The Pariah Child & the Ever-Giving Stone

by Natasha D Lane

  “Good,” her father said. “I’ll go look in the woods for him tomorrow morning before work. Don’t want you two here alone with some wolf running around.”

  Sarah’s heart jumped.

  Paul pushed a spoonful of food in his mouth and turned his head to the side. “Not common for them to be this far out though. Must have gotten lost from its pack.”

  She shook her head. “It’s probably gone now, Daddy, maybe only passing through, right?”

  “We have to be sure, Sarah. Wolves are dangerous,” he said.

  She clenched the fork in her hand. What if the wolf isn’t really gone? What if it’s just waiting in the woods? What if there are more out there?

  It was her that the wolf wanted. She knew it. She could tell by the way the beast looked at her – like a hunter who’d found his deer.

  Sarah balled her hands into fists. “I’ll go with you, Daddy. We can find the wolf together.”

  He laughed. “If you think I’m taking my daughter anywhere near a wolf you got another thing coming. Naw, I’m the man of this house, you’ll stay here with Mama.”

  “But I want to go!” she proclaimed.

  Her mother stomped her foot. “Watch your tongue, young lady. Don’t forget who you’re speaking to.”

  Paul chuckled as he finished the last scraps of his dinner. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen her yammerin like this.”

  “I don’t want you getting hurt, Daddy.” Sarah fiddled with her fingers as sweat formed on her brow.

  Her father patted her head. “I won’t get hurt. It’s only one wolf. School is starting in a few days, and I need you to be safe walking to the bus. If I can’t get it, I’ll call the sheriff. There’s nothing for you to worry your pretty, little head about.”

  A shiver went down her spine.

  “May I be excused, please?”

  Her parents nodded and Sarah headed up the stairs to her room. At the top of the stairs, she paused. She moved back into the shadows and sunk to the floor, listening to her parents’ voices downstairs.

  “Better make sure she didn’t just imagine the whole thing,” said her mother.

  Her father grunted. “She didn’t imagine it.”

  “I’m just saying we both know how Sarah can...can sometimes let her mind fool her.”

  “Lucille,” he said, “I don’t want to hear any more about this. It’s like you want to send her away.”

  “How do you ever expect the gal to get better if you keep denying she’s sick? The doctors –”

  “The doctors don’t know my daughter. Any little thing, they’ll label you with some made up sickness and then send you away to be ‘cured.’ They’re all full of it,” he said. “They’re the ones that really make people sick.”

  Her mother took in a deep breath. “I’m only saying you can’t deny Sarah’s an odd girl. She’s gotten better since she was younger, I’ll give her that, but I think it’s more of an act than any real change. She’s not well, Paul.”

  “She eats like a horse, sleeps hard like a dog and breathes. Seems well enough to me,” he replied.

  There was silence for a moment. The only noise Sarah heard was the clinking of silverware.

  “I know a sick child when I see one,” her mother retorted. “There are only two options. She’s either insane or p –”

  There was a crash followed by her mother shrieking and her father shouting. Sarah covered her ears and ran to her room. She fell on her bed and hugged herself. Her heart was beating fast right along with the churning in her stomach.

  They won’t stop arguing. I shouldn’t have said anything about the wolf. Why didn’t I keep my trap shut? What if the wolf comes back? What if it gets Daddy now? It’ll be my fault...

  She pulled her knees to her chest, her shoulders weighed down with her problems.

  “Sarafina...Sarafina...” A wispy voice called to her.

  The girl groaned and covered her ears. “You’re not real. Stop talking to me. Just stop.”

  “Look at us Sarah. Please, see us.”

  She shook her head but opened her eyes enough to peek. “I don’t see you. I can’t see you because you’re not real. Now leave me alone.”

  “Believe in us, and you’ll see us. Believe...”

  Sarah grabbed at her hair, trying to calm her breathing. Her chest rose slowly with tense muscles. “No. That’s how you end up in the crazy house. Just like the George’s boy.”

  “Here, Sarafina. You can see us.”

