‘Hurry up and eat your breakfast, Tilly!’ said Mum. ‘We need to leave early to make it to your grandpa’s house in time for us to be able to make it back before it gets dark.’

‘Mum, what’s at Grandpa’s again?’

‘Tilly, it’s a tradition. Around your age the kids of our family go and stay there for the summer.’

‘But why do we go and stay there when we’re about my age Mum?’

‘Your Grandpa has many things that he can teach you. He calls his property Cheyanne Forest. It’s a wonderful place. It has such a magical feel about it. Your cousins Zach and Jess will also be there. Do you remember them from our last Christmas get together with the whole family?’

‘Yes, I remember them. Oh, it will be so much fun having them there as well. I forgot they're coming. Now that I remember, I can’t wait to go! Should we leave now?’

Tilly’s little sister Jasmine and her younger brother James were staying with their Auntie Trish for the day, so it would be just Tilly and her parents for the road trip to Grandpa’s place. It was nice to have Mum and Dad to herself for a while, but she wondered who Grandpa was, as no one really talked about Grandpa much.

‘Why have I never really heard much about Grandpa before now?’

‘I’m sorry we never really talk about him. There’s no reason, you know, he just likes to keep to himself as a rule and so, I guess, we don’t tend to think of him in conversation either. Some people are just more insular than others. I think that’s the right word. It's not that he’s unfriendly. In fact, he can be the life of the party.’

‘Sounds interesting. I don’t really understand what it is that Grandpa will be teaching us. It doesn’t seem very fair that we have to study during our summer break. It really just doesn’t seem very fair at all!’

‘I know it sounds like studying on your summer break is really unfair. But Tilly, my darling, you're about to have the best summer ever. I remember my summer with Grandpa was one of the best I had. I learnt so many wonderful things. These are things that you must learn for yourself. The place where your grandpa lives is a little isolated. But it's a truly beautiful place. You’re going to have such a good time. Believe me my sweet Tilly. You’ll have a really, really, good time!’

‘You said that you stayed with grandpa for a summer? But if he's my grandpa, then isn’t he your father? Mum, it doesn’t make sense!’

Mum laughed. ‘That's just the funniest thing! I’ll explain it to you. You see Tilly, Grandpa is quite old… Oh, that reminds me, Grandpa doesn’t like to be called Grandpa. He likes to be called Opa. Opa is the Dutch name for Grandpa. Not that he is Dutch though. He, well… actually, I don’t know where he comes from. Doesn’t matter! He's more than your great Grandpa. I’m not really sure how many greats before it. There are many greats involved. You will understand better when you meet him. That he’s still alive is amazing really. Good for him!’

۞

With the sun shining through the window, the car became very warm. The rhythm of the car tyres on the road was also soothing. Tilly was fast asleep before they had even left the Perth city limits.

As Tilly started to wake up, the light filtered through the treetops causing her eyelids to twitch with the flashes of shining brilliance on them. The small goosebumps on Tilly’s arms and legs told her things had cooled down a little since leaving Perth.

Tilly gazed out the window. She enjoyed the shiny display of colours as the sun shone through the treetops. It was beautiful. Soon the distance between the trees grew less and less, and less light was filtering in. She shivered. She wished she’d left a cardigan out of her bag to be able to put it on now as more goosebumps covered her arms and legs. She shivered again and thought, cold, so cold.

Before long, Dad, who had been driving, pulled the car to a stop. The area where they had parked was surrounded by trees with gravel underfoot. The spot looks well cared for, Tilly thought. There were no weeds, no moss, and things just looked really tidy, almost pretty for a car parking area.

‘I wonder whose car that is?’ Tilly said as theirs was the second car in the car park.

‘It must be Jess and Zach’s parents’ car,’ Dad said.

When Dad opened the trunk of the car, Tilly quickly went to her bag, which had her cardigan in it, and pulled it on.

Dad laughed. ‘A bit cold there are you? I don’t blame you. It's quite cold here. But you'll warm up soon enough as we have awhile to walk.'

‘Why doesn’t Opa have a driveway which goes to his house?’ Tilly said.

'He doesn't need a car himself as he seems to be fully self-sufficient here. I think he prefers the quiet life and also doesn’t want to damage his forest with smog or tire damage on the ground.’

‘How far do we have to walk?’ Tilly said.

‘I can’t remember exactly, but we will be there soon enough,’ Dad said.

‘Have you stayed with Opa too?’ Tilly said.

‘Yes, both your Mum and I have stayed with Opa. Our families are both linked to him through marriage way, way, back somewhere along the line.’

