Page 69 of Holly and Ivar
Holly didn’t know what to say.
“Great.Now what?”Ivar asked.
“I can’t read that.To me, it’s lines and markings.”
Holly watched his color drain, leaving him ashen .The drawings, the prose, had peeled back something he wasn’t ready to face.
“I need some air,” he murmured, rising from the chair like the building was on fire.
“Wait for me.”
“I’ll meet you outside.”
Holly took a few quick photos of the pages before straightening the journals carefully, almost afraid to disturb what they’d just uncovered.
Whatever she’d been afraid to say before, it couldn’t wait any longer.She’d finish what she started and tell him everything.
36
yule the man
Ivar
Thesilencebetweenthemwas loaded as they walked the wooded trail to Ivar’s cabin.Al thumped his tail, excited they were home, but didn’t bother to move from the rug.
Ivar went straight to the fireplace, bracing his hands on the mantel.“Tell me what’s going on, Holly.Because those drawings…” He turned to her, eyes searching.“You knew something before we went there.”
“You’re right.”Her voice was quiet, trembling slightly, which did nothing to calm him down.“I’ve been trying to find the right words and the right moment.”
He exhaled, dragging his hand through his hair.“Do your best, please, because I’m starting to freak out.”
He busied himself stacking wood in the hearth even though there was no fire.Anything to keep his hands busy with something familiar, something real.
“Henry’s research found references to a legend about the Yule Tree and its… Guardian.”She paused, as if giving him time to brace himself for what was to come next.
“Don’t say it, Holly, please.”
“But it’s the truth.You’re the Guardian.”
He gave a shaky laugh that caught half-way through.“Guardian?Come on.”
“I know how it sounds,” she said quickly, stepping closer.“But listen.The story says the Yule Tree only reveals itself when the world starts to lose balance—when people forget what connection means.And when it does, it calls someone to protect it.Not a Kringle, not a Santa.Someone rooted to the land.”
He was flooded with confusion and disbelief, not to mention panic.But there was something else, too.A recognition he wasn’t ready to accept.
“Ivar, that’s why you saw the tree as a child,” she continued softly.“Why you’ve been sketching it your whole life.You were chosen long before you understood what it meant.”
“I still don’t understand what it means.”He pressed his palm against his chest, wanting to steady his heartbeat.“And chosen?I’m not anyone special.I’m a failed game designer and a park ranger in a small town in Vermont that no one’s heard of.”His voice cracked with fear.
“You’re wrong,” she argued.“You listen when others talk.You see what others miss.You make people feel safe without even realizing it.That’s not ordinary, Ivar.That’s rare.That’s why the forest trusts you.Why friends and family trust you.”Her eyes found his.“WhyItrust you.”
He turned away, staring out the frosted window toward the line of trees beyond the pond.The world outside was still and glimmering, as if it too was waiting for his acceptance.
She came beside him.“My family’s job is to keep joy and hope alive.Maybe yours is to guard where it grows.”
He was silent for a long time.Finally, he whispered, “I thought I was managing okay when I learned that magic was real.Now you’re telling me that I didn’t just stumble upon it by accident all those years ago, but that it chose me?”
Holly nodded.“Exactly.”