  “No, I can’t,” Sarah said. “Here, I’ll prove it to you.” She leapt off her bed and looked around the room. “I don’t see any –”

  “Hello!”

  Sarah froze. She closed her eyes and reopened them, but the figure was still there. She tried again, and when she opened her eyes he hadn’t disappeared.

  In the corner of the room there stood a miniature human with a pink button nose and perfectly round ears. He wore a cone red hat, a white fleece shirt, blue pants, and black polished shoes. He was a...

  “Gnome.” The word escaped Sarah’s lips before her mind formed them. “But how...gnomes aren’t –”

  “Real? Well, a lot of people believe that, yet I’m standing here right in front of you so, I must be real.”

  Sarah shook herself. “No, this is my mind playing tricks on me again.”

  The little man chuckled. “It’s so funny. You humans can believe in a big fat man who travels all around the world in one night, but you can’t believe in fairies.”

  “I thought you said you were a gnome?”

  He nodded. “I am. Gnomes are still in the fairy family.”

  Sarah rubbed her eyes and took in a sharp breath. “Of course. That makes complete sense.” She fell back onto her bed.

  The gnome sighed. “You used to see us when you were little. Now you’ve grown up. Your parents tell you we only exist in stories, and then suddenly, we’re your ‘imagination.’”

  Sarah watched the little man. His chin rested on his small potbelly. She stepped across the room and leaned down beside him.

  “I’m sorry, Gnome. I’d like to believe you and be friends with you, but I can’t or Mama and Daddy are gonna keep fighting. Mama will probably end up sending me to a crazy house. I can’t go back...I mean I can’t go there. Will you accept my apology?” She held out her hand for him to shake.

  Without hesitation, he gave her a strong smile and shook her hand with both his own.

  “Apology accepted.”

  Sarah returned the smile.

  “Just call me Franklin, by the way,” he said.

  She stared at the little man for a moment. Franklin didn’t seem like a very gnome-y name.

  “Franklin,” she corrected. “Well, since you’re here, can I ask why you’re here? I’ve never imagined a gnome before. If Mama hears me, she’ll have a fit.”

  He pulled up his trousers and poked out his chest. “I’m here for my reward and to deliver a message.”

  His words caught her attention. “What message?”

  “It’s customary I be rewarded first, Sarafina. Then, I’ll deliver the message.” He held out his hand. Sarah bit her lip and peered around her room.

  “Oh, here. I have a coin for you.” She reached under her bed where a small jar was hidden. She twisted off the cap and pulled out one silver dollar.

  Franklin took the coin and nodded to her in thanks. Then, his face turned dark and all signs of a smile faded.

  “They’ll be coming for you soon. More of those wolves will come if you don’t leave, Sarah. You have to find protection.”

  The girl’s stomach dropped to her feet. “More wolves? No, no. There can’t be more. My Daddy–”

  “They only want you,” he said. “Of course, I and my kin will be happy to help but an entire pack may be more than we can handle.”

  She looked at the gnome and thought of the wolf being dragged away into the woods. “It was you who saved me?” she asked.

  “None other. That’s why I
asked for payment. Thank you kindly.”

  Sarah got up to her feet and began pacing around her room. “Where do I get protection? How am I supposed to make sure Mama and Daddy don’t get hurt?” Panic raced through her, and she paced faster.

  Franklin leapt up to the windowsill. “Don’t worry, that’ll be coming for you soon. Bye bye now.” With that, he dove out the window into the night. Sarah ran to the windowsill where he had been standing.

  “Wait! I have more questions.” She looked out, but he was nowhere to be seen. All that was left was her silver dollar.

  Sarah picked up the coin and turned it in her hand. A knock came to her door. She jumped, and the coin fell to the floor.

  “Sarah?” her father’s familiar voice came from the hall. “Can I come in?”

  “Yes, Daddy. Of course, come in.” She sat down on her bed as he was opening the door.

  “You stopped at the top of the stairs again.” He said and pointed his eyes at her, but she averted her gaze. He knew her too well.