Each of Tilly’s parents shouldered a bag and set off. The path underfoot was covered in leaves all brown and mushy from the dampness in the air. In the distance, Tilly could hear the sound of water running in a creek, and the song of many different types of birds singing in the treetops. A little way off she swore she saw a reindeer running away and a little white rabbit popped back into its burrow. The colours of the trees, the leaves, and the trunks, were so vivid and startling that Tilly thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. And the grass and shrubs and ferns were also amazing to look at. It was nothing like Tilly had ever seen before.

Everywhere she looked, the colours were vibrant and beautiful. The smell of the forest was so fresh she felt revived so that it seemed as though she hadn’t been alive before. How strange it all is, she thought!

After they'd been walking for a good while, Tilly looked down at the bottom of one of the tree trunks and saw a tiny green door and stopped in her tracks. ‘Mum! Dad! Come have a look at this! You won’t believe what I’m looking at. There's a little green door in this tree. Please come have a look.’

Tilly’s parents, who had been walking on ahead of her, stopped and turned around.

‘What is it, Tilly darling?’ Mum said.

‘I swear, there is a green door in this tree.’

Tilly’s parents came back to where she was standing and looked where Tilly was pointing, but all they saw was a door painted onto the tree.

‘Tilly, we haven’t got time to waste. We need to get there soon, or we’ll run out of light to get back to the car. It’s just a green door painted on the tree. Nothing to get so worked up about, that’s for sure,’ Dad said.

‘But, but, I swear I see a door. An actual door in the tree. Not one painted on!’

‘Come on, Tilly. We must get a move on,’ Dad said, and off he went. Mum shrugged her shoulders and then she too turned around and continued walking.

Tilly sighed and then hurried to catch-up with her parents.

Soon they stopped for lunch. They sat in a cute little clearing. The logs were placed around in a circle to form seats. In the centre was a large part of a log sliced from a massive tree. This made up the table that you could put your lunch things on. It really was very sweet. A lovely little picnic spot.

Mum had made them peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches for lunch which they munched on in silence.

Dad started to slice up some apples when Tilly spoke up. ‘It'll be weird staying with someone I don’t know. I’m glad Zach and Jess will be there.’

‘Opa is a lovely person. You'll feel at ease with him in no time,’ Mum said.

After lunch they continued walking for a little while longer. They must’ve been walking for about two hours all up. Tilly’s legs were getting very sore, and she was feeling really tired. How much longer would they have to walk before they'd reach Opa’ home? she wondered.

Jess and Zach’s parents passed them on their way back to their car. The parents greeted each other, but both were in a hurry and so they didn’t stop to chat.

Thankfully, soon after this, they stepped out into a clearing and in the centre was a really strangely shaped house.

Tilly wasn’t quite sure how to describe it. The house was made of wood with roof tiles. Nothing unusual there. However, the house stepped out at each floor, getting bigger, rather than smaller, as you went up each level. Actually, Tilly wasn’t sure how it stayed upright! It was the most bizarre thing she’d ever seen!

Tilly barely had a chance to take in her surroundings when Zach and Jess came running towards her.

۞

‘Jess and Zach, hurry and finish packing your things for your stay with Opa,’ Jess and Zach’s Mum called upstairs to them.

‘Zach, have you nearly finished? Did you include your bedside clock and a torch? I don’t know if we’ll need them, it’s just that I’m really not sure what to expect,’ Jess sounded nervous.

‘It’s hard to pack when you’re not really sure what to expect!’ Zach said.

‘Mum and Dad talked about the outdoors a lot. I think you’re okay with that but it’s not really my thing,’ Jess said.

‘I know it’s not, but Tilly will be there, so there's that at least,’ Zach tried to console his twin sister.

‘Yes. I’m looking forward to seeing Tilly again. She was so much fun at the Christmas party. I wonder what she thinks about staying with Opa? Five weeks seems like a long time,’ Jess said.

‘It does! But I’m sure it’ll go fast,’ Zack said.

‘Come on you two. Hurry up and finish packing. You know your father and I have to be at Jan’s birthday barbeque this afternoon,’ Mum said.

Zach and Jess hurried to finish packing and then dragged their bags down the staircase, letting them bump down each step.

‘Pick those bags up and carry them properly you two,’ Dad said.

Since Dad wasn’t someone you messed with, Jess and Zach both picked up their bags to carry them down the rest of the way.

Dad heaved the bags into the boot of the car and then they were off to Opa’s place. They zipped along the highway heading east out of Dunsborough and soon they were pulling into a driveway at a property about an hour and a half’s drive from home.

