it sunstroke, Jack
    wondered. If only he could just
rest for a minute. "Remember me," she breathed and then everything
became dark.
    Jack lay in a field of daisies
with his eyes shut tight. He was wide awake but he knew that he
must be dreaming.

THE OLD WAYS
     
    In this land of dreams
    where we once played,
    promises are seldom kept
    but often made,
    now we must learn
    the ways of old,
    when hearts were but meat
    to be bought and sold,
    the dream is for you
    and the dream is for me,
    until we free the truth
    and find the key .
    Poems and stories. They had
become a part of Tom's life. But what did they mean?
    He had often wondered about
them, trying to discover the hidden meanings concealed behind the
veil of words, but he was more uncertain now than he had ever been
and as he walked slowly through long grass, searching for some sign
of Jack, this particular verse echoed in his mind