February 2021

Luxi decides to spend a year among her animal friends, researching the mysterious, wild forest of Oakwood Luxi Carbonelli was a city girl. She liked pop culture, the tall ’scrapers that loomed above her, and all the noise to brighten up her day. Luxi loved the flash and lights of the city. She lived in an apartment on the twenty-third floor. Her room was plastered with posters of models, TV stars, fashion designers, and much more. All the walls were covered, and her drawers were filled with makeup, perfumes, and purses. Often she went out late with her friends to new exhibits, popular restaurants, and the mall. She got the newest styles of clothing and the hottest lipsticks, purses, and necklaces. But Luxi also loved nature. There was a small, dense forest just outside the city. It was so thick with trees and plants that nobody ever bothered trying to make a settlement there. People just let it be; it was small and full of hills, so it would not be good to try to live there. The soil was hard and cracked, and who-knew-what animals lived there. At night, you could hear the pack of wolverines howling, a pierce of noise through the quiet, unmoving silence that hovered over the city. Then a rustle of feathers, and the arc of doves that nested in the forest took flight from east to west, and didn’t seem to fly back; but in the morning, the doves were in the forest. Many people stayed up all night, watching to see if they flew back to the east. They never did, but somehow they were back east in the dense forest after flying west. When Luxi was dismissed from school one day at 2:45, her first stop was always the wild forest. In the city it was called Oakwood, because of the numerous varieties of oak there. Luxi would breathe in the woody scent of the forest, and calmness would fill her heart. She loved the calls of nature— the chirps of the sparrows, finches, woodpeckers, and the occasional colorful parrot. Then there was the swish of the tail as the squirrels went flying from branch to branch above her. Burrowing animals making their home underground came up and welcomed her—Luxi was not a stranger in Oakwood. Beautiful hummingbirds, so delicate, shy, and small, landed on her with no fear, and mourning doves nuzzled her gently. All the wonderful creatures of Oakwood waited for her to come, and then the woods were alive with chirping, singing, squeaking, everything! Even the plants danced, waving their leaves—thin or thick, small or big, rough or smooth. They came together in harmony and waited for their king. The king of Oakwood, his majesty of the forest, the Great Brown Bear, was bowing to her! After the small woodland animals welcomed her, the air filled with joy, they became suddenly anxious—for the king of Oakwood was about to come into their presence, his guards all around him. As silence befell them, a low growl filled the quietness, followed by a choir of howls. Then came the king of the forest. His wolverine guards, dressed in green uniforms with yellow rims, a brown wood belt from which hung a silver sword, and long trousers reaching down to their thick boots, surrounded him on all sides. He was a mighty, strong animal, big and towering over Luxi like the skyscrapers. He balanced on his hind legs, stood up to his full height, and then he let out a roar so great it shook the dirt ground beneath them. The trees seemed to shake, the birds squawked with fear, and the deft creatures sprang to their burrows for protection. Luxi’s legs felt like they would crumble, but she stood up straight and strong. She was ready for him. When the king of Oakwood finished his show, he came back on four feet and looked deeply into Luxi’s amber eyes. His big black eyes softened and he bowed his head. The king of Oakwood, his majesty of the forest, the Great Brown Bear, was bowing to her! Luxi was appalled, but showed no emotion. “Who are you?” the Bear King asked softly. “I’m Luxi Carbonelli,” Luxi answered confidently. They stared into each other’s eyes. “You’re brave,” the bear said. It’s funny to think that bears can smile, but this brown bear did. The tips of his mouth curved upward, and his eyes smiled along. “I know,” Luxi replied. The Bear King nodded admiringly. All the woodland animals watched them, including his wolverine soldiers. “Why don’t you come to my royal den?” the bear invited encouragingly. Luxi blushed and nodded. “Sure, why not?” The bear heaved Luxi up on his back, and the animals gasped in wonder. This lucky girl received such an honor, they all thought, murmuring to each other as they crawled back to their homes. The bear and his parade of soldiers, and Luxi, who rode on top of him, strode away. Up on the bear’s back, Luxi could almost reach the treetops. She could see the magnificent birds in the fumble of branches and leaves of the trees. She spotted marvelous creatures she’d never imagined before: birds with plumes in all the bright colors she could think of, red, orange, yellow, and pink; squirrels that were transparent and seemed to be made of glass; a nest woven out of pencils (later she realized they were pencils belonging to every schoolchild in the city—she spotted her name somewhere in the middle); and below the trees, she slowly realized that there were deer freckled with white dots. But the most marvelous feature of those deer was their antlers. The antlers were so long and stretched so high up they mixed with the branches of trees, camouflaged. Rabbits sat near the feet of the deer and watched the parade with dull eyes. Eventually, they reached the bear’s home. It was a huge hole, or den, dug out from the largest tree