Jess looked at the forest around her as they walked along the path. She noted that it was an unusually pretty place, but it only seemed to make her feel more nervous. Jess wondered what was to be expected of her. Deciding to focus on her breathing, and the steps in front of her, she would have missed seeing the green door in the tree if it hadn’t been for Zach.

Zach, who was more used to being outdoors, felt more at home in the forest than his twin. He found himself looking around with interest and then surprise when he saw the green door in the tree.

‘Jess, come check this out!’

Jess stopped and came back to where her brother was and looked to where he was pointing.

‘Wow! Mum, Dad, did you see this green door in the tree trunk here?’ she said, forgetting for a moment that she didn’t really want to be there.

Their parents came back to see what their children were looking at and smiled. ‘Nice use of your imagination, kids. But it’s just a green door painted on a tree, and we really need to be getting on to Opa’s place. It’s about a two hour walk each way,’ Mum said.

After walking for a while, they arrived in a clearing in the forest. A man with white hair walked across it to greet them.

‘Hi Opa,’ Mum and Dad said in unison.

‘These are our kids, Zach and Jess,’ Mum said, ‘Kids, this is Opa.’

They stopped and had lunch with Opa on a picnic rug in the clearing around his house. Jess had to admit, it was nice to sit outside like this to have lunch. She still wasn’t sure about spending a whole summer mostly outdoors though.

Zach, on the other hand, had become very enthusiastic about being there and Jess was slowly starting to feel his excitement.

They said goodbye to their parents after lunch and then Opa showed them to their bedrooms and then the rest of the house. After that, he left them to unpack their gear and to stay indoors and read or go outside and explore. They weren’t to go too far inside the forest that afternoon though.

۞

‘Tilly. So good to see you. Isn’t this place amazing! I can’t wait to see what’s in store,’ Jess said as she got closer.

‘You’ve got to see some of the stuff inside, it’s awesome!’ Zach said.

‘I can’t wait to see it too. It looks so amazing. I saw this green door in a tree trunk on our way here. Did you see it too?’ Tilly said.

‘Yes, we did. But Mum and Dad said it was painted on!’ Jess said.

‘My parents said the same thing!’

‘I swear it looked like a real door, just tiny. But what’s a door doing in a tree trunk anyway?’ Zach said.

‘It’s so strange!’ Tilly said.

At that moment, an old man entered the clearing. Tilly could not really say exactly where he had come from, but she had been so busy catching up with Zach and Jess, she hadn’t noticed.

He was wearing a long flowing coat over his clothing. All you could see were his boots underneath. He had a clean-shaven face with his raggedy cropped hair touching the top of his collar. His hair was white as white could be and his skin was so fair that she thought she could see his veins shining through from where she stood.

‘Hello everyone. Welcome Tilly. I’m Opa. Glad that you've arrived and have caught up with your cousins. Your parents need to make their way back now, so you had better say goodbye.’

Tilly suddenly felt shy. Opa was a very strange man. Oh well, her Mum and Dad trusted him, so she guessed he was okay.

Tilly gave her parents hugs and then they went on their way towards the path which would lead them back to the car park.

Halfway to the path her Mum turned around, ‘we'll be back to pick you up in five weeks,’ she said.

‘Right everyone. Gather round, gather round. Firstly, the basics. Zach and Jess have already unpacked. Tilly, you'll be sharing a room with Jess. In a minute you'll go and unpack as well. Jess will show you around.’ Opa went on to mention several other things and then left them to do what they wanted for the rest of the day.

Tilly followed Jess into the house. They went up two flights of stairs. Once they got to the top floor, they made their way across a square area and Jess opened one of the three doors.

‘This is our room,’ Jess said. ‘I have the bed on the right. Your cupboard is at the end of your bed. Zach’s room is the one next to us. I’m guessing Opa’s is the other room. I’ll leave you to it. I’m off to explore around the cleared area outside. When you have finished, come join me. Zach will most likely be there too.’

‘Thanks Jess.’

Jess smiled and then turned and started bouncing down the stairs. Tilly set to work putting her things away and then figured she would explore the house for a while before joining Jess and Zach.

Tilly decided to go snooping about the third room and so she went to the third door and turned the doorknob. Tilly slowly pushed the unlocked door open. There was an unmade bed in the centre of the room and cupboards along one wall. A table cluttered with curious things of odd shapes and sizes along another wall and floor to ceiling windows on the other two walls.

Must be Opa’s room, Tilly thought and she backed out, closing the door behind her. There was nothing in the space before the stairs, so Tilly went on down to the next level.