  The man cleared his throat and took a seat beside his daughter. “You can’t keep listening to your mother’s and my conversations, Sarah. It’s disrespectful.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sarah murmured her eyes on the ground.

  “I know sometimes...we yell and you can’t help but hear that. The private conversations though should be between us only. Understand?”

  Sarah hated nothing more than disappointing her parents.

  He placed a gentle hand on her back and grabbed her chin, so, she was looking at him. “Do you understand?”

  Sarah nodded. “Yes, I do. I’m sorry. I knew Mama didn’t believe me and –”

  He waved his hand to silence her. “Despite that. No more eavesdropping.”

  “Okay. Is Mama mad at me?”

  “If she was, I directed it all at me, so there’s no need for you to worry. I’ll be the one to suffer the storm.” He smiled, the wrinkles stretching up from his mouth to his ears.

  Sarah leaned into her father. “I don’t want to make Mama upset anymore.”

  “I know,” he said and squeezed her shoulders. “You’re a good daughter, Sarah, and mature for your age, but there are things you don’t know about your Mama. Just know she doesn’t mean the things she says and that she loves you.” He kissed the top of her head. “Goodnight.”

  “What things, Daddy?” Sarah asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

  “You’ll find out when you’re older.” He gave her one last goodnight smile and closed her door.

  Chapter 3

  Sarah slipped her shoes on and quietly closed the house door behind her, grabbing the small pail on the porch. The cold morning air chilled her heart but did not calm her nerves as the young girl headed to the stables where the old workhorse Nelly waited.

  Sarah’s grandpa was the one who had birthed Nelly. She’d been trotting on the farm ever since.

  The old horse’s legs were shaky, and her knees were patchy and tattered. Still the nag had a beautiful cinnamon brown coat and a long dark mane that would put any show horse to shame. Sarah smiled at the animal as she entered the stable. She put a finger over her mouth signaling the horse to be quiet. Nelly lightly neighed and kicked her feet then, calmed. Sarah patted the horse’s nose, and Nelly nuzzled Sarah's neck.

  Animals are so much easier to deal with than people, Sarah thought as she stroked the horse’s nose.

  She hadn’t planned on taking the horse this morning when she went looking for the wolf, but riding a horse was a much faster escape than running on two legs.

  She saddled Nelly, and then climbed on with the pail in her free hand. She had to have some excuse as to why she was out so early.

  “Come on, Nelly.” Sarah rode the horse out of the stables to the edge of the foreboding woods. She looked back at her house covered by an early morning sky full of stars but with a slow, fading black. She hoped this wouldn’t be the last time she saw it.

  A light mist formed as Sarah took several calming breaths. The morning was definitely cold, still somehow the forest made it colder. Nelly was silent as they moved through the woods, though the hairs on her back were sticking straight up. There was little light and the moon cast eerie shadows on the trees. Sarah leaned closer to the horse, grateful for the familiar warmth.

  Together they trotted through the forest, searching for yellow eyes in the trees and paw prints on the soft earth. Sarah strained her eyes with the faint light the sky provided. She saw nothing. No eyes peering back at her, no paw prints, droppings or any carcasses. If the wolf had been hiding in the forest for a while, it had done a good job of covering its tracks.

  Sarah still felt tense in her gut, but with no sign of the beast she headed in the direction of the well.

  The well sat alone in the woods like a solitary statue that hadn’t been seen or touched for years. A few feet from the well, Sarah climbed off Nelly. She walked toward the structure and tied the pail to the rope. Slowly, she lowered the pail farther and farther down into the black water. It made a slight splash then sunk to the bottom.

  Sarah flinched. Alone in the silent forest, that one splash was equivalent to the roaring sound of ocean waves. Well, what she imagined ocean waves sounded like.

  She looked around at the ghastly trees.

  No wolves. Her heartbeat slowed though she still had to grab her hands to stop their shaking. The blood was rushing through her veins faster than Peter Cottontail during Easter.

