10 Stories (eBook)

Eugene Keller (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
300 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-0642-4 (ISBN)

Infos

10 Stories that cover the gamut of human feelings and actions in the face of opportunity and crisis.

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Fictionalized characters are based on real people that face crises and opportunities. The stories start with an unborn fetus with unique characteristics. Many of the stories deal with unexpected death. The backdrop for the action is all quite real.

Textauszug

IV.

One weekend the Williamson family planned a trip to their cabin in the local mountains. After considerable family debate, Ron and Beth agreed to ask Ted’s parents if he could accompany them on this short excursion. Over the years, they had spent multiple occasions with the Boyd family and Ted’s parents, and after some logistical discussion, everyone, especially the kids, agreed. Faith and Ted rushed off to plan their time in the fresh air. Both loved to swim and ride bikes and talked about nothing else for the next couple of weeks.

The cabin was in a magical spot. Ron’s grandfather initially owned it. It was on a pristine lake surrounded by pine trees, and on twenty-plus acres, it was isolated from surrounding civilization. Ron and Beth watched after unloading the car as the kids merely dumped their things and ran directly to the lake. They could hear Faith and Ted yelling as they skipped on the small dock at the water’s edge of the property. Faith had been to the cabin many times before and approached her time there gleefully. Watching the kids frolic, Beth told Ron they should come here more often since Faith seemed to love it so much and was wholly relaxed. Ron began a long dissertation about how difficult it was to get to the cabin, how isolated it was, and really off the beaten path of civilization. Beth replied that she thought that was one of the reasons that Faith enjoyed their time there so much. She told her husband that Faith was much more at ease at the cabin and did not seem to worry as much about everything.

That evening the air was cool enough to build a fire in the floor-to-ceiling lake-stone fireplace. Ron and Beth even got a chance to hold hands by the warmth of the fire as the kids lay on the floor playing on their I-pads. For the first time in a long time, Beth could look at her daughter without worrying about her. She was doing well in school, seemed quite happy with Ted and a few girlfriends, and thought wistfully how Faith’s approaching womanhood would probably rock the boat. Her life had changed dramatically when her body developed, and boys became a significant focus. She had been reading many articles recently on how to help Faith with her coming menses and the many stresses accompanying them in young girls. With the evening breeze causing the tips of the pines to sing, the cabin slept well that night.

The next day was what everyone wished for when staying at a lakeside cabin in the mountains. The sky was the deep blue that made photographs pop to the eye, only to seem pale by comparison to the color of the lake. The kids had slept late, contributing to the mountain scene's stillness. Once the shuffling and the murmur of voices signaled the beginning of the day’s activities, the two kids and Faith’s parents gathered in the cabin’s kitchen area. They all decided to take a morning walk, and as the day’s warmth crept in, they would go to the lake.

Tired and hot after climbing the trails and low hills near the cabin, they were ready for a swim. Suddenly Faith started to make excuses for why they shouldn’t go. At first, her mother thought it was because she was embarrassed to wear a bathing suit and show her beginning evidence of womanhood. Beth decided not to push the issue and told Faith she could sit on the dock while the rest jumped into the water. Faith was not convinced, but after everyone else, especially Ted, embraced the idea of a swim in the lake, she agreed to come along.

The family carried inner tubes and towels a short distance to the dock. Ron reflected on how his grandfather had a rowboat he and his dad would take and go fishing. They never caught any fish and weren’t even sure there were fish in the lake, but it was an extraordinary time for him. Watching the kids, and especially Ted, run and jump off the end of the dock, he reflected on the many happy times he, as a kid, had at this very spot.

Unfortunately, Faith reacted to the scene very moodily and sat with her feet dangling in the water, fully dressed except with no shoes. Ron was the first to jump off the dock, and Beth laughed merrily at his reaction to the cold water. Ted was next, and after a running start, he jumped. Faith started to scream immediately without an apparent reason until Ted failed to reach the surface. Ron, in the water, did not see what happened, and Beth had been busy laying out a towel so she could lie down and sun herself. It wasn’t until Faith jumped into the water fully clothed that her parents noticed that Ted was face down in the lake.