When Tilly reached the next level, she saw it was an open room with a kitchen on one end, a dining table and chairs in the centre and couches and lounges on the other. There were rugs thrown hither and thither on the wooden floors with shelves stuffed full of books all around the walls in the dining and lounge rooms.

Tilly went over to one of the shelves and saw that dust covered all the books on the shelves. She picked up a book and opened it to a random page. She saw lots of symbols on the page with their meanings written underneath each of them. She read the meanings of a couple, but they really didn’t mean anything to her, so she put the book back on the shelf.

Tilly picked up three more books and opened up each of them to random pages. Each book had strange notes in them about objects and symbols and one book even talked about strange creatures. This book intrigued Tilly; however, she was already feeling a little overwhelmed so she returned it to the shelf and thought she would come and have a look at it later.

Tilly headed on down to the ground floor. She looked out at the forest through the floor to ceiling windows taking up half of each long wall. On one end of the room there was a big chalkboard which had interesting pictures of creatures drawn on it. In the middle of the room there were high tables and stools. Along the walls there were more shelves with more books on them.

Once Tilly was outside, she decided to find Zach and Jess. She could not see them and so she decided to have a look around by herself. There wasn’t much to see in the clearing, so she wandered to the edge, near to where the forest started, and walked along gazing into the forest.

Tilly had almost made her way around the clearing when she saw Jess and Zach a couple of metres into the forest.

She made her way to them, stepping over small baby fern trees. ‘Hi guys. What are you doing?’

‘We were just resting after exploring the edge of the forest. With all these ginormous human sized mushrooms here, we were curious if they'd be able to take our weight, and they can!’ at this, Jess laughed, ‘You should join us. There’s another mushroom here for you to sit on. They’re really comfortable. Come on.’

Laughing herself, Tilly sat on the other mushroom and her eyes opened wide as she continued to relax further. ‘Wow. This is amazing!’

Tilly continued to laugh, and Jess and Zach joined her. Each of them were laughing so hard that they all ended up falling off the mushrooms and rolling around on the ground in fits of laughter.

As the laughs turned to uncontrollable giggles, they heard Opa calling out. ‘Come along children. Dinner is ready,’ and then he rang a bell which reminded Tilly of the sound of the lunch bell ringing at school.

They all got up quickly and raced back to the house. ‘I’m starving!’ Zach said, a little puffed from the exertion.

Jess, bent with her hands on her knees and puffing quite a lot, teased her brother. ‘You’re always hungry!’

Tilly, being a long-distance runner, wasn’t out of breath like her cousins, so she went on inside to wash her hands before dinner.

After they were all sitting at the table, Opa started to speak. ‘Before we eat,’ and he bowed his head, ‘I would just like to give thanks to the earth, the stars, the moon, the birds and animals for providing what we need to nourish our bodies. Okay everybody, eat up.’

There were boiled buttered potatoes and green peas, a roasted chicken with gravy and steamed honey carrots. Each had a very clear, sweet tasting, drink placed in front of them. The food tasted so fresh and full of flavour that the children didn't talk as they gobbled down their meal.

When each child had finished, Opa started to talk. ‘Okay guys, after dinner, we no longer go outside, under any circumstances. Each of you are to take turns having a shower and preparing for bed. You're allowed to play any of the games that are under the coffee table in the lounge room or read any of the books you’ll find in this house. I’ll be around if you have any questions. Supper will be ready at eight.’

‘Why can’t we go outside after dinner?’ Tilly said.

‘I have put a spell around Cheyanne Forest, which stops dangerous creatures getting in from the Deep Forest, which is a dark place that you don’t need to worry about. However, in case they are ever able to break through, then it’s best we're all safe inside my home,’ Opa said.

‘That sounds scary,’ Jess said.

‘There's nothing to be afraid of in Cheyanne Forest. It's just in case my spell doesn’t hold,’ Opa tried to ease Jess’s fears.

‘I didn’t think spells were real!’ Zach said sceptically.

‘You'll discover many things exist here which you would have thought were fantasy and fiction,’ Opa said mysteriously.

‘What sort of things Opa?’ Tilly said.

‘All in good time Tilly, but not tonight,’ Opa said.

They each took turns showering and getting ready for bed and then they all found a book they thought would be interesting to curl up with.

It'd been a long and eventful day of travelling and then taking in Opa, and their new surrounds for the next five weeks, that they were all very tired. And, with full bellies, it was only a matter of minutes before they were all fast asleep, books lying forgotten on their laps.