  She turned back to the rope and pulled the pail up. Water dripped from the rim and fell into Sarah’s palm. The comfortable, cool feeling gave her a sense of overwhelming relief. With now steady hands she grabbed the pail only to realize there was no water inside. But it wasn’t empty. There was something else. Sarah turned the pail to the moonlight and looked again. There lied the most beautiful stone Sarah had ever seen, a perfect oval, smooth as a baby’s bottom with every color imaginable covering it.

  She placed the pail on the well wall. She picked up the stone, turned it over and examined it. Colors reflected onto the forest trees every time a sliver of the fading moonlight hit the rock. She turned toward the moon and held the stone directly under its light. Well water gushed from the stone and splashed all over Sarah. The chill ran through her and Sarah smiled, almost unable to believe what she was seeing.

  “Stop,” she said between giggles and the spray of water ceased.

  Sarah stared at the stone, her clothes soaked and her hair dripping. “How in the world –”

  Howls erupted from all around her; she shoved the stone in her coat pocket. The air became uncomfortably cold. Nelly neighed and ran beside the girl. She grabbed the horse and stroked her mane, still the horse shivered.

  Suddenly, several pairs of bright yellow eyes appeared in the shadows of the trees. There had to be at least eight wolves surrounding her, all with that poisonous black fur. The monsters growled. Nelly stepped in front of Sarah and kicked her feet.

  “No,” Sarah said. “Nelly...” Guilt was like a stab to the chest. She looked at the horse. I should have never brought you. Daddy and Mama need you for work.

  Sarah moved around Nelly and waved her arms in the air. “Go! Get out of here! Run, Nelly. Run!”

  The horse stared at Sarah.

  “Go, now!”

  Nelly stomped her hooves and tried to move around the redhead, but Sarah continued to shout and push her way. Finally, Nelly neighed and sped off into the trees.

  Sarah became silent, motionless. The only noise was her shallow breathing. She took several long breaths, accepting the fact that she was now alone, that no one was going to come rescue her this time. She turned to face the wolves that had begun to step from the shadows. They sniffed the air, and Sarah had a feeling they could smell her fear along with the blood rushing through her. As the wolves came into better view their dark faces were twisted into disgusting sneers, almost like they were human.

  Sarah watched as they advanced toward her. She could see a joy in th
eir eyes, she assumed caused by the anticipation of killing her. She knew they were going to take pleasure in it, and like a prisoner in the chair, something broke inside her. The words left her mouth before she realized what she was saying.

  “You want me, right?” She screamed at the wolves. “Huh? You want a bite!” There was a low cackle through the forest. She stiffened but stood her ground. “Gotta catch me first.” And then she ran.

  The pack split in half. The girl's red hair was like a bright light traveling in the forest as she raced away from the wolves. If she stopped even for a second, they would have her, a thought that made her sick. Sweat began to form on her brow and the trees became blurry images. She had never run so fast in her life, but no amount of speed would give her night vision.

  Sarah tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground, scarring her knee. She didn’t even feel it. What she did feel was the wolf’s hot breath as it snapped at her ankle. She yelled and kicked the beast in the nose before she started off again.

  Suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise followed by painful yelps.

  “Sarah, stop. Look!” a voice spoke to her.

  Though it went against every instinct in her body, Sarah came to a painful halt as she crashed her shoulder into a tree.

  That’s definitely going to hurt tomorrow.

  Her dark blue eyes fell on the scene in front of her. Several trees had fallen and crushed some of the wolves. The others – five left from her count – limped toward her with their teeth ready to dig into her flesh.

  A wolf moved ahead of the pack and lunged at Sarah. She moved back slightly, but before she even looked at the wound, she knew this time the wolf had torn into her leg. She stumbled, recovered, and zigzagged through the trees.

  By now the girl’s eyes were watering. She turned around to determine how close the wolves were in their pursuit.

  With her eyes turned, Sarah didn’t notice the large boulder in front of her. She crashed into it, making her head spin.

  “What in the world?” she whispered and held her head. Sarah had to have played in this forest a thousand times and a rock this large had never been so close to home.