Faith reached Ted and turned him over so his face was out of the water. She wasn’t strong enough to drag him to the dock but kept him from rolling face down again. Ron quickly joined her, carried Ted to the pier, and, with Beth’s help, manhandled him onto the wooden structure. There was an obvious gash on his head where he had hit a partially submerged old tree trunk, and he was unconscious. Beth was about to start CPR when she noted he was breathing, although extremely pale and slightly blue around the mouth. She turned Ted over, and he began to cough. She rubbed his back and arms vigorously, and he groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

After a few more minutes, Ted sat up with blood dripping down his forehead from where he had gashed his head against the partially floating tree trunk. He whimpered slightly but then looked at Faith and croaked that he was OK. Beth gently walked Ted to the cabin, where he seemed to be regaining his strength and color. She told Ron to gather their things and prepare to drive back into town. It was increasingly apparent that Ted was fine, but she felt it prudent to take him home to his parents and get him thoroughly checked out by a doctor.

By this time, Ted was arguing that he was fine and wanted to stay at the lake, but Faith’s parents felt uncomfortable with that suggestion, and they all piled into the car for the return trip. They assured Ted that they would all come back to the lake another time very soon.

After Ted was returned to his worried parents with only a tiny band-aid covering the cut on his forehead, Faith and her parents drove home silently. They sat in the driveway of their home, and Faith huddled in the corner of the backseat. Beth stared from the passenger seat out the windshield. She then asked without turning to look at anyone what happened at the lake. Ron answered unemotionally that Ted had jumped in the lake, hit a submerged log, and was briefly knocked out and that Faith had jumped in and saved his life. After a prolonged silence, Beth said she understood and was very proud of her brave girl, but it was almost like Faith knew what would happen. Ron responded that Faith was extraordinarily bright and worried, put a worst-case scenario together faster than they had and reacted exceptionally rapidly to the situation. He wanted to know what other explanation it could have been.

They opened the garage and started to reshelve things from their trip. Faith didn’t say anything, but she helped with some of the smaller items and her small suitcase and then went to her room. As soon as they got into the house, Beth called Ted’s parents, and happily, she was reassured that other than a headache, he was feeling well. They had seen the doctor, who advised only observation for the next twenty-four hours and, oh yes, an ice bag for his head.

Beth checked in on Faith, who was napping in her room, grabbed Ron as he was putting things away from the trip, and sat him down at the kitchen table. “We have to talk about this,” she told her husband. She said that she knew he didn’t want to talk about Faith and her unique qualities, but he couldn’t continue trying to explain away what had been evident since she was born, maybe even before she was born. He wanted to know what she was talking about and became very agitated. Beth said, “Dr. Bonner knew or suspected Faith was different from even the most gifted kids.” She also told her husband that this thing Faith exhibited made Sybil leave. “Based on South American culture, she feared that Faith was some sort of witch.”

Ron wanted to know if Beth was serious. He told his wife that Faith was just a wonderful, smart girl. Beth told Ron, “You can’t just continue to put your head in the sand, and I need your help to figure out how to deal with Faith’s special abilities and keep her happy and safe.” After a heated discussion that brought Beth to tears, Ron ultimately agreed to send Faith to Dr. Bonner again if she was still available.

Two days later, Faith was in Dr. Bonner’s waiting room. She had told her parents to leave her there by herself and that she would call them when she was ready to be picked up. Bonner had canceled several standing appointments so she could see Faith as soon as possible. She was not surprised at the call, only that it had taken so long before it happened.

Elizabeth Bonner realized after the first few sessions with Faith when she was much younger that she was encountering something very unusual. She had tried to understand it and help the Williamsons deal with their daughter’s abilities. That Faith’s parents were struggling with their child’s uniqueness was expected since she herself could not fully understand or even characterize her patient’s abilities.

When Bonner waved Faith into her office, she was immediately impressed with how much she had grown and matured. This was no longer a little girl but now an adolescent approaching womanhood. Faith was still dressed in school clothes and even had the slightest...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 26.6.2023
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-0642-4 / 9798350906424