Page 77 of Holly and Ivar
She unmuted the phone.“Hey, Henry, we’re back.”
“Okay.The reason I’m calling—” There was a pause as Henry flipped through the pages of his notebook.“According to what I’ve pieced together, the Yule Tree is very particular about when it appears.It chooses when and to whom.”
“So it chose to show itself to us,” Holly said.
“It’s not that simple,” Henry said.“And honestly, I don’t quite know what this means.”
Something in his tone caused a little ball of fear to form.“So, what did you find?”
“Most of the old texts say that only the Guardian can truly see it—like, really see it, not just sense the Yule veins beneath it or see some light.The Tree only reveals itself to the one it trusts.Everyone else walks past it without realizing what they’re standing beside.”
“But Henry, I saw it.”
“Did you really, or did you just sense it?”
“We both saw it.We both felt it.We… never mind.”
There was a long pause.“Holly.It could be important.”
Ivar reached across the table and squeezed her hand.“We held hands, and the power of the Yule Tree traveled through us, connecting us to each other and to the forest,” he told Henry.“I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“Holy smokes.”Henry’s voice was barely a whisper.“Hol, this is huge.Why didn’t you tell me this before?You guys are basically rewriting our understanding of history in real time.These tomes I’m finding—no one’s looked at them in decades, centuries even.”
“A bit dramatic, no?”
“Well, yes, but that’s because it is.What you’re telling me isn’t in the texts.But I did read—where is it?—hang on one second.”He shuffled more books around.“I think it’s in here.Ah, yes.Here it is.I found one passage that describes a rare exception.I hadn't paid it much attention, but that was a mistake.”
“An exception?”she and Ivar asked simultaneously.
“Yeah.According to the text, when both connection and giving fall out of balance at the same time, the Yule Tree calls not one, but two—the Guardian and the Giver.”
Holly sat up straighter.“The Giver?”
“Loosely translated, yes,” Henry said.“The Guardian protects the land’s heart—keeps us grounded and reminds us how interconnected we all are with nature, each other, the elements, the world.The Giver restores the balance of spirit.Through generosity and kindness, we are reminded of why it all matters.But when both forget their purpose, when the Guardian can no longer connect, and the Giver forgets how to give with her heart…” He took a deep breath.“They need each other to heal.”
Holly’s throat tightened as she turned to Ivar.“The Yule Tree called us both.”
“Looks that way,” Henry said softly.“It must be rare, as I only found mention of it once.But the notes say that when they find each other, their light spreads twice as far.”
“So, how do we know when things are back in balance?”Ivar asked.
“I haven’t come across that yet,” Henry said.“But I’ll keep looking.”
“You do that,” Holly said.Although was that what she really wanted?More legends and ancient truths?
Henry hung up.A dense silence filled the room, so thick it was practically suffocating.
“Sooo,” Ivar said after a minute passed.“That was your brother.”
“Yup.He really geeks out over stuff like this.”Holly picked at her eggs, no longer hungry.For a moment, all she heard was the faint hum of the refrigerator and Al’s soft snoring.
“So,” she said finally, “it’s not only that you’re the Guardian.It’s that the Tree called us both because…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
“Because things fell out of balance,” Ivar said gently.
“No.Not things.Us.You and me.”She stood, pacing around the room.
“It might not only be about us, but also what we represent